English Language Learners

1
English Language Learners

• What you need to know before you test.

2
Myths 2nd Language Acquisition

• Bilingual education delays, if not prevents, LEP
  students form learning English.
• LEP students have more oral-language special
  education deficits.
• All bilingual education programs are the same
  therefore if they are in bilingual ed they cannot
  be described as having lack of educational
  opportunity.
• You only have to test a child in their native
  language if when they cant talk to you in
  English or if they are in bilingual ed/ESOL.

3
Some Stats

• 16 of LEP students scored above the state norm
  on English reading measures
• 30 of LEP students scores above the state norm
  when tested in reading in their own language
• 8.7 of LEP students in grades 7 to 12 had been
  retained.

• Dropout rates
• 24.2 non-English spoken at home
• 9.6 English spoken at home
• 17.6 Students with SLD

4
What are we asking?

• To what degree is the second-language learner's
  academic difficulty or failure due to an inherent
  disability versus pedagogically induced factors?

5
LEP Instructional Programs

• ESL/ ESOL (no native language instruction
• Content-Based ESL/ Sheltered English
• Pullout ESL
• Bilingual Education (some native language
  instruction)
• Transitional/ Early-Exit Bilingual Education
• Maintenance/ Late-Exit/ Developmental Bilingual
  Education
• Two-Way/ Dual-Language Bilingual Education

6
ESL/ESOLContent-Based ESL

• AKA Sheltered English
• Instruction is in English only.
• Class is made up of all different language
  groups.
• Total Physical Response is main method of
  teaching.
• Student spends from 50-100 of the day in this
  type of classroom.

7
ESL/ESOLPullout ESL

• Similar to Content-Based ESL
• Differences from Content-Based ESL
• Focus is not on teaching academic materials in
  English, but to just teach English.
• Students leave their classroom and receive
  separate instruction elsewhere.
• Usually less than 50 of the day is spent in the
  pullout classroom.

8
Bilingual EducationTransitional/ Early-Exit

• Primarily comprised of students from the same
  language group.
• Usually last for 2-4 years.
• Initially use L1 as foundation and transition to
  L2
• Use both L1 and L2 from the very beginning.
• L1 is used mostly for language arts.
• Teach L2 at the expense of L1.

9
Bilingual EducationMaintenance/ Late-Exit

• Primarily comprised of students from the same
  language group.
• Usually last for 4-6 years.
• Use L1 for longer time and for more than just
  language arts.
• L1 is taught as well as L2, thus L2 is not lost.

10
Bilingual EducationTwo-Way/ Dual Language

• English as L1 or another language as L1 are
  placed together (goal 50/50).
• The goal is for both English as L1 and other
  language as L1 will be bilingual in both
  languages.
• Program provided for at least 4-6 years (usually
  starts at Kindergarten).
• Instruction is taught (goal is usually 50/50) in
  both L1 and L2.

11
Research for Bilingual Education

• Small scale (low number of subjects) research
  tends to have different findings (pro and con)
  for success of bilingual education.
• The only large scale study that did not find
  positive results for bilingual education (over
  ESOL) had serious methodological problems.
• One thing to note, even amongst the larger scale
  studies, Thomas and Collier (1997) was the first
  to measure students longitudinal success.

12
Group Project Discuss Findings on Page 67

• Discuss the findings from this study with one
  another (note One-way program is a maintenance
  program).
• A principal at a school where you work is asking
  about bilingual education. He heard that sink
  or swim was best. Practice exactly how you
  might tell him about the findings in this (and
  other) studies without offending him. He is a
  busy man and only has a minute for you to talk to
  him in the hall.
• Present this to the class.

13
Group Project Exclusionary Clause

• A child has been referred for a special education
  evaluation who speaks Korean as his native
  language.
• He started this school in 2nd grade and is now in
  5th grade. He has received only ESL Pull-Out
  instruction.
• Discuss the issue of lack of educational
  opportunity in talking about exclusionary
  clauses prior to eligibility determination for
  SLD.

14
Language Acquisition in Terms of Years

• It takes 12 years for students to acquire L1.
• Birth to Age 5 Develop BICS
• Age 5 to Age 12 Develop CALP
• It takes 4-7 years for a English-only child to
  get CALP in L2

• ELL in bilingual education program
• It takes 2-3 years to develop BICS in L2
• It takes 5-7 years to develop CALP in L2
• ELL in traditional program
• May obtain CALP in L2 in 7-10, but many never do.

