ELL News Headlines

As someone who has been learning Spanish most of my life, I know it can be challenging and scary to speak in a new language. And I’ve seen my English-language-learner students experience similar feelings. This multipart series will feature practical recommendations from teachers on how to encourage our students to get past that reluctance and develop speaking fluency in English.

When Amanda Hass graduated from Nevis High School in 2013 she enrolled in a pre-med program at the University of Minnesota Duluth. But eventually Hass changed her major, graduating with Bachelor of Arts degrees in English and anthropology. “One of the subfields of anthropology is linguistics,” she said.

San Marcos High School held classes for families whose students are improving their English (Emergent Multilingual Learners or EMLs). The program, called “Un día a la vez,” provides families with leadership and success tools as they navigate the educational system in the United States.

As a newcomer specialist, I teach students who have been in the United States for less than a year. There are at least four languages spoken by the students I currently teach, so people are often surprised to learn that I’m monolingual. I spend a lot of time thinking about how monolingual teachers can support multilingual students and I am actively searching for ways to reduce the isolation my students experience as they begin learning English, and to build a sense of belonging for students in my classes.

When a friend asked Andrea White Rubio if she was interested in caring for an 84-year-old man with early dementia and diabetes during the pandemic, she considered her job options. She had scrambled for months, working as a fruit vendor or going door to door selling shoes from a catalog. She agreed and, after two years on the job, found a new calling. That’s how Rubio found herself in a classroom at Los Angeles City College on a recent Friday, learning how to become an in-home support worker. But there was something distinct about this class: It was taught entirely in Spanish.

At Frank Sparkes Elementary, words fly everywhere. On a recent Monday, kindergartners sang and danced as they learned about the silent e that changes other vowel sounds. First graders asked how to spell words like “hamster” to finish writing sentences about how they wanted to spend their piggy-bank money. Third graders discussed out loud whether Oreo or Chips Ahoy cookies are best – the topic of their opinion essays.

By the close of this century, at least half of the more than 7,000 languages spoken today will become extinct – and that’s according to the rosiest of linguistic forecasts.

In the 2019-20 academic year, about 7.7% of students enrolled in Tennessee schools were classified as English Language Learners (ELL), according to the state Comptroller of the Treasury’s Office of Research and Education Accountability. In addition, Clarksville and the state continue attract more international industries, such as Hankook Tire, LG Electronics and others.

Students acquiring the English language are one of the fastest growing populations of K-12 public school students in the country. Legally, districts are required to provide them with adequate English-language support, while also teaching them grade level academic content.

Latino high school sophomores, juniors and seniors in the Siouxland region came together recently in South Sioux City to be motivated about lessons in life and to learn more about higher education opportunities.