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Introduction

English Language Learners face various boundaries and challenges while immersed in

American Public School System that are English dominated. “With an increase in English

language learners (ELLs) and the rigorous requirements imposed by the CCSS, teachers are left

unprepared and ELLs struggle to stay afloat” (Johnson 1). Teachers cannot effectively teach ELL

students without the appropriate supports, accommodations and understanding necessary. This

leads us to our overarching question: What is the nature of English Language Learners in the

school experience?

Background/Context

Many concerns arise when observing the implications and consequences of English

Language Learners in English dominated classrooms. Some of those concerns include

educational mishaps, language barriers, and social trepidations. According to the US Census

Bureau, “nearly one in five children come from a home where English is not the native language

and more than one in four children are Hispanic where Spanish is the primary language spoken”

(Miller et al 209). English Language Learners (ELLs) are an increasing population in the United

States according to Miller and company; thus exemplifying the significance of “finding

culturally responsive practices that are engaging for students” (Miller et al 209). Miller provokes

the school requirement of culturally responsive classrooms. Despite the increase in cultural and

linguistic diversity in schools, achievement gaps are still a challenge. Figure 1 and 2 directly

examine the achievement gap seen between ELL and non-ELL students. As you can see in the

graphs, ELL scores had improved around 2000, but since then, for 17 years, there has not been

much progress made in reading scores (NAEP). This tells educators and schools that a change is
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necessary. In addition, ELL scores are all below basic comprehension. In contrast, all non-ELL

students are above the basic comprehension level.

Miller examines that “language barrier[s] can contribute to low achievement and high

dropout rates” (Miller et al 209). This language barrier creates a difficult challenge for ELL’s

which unfortunately results in low academic achievement in addition to high rates of students

dropping out of school. These high dropout rates affect graduation rates of ELL’s as well.

Johnson claims that ELL students in California have lower graduation rates in addition to not

excelling in the educational system (7). “Gaps between ELLs and their English-speaking peers in

graduation rates and Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results indicate

that ELL students are struggling to keep up with their peers (California Department of

Education, n.d.; Gwynne, Lesnick, Hart, & Allensworth, 2009)” (Johnson 2). Not only is there an

issue educating ELL’s, there is an issue in keeping them in schools. Their scores are reflecting

the quality of their education, and these gaps will continue to exist unless something is changed

in the education system.

In addition to the struggles the students are facing, teachers are also feeling inadequately

prepared to meet the learning demands of their ELL students, especially in literacy (Johnson 2).

Demands for language and literacy within curriculum has increased by the CCSS (Common Core

State Standards) further pressuring groups that struggle in those areas. With this increased

mandate, “the Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) International

Association advocates that teachers of ELL students will need both pre-service and in-service

support to ensure ELL students achieve similar academic success with the CCSS as their peers”

(Johnson 2). They request this in an attempt to diminish the existing gap and avoid further

widening of the gap. “The challenge, then, is to ensure that schools and teachers are prepared to
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support the learning and literacy development of ELLs, so that ELLs will achieve the same

academic success as their peers” (Johnson 2-3). Adequately educating all students is the goal, yet

as Figure 1 and 2 depict, the gap still exists and doesn’t appear to be closing fast.

Research Findings

The achievement gap needs to be addressed in an attempt to decrease it and its’ negative

impacts.

More and more attention is being brought to the achievement gap from policy makers,

parents and community members, school districts, and more since the start of No Child Left

Behind of 2001 (Polat 541). “Despite the fact that the U.S. Census Bureau has recently projected

that the number of ELLs is still increasing and that they will constitute 40% of the K-12

population by 2030, research on the educational performance of this disenfranchised population

is still meager at best (Polat 541). This establishes that the ELL population is growing, yet the

research and attempts to improve school curriculum for this growing body of students is lacking.

Dawn Lueck, principal of Washington-Kosciusko Elementary in Winona, MN, believes that “we

need to have strong programs for our EL learners. I believe they are able to learn at high levels. I

have seen strong co-teaching models, push in, and pull out models, but it should be a

combination, rather than strictly pull out instruction.” (Lueck). There are many ways to go about

addressing the achievement gap. Something that needs to be avoided, as Professor Ditlev Larsen,

the director of the TESOL program at WSU and now a teacher of teachers, examined is

wrongfully placing ELL students in lower level classrooms just because of the language barrier.

