ELL CASE STUDY 1

ELL Case Study

Emma Clark
St. Edward’s University
ELL CASE STUDY 2

Introduction

From 1990-2008, the population of English Language Learner (ELL) students in public

schools across America more than doubled- growing from 2 million to 5 million students. With

each passing year, schools are seeing steady growth in this population with demographers

estimating that within the next ten years one in four students will be ELL (Goldenberg). This

ratio is already being met in certain areas of states like California, Texas, and New Mexico. As

the number of ELL students in the United States continues to grow, so does the need to deepen

our understanding of bilingual students and how to tend to their emotional, cognitive, and

academic development.

The journey of bilingual education and the need for change is not a new one. Although

there were bilingual schools dating back to the eighteenth and part of the nineteenth century, that

all ended in the 1880’s with the start of the Restrictive Period which lasted until around the

1960s. Within this period came a rise in English-only education, the Naturalization Act of 1906,

boarding schools for Native children where they were forbidden to speak their native language,

deportations of those who “looked Japanese”, anti-German rhetoric, and other toxically nativist

acts. Not until the 1960’s did the United States begin to see some change with legislation such as

the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Immigration Act of 1965, and the Bilingual Education Act of 1968.

With these pieces of legislation, attention was finally being given to bilingual students and their

rights to an education. It wasn’t until the Supreme Court Case Lau v. Nichols in 1974 where it

was found in a court of law that there is no equality of opportunity provided when instruction is

provided in a language which the students do not understand.

Even with Supreme Court backings and research that English-only education is not

effective or efficient, around 60% of ELL students today are educated in English-only
ELL CASE STUDY 3

environments. Along those same lines, there are many different models of bilingual education,

some of which are more effective than others and include teachers that are more qualified than

others, so even schools that do implement some form of bilingual education, the model/staff may

still not be providing the quality of education that students deserve. This continued disconnect

between the education system and ELL students’ needs is a national problem and can be seen

when looking at data compiled from across the board. For example, a 2011 report by the

National Center for Education Statistics stated that fewer than 10% of ELLs “comprehend what

they read at or above proficient levels” (O’Conner & Orosco, 2014). In other words, although

progress has been made in the bilingual education realm, there is still more work to be done both

in terms of research and implementation of that research.

The specific ELL student I worked with, whom we will call Marlen to protect her

identity, attended school in Austin, Texas. As of 2018, Austin Independent School District

(AISD) has nearly 22,000 ELL students which is about 27% of the overall student population.

The particular school she attends has a bilingual education program where, starting in the

younger grades, content is taught to them in English one day, Spanish the next, with language

support found in resources around the classroom as well as with teachers whom are all bilingual

themselves. However, as they continue through their time at the school, less and less content is

presented in Spanish with the fifth-grade classes being English-only. This leaves students who

joined the school late thus began their English learning experience late, are developing their

second language at a different rate than others or have different learning needs in a difficult

situation- a situation still working to be addressed and remaining unanswered at this point in

time.
ELL CASE STUDY 4

Interview

The child I interviewed was a ten-year-old fifth grader named Marlen (not her real name)

who is currently reading and comprehending English materials at a 2nd-3rd grade level. The

interview was split into two different sessions which both took place in a small classroom where

Marlen is pulled out multiple times a week to receive direct instruction specific for ELL students.

This is a room she is familiar with and the questions were from myself whom she is also familiar

with as I worked with her in a small group format three times a week for four months. The fact

that the space and interviewer were familiar to Marlen seemed to benefit the process as there

were less unknowns or anxiety-provoking factors than there might have been under different

circumstances. A classmate of mine whom also works with Marlen at times, Maddie Cloud, was

also in the small classroom and the door was open while the interview was conducted.

