ELL News Headlines

No matter whether their first language was Spanish, Japanese, Ukrainian or something else, the students on stage at Coulter Grove Intermediate School and family members in the audience understood the significance of the celebration Tuesday, Aug. 30, marking the children’s success in learning English.

Students learn new skills each day, such as how to read and write, solve problems, and resolve conflicts. Through the process, they evolve as critical thinkers. But it’s also important to model social and emotional skills and dispositions like compassion, social awareness, and civic responsibility.

As the flooding in Jackson, Mississippi, continues to upend the lives of tens of thousands of residents, the city’s youngest are struggling to continue their schooling.

The teacher shortage has struck most districts in California, but an EdSource survey shows that the impacts are nuanced, uneven — and sometimes inequitable. Even within the same district, some schools — particularly those in wealthier neighborhoods — experienced less teacher turnover and were more likely to start the school year with a full staff.

It's that time of year again, as students and parents celebrate with back to school festivals and prepare for the year ahead. On the warm Saturday last weekend in Washington, D.C., parents stood in line for free backpacks, live music filled the air, and people indulged in shaved ice. But Penelope Marlett, 5, had a different idea on how to celebrate. "I'm just drawing a duck," she said as she filled in the outline of her picture with a fresh piece of bright pink chalk. Penelope was taking part in Chalk Walk, an event organized by Positive Chalk and Chalk Riot.

Dual-language immersion programs, which teach all students in English and another language, are so much in demand that some school districts have been able to stop declining enrollment or even grow enrollment in a school by beginning a dual-language program. Research has shown that these programs are beneficial for both English learners and native English speakers.

Since their arrival, more than 41,000 working-age Afghans have been placed into various industries including accommodation and food services, retail trade, manufacturing, transportation and warehousing. This new community of Afghans arriving in the US with a multitude of skills and degrees has the potential to contribute significantly to the American economy, especially as the country grapples with inflation and supply chain issues.

The US Indian Affairs Office of Indian Economic Development has awarded $7 million in grants under the Living Languages Grant Program to 45 American Indian and Alaska Native Tribes and Tribal organizations.

Matt de la Peña — who grew up in National City and Cardiff-by-the-Sea and is a Newbery Medal-winning author of seven young adult novels — has a new children’s book, ‘Patchwork.’

In a small shelter made of cinder block walls and a tin roof, Armando Hurtado Medina writes on a whiteboard the size of the TVs in many American homes. It's 6pm and lessons have just begun in this makeshift classroom found at the end of a bumpy dirt road that winds its way through a canyon in Tijuana, Mexico. Hurtado Medina is teaching basic English and about 10 students of various ages slowly recite the alphabet back to him.