“Sometimes K12 students get categorized into lower level classes because of their language
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skills, not because of their content skills which is a major problem. It is important to recognize

their language skills don’t reflect their content skills” (Larsen). It is essential to not judge a

student’s ability based on their abilities in writing, reading, and speaking in English. An ability

of speaking English does not mean one is intelligent, much like an inability to speak English

isn’t a determinant of if one is unintelligent. Rather than separating ELL students, Kim Meyer, a

parent of two students currently in the public school system, claimed that the teacher should be

“cognizant that all of the students in the classroom are able to remain on task and maintain a

learning environment so the teacher can work on clarifying instruction with the ELL students”

(Meyer). In other words, if the teacher has effective classroom management skills, they can have

more time to perform effective teaching practices with students struggling with understanding

instruction which could include the English Language Learner’s in the classroom. Joe Melde,

who has been an elementary school teacher for the last 21 years, also examined the issue of the

achievement gap and examined that “the most important thing about ELL students is that we

believe that they all can learn and realize how smart they really are” (Melde). By giving the

student their confidence, the teacher can inspire the student to succeed despite what challenges

they may face, including language barriers. Inspiring and believing in students can ensure their

belief and confidence in themselves which hopefully will help bridge the achievement gap. This

motivation can also encourage students to finish schooling through graduation.

An effort to keep English Language Learners in school through graduation should be a

priority despite the language gap.

It is one thing to motivate a student to learn when odds seem to be against them, it is

another thing to get them to continue to intrinsically motivate themselves. “Only 63 percent of

ELLs graduate from high school, compared with the overall national rate of 82 percent”
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(Sanchez). How are these students to be motivated/feel they are able to graduate despite the

language barrier they face? Kim Meyer examined a program that exists in her children’s school

district: “In our school district there is a program for English Language Learners entering

Kindergarten where the parents attend school with them, to help the parents learn English. I think

this would really help with Parent-Teacher communication and allow the students to feel

comfortable in a school environment. I think this would help the parents feel comfortable with

the school and enhance a positive relationship with families of an English Language Learner.”

(Meyer). This program would assist in the parent’s ability in communicating with the teacher as

well as their student. This support will help motivate the student to diminish the language barrier.

Additionally, it would hopefully assist the parent in understanding homework sent home with the

student. Not knowing/understanding English makes it incredibly challenging for a parent to help

their student thus decreasing the amount of resources the student has. Encouraging ELL students

to stay in school through graduation not only benefits them, but also the monolingual students in

their classes. Kim Flanagan, a parent of a student currently in public school in addition to

working with a child care facility for the past 15 years, examines that having ELL students in the

classroom bring diversity and will assist in the growth of other students (Flanagan). She also

discussed that students may be more apt to stay in school if the education seems suited to them.

Flanagan suggests we find the best way ELL students learn, she suggested using visual cues and

sight words, can further encourage a continuation of a student’s education (Flanagan). Kim

Meyer discussed the positive impacts that ELL students can have on other students: “I feel that it

is a strength to have a variety of students from different cultures and backgrounds to bring forth a

personal connection to a variety of cultures. It makes the students feel a stronger commitment to

learning the details and traditions of a variety of cultures.” (Meyer). Dawn Lueck also examined
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her appreciation of having ELL students in schools: “It is so awesome to have EL students in our

school. It provides awareness, appreciation, and education for all in the school.” (Lueck). Clearly

there is a desire to have diversity in the classroom and there are many benefits to ELL and non-

ELL students to coexist in a classroom. Ditlev Larsen examined that ELL students should be part

of the general education classroom as much as possible. He claimed that “sometimes people look

at things as a language issue, but often it is a need for cultural adjustment” (Larsen). An

adjustment in education is essential in order to provide an adequate learning environment for

English Language Learners. Dawn Lueck explains that among the diversity seen in the

classroom, it is paramount that a quality EL education and family outreach program be

implemented as well. Without this, we will continue to see the achievement gap, decreased

graduation rates among ELLs, and inequality within the education system.

Teachers need to be adequately prepared to effectively educate all students in their

classroom including ELLs.

Talk about achieving ELL success in the classroom is meaningless without elaborating on

a teachers need to be prepared and willing to accept the challenge of teaching all learners in their

classroom. If the teacher is not prepared educationally to effectively teach the students in their

classroom then they are being set up for failure. It is becoming increasingly beneficial for

educators to be bilingual in order to adapt to the needs of the ELL population. ELL students are

expected to come to school and perform in English. As Melde examines, “they come to school

and do the work in English and then go home and sometimes communicate in a completely

different language. It is humbling to think about the difficulties they must have in school, at

home, and in the outside world” (Melde). According to Sanchez, the vast majority of ELL’s are

Spanish speaking (approximately 3.8 million of 5 million ELL’s). The value of a teacher being
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able to speak not only English, but also Spanish can help bridge the achievement gap among

ELL’s. It can make for an easier transition for the students between school and home and can

help the teacher, student, and parents communicate. However, not all teachers can speak Spanish.

There are other ways that teachers can effectively learn to teach ELL’s in their classroom

without learning the student’s language. Larsen claims that the teacher should be prepared for the

cultural differences and diversities ELL’s will bring into the classroom. “[ELL’s] can turn their

knowledge of two languages and consequently two cultures into an advantage in a learning

situation. They often have broader experience than a lot of domestic and monolingual students.