Before the interview, I set the intention to make these two sessions as “conversation-like”

as possible to allow for Marlen to feel comfortable and speak with me like she normally would

which is why there is more of a casual back-and-forth dialogue format than one might normally

find in an interview. This was partially to capture her speaking naturally and not trying to put on

a character or speak in a way she thought I would want her to as well as to ease her anxieties

since she struggles with confidence especially with her English. Although seemingly less formal,

studies have suggested that engaging in conversation with children in a way that makes it easy

and enjoyable for the child to engage with the language is one of the best supports adults can

give language learners (Freeman & Freeman, p. 9). As Marlen and I spoke, I actively tried to

prompt her to explain or expand on some of her answers as she initially was nervous about

having her audio-recorded. Although it was a slow start for both interviews, she eventually

warmed up, specifically in the second interview, which allowed me to see the full range of her
ELL CASE STUDY 5

English and the patterns, phrases, and quirks that are unique to her as both a person and an ELL

student.

Linguistic Features Analysis

Prism Model

The Prism Model, proposed in 1997, explains the multiple factors of ELL students

learning that need to be addressed and taken into consideration for true language learning and

development to take place. At the center of this model is the student’s social and cultural needs

which means teaching in a culturally responsive way that includes their backgrounds,

experiences, traditions, and family life. Surrounding that core are three prongs or “legs” that

focus on areas of development- academic, linguistic, and cognitive. In other words, the prongs

focus on the importance of students understanding necessary content and core ideas (academic),

developing academic vocabulary, understanding context/syntax/etc., and growing in language

orally and with written language (linguistic), and growing in their ability to interact with others

in a meaningful way, think critically about content and the world around them, and be challenged

in the way they think (cognitive). The model also points out that these needs to be addressed in

both their L1 and L2 at different variations of intensity and might differ from student to student

based on where they are in their development, what subject/content is being taught, and what that

particular student needs (Herrera and Murry, Ch.1).

With this model in mind, it can become easier to start narrowing down possibilities of

why a student might be struggling or behind their peers in terms of their language/academic

development. For Marlen, I feel a large factor that plays into her linguistic development “leg”

could be that she came to the school three years after her peers did meaning that her classmates
ELL CASE STUDY 6

began learning English before she did. This also means she wasn’t able to continue developing in

her native language before being pushed into primarily English-only classrooms (plus ESL pull-

out) which could be an impacting factor as well considering studies have suggested that “young

children may not reach full proficiency in their second language if cognitive development is

discontinued in their primary language” (Ovando, 15).

Because she was behind her peers in her English development, Marlen has received pull-

out instruction for two/three years and missed content in the classroom during that time.

Similarly, she’s been placed in the lower level groups when students break off into

homogeneously organized academic groups. When combined, this means she’s missing out on

certain instruction, receiving less challenging content/materials despite being incredibly bright,

and- because of how bright and aware she is- has taken in these messages as being labeled

“stupid”. The last piece involving her confidence exhibits itself has negative self-talk, not

attempting certain assignments which she assumes she is unable to do it and giving up during

tasks when they get challenging. Thinking back to the Prism Model, these behaviors and the

watered-down assignments could be impacting her cognitive development.

In the interview, Marlen mentions that she often cares for her two-year-old sister. When

asked if she liked being a big sister, she replied that, although sometimes it is difficult, she still

enjoys it because she can say, “Don’t do this because I’m your sister and I have to take care of

you” (Clark, 12). Similarly, she has also stated outside of the interview that she wished she had

weekends to herself but has to watch her baby sister because of her parents work schedules.

Within the same conversation, I asked if she has help at home in terms of homework and

assignments and she explained that, except for in math where it is just number equations, she is

on her own because her parents do not speak English. When looking at these facts about her
ELL CASE STUDY 7

home life as a whole, one notices that there is no older sibling or adult outside of school or in the

home that is consistently able to model English beyond common phrases (greetings, farewells,

counting to 50) and there is not much time for Marlen to leave the house and practice/be around

English after school hours. This lack of access to language and modeling outside of the school

could be another contributing factor to her linguistic development as research has shown that

“children who are successful in acquiring English interact directly and frequently with people

who know the language well” and thus were able to engage with it and be “provide[d] clues as to

how to combine and communicate ideas, information, and intentions” (Fillmore & Snow). This

could contribute to h These may be sociocultural factors that may contribute to her development

occurring at a slightly different pace than some of her peers.

