English Language Learners: Definition, Challenges, and Strategies for Success

An English-language learner (ELL) is a term used in English-speaking countries such as the United States and Canada to describe a person who is learning the English language and whose native language is not English. Some educational advocates classify these students as non-native English speakers or emergent bilinguals. Various other terms are also used to refer to students who are not proficient in English, such as English as a second language (ESL), English as an additional language (EAL), limited English proficient (LEP), culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD), non-native English speaker, bilingual students, heritage language, emergent bilingual, and language-minority students. It is important to determine precisely how the term, or a related term, is being defined in a specific educational context.

Defining English Language Learners

Generally speaking, English-language learners do not have the English-language ability needed to participate fully in American society or achieve their full academic potential in schools and learning environments in which instruction is delivered largely or entirely in English. English-language learners may also be students who were formerly classified as limited English proficient but have since acquired English-language abilities that have allowed them to transition into regular academic courses taught in English. While assessment results may indicate that they have achieved a level of English literacy that allows them to participate and succeed in English-only learning environments, the students may still struggle with academic language.

The Growing ELL Population and Its Diversity

English-language learners are not only the fastest-growing segment of the school-age population in the United States, but they are also a tremendously diverse group representing numerous languages, cultures, ethnicities, nationalities, and socioeconomic backgrounds. While most English-language learners were born in the United States, their parents and grandparents are often immigrants who speak their native language at home. In addition, English-language learners may face a variety of challenges that could adversely affect their learning progress and academic achievement, such as poverty, familial transiency, or non-citizenship status, to name just a few. Some English-language learners are also recently arrived immigrants or refugees who may have experienced war, social turmoil, persecution, and significant periods of educational disruption.

Challenges Faced by ELLs

On average, English-language learners also tend, relative to their English-speaking peers, to underperform on standardized tests, drop out of school at significantly higher rates, and decline to pursue postsecondary education. Outside of the classroom, ELL students are otherwise institutionally marginalized, as well. Aside from linguistic gaps, the adjustment to American scholarly expectations, writing genres, and prompts can all be jarring and even contradictory to an ELL individual's academic experiences from their home country. An example of this is how American writing prompts tend to be multiple pages long, with extensive details and examples. Many collegiate ELLs can be overwhelmed and confused by all of the additional information, making it difficult to decipher all of the different parts that their writing needs to address. Another example is found in how students from other countries may be unfamiliar with sharing their opinions, or criticizing the government in any form, even if this is a requirement for an essay or a speech. According to a survey by Lin (2015), "Many [ELL students] indicated that they had problems adjusting their ways of writing in their first language to American thought patterns. ELLs may find themselves using their native language most of the time, rather than practicing their new language, and this may impede their progress. When using the acquired second language, many ELLs enter a stage called "the silent period." During this period the ELL is familiar with the language but does not use it. Once ELLs begins to use the second language they typically use brief phrases and short words. With time, they may begin to feel more comfortable with using the new language.

Historical Context and Legal Battles

Since 1872, an English-only instruction law had been in place in the United States. It was not until 1967 that the legislation was overturned by SB53, a policy signed for California public schools to allow other languages in instruction. A year later, after SB53 garnered support by the immigrant community, the Bilingual Education Act (Title VII) was passed. Not long after the installment of Title VII, the "taxpayers revolt" came to fruition and California's Proposition 13 was drafted. It proposed funding cuts for large portions of California's public schools, backed by those who disapproved of immigrant progress. In opposition to this, cases like Castaneda v Pickard fought for educational equality and standards focused on developing ELL students, as well as an overall sound plan for school districts. An additional setback occurred in California in 1998 when Proposition 227 passed, banning bilingual education yet again.

Program Models for ELL Instruction

There are a wide variety of different program models that may be used to structure the education of English-language learners (ELLs). These program models vary depending on the goals of the program and the resources available.