Using that to their advantage. Depending on the numbers of ELL students, they can have an

impact on the monolingual students” (Ditlev). Understanding a student’s Funds of Knowledge

can additionally assist a teacher in their ability to educate their students and it would furthermore

assist them in understanding the background of an ELL. It is also important to recognize that

there are more ways to learn and communicate than just verbal communication. Meyer and

Flanagan both examined how using gestures, speaking slower, making visuals and other things

can assist in communicating with someone who doesn’t speak the same language as you

including students. Through communicating with families, students, interpreters, EL teachers and

more, there are ways for teachers to connect with the parents of ELL students in addition to the

student themselves (Lueck). “Classroom teachers and administrators should work closely with

the EL teachers, interpreters, and families to help provide the education and differentiation that

the EL students need in order to be successful” (Lueck). The language barrier does not need to

emphasize or widen the achievement gap if we make strides to bridge it.

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Implications

Through the conversations I participated in during the creation of this research paper, I

have learned an incredible amount about how ELL’s are perceived through a variety of lenses.

While attending the School Board Meeting, I was enlightened to many ideas. They were

discussing the potential (at the time) closings of some schools in the Winona area. Additionally,

they were continuing conversation on cutting down on the music programs in the area. Although

the cuts wouldn’t diminish music completely, it worries me to think that cuts in the music

department will continue to occur. Music is an effective outlet for all students but is also a

learning environment helpful to ELLs because it can break the language barrier. Music class can

help ELLs with language learning. In addition to these concerns, I also worry about what the

implications of school closures will be on ELLs in addition to all the other students. I suspect

that the cutbacks in schools will thus cause a cut in amount of teachers which will increase class

sizes for all students. This affects all student’s quality of education but especially ELLs. This

diminishes chances for the teacher to have time to help the ELL student one on one when it

comes to the gaps they face in the classroom including the language barrier. It will additionally

impact the rest of the students’ time with the teacher as well, and will make for a less spacious

learning environment which can impact the student’s attention span and ability to learn.

Discussing ELLs with parents of students that are currently in public schools was

incredibly interesting because it is easy to interpret a lack of understanding from their

perspective. A lot of their experience came from non-education perspectives or assumptions

made based on what they knew about people whose first language is not English. They translated

that knowledge to assumptions of ELL students. Despite this, they had insightful ideas despite

their lack of experience. This tells me that as teachers we should be even more educated on the
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topic and have the education to back out understanding. This is how we will be able to become

the most effective teacher for all the abilities in our classroom.

Talking with teachers and principals of schools was interesting because it is easy to put

myself in their shoes considering I will soon be in a school dealing with a classroom full of

diverse learners, more than likely including ELL students considering they are prospected to

make up 40% of our population in the near future (Polat). It was informative having

conversations with them on the matter and for some of my interviewees, I feel it was a topic they

hadn’t discussed in a while. I hope talking about it with me brought it back to their attention and

maybe brought the issue to the forefront again. This could have caused them to improve/break

out of their current habits with ELL students.

Overall as an educator, these research findings push me to help bridge the achievement

gap. It made me reflect on the fact that I wished I would have minored in Spanish, or at least had

a better understanding of the language. Although it is too late at this point for that, I can still

learn Spanish through other forms that a college level course. I feel the understanding of Spanish

would greatly help bridge the language barrier; it would help me communicate with not only my

Spanish-speaking students but also their parents. Engaging the family in the classroom and their

student’s education will hopefully increase the amount of ELL students that make it to high

school graduation. English Language Learners clearly can make a large impact in a classroom

and they add to diverse learning for all students. I hope to engage all students in my future

classroom and provide them all with the means they need to get the most out of their education.
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Appendix

Figure 1

Figure 2
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Works Cited
Johnson, T. T., & Wells, L. l. (2017). English Language Learner Teacher Effectiveness and the
Common Core. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 25(23/24), 1-21.
Miller, R. D., Moore Mackiewicz, S., & Correa, V. I. (2017). A Multi-Modal Intervention for
English Language Learners: Preliminary Results. Education & Treatment Of Children,
40(2), 209-232.
NAEP. NAEP Reading Report Card: National Student Group Scores and Score Gaps. Retrieved
from: https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/reading_2017/#/nation/gaps?grade=4
Sanchez, C. (2017). English Language Learners: How Your State is Doing. nprED. Retrieved
from: https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2017/02/23/512451228/5-million-english-
language-learners-a-vast-pool-of-talent-at-risk
Polat, N., Zarecky-Hodge, A., & Schreiber, J. B. (2016). Academic growth trajectories of ELLs
in NAEP data: The case of fourth- and eighth-grade ELLs and non-ELLs on mathematics
and reading tests. Journal Of Educational Research, 109(5), 541-553.
doi:10.1080/00220671.2014.993461