English Language Learning

This article presents outdoor inquiry activities to help English language learner (ELL) students learn life science concepts. Written by a high school science teacher, the author describes how to use place-based and scaffolded inquiry activities to reinforce concepts taught in the classroom.

"Many educators feel ill-prepared to meet the academic needs of students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Although much remains unknown, current research provides us with crucial strategies to help English Language Learner (ELL) students in the science classroom." William Medina-Jerez and colleagues examine possible issues in diverse classrooms and offer some ideas to provoke curiosity and confidence in ELL students in this article from The Science Teacher.

This report from the Pew Hispanic Center analyzes data from the 2005 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and looks at educational progress made by English language learners. According to the report, the results of national testing conducted in 2005 show that nearly half (46%) of 4th grade students in the English language learner (ELL) category scored "below basic" in mathematics in 2005--the lowest level possible. Nearly three quarters (73%) scored below basic in reading.

Has the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation improved education for ELLs as schools have become accountable for these students' performance?

A policy brief from the Urban Institute addresses this question. The findings reveal that while implementation of NCLB in high-LEP schools has resulted in some problems for ELL students' education, the net effect has been positive. It has increased attention paid to ELL students. It has increased the alignment of curriculum, instruction, professional development, and testing. It has raised the bar for ELL student achievement. By documenting the benefits of spillover effects on pre-K education, the brief also looks ahead to reauthorization of NCLB and the implications of expanding the law to include this educational level.