American Indian ELL Students

Practical Guidelines for the Education of English Language Learners: Research-based Recommendations for the Instruction and Academic Interventions

by David J. Francis and Mabel Rivera/Center on Instruction English Language Learners Strand, Nonie Lesaux and Michael Kieffer/Havard Graduate School of Education, Hector Rivera/Center on Instruction English Language Learners Strand

Francis, David J., Mabel Rivera, Nonie Lesaux, and Hector Rivera. (2006). Research-Based Recommendations for Instruction and Academic Interventions. Practical Guidelines for the Education of English Language Learners, Retrieved April 11,2008, from http://www.centeroninstruction.org/files/ELL1-Interventions.pdf

Topics Covered: About ELLs; Assessment and Accommodations; Learning Disabilities and Special Education; Literacy and Reading / Writing Instruction;

Tags: American Indian ELL Students; Asian ELL Students; Comprehension; Content Areas: Math; Fluency; Instructional Programs; Intervention; Language of Instruction; Language Proficiency; Latino ELL Students; Other ELL Students (Middle Eastern, African, European, etc.); Phonics; Phonological Awareness; Reading; Struggling Readers; Vocabulary; Writing;

Target Population: Elementary School, Middle School, High School

Research Questions the Report Poses: What students are classified as being English Language Learners? How are they best identified, and what recommendations should be made to more adequately instruct possible ELL students to prevent further learning difficulties?

Summary: After briefly highlighting the characteristics of and how to best identify ELL students the articles attempts to show the importance of effective instruction and intervention not only for academically struggling ELL students, but also for all ELL students including those individuals who are linguistically fluent in English. Before looking into the proposed recommendations the article also briefly looks into the importance of mastering academic language skills as key elements to academic success. The importance of academic language skills is revisited under the recommendations sections for both reading comprehension and mathematics.

Findings:

• Statistics for ELLs may be hard to obtain or may be inaccurate since many ELL students go without being properly identified
• ELL students can better from more individualized instruction
• Mastery of academic language is necessary for academic success, which can prove to be difficult even for English speaking proficient ELLs
• In order to provide effective support of reading comprehension to ELLs educators must have an understanding of the child's individual needs
• In addition to reading comprehension it is crucial for students to become proficient in mathematics

Policy Recommendations:
While the article did not have any specific policy recommendations the recommendations listed in the article could be taken as such and thus included in this section.

Recommendations for Reading Instruction and interventions:

• ELLs need early, explicit, and intensive instruction in phonological awareness and phonics in order to build decoding skills.
• K-12 classrooms across the nation must increase opportunities for ELLs to develop sophisticated vocabulary knowledge.
• Reading instruction in K-12 classrooms must equip ELLs with strategies and knowledge to comprehend and analyze challenging narrative and expository texts.
• Instruction and intervention to promote ELLs' reading fluency must focus on vocabulary and increased exposure to print.
• In all K-12 classrooms across the U.S., ELLs need significant opportunities to engage in structured, academic talk.
• Independent reading is only beneficial when it is structured and purposeful, and there is a good reader-text match.

• ELLs need early explicit and intensive instruction and intervention in basic mathematics concepts and skill.
• Academic language is as central to mathematics as it is to other academic areas. It is a significant source of difficulty for many ELLs who struggle with mathematics.
• ELLs need academic language support to understand and solve the word problems that are often used for mathematics assessment and instruction.

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Promoting Academic Literacy Among Secondary English Language Learners: A Synthesis of Research and Practice

by UC Davis School of Education

Maxwell-Jolly, J., Gandara, P. & Benavidez L. M. (2005). Promoting academic literacy among secondary English language learners: A synthesis of research and practice. Davis, CA: UC Davis School of Education.

Topics Covered: Best Teaching Practices / Professional Development;

Tags: American Indian ELL Students; Asian ELL Students; Latino ELL Students; Other ELL Students (Middle Eastern, African, European, etc.);

Target Population: middle and high school

Research Questions the Report Poses: What policy steps should occur in California to improve the education of secondary English Language Learners?