Fast-track to English programs encourage students to use English as quickly as possible and offer little to no native language support.
Transition-bilingual programs: instruction begins in the student's native language and then switches to English in elementary or middle school.
The push-in program includes the English teacher coming into the classroom to aid the English-language learner. The benefit of this method is that students remain integrated into the classroom with their native English-speaking peers. This method does not isolate or single out ELL students; however, this method can present challenges in co-teaching, as the educators must work together to collaborate in the classroom. In schools using a push-in style of teaching, educators disagree over whether ELL students should be encouraged or permitted to participate in additional foreign language classes, such as French. Some educators argue that learning another additional language while learning English might be too challenging for ELLs, or that ELLs should focus on their English proficiency before attempting further languages.
The pull-out program entails the ELL student learning in a separate classroom with the English teacher. The benefit of such a method is that ELL students receive individualized, focused training.

Dual Language Education

Dual-language education, formerly called bilingual education, refers to academic programs that are taught in two languages. One Way/ Two Way Dual Language programs offer ELL students the opportunity to become bilingual and bicultural while improving their academic ability. In the One Way Dual Language program model, students who come from the same primary or home language and/or background are provided instruction in both English and the home language simultaneously. Transitional Bilingual Education Program programs offer ELL students of the same primary or home language the opportunity to learn in English while continuing to learn content in their home language. Students' primary or home language is used to help them progress academically in all content areas while they acquire English.

English as a Second Language (ESL) and Sheltered Instruction

English as a second language refers to the teaching of English to students with different native or home languages using specially designed programs and techniques. English as a second language is an English-only instructional model, and most programs attempt to develop English skills and academic knowledge simultaneously. Sheltered instruction refers to programs in which English-language learners are âshelteredâ together to learn English and academic content simultaneously, either within a regular school or in a separate academy or building.

Scaffolding and Other Strategies for Effective Teaching

Scaffolding theory was introduced in 1976 by Jerome Bruner, David Wood, and Gail Ross. Bruner adapts Lev Vygotsky's zone of proximal development theory to child development. In the context of aiding ELL students, scaffolding is seen as a way to offer more support to ELL students initially through additional strategies and approaches, which are gradually removed as the student gains independence and proficiency. Different scaffolding strategies include associating English vocabulary to visuals, drawing back to a student's prior knowledge, pre-teaching difficult vocabulary before assigning readings they appear in, and encouraging questions from students, whether they be content-related or to ensure comprehension.

To maintain an environment that is beneficial for both the teacher and the student, culture, literature, and other disciplines should be integrated systematically into the instruction. Postponing content-area instruction until CLD students gain academic language skills bridges the linguistic achievement gap between the learners and their native-English speaking peers. Relating to culture, teachers need to integrate it into the lesson, for the students to feel a sense of appreciation and a feeling of self-worth rather than ostracization. When working with English-language learners, it is suggested that teachers try to understand the cultural background of their students in relation to education. What might be incorrect in English, might be correct in one's native language. If this is the case, then the student may transfer information from their first language to the second. Students will benefit substantially from the use of literature in instruction as well. "Reading texts that match learner interests and English proficiency provide learners with comprehensible language inputâa chance to learn new vocabulary in context and to see the syntax of the language." Motivation and enjoyment can be reached through the addition of literature and writing that is focused on culturally relevant topics that allow students to express where they come from and aspects of their culture. By integrating other disciplines into the lesson, it will make the content more significant to the learners and will create higher order thinking skills across the areas. Allowing students to translanguage, or alternate, between English and their native language is an essential strategy for English-language learners. When it comes to writing, constant and varied feedback should be provided. Incorporating technology supports the language development of ELLs in the classroom. The internet makes it possible for students to view videos of activities, events, and places around the world instantaneously. Viewing these activities can help English-language learners develop an understanding of new concepts while at the same time building topic related schema (background knowledge). Introducing students to media literacy and accessible materials can also aid them in their future academic endeavors and establish research skills early on. Experiential learning is another strategy to support ELL students. A strategy that requires more involvement from educators is supporting the students outside of the school setting.

Read also: Decoding Language Learning

Labor-Based Grading Contracts

In Asao Inoue's "Labor-Based Grading Contracts", he proposes an alternative to traditional content-based or quality-based methods of assessment in writing classrooms. Inoue outlines his own innovative classroom design, which assigns grades based on set standards for how much work is put into each assignment through quantitative methods such as word counts. High marks are earned by students who go above the baseline requirements, which earn students a "B" on the AâF grading scale. The intent behind Inoue's design is that students are rewarded for their efforts rather than deterred, and students who traditionally score poorly when graded on quality (such as ELL students) are equally capable of receiving a certain grade as any other student, despite any educational setbacks or challenges they endure. A unique aspect to the labor-based grading design is that students collaborate as a class to decide what the terms on conditions of grading scales are.