Speech/Grammar Patterns

When looking at Marlen’s grammar patterns, I noticed that for a majority of the interview I

understood what she was saying despite the amount of errors present. Most of the “errors”

involved verbs and the way she applied them in different contexts. The first pattern was using the

word “do” as her go-to verb even in scenarios where it wouldn’t quite make sense for native

speakers. For example, when asked about family traditions, she mentioned she and her mom

would “do chicken with rice”, “do cupcakes”, and the whole family would come together and

“do games” (Clark, p.3-5). The next common theme- which plays more into specific aspects of

grammar and social implications- was conjugation errors like:

- “My mom teach me in my free time”

- “I wish I have a brother”
- “She, like, call me”
- “It’s like sweet but salt at the same time”
- “I also watch a movie, that it’s about a dog from Korea”
ELL CASE STUDY 8

Grammar Patterns in Context

Many of the patterns found in Marlen’s transcript are not necessarily even specific to her

but a reflection of how those around her speak as well. The school she attends and the

community she lives in is primarily composed of Spanish-speaking families and many of her

peers that I worked with over the past semester- even the ones who have been placed in a higher

academic group- speak similarly to Marlen. We know that people speak like those that they

speak with which led me to wonder whether or not some of Marlen’s speech patterns (her use of

the word “do”) were truly “mistakes” or simply different variations of SAE that came about due

to her language network (Andrews, ch. 5). The use of “do” for various activities could be a

grammatical variation similar to Marlen and her peers use of “like” (ex. “…we’re like, ‘Happy

Christmas!”) instead of words like said, asked, or yelled (Clark, p. 5).

With that in mind, I began looking at this through the lens of “Good English” and what

parts of her speech might be focused on in the classroom. According to Dr. Robert Pooley,

“Good English is marked by success in making language choices so that the fewest number of

participants will be distracted by the choices” (Andrews, ch. 3). Although her actual use of

language was successful around 98% of the time as I was able to understand a majority of what

she was expressing, there were certain areas regarding of Marlen’s syntax that could be viewed

poorly by native speakers or bring judgment. The use of the word “do” instead of “play”, or “she

like” instead of “she said”, are less important than tending to the patterns she has with

conjugating verbs. Despite nearly full comprehension of what she’s saying, an inability to use the

correct tense of a verb can cause judgements of English language learners, especially those who

are adults.

Social Conventions
ELL CASE STUDY 9

Marlen has a strong grasp on the social conventions and conversation conventions like

utterance pairs and adjacency pairs. When asked a question or asked to elaborate, she is able to

respond in full, in a way that makes sense, and would be considered socially acceptable for a

native speaker like myself. I was unable to get certain pieces of evidence for her grasp on

utterance pairs, which are the call and response type structures we find in our routine

interactions, as all of our greetings, “how are you’s”, and goodbyes were not caught on audio

since I was working with her before and after each interview session (Andrews, ch. 4).

Along those same lines of what we expect as native speakers when entering are the

behaviors we know to be involved in a normal conversation- all of which Marlen also has an

incredibly strong grasp on. She knows that when a question is asked that the other person is

expected to respond, that conversations have different interaction flows so our sessions were a

“back-and-forth” style whereas she’s expected more to listen when I teach in the large

classroom, and that the format was grounded in the practice of taking turns listening and

speaking.

Even with our cultural and linguistic differences, she is able to pick up social cues and

understood the different types of language being used whether I was asking a question, stating

my own thoughts, being sarcastic, or giving her a hard time/joking around. Similarly, she is able

to read things like body language and the combination of body language and social conventions.

For example, I asked her about her favorite band or artist to which she mentioned a certain band.

Wanting her to say more, I simply nodded and said “Mm-hmm”. To this, she understood that

there was more to be said or that maybe I expected/hoped she would elaborate so she continued

down that conversation topic a bit more (Clark, pg. 9).

ELL CASE STUDY 10

SOLOM RESULTS

One of the two “listening” labeled categories was academic comprehension which simply

looks at the level to which students are able to understand grade-level academic terminology. I

recorded Marlen at a level two for this as she is around two to three grade levels behind in all

subjects and, even with intensive language supports when working with content, she is not able

to put all of the vocabulary together to create a complete idea/question to work with. When I

worked with her on a practice TEKS test, she struggled with a majority of questions that

involved content-specific category or words that were above around a 2nd or 3rd grade level.

