Giving Compass' Take:

• In order to address the influx of students that are English learners, the author suggests teachers understand key points about the English language abilities and their parents' educational background in order to help these students thrive.

• One of the questions the author suggests is asking about the educational levels of their parents. Why is this helpful information for educators? And why is it helpful to take the time to ask any of the six questions listed below? 

• Read the Migration Policy report on data about English learners. 

As the number of English language learners in the United States continues to rise, it is vital that teachers and schools become better equipped to implement effective and equitable systems to improve the lives and academic outcomes of these students.

These students account for 10 percent of our nation’s public-school enrollment. That number is projected to rise to 25 percent by 2025, and to 40 percent in the following decade. They face myriad obstacles in learning English and excelling academically.

On average, it takes four to seven years for these learners to acquire “academic English.” Statistics show they are the lowest academically performing group of students in K-12 schools and are four times more likely than native English speakers to drop out of high school.

We have also taken steps to bring digital programs into our classrooms that will help engage these learners and allow educators to have more one-on-one time with each child.  One program we have found that really engages our ELLs with learning their new language is Rosetta Stone.

By providing our teachers the strategies to keep these learners from falling behind, they can identify the challenges that limit language proficiency and foster a welcoming environment for language development. But before instruction even begins, teachers should first learn key information about their students, including:

  1.  What language is spoken at home?
  2. How much, if any, English do they know?
  3. Have they had any previous English language instruction? If so, how much?
  4. Do their parents/family speak English?
  5. What are their parents’ educational levels?
  6. At what age did the student arrive in the United States?

Read the full article about helping English language learners by Karen Henery at The Hechinger Report