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Who are English Learners?
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VocabularyTerms and Definitions
Policies and practices pertaining to the education of English Learners
are governed by a variety of legislative acts, court decisions, recommendations, and
interpretations thereof at the federal, state, and district levels.
Vocabulary
English Learner
Most recently used term
A person who has significant exposure to a language other than English at home
TESOL
Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages
An international organization
Common name of university teacher preparatory programs
Vocabulary
ESOL: English for Speakers of Other Languages
TOEFL: Teaching English as a Foreign Language
ESL: English as a Second Language
EFL: English as a Foreign Language
ELL: English Language Learner
LEP: Limited English Proficiency
Vocabulary
Bilingual Learner
Strength approach rather than deficit
Recognizes more complete picture of student
Vocabulary
Sequential Bilinguals
Someone who learned one language, and then another
Students entered school with a language dominance other than English
Students only learned English when they entered school
Characteristic of most English Learners entering USA schools up through 1990’s. Mom
Simultaneous Bilinguals
Someone who learned more than one language from birth on. Kids
Students might enter school without a dominant language (dual dominance)
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Further PossibleClassifications of English
Learners
Immigrant
Move to another country or region to which they are not native in order to settle there
Voluntary
Strong desire and resources to move
Migrant Worker
Someone who is working outside their home country (UN definition) or moves within a country to follow seasonal work (internationally used) Dad
In USA, considered an at-risk population
Federal and state funds and materials available
Adopted
International adoptions Over 8,000 adoptions last year China and Ethiopia
USA born
Refugee
A refugee is a person who is unwilling to remain in their country because of a well-founded fear of being persecuted or killed for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or for holding certain political opinions. Dinka. Wat Tham Krabok.
Resettlement process is begun by the U.S. Department of State along with the Department of Homeland Security.
70,000 yearly in USA
Fox Valley
Family Reunification Cases from Somalia, Iraq, Sudan, and Burma
Catholic Social Services Refugee Resettlement
World Relief
Legal Residents/Citizens
Undocumented Workers/Illegal Aliens
An estimated 12 million in USA; 4% of the population
85 % Hispanic
84,000 in Wisconsin
Students with Interrupted Formal Education (SIFE)
Reasons for Gap War Famine Gender inequality Poverty Lack of Access Fear Broken home/fractured family structure Motivation Lack of understanding of opportunities Lack of resources/support network
Variables: considerations within classifications of
English Learners that may affect language acquisition
Socioeconomic Status (SES)
Level of education of student
Level of education of parents
Reason for being in USA
Attitude towards USA
Attitude towards English
Intended length of stay in the USA
Children of visiting professors
military personnel
exchange student
Variables: considerations within classifications of
English Learners that may affect language acquisition
Continuity of education—interrupted education
Value of education
Access to quality instruction
Household fear concerning legality of residency. (Ex.: Ana)
Lack of knowledge of educational rights
Hesitancy to talk about some aspects of their background
Possible traumatic border crossing
Reception of local community Why don’t you go back where you came from?
Variables: considerations within classifications of
English Learners that may affect language acquisition
Present or previous deficits
Nutrition
Sleep
Home resources
Inability to live in home country
Limited access to family, friends and community of home culture
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Fear
Stress
Culture Shock
Parents sacrifice—how far would you walk to feed your family?
Demographics
Over 400 languages spoken by English Learners nationwide
Spanish, Vietnamese, Hmong, Chinese, Cantonese and Korean have the highest number of native speakers in USA today
How has the ELL population changed in recent years?
Relative Growth of ELL’s
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education's survey of the states' limited English proficient students and available educational programs and services, 1991-92 through 2001-2002 summary reports. Supplemented by state publications (1998-99 data), enrollment totals from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), 2004-2005 Consolidated State Performance Reports, and data reported by states.
In 1989, the total enrollment of students in elementary and high school was about 40,600,000. In 2006 the enrollment was about 49,000,000. So there was just a just a gentle rise.However, English Language enrollment was about 2,000,000 1989 and by 2006 it had soared to over 5 million.
Projections
Nationwide, the population of English Learners is expected to continue growing relatively faster than monolingual English speakers
Population of English Learners is expected to increase to more than half of the total U.S. population by the year 2050 according to NEA
Translation: in the future, it will be even more likely that you will have an English Learner in your class
Wisconsin
WINSS
Wisconsin's Information Network for Successful Schools
Resource available to public
By Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
15 years ago, 97% of students in Wisconsin were English proficient
Last school year, 94.5 were English proficiency
This aligns with the shift in demographics we have seen at a national level, the the relative growth is smaller in Wisconsin
Examples
Explore WINSS
http://winss.dpi.wi.gov/
RationalWhy Learn about English Learners?
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Because
Practical: Current demographics and projected increase of English Learners locally and nationwide
Ethical responsibility: To be prepared to best work with English Learners
Marketability: ESL/Bilingual is considered an area of high need at federal and state levels
Pedagogical: techniques that will help English Learners will help other students as well
It is important to learn about teaching English Learners for a number of reasons, including…
ActivityDrag picture to placeholder or click icon to add
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Drag picture to placeholder or click icon to add
Part 1
Turn and talk to your elbow buddy.
Person whose first name begins with a letter closer to the beginning of the alphabet is Partner A. The other person is Partner B.
Partner B, your job is to listen.
Partner A, it will be your job to talk. Use complete sentences.
Partner A, tell about the best vacation you have ever taken!!!
Partner A, do not use any words that contain the letter “e.”
Begin now!
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Stop!!!
Part 2
Partner A, your job is to listen.
Partner B, it will be your job to talk. Use complete sentences.
Partner B, tell about the best birthday party ever!!!
Partner B, do not use any words that contain the letter “a.”
Begin now!
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Stop!!!
Reflections
How did that feel?
What did you notice about your or your partner’s rate of speech?
How was the quality of your speech impacted? Did you want to or did you just insert a word with the letter E/A because
there are no other words that quite mean what you wanted to say? Did you insert one of those words and not realize it until after you had
said it? Did you delete words? What words/types of words did you omit?
How was the quantity of your speech affected?
How do you think you sounded to your partner? Did it bother you? Would it bother you if you had to do it in front of the class? We can here debunk the Myth that children learn languages faster and easier: Adults are
more efficient learners. They can learn a language faster than a child. There are some reasons why they often do not, including time spent in the target language, motivation/desire, and very importantly: fear. Younger have less inhibitions, little fear of looking foolish or failing. Motivation, other psychological and social factors come into play. Steven Krashen talks about the affective filter in language learners. So, children may learn faster than some adults, but adults really can (and sometime do) learn a second language faster.
Reflections
Did you loose any enjoyment even though it was a topic of real pleasure for you?
What might the impact be on a second language learner, spending hours in a setting with only their second language? Mentally taxing Zone out
Connections to English Learners
This activity was to help you understand a bit of what it is like to be a second language learner
The barrier you encountered impacted your use of language, not your knowledge base or understanding of the topic on which you were to speak
I hope this helps you connect with & understand a second language learner
Questions or Comments?