The second component to listening is social comprehension where she scored a three

meaning that she understands a majority of social conversations and what others are saying but

mainly when the person speaks slower and is able to repeat themselves or, in my case, provide

language support. For example, phrasing and presenting questions in two different ways, giving

definitions while speaking like “There’s these things called pediatricians- they’re the kid doctor

so they work with the little kids” (Clark, 9). When I didn’t phrase the question in multiple ways

or give a bit more context for her to piece things together was when repetition was needed. For

example, when I asked what her favorite part about St. Elmo was, she needed the question

repeated and simply asked for more explanation to what I meant.

The next four categories- fluency, vocabulary, pronunciation, and grammar- are all

focused on Marlen’s speaking skills. Her fluency has grown especially in social speaking skills

over the past few months and she currently is right in the middle at a level 3 similar to her social

comprehension skills. Although she is still hesitant at times and can fall back into habits like

giving up on thoughts mid-sentence or answering with one/two words, a majority of the time she

is answers in short phrases or a string of run on sentences and ideas. Instead of flat-out giving up
ELL CASE STUDY 11

like one might see with level two speakers, Marlen will just cut herself off saying, “I don’t know

how to say…but yeah” where she almost just back-spaces on a thought before summarizing or

circling back to the thought she had right before “losing her words” (as she calls it) (Clark).

The next category is vocabulary to which Marlen also scored a 3 in due to her misuse of

words and conjugations and the fact that her limited vocabulary inhibits what we can discuss or

to what extent she can express herself. This category is perhaps one of the most limiting ones for

both her as a speaker and for us as a listener. For example, within the three sentences she uses to

respond about her family traditions, she says the phrases, “I don’t know”, “I forgot”, and “I

forgot how you call that” all in that one answer (Clark, p. 4). This inability to retrieve the words

from her brain that she needed to then cause fluency issues where we see four thoughts strung

together with no conjunctions or flow to them. This was one of only two times that I truly did not

understand what she was trying to describe and also one of the only times she became truly

frustrated with herself.

Following this category is pronunciation and where Marlen scored the highest with a 4.

On occasion, there would be words that she had different intonations, or her accent was a bit

stronger, but even then, it was barely to the point where meaning was lost or muffled. Plus, the

only words she struggled with pronunciation on were very infrequently used words like lasagna

or vampire.

The last category is grammar where she scored again at a three. As noted in various

sections above, she struggles mainly with conjugations and leaving out certain parts of speech

like adverbs or various articles. This could be something like using “teach” instead of teaches,

saying “because they, yes, really good” and leaving out the word “are”, or “dancing really good

too” which leaves out the words “their” and “is” (Clark p. 3, 10). Although the mistakes are
ELL CASE STUDY 12

generally consistent and occur frequently, they do not tend to impact a listener’s ability to

understand what she’s saying.

Recommended Classroom Practices

Based off of the above, there are various strategies or approaches I feel would be

appropriate and beneficial for Marlen’s development. Although I am aware that the state chooses

many texts that they want students to read- especially in Title 1 schools where the state may have

more control- but integrating more student interest and culturally inclusive texts in the classroom

could help engage students like Marlen. She mentioned in the interview that she does enjoy

reading at home, however when she works in small group settings with me during class, she

consistently expresses how she hates reading and “can’t do it”. This signals to me that there’s a

disconnect between student interest, experiences, and/or background knowledge and the content

of texts chosen.

Not only does that harm overall student engagement, but limits student ability to

comprehend, make meaning, connect it to what they already know and create schema, or engage

in deeper discussions about what they read with peers. Research has shown that students are

better able to learn and understand content when said learning “occurs in contexts that are

socially and linguistically meaningful and students’ languages and experiences are centrally

included in classroom curricula and activities” (Orosco & O’Connor, p. 517).

If the school or state truly is pushing a certain text that doesn’t relate, I would suggest

trying to create discussion questions that push them to try and connect it to something else or

have an example ready of something related to their background experiences. In other words,

even if a teacher is given a set of texts or has restraints they’re bound by, there are ways to still
ELL CASE STUDY 13

create culturally responsive curriculum and a culturally responsive environment. This could

mean including things that symbolic of/to students’ backgrounds such as icons, posters with

known sayings, acknowledging their celebrations, images, or other relating artifacts in lessons

and activities or societal aspects of student’s lives like their background experiences, pressures

felt, or the way they feel or are being portrayed in society/in the media (Gay, 2002).

