Alexis Hopkins

ELL’s in the News

Citation:
Mitchell, C. (2019, October 23). 'English-Only' Laws in Education on Verge of
Extinction. Education Week. Retrieved from
https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2019/10/23/english-only-laws-in-education-on-
verge-of.html

Summary:
Arizona is on the verge of repealing the anti-bilingual law which is the last out of the last
three states that include California and Massachusetts, all of which hold 40% of nation's ELL's.
Arizona had one of the lowest graduation rates among ELL's. Teachers are unable to translate
English words into the student’s native language due to the law restrictions and the “English-
Only” Law that is being pushed on them. Arizona teachers were already struggling this year
when the bilingual education ban cut their ELL students being only able to spend two hours in an
English Immersion program instead of four that they were allotted before as they claim it keeps
students from English-speaking peers and coursework. The Arizona Superintendent of Public
Instruction, Kathy Hoffman, intends to push for the repeal of the state’s “English for Children”
law. This will take place in the 2020 legislative session and she has support from both
Republican and Democratic legislators.

Connection to ELL’s:
This connects to ELL’s because in the state of Arizona, they were expected to learn
English but not able to make the connection in their own native language. Students who were
ELL were falling behind and unable to succeed in school with graduation rates of 40%, which is
25% lower than the national average. The students need the extra support of using their native
language as well as having time outside of the classroom to break the barrier between the two
languages. Our ELL students deserve equal opportunity of learning.

Reflection Question:
If you were a teacher in Arizona, facing the challenge of not being able to help your ELL
student because of all of the law restrictions, what would you try to do in your classroom that
could support them and encourage them while learning English?