15
Group Project

• A child has been referred for behavioral problems
  in class (mostly inattention and not connecting
  to her classmates).
• Examine the chart on page 71 and talk about
  behavior in terms of language acquisition.
• What are some assessments or questions you might
  ask to differentiate between language acquisition
  and a psychological problem?

16
An ELL need to obtain CALP in L1 in order to get
CALP in L2
An ELL need to obtain CALP in L1 in order to get
CALP in L2
An ELL need to obtain CALP in L1 in order to get
CALP in L2
An ELL need to obtain CALP in L1 in order to get
CALP in L2
17
Quote Cummins (1984)

• Minority language students are frequently
  transferred from bilingual to English-only
  classrooms when they have developed superficially
  fluent English communicative skills.

18
Myths Revisited 2nd Language Acquisition

• Bilingual education delays, if not prevents, LEP
  students form learning English.
• LEP students have more oral-language special
  education deficits.
• All bilingual education programs are the same
  therefore if they are in bilingual ed they cannot
  be described as having lack of educational
  opportunity.
• You only have to test a child in their native
  language if/ when they cant talk to you in
  English or if they are in bilingual ed/ ESOL.

19
Prereferral Considerations for Culturally and
Linguistically Diverse Students

• Chapter 5

20
Prereferral Teams

• Composition
• At least one member who is knowledgeable about
  culture and language in educational instruction.
• Perceptions of the team
• Some teams are designed to provide interventions
  and suggestions with a final possibility of SPED
  services
• Other teams are designed to be an unwelcome
  barrier necessary to overcome to get a child into
  SPED.

21
Special ed. was not devised to solve general
ed.s problems.

• Special education is for children with GENUINE
  disabilities.
• Special education is not a way to keep general
  educators from having to learn instructional
  strategies for
• Slow-learners
• Second language learners
• Socially maladjusted learners
• Prereferral teams should be a technique to help
  general education teachers learn these
  instructional strategies.

22
Why shouldnt SPED be the answer to all problems?

• Hispanics in special education did not make the
  academic strides that those in bilingual
  education can.
• Slow-learners placed in special education
  graduate at lower rates than those in general
  education (Kaznowski, 2003).
• Children with mild disabilities do not perform as
  well when placed in pull-out programs than when
  they are able to remain in the general education
  classroom (School Psych Handbook)

23
Critical Factors in ELL Learning Environments

• Instruction in L1.
• Content-based instruction in L2 is provided.
• Students are active learners.
• Students language and culture are valued.
• Interaction between ELL and English-only students
  occurs.
• Bilingual education is an integral part of the
  school (and not just a tacked-on program).

24
Prereferral Team Impact

• 90-92 of cases brought to the referral team were
  eventually referred for an evaluation
• 70-74 of those evaluated were found eligible for
  SPED.
• 85 of referred Hispanic students were found
  eligible for SPED.

25
Top 10 Reasons ELL students referred for SPED

• Poor achievement
• Behavioral problems
• Oral language delays
• Reading problems
• Learning difficulties

• Socio-emotional problems
• Dx for particular disability condition
• Written language
• Poor attention span
• Unable to follow or understand directions

26
Group Assignment

• Look at the top 10 list again.
• Discuss each of the ten reasons and describe how
  language acquisition may be a factor in each of
  these
• Describe how you might assess or question to rule
  language acquisition out as the main problem (use
  the questions on form 5.1 as a guide).
• Each group will present two of these from the
  list to the class.

27
So, when do you refer?

• First, make sure that you have comprehensive
  (more than one source) information on the student
  and the students problems.
• Second, make sure that prereferral interventions
  are appropriate for this childs cultural and
  linguistic needs.
• Third, if you still question is this 2nd
  language acquisition or is this a disability?
  then a referral is probably appropriate.

28
Group Project

• A Prereferral Team is meeting on a ten-year-old
  child who moved from Brazil when she was 7 years
  old. She has been in the same school the whole
  time.
• What are some specific questions you would want
  to ask about this child prior to requesting an
  assessment?
• What are some resources you might use to find out
  more about her culture and language? List at
  least three different resources.