Another suggestion would be to implement ELAR lessons or activities that are more

constructivist in nature and approaches that follow ideas of teaching “whole language”. Because

of the TEKS panic (amongst other factors), many of the students who were performing lower

than the passing level are consistently assigned fundamentals-oriented tasks. This could be

grammar worksheets, “memorizing” vocabulary, or completing fill-in-the blank type worksheets

that require little engagement or interaction with the texts or making meaning. Constructivists

emphasize active learning and contextual support since it’s all about looking at the big picture to

create meaning. Providing contextual support has proven to be incredibly beneficial for ELL

students especially with academic vocabulary which is something Marlen struggles the most with

(Herrera and Murry). Similar to moving towards more constructivist approaches would be

implementing more opportunities for active learning rather than passive learning. Studies have

shown that interactive lessons, such as interactive workshop learning models like “sharing the

pen”, are supportive for English language learners and beneficial to their language development

(Celic, ch. 3).

After working with Marlen for 5 months, I feel I have been able to gain a better

understanding of her needs as a student and as a child. Academically, teachers should know that

Marlen learns in group settings where she can think, listen, and discuss out loud with her peers.

With her current stage of language development, having questions and answer choices read out
ELL CASE STUDY 14

loud to her helps her comprehension of the question. Although it is important that she practices

her reading comprehension, it is still important she has the chance to practice thinking critically

and focus on those skills involved in cognitive development rather than only be pushed in

academically/linguistically. rather than and ability to focus on her cognitive skills development.

With the Prism Model in mind, it is critical that she receives consistent words of support

in her academics, abilities, and overall self. I would actually love to see her work with a support

counselor as her self-esteem is incredibly low and gets in the way of her being able to develop in

other areas. She will not attempt certain tasks for fear that she’s “stupid”, will get frustrated and

quit and repeat similar negative phrases about herself, and second guesses herself to the point

that she could’ve had a right answer and changed it to the wrong one because she doesn’t trust

herself. Thinking about her sociocultural factors as well like her parents’ busy work schedules

and her responsibility to care for her baby sister once she leaves school, I think providing some

emotional support in the classroom or through a school resource could benefit her ability to

develop in all aspects.

Conclusion

Overall, Marlen has grown in her grasp of various ELAR skills even throughout the

semester so, despite some factors working against her as mentioned above. I feel that with more

linguistic and emotional support, she could be on track with her peers, but understand that the

school is struggling to find money for resources of that sort.

This experience was incredibly eye opening, as embarrassing as that is to say. I’ve grown

up with ELL’s and around bilingual education programs, but never understood or thought too

deeply about the full extent and experiences of ELL students. From the U-Shape Hypothesis and

acculturation to the Prism Model and having all needs tended to for full development to, there
ELL CASE STUDY 15

were so many critical pieces of teaching ELL students that I did not comprehend in the slightest

which would have been detrimental to my future students. The complexity of growing up as an

ELL student is something that I’ll never be able to fully understand, but I feel more equipped to

be part of the solution rather than part of the problem moving forward into the field.
ELL CASE STUDY 16