Summary: Provides an overview of issues related to teaching English language learners (ELL), and recommendations for California policy including: challenges secondary ELL students face; needs and limitations of teachers and schools in CA; and best practices cited by researchers and practitioners. The report largely summarizes three days of panel presentations and discussions by ELL experts convened in 2005.

Findings:
A number of themes emerged from the panel discussants including:

• the need for identifying ELL students better; inadequate existing programs for ELL secondary students;
• the need for more teachers and administrators who are knowledgeable about the needs of secondary ELL students; and
• the importance of advocacy and staying on-message to improve ELL education.

Policy Recommendations:
The report adopts five policy steps that should occur including:

• Convene a panel of experts;
• Promote pilot programs;
• Develop an effective ELL assessment system;
• Establish a committee in the CA legislature to recruit and retain highly skilled ELL teachers and administrators; and
• Organize a summit to bring attention and focus to the need for improved ELL secondary education.

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The Growth of the Linguistic Minority Population in the U.S. and California 1980-2005

by University of California Linguistic Minority Research Institute

University of California Linguistic Minority Research Institute. (2006). The Growth of the Linguistic Minority Population in the U.S. and California 1980-2005. University of California Linguistic Minority Research Institute: Santa Barbara, CA.

Topics Covered: Data (Demographics, Facts, and Figures);

Tags: American Indian ELL Students; Asian ELL Students; Latino ELL Students; Other ELL Students (Middle Eastern, African, European, etc.);

Target Population: Preschool, Elementary, Middle, High School

Research Questions the Report Poses: No Research Question, Data Presentation Only

Summary: This short document has a chart and a table detailing population trends in both the United States and California from 1980 to 2005. According to the data here, California has a much higher percentage of linguistic minority (ELL) students than the nation overall does, and in the time period 1980-2005, California's linguistic minority population increased greatly compared to that of the United States.

Findings:
According to the data here, California has a much higher percentage of linguistic minority (ELL) students than the nation overall does, and in the time period 1980-2005, California's linguistic minority population increased greatly compared to that of the United States.

Policy Recommendations:
None

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n/a

Urgent but Overlooked: The Literacy Crisis Among Adolescent English Language Learners

by Alliance for Excellent Education

(February 2007). Urgent but overlooked: The literacy crisis among adolescent English Language Learners. Retrieved April 11, 2008, from Alliance For Excellent Education Web site: http://www.all4ed.org/files/UrgentOver.pdf

Topics Covered: About ELLs; Assessment and Accommodations; Bilingual Education; Literacy and Reading / Writing Instruction;

Tags: American Indian ELL Students; Asian ELL Students; Bilingual Instruction; Comprehension; Differentiated Instruction; Fluency; Instructional Programs; Intervention; Language of Instruction; Language Proficiency; Latino ELL Students; Other ELL Students (Middle Eastern, African, European, etc.); Reading; Transfer of Literacy Skills;

Target Population: Pre-K, Elementary School, Middle School, High School

Research Questions the Report Poses: What factors prevent ELL students from receiving effective literacy instruction?

Summary: ELL students represent the fastest growing segment of the student population and yet with respect to reading and literacy rates they are among the country's lowest performing students. This article looks at the crisis of low literacy rates among ELL students, what research is currently being done, the findings of that research, addresses key policy questions needing to be addressed by policymakers as well as a brief look into the types of support needed in order to provide ELL students with effective literacy instruction.

Findings:

• ELLs comprise 10.5 percent of the nation's pre-K-12 school enrollment, up from 5 percent in 1990
• ELLs continually score lower on the reading portion of the National Assessment of Educational Progress
• As the population of ELL students increases so does the demand from teachers for better methods of instruction
• The literacy needs of ELLs are both identical and distinct to their English-proficient peers
• Local, state, and federal policymakers need to address effect of the growing ELL student population's effect on demographic trends, educational challenges, school performance, etc.
• Improvements must be made on the types of support available to teachers working with ELL students, with special recognition that there are no one size fits all approaches to effective literacy instruction
• It should be the goal of the nation to educate all students

Policy Recommendations:
N/A

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To order a hard copy of the report, contact:
N/A