When I was about 9-years-old, my father gave me a copy of the book The Little Mermaid. No, it wasn't a cartoonish Disney version with lots of colorful pictures and big words. It was an encyclopedia-looking book with beautiful gold trimming, absolutely no pictures, and very small print. The book was from the 1837 Danish fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. As most know, the premise of the story is a that a young mermaid trades her melodic voice for a chance to walk on land in order to meet her beloved. She sacrifices her safety, her family, and the world she knows to find her happiness. This is what I imagine many of our English language learners feel like when they enter our classrooms. I know this because I too was an English language learner.
All my young life, I spoke Spanish at home. My father wanted to make sure his children never forgot their native language so he told us we could only speak Spanish while at home. As he believed, we were surrounded by English and would eventually learn the language. It would be harder for us to remember our mother language if we didn't practice it every day. Eventually, my siblings and I because bilingual and biliterate. Our language dexterity has opened many doors in our respective careers.
Who are our English Language Learners?
So this brings me to our current English language learners, especially our immigrants. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in 2015 there were nearly 5 million English language learners in U.S. public schools. In California, there were more than 1.3 million ELL students; that's almost 21% of the state's total public school enrollment. Many, like Ariel from The Little Mermaid, left the safety and familiarity of their homeland to fulfill their family's American dream. They sit, often quietly, trying to figure out what the class is learning. Well-intention teachers, in an attempt to not embarrass second-language learners, avoid calling on them. In some cases, they are placed in English Language Development(ELD) classes with other ELL students in hopes of filling the English learning gap. Sadly, many of these students quickly get the message that they have a deficit, that they are not as intelligent as their peers, and that they cannot fully participate in the school's culture. In an article titled "English Language Learners: How your state is doing?" it states, "most ELLs are struggling because they have little or no access to quality instruction tailored to their needs. Although 90% of these kids are enrolled in designated ELL programs, at least one recent study argues that the quality of these programs is suspect." I remember walking into an ELD class at the high school I was observing and witnessing 15 and 16-year-olds coloring Thanksgiving pictures. The teacher proudly explained that she was teaching them about American traditions. The reality is that ELL's lag far behind their English only speaking peers when in comes to graduation rates and college attendance. In fact, "Only 63% of ELL's graduate from high school, compared with the overall national rate of 82%." Thus, ELL's should not be coloring pages to teach them English, especially not at the upper grades.
So, what can teachers do to support ELLs?
1.) Honor their native language- As Dr. Kate Kinsella, often known as the guru of ELL instruction, states, teachers should never imply that a student's home language is not appropriate. Instead, teachers should teach register, and explain how different settings require different types of diction and syntax. Moreover, teachers should leverage student's linguistic repertoire by encouraging them to use translanguaging techniques. Basically, the theory argues that English learners can use their native cognitive and language toolbox to make sense of the content they are learning. As Dr. Kinsella puts it, the goal is to make them bilingual and biliterate, not to make them monolingual.
2.) Create a talk time routine-As students return from a year and a half of distance learning, many have stayed on "mute" with "cameras off". They now have an extra layer of invisibility-their masks. Many kids, especially our ELL's, find comfort in staying anonymous and unseen. Heavy accents, lack of knowledge of everyday English language, and the complexity of English grammar rules makes it challenging for our ELL's to fully participate in classroom discussions. It is easy to avoid calling on these students for fear that they might get made fun of. But this well-intentioned practice is doing more harm than good. A strong classroom educator will create safe and courageous speaking routines that constantly invite students to share their ideas. After spending many years in the classroom, I have created daily speaking opportunities. I have classroom leaders or call on non-volunteers to read and explain our day's objectives. I have a daily discussion question as a warm up. Simple questions such as: Would you rather fly or go back in time? or What do you prefer sugary snacks or spicy snacks? Pre-assigned partners must speak to each other in 2-minute time allotments. I provide academic sentence frames and word banks. I then call on non-volunteers again to share out what their partner said. We applaud each speaker. At first there is resistance from some of my ELL's or my shy students, but I share my experience of not knowing English and dealing with anxiety. I tell them that a teacher helped me overcome my fears and now no one can shut me up...they laugh at this.
3.) Change the school culture- Many schools continue to use the language deficit model when discussing English Language Learners. Often in school leadership meetings, ELL's will be grouped with students with special needs. Teachers will bemoan how many ELL's and SpEd students they have, and will begrudge PD and meetings on how best to meet these students' needs. I have been in a school setting long enough to know how painful it is to hear these conversations from educators who want the best for their students. What I really hear is frustration and lack of understanding of our ELL population. In order to see improved student outcomes, educators need a paradigm shift when it comes to multilingual students. Our ELL's should be language ambassadors who serve as campus tour guides for visiting guests. In my ELA class, we would practice saying good morning in various languages and I would encourage students to use their native languages when reading and writing. One day, one student volunteered to teach us about Larry Itliong, the United Farm Worker leader who inspired Cesar Chavez to start the grape strike, and she taught us some sayings in Tagalog. In November, I helped organize a Day of the Dead Open House event. All of our students in our ELD courses and Spanish courses presented their projects and spoke to parents in both English and their native languages.
With almost 5 million English language learners in U.S. schools, can we really afford to not reach these students? English learners are one of the fastest growing groups in our school settings, and it will take all stakeholders to participate in their education. In this manner, our students will not feel like they had to trade in their voices to win a piece of the American dream.
Bialik, K., Scheller, A., & Walker, K. (2020, May 30). 6 facts about English language learners in U.S. public schools. Pew Research Center. Retrieved November 23, 2021
Freeman, D. Y. and D. (2021, August 11). What is translanguaging in the classroom? What is Translanguaging in the Classroom? | Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Retrieved November 23, 2021
Mitchell, C. (2021, November 10). The nation's English-learner population has surged: 3 things to know. Education Week. Retrieved November 23, 2021
Sanchez, C. (2017, February 23). English language learners: How your state is doing. NPR. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
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