Appendix A
Interview Transcript
ELL CASE STUDY 17

SOLOM Interview Protocol

Background Information:
Student Name: Marlen
Grade Level: 5th grade
Age: 12 years old (was held back based off of English-proficiency level)
School: St. Elmo Elementary
How and when: Complete interview during their recess period (10-15 minutes) in the fifth-
grade section of the building. Morgan Griffin will also be conducting an interview with a 5th
grade student at this time in this location so one of us will interview in the hall, the other will be
in the mini side classroom with the door open. This will limit background noise and distractions
while also being ethical and safe for all involved.
Interview Questions
1. How old are you? What’s been your favorite age/year in school? Follow up: My favorite
grade was either 2nd grade or my senior year of high school because _____.
2. Do you remember your first day at school? If yes, will you tell me about the first day?
Follow ups: What was it like? How did you feel that first day?
3. How long have you been at St. Elmo? What’s your favorite thing about it?
4. What is your favorite time at school? Follow up: If freezes, ask what her favorite subject
is and give examples or personal example
5. Tell me what you like to do at home? Follow ups: What do you do when you get home
form school? What’s your general routine like?
6. What’s your favorite thing to do with your family or family tradition? Follow up: Give
short example of mine (looking at Christmas lights with my dad, chicken tetrazzini with
fam)
7. Tell me about your favorite book and why it was your favorite? Follow up: Do you like
to read? Why/why not?
8. Have them read a brief story then have them re-tell the events that happened. Questions
to ask: Tell me about what happened? How do you know? How did this character feel?
How do you know?
9. Have student express an opinion and present rationale for that opinion. Possible
questions: homework or no homework? Split boys and girls in class?
10. What would you like to do when you grow up? Why? Follow ups: Are there any others?
If you could be absolutely anything, is that still what you would be if anything is
possible?
11. Do you have any questions for me? They can be about anything you want!
12. What’s your favorite music artist? Why?
13. Are you nervous at all to go to a new school? Nervous/excited?
14. Favorite movie? Why?
ELL CASE STUDY 18

15. Do you have any siblings? Follow up: What are your favorite things to do with your
sibling? Why? Do you wish you had more siblings/less/sister or brother?
16. If you were an animal, what animal would you be? Why?
17. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?
18. Do you want to go to college? Follow ups: Where would you want to go? What would
you study?

Transcript

Emma Clark: Okay. I think this is working. Okay, so it says, first question is how old are you?
Marlen: I'm 11.
Emma Clark: And what's been your favorite age or your favorite year in school so far?
Marlen: My favorite age? When I was 9.
Emma Clark: Why?
Marlen: Why?
Emma Clark: Yeah.
Marlen: Because I went to New York.
Emma Clark: Went to New York?!
Marlen: Yeah.
Emma Clark: What did y'all do in New York?
Marlen: Visit my cousins.
Emma Clark: Oh, you have cousins in New York?
Marlen: Yeah
Emma Clark: I've never been to New York.
Marlen: Super fun. So, we went to the beach and it's super fun 'cause it has a lot of games
and things.
Emma Clark: What kind of games? Wait, what had things?
Marlen: Yeah, they had games.
Emma Clark: Where?
Marlen: At the beach in New York. They had games.
Emma Clark: Oh, okay!
Marlen: Yeah.
Emma Clark: I wish I could go to New York, but I mainly just stay in Texas. So, do you
remember what your first day of school was like?
Marlen: My first day of school? Okay. So I don't remember it, but my mom told me. So
we were in the school and then when my mom was crying and I was like, "Go
Mom, I want to stay. Just go home."
Emma Clark: Oh, you were excited to go? -
Marlen: Yeah and my mom was crying. Yeah. And other little kids were crying, and it
was, my mom said, "You were like the only one that was excited." I was like, "Oh
okay."
Emma Clark: You were like, "I got it. Mom, I'm good."
ELL CASE STUDY 19

Emma Clark: Do you still feel like that during your first days at school? Like are you still good?
Are you as excited for school as you were when you started?
Marlen: Yes.
Emma Clark: You like school?
Marlen: Yes, I like it.
Emma Clark: What's your favorite part about your school now?
Marlen: School... I have to math and I like to math and science. So that's why I like to
come to school cause I like to math.
Emma Clark: Those are the subjects I don't get to work with you in [sad face]
Marlen: [laughing] Oh my God.
Emma Clark: Wait so what was it? Let's see. Let's see. So what's your favorite subject between
the two?
Marlen: Science.
Emma Clark: Why?
Marlen: Because I can do labs, you know?
Emma Clark: Oh like experiments and stuff!
Marlen: Yeah.
Emma Clark: What's been one of your favorite ones you've done this year?
Marlen: I don't know. I have a lot, I don't remember.
Emma Clark: [laughing] You don't remember?
Marlen: [laughing] No.
Emma Clark: What about that spider one y'all just did?
Marlen: Spider one?
Emma Clark: Didn't you guys just make those spiders that are hanging in Ms. Pool's classroom?
You guys didn't make those? There are all those things pinned up.
Marlen: Oh, the hands?
Emma Clark: Yeah. [it wasn't but I wanted her to keep talking]
Marlen: Oh that's not spider they're hands. Yeah, we did that. So we make, it was a paper
and then you had to draw your hand with a crayon. Has to be black or blue. And
then you put oil in the paper and then the lights. You also draw your bones. So
then you fill it with oil and then you put in the window and then the light it's like
ah.
Emma Clark: Oh it looks like an X-ray, almost like you can see through.
Marlen: Yeah.
Emma Clark: Oh, I like those! I've always been interested in those.
Emma Clark: Hmm..What do you like to do at home?
Marlen: I like to cook cupcakes or you know, stuff like that. And I also like to read
sometimes.
Emma Clark: You like to read sometimes?
Marlen: Yeah.
Emma Clark: What kind of other stuff do you, I don't... I can't cook at all. So what kind of stuff
do you cook or you bake?
Marlen: I do chicken with rice and I do cupcakes. Cake. Lasagna.
Emma Clark: How did you learn how to make all that?
ELL CASE STUDY 20

