ELL News Headlines

Yes, the vocabulary in New York Times articles can be challenging, and teachers of English language learners may assume it’s too hard for their students. But Larry Ferlazzo, who writes regularly about how he uses The Times in his E.L.L. classroom, has taught with articles on everything from climate change to Valentine’s Day, and he has a few tips to share.

John Bachmann, 55, of Montclair, volunteers two hours every Wednesday evening, teaching English as a Second Language to Syrian refugees at NJ Rebuild's Program (gera-ngo.org/esl), a nonprofit organization based in Wayne. Bachmann has been volunteering since September. The program is sponsored by GERA (Global Emergency Response and Assistance) located in Paterson, (also at gera-ngo.org). The word “gera” means neighbor in Arabic. Bachmann said he is among approximately a half dozen Montclair residents who also give of their time at the program, and that he was inspired to volunteer by his parents' story; they came from West Berlin, Germany and were sponsored by strangers. They spoke very little English. "By the help of people here, they found their way," he says.

David Nirenberg is executive vice provost at the University of Chicago. He writes, "A provision in the tax bill that the U.S. House of Representatives recently passed — and that the Senate is still considering — would impose a potentially enormous tax increase on graduate students: as much as a 300 percent tax hike in some cases. If you are not a graduate student, why should you care?  Because although you may not know it, graduate students are a foundation of American economic, scientific and cultural strength, and they lie at the center of the nation’s most powerful engine of discovery in all fields.  If Congress wants tax reform to stimulate the economy, this provision would have the opposite effect."

An award-winning Spanish author whose children’s books have been translated into a dozen languages visited Woodstock schools last week. Margarita del Mazo held storytelling sessions for kindergartners through fifth-graders and conducted workshops for teachers throughout Woodstock School District 200. Del Mazo is the author of popular children’s books, including "No Quiero Ser Rey" ("I Don’t Want to be King") and "Camuñas," both of which she featured during her visit from Oct. 30 to Nov. 2.

New legislation has paved the way to allow Massachusetts schools to teach English-language learners in their native language while they learn English. Gov. Charlie Baker signed the legislation that effectively overturns the state's 15-year-old law that eliminated bilingual education from most public schools. With the passage of the Massachusetts law, Arizona is now the only state with English-only immersion education mandates written into law, but the state offers schools more choices.

Colleges and universities are reporting a surge in students being asked to verify information on their federal financial aid applications, a time-consuming process that school officials fear could derail low-income applicants. The Education Department’s Office of Federal Student Aid said it is aware of the issue and working to fix it. One group that may be adversely affected by the increase is Latino students; Mary Sommers, director of financial aid at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, works with Latino parents in the midst of becoming citizens who are nervous that verification will negatively affect their chances. Though she tries to allay those fears, Sommers is concerned those families might convince their children to consider only schools they can pay for out of pocket, or forgo college altogether.

Children who come from low-income families, have disabilities, aren't white or don't speak English at home appear to be disproportionately paying the price of Kansas' teacher shortage, according to an analysis by the Kansas News Service.

English-language learners assigned to dual-language-immersion classrooms in the Portland, Ore., school district were more likely to be classified as English proficient by 6^th grade when compared to peers enrolled in traditional classes, a new study by the RAND Corp. found. The research team also determined that the district's dual-language students significantly outperformed their ELL who were not in dual-language classes peers on English-reading skills—by nearly a school year worth of learning by the end of middle school.

Since Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico two months ago, Springfield has enrolled 383 Puerto Rican students in its public schools -- and 143 of them arrived with individualized education plans, signaling that they have special needs. Most of those involved learning disabilities.

As a cascade of sexual harassment and assault allegations have come out publicly in recent weeks against high-profile men in politics, entertainment, and media, women in fields like customer service, retail, and education have raised a flag to say that their industries are not immune from such problems, though the people who’ve been accused are far less well known. As women everywhere are reflecting on their own experiences with sexual harassment and assault, school administrators should be mindful of whether they are creating climates where employees feel safe and comfortable reporting problems, lawyers who specialize in sexual harassment cases said.