where a language other than English has had a significant impact on the individual's level of English language proficiency.13
LEP, or limited English proficiency: LEP is still used by the U.S. Department of Education for ELLs, age 3–21, who have not yet demonstrated proficiency in English, and for whom this affects their ability to perform on state standards and assessments, to access classroom content, and/or to participate fully in society.14
DLL, or dual language learner: A child between the ages of 0 and 8 who is in the process of learning English in addition to his or her home language(s). These children may or may not also be considered ELLs by their schools, depending on their performance on English language proficiency assessments.15
ESL, or English as a second language: The term ESL was formerly used as a designation for ELL students, but is more commonly used now to refer to “a program of instruction designed to support ELL students” and is often still used at the postsecondary level to refer to multilingual students (National Council of Teachers of English,16 2008).
ELD, or English language development: ELD is often used to describe instruction and programs for ELL students that focus on developing English language proficiency in the domains of reading, writing, listening, and speaking.17
TESOL, or teaching English to speakers of other languages: TESOL is widely used to describe both TEFL (teaching English as a foreign language) and TESL (teaching English as a second language). In general, “TEFL emphasizes aspects of teaching English in countries where English is not widely used in daily life and the term TESL tends to emphasize the needs of learners who will use English in their daily lives, in addition to their mother-tongue. TESOL encompasses both.”18
Along with many educators and researchers, we prefer to use the term ELL because it emphasizes students as active learners of English, rather than as being limited or deficient in some way.
Adolescent English Language Learners and Long-term ELLs
The adolescent English learner population in this country is growing fast and contains students from a variety of linguistic, cultural, and educational backgrounds.19
Newcomer or refugee students represent a small, but highly vulnerable subgroup of the adolescent English learner population.20 While some of these students come with high literacy skills and content knowledge, many have had interrupted formal education in their home countries. These students enter U.S. schools with limited educational experiences and lower levels of literacy in their home languages.
A larger number of adolescent ELLs were born in the United States, are second- or even third-generation immigrants, and have been enrolled in U.S. schools since kindergarten.21
One out of every four children in the United States is an immigrant or the U.S. – born child of immigrants.22
Nationwide 82 % of current ELL students in grades K–5 are native-born, and 55 % of ELLs in grades 6–12 were born in the United States.23
Researchers have identified secondary ELL students who have attended school in the United States for 6 years or more,24 but who continue to require language support services in school as long-term English language learners, LTELs, or LTELLs.25 Many of these students have developed high levels of oral proficiency, but lack academic language and literacy skills needed to master subject matter. They often remain “stuck” at the intermediate level of proficiency and face disproportionately high dropout rates.26 LTELs comprise approximately one third of all secondary ELLs in both New York City public schools and Chicago Public Schools. In Colorado, 23 % of secondary ELLs are LTELs, and 59 % in 40 school districts in California are considered LTELs.27 However, despite the large number of these students in many schools and districts across the country, LTELs often represent an “invisible population” because of a lack of research on their particular experiences and a lack of programs in schools designed to meet their specific needs.28
California researchers, educators, and legislators have been in the forefront of calling attention to the needs of LTELs, particularly the organization Californians Together, led by Dr. Laurie Olsen (http://www.californianstogether.org). According to Californians Together, three out of four (74 %) English learner students in grades 6–12 have been in California schools for 7 years or more and have still not attained proficiency in English. Of this group, 19 % of secondary ELLs meet the state's multiple criteria that designate them as Long-term English Learners (7 years or more in California schools, scoring Far Below Basic or Below Basic on the state academic exams in English Language Arts and failing to progress on the state's English language proficiency exam).29
In 2010, Californians Together published Reparable Harm: Fulfilling the Unkept Promise of Educational Opportunity for California's Long Term English Learners, which contains a wealth of research, recommendations, and resources on LTELs.30
As a result of new legislation passed in 2012,31 California is making an effort to identify students who are currently long-term ELs and those who are “at risk” of becoming LTELs in order to provide them with the educational support they need. The law also requires that the Department of Education provides school and district level data annually on those students who are, or are at risk of becoming long-term ELLs.32
ELL Research Basics
Just as the number of ELLs has continued to grow, so does the research base on how ELLs acquire language and how this affects instructional practices and policy. While we will cite current ELL research throughout this book, in this section, we will first highlight a few foundational concepts of language development research.
BICS and CALP
Jim Cummins, a professor at the University of Toronto, first introduced the distinction between BICS (basic interpersonal communicative skills) and CALP (cognitive academic language proficiency). His research has had a major impact on policy and practices in second language education.33 Table 1.1 summarizes Cummins's distinctions.
Table 1.1 BICS and CALP
In more recent research, CALP has been expanded to include three dimensions of academic English: Linguistic (knowledge of word forms, functions, grammatical elements, and discourse patterns used in academic settings), Cognitive (higher-order thinking involved in academic settings), and Sociocultural-psychological (knowledge of social practices involved in academic settings).34
Instruction
U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, & National Center for Education Statistics. (n.d.).
U.S. Department of Education. (n.d.).
Baird, A. S. (2015, May 11).
National Council of Teachers of English. (2008).
California Department of Education. (n.d.).
Tesol Direct. (n.d.).
Short, D.J., & Boyson, B.A. (2012). Helping newcomer students succeed in secondary school and beyond. Washington, DC: Center for Applied Linguistics.
National Education Association. (n.d.).
Tamer, M. (2014, December 11).
Hill, L. (2012, September).
Long-term English learner. (n.d.).
Menken, K., Kleyn, T., & Chae, N. (2012). Spotlight on “long-term English Language Learners”: Characteristics and prior schooling experiences of an invisible population.
Olsen, L. (2010).
Menken, K., Kleyn, T., & Chae, N. (2012). Spotlight on “long-term English Language Learners”: Characteristics and prior schooling experiences of an invisible population.
Olsen, L. (2010).
Olsen, L. (2010).
Cummins, J. (1999).