Marlen: My mom teach me in my free time on Saturdays and Sundays. She like call me,
"Here I'm gonna to teach you to, how to cook." I'm not like good at it but I'm
trying.
Emma Clark: I mean you sound better than I am.
Emma Clark: Let's see, what kind of books do you like to read? You said you sometimes like to
read. What kind of books?
Marlen: Scary books.
Emma Clark: [laughing] Scary books?!
Marlen: Yeah. [laughing] They're my favorite ones.
Emma Clark: Same! That was mine growing up.
Emma Clark: Do you have like a favorite one? Like a favorite book?
Marlen: No.
Emma Clark: No? Just scary books?
Marlen: Yeah.
Emma Clark: What's your favorite thing to do with your family or like a family tradition?
Marlen: Family tradition? We don't have any though. So when my family comes over to
my house, we all...we do games like.... I don't know how to explain it. We do
games like the games at the table, games, you know, we run the board games or
that and then we play, I forgot how you call that, I forgot. But is this a game that
has a little persons you can call it that and then you had to put like rocks or
pennies or whatever you want but has to put label on then you had to put it and
the people and there's cards and there's [inaudible 00:04:53] like the, I don't know,
the strawberry. So you had to find the strawberry in there.
Emma Clark: Oh okay. I'm following.
Marlen: Yeah. And then if you win you get money.
Emma Clark: How much money?
Marlen: Anything you want to put so it's a lot of people in [inaudible 00:05:16] but $5 or
$1.
Emma Clark: Oh.
Marlen: And then if you win, you win all the money.
Emma Clark: Have you ever won all the money?
Marlen: Yes. Ten times.
Emma Clark: What do you spend the money on?
Marlen: On Takis.
Emma Clark: On Takis?
Marlen: Yes.
Emma Clark: You spend all the money on Takis?
Marlen: On Takis and then usually like a hundred dollars though. So I also buy shoes.
Emma Clark: Oh I was going to say, "You spent $100 on Takis?"
Marlen: No. It was like $100. So I spent some on Takis and then I just bought all my
shoes.
Emma Clark: So that's one of the games you -
Marlen: Yeah. Is that... our favorite game, cause we can get money.
ELL CASE STUDY 21