Assessment of ELLs

The Every Student Succeeds Act or ESSA passed in 2015 requires all ELLs attending public schools from grades Kâ12 to be assessed in multiple language domains, such as listening, reading, writing, and speaking. Current research in this area has found that assessments given to ELLs are culturally and linguistically inappropriate for reliable testing. Assessments do not take into account the students' linguistic repertoire and what they know in their first language; therefore, content-based assessment outcomes might be confounded by language barriers, since they are not only being exposed to new material, but they are learning this new material in a language that they may still be gaining proficiency in. Research based on student feedback indicates that students have a difficult time associating the content presented to them in assessments with their personal lives. This lack of variety in assessments may restrict teachers' ability to accurately determine the academic progress of a student and introduce biases that may result in lower test scores.

Attitudes of Educators

Attitudes of educators play a major role in the ESL classroom. Estimates suggest that approximately 45% of teachers in America have ELL students in their classrooms; however, it is not uncommon for teachers to have negative perceptions of the ELL students in their classrooms. A study to examine anti-racist pedagogy within predominantly white versus predominantly Mexican classrooms concluded that Mexican elementary-level students had a firmer grasp on cultural inequalities. According to the findings, the social and cultural maturity of the Mexican students is a direct result of having faced the inequalities themselves. Another study on Caucasian first-grade teachers and their ELL students indicated biases that ultimately affected students' desire to learn. A combination of misinformation, stereotypes, and individual reservations can alter teachers' perception when working with culturally diverse or non-native English speakers. Teachers are placed in the position to teach English-learning students, sometimes without the necessary training. An ESL teacher, in a study called "Losing Strangeness to Mediate ESL Teaching", "connects culture to religious celebrations and holidays and the fusion invites students to share their knowledge". This has encouraged students to open up and talk about their cultural backgrounds and traditions. "Teachers who encourage CLD students to maintain their cultural or ethnic ties promote their personal and academic success." Students should not feel that they need to lose their identity in the classroom, but rather that they gain knowledge from both their culture and the world around them. It have been proven to be beneficial to bring culture into the ESL classroom for the students to feel a sense of worth in school and in their lives. Another reason that an ESL student may be struggling to join discussions and engage in class could be attributed to whether they come from a culture where speaking up to an authority figure (like a teacher or a professor) is discouraged. This makes classes that are graded based on participation especially challenging for these students. Strategies that can mitigate this discomfort or misunderstanding of expectations include offering surveys or reflective writing prompts, that are collected after class, inquiring about student's educational and cultural backgrounds and past learning experiences.

Sociopolitical Issues and Ongoing Challenges

Given the culturally sensitive and often ideologically contentious nature of the peripheral issues raised by the participation of non-English-speaking students in the American public-education systemâincluding politicized debates related to citizenship status, English primacy, immigration reform, and employment and social-services eligibility for non-citizensâit is perhaps unsurprising that English-language learners, and the instructional methods used to educate them, can become a source of debate. The issues of citizenship status and fairness tend to be at the center of debates about English-language learners and the best ways to educate them. Critics often argue that the use of the non-English languages in public schools (outside of world-language courses) deemphasizes the role of English as a source of linguistic and cultural unification. While there is widespread agreement that English-language learners should become proficient in English, debates often center on issues related to cultural assimilation. Those who favor assimilation into American society tend to emphasize English-only policies and instruction, while those who favor acculturation tend to argue for the importance of maintaining bicultural identity and bilingual development.

While there have been several advancements in both the rights and the strategies and support offered in the United States and Canada for English-language learning students, there is still much work to be done. Despite International students (who often make up the bulk of ELL students in higher education, in addition to immigrants) being sought out as sources of profit and their boosts of collegiate diversity statistics, there are not always additional funding and resources curated to support these students at their respective institutions. president Donald J. Trump's proposed deportation of international students as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the ongoing debate whether to continue to support pathways to citizenship and achievement by the children of undocumented immigrants, such as DACA, there are still many hindrances to this group of students occurring today.

Read also: Unlock Your Potential with English

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