Emma Clark: I mean, yeah, anytime you can get money. That's good. So that's one of the games
you played. Do you guys have any of the traditions like every year, like for
Halloween or for whatever?
Marlen: We don't celebrate Halloween, but we celebrate Christmas, Thanksgiving-
Emma Clark: What kind of traditions do you have for those? Like is it like, Oh every year -
Marlen: Christmas every year. We always do tamales.
Emma Clark: Mm.
Marlen: There's other food and tamales. They're the best.
Emma Clark: Do you help make them?
Marlen: Yeah.
Emma Clark: How do you make it? Give me the recipe. Give me the steps!
Marlen: [Mouths/motions that she can't tell me because someone she doesn't know- my
classmate- is in the room] Yeah.
Emma Clark: It's a secret? Okay. You don't have to tell me if it's a secret.
Marlen: Okay.
Emma Clark: What kind of stuff do you do? You said you do that for Christmas?
Marlen: Yeah. For Christmas.
Emma Clark: What about for Thanksgiving?
Marlen: For Thanksgiving? We always do like pollo, like chicken and then we always put
in and we put something in the top and then it's like caramel but it's not caramel
and then it's like sweet but salt at the same time. And we have the thing we do to
put it onto the chicken and then we will split it with potatoes and-
Emma Clark: That sounds so good.
Marlen: Yeah.
Emma Clark: Do you guys do all the presents on Christmas morning or do them like the night
before?
Marlen: No, it was like at 12:00.
Emma Clark: Oh like midnight?
Marlen: At midnight. You always do at midnight. So it's 12:00 a.m. and we're like,
"Happy Christmas!" And then it's just like, "Okay, time for the presents." And
everyone gives the presents.
Emma Clark: Oh you give it to the person?
Marlen: Yeah.
Emma Clark: Like if you, if it's from you, you give it to them?
Marlen: Yeah.
Emma Clark: Okay.
Marlen: And then for the little kids it's just like a little tree there and then just like, "Go
grab presents."
Emma Clark: For the little kids?
Marlen: Yeah. And then for the adults, the present's given to him.
Emma Clark: Oh, okay. So little kids just kind of go for it?
Marlen: Yeah, and then the adults just like, "Here I brought you this. I wish you like it."
And all that.
Emma Clark: What are you asking for for Christmas this year? Do you like make a Christmas
list?
ELL CASE STUDY 22

Marlen: I don't know. I want a lot of stuff though.

Emma Clark: Like what?
Marlen: Like I want new shoes.
Emma Clark: You just got new shoes with all the money.
Marlen: [laughing] Yeah.
Emma Clark: [laughing] You want more?!
Marlen: Haha yeah. I want more. I want new clothes 'cause I haven't bought any clothes
and I wanted the iPhone 11.
Emma Clark: You want what?
Marlen: The iPhone 11.
Emma Clark: The iPhone 11!?
Marlen: Yeah.
Emma Clark: Why do you need the iPhone 11?
Marlen: I don't know!
Emma Clark: What features... or like, what does it have that's so snazzy besides saying "I have
the iPhone 11"?
Marlen: Because it has three cameras and that it's cool! I guess for that.
Emma Clark: It has three cameras? I don't think I would want three cameras. I think I look fine
without. [outside of the room got loud with students changing classes] I'll close
this door real quick.
Marlen: Okay.
Emma Clark: We'll finish up. We're almost done.
Marlen: Yeah [laughing and sighing] Please.
Emma Clark: All right. I'm coming in one second. Okay, so last thing. What's your favorite part
about Saint Elmo?
Marlen: My favorite part of Saint Elmo?
Emma Clark: Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Marlen: Is... what do you mean with that?
Emma Clark: What's your favorite... What's something you love about st Elmo?
Marlen: That the teachers are like, they love each other, you know?
Emma Clark: Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Marlen: They love the kids are here they don't have favorite ones. They're just like, you
know, "I like you but like this girl the same time. It doesn't mean if you're special.
I just like you."
Emma Clark: It's one big family.
Marlen: Yeah. It's like you're like, "Oh this is like my family too." You know?
Emma Clark: I love that. Well, thanks for letting me interview you. I know it's weird and
annoying sometimes, but that was awesome. It's so helpful. Also, I want to say,
well, I'm going to stop this.

INTERVIEW 2
ELL CASE STUDY 23

Emma Clark: Let's see. So round two. It's Emma Clark with Marlen. I'm trying to figure out
what question we left off on.
Marlen: Okay.
Emma Clark: Did we do what you would want to be when you grow up?
Marlen: No.
Emma Clark: No?
Marlen: I don't remember.
Emma Clark: What would you want to be when you grow up?
Marlen: Well, I want to be a lot of things. I want to be a teacher, because I love kids, I
want to be a teacher and I also want to be a doctor.
Emma Clark: A doctor! Do you want to do- there's things called pediatricians- they're the kid
doctors and work with the little kids. You want to do that one?
Marlen: Yes.
Emma Clark: Ohhhh. I don't know if I'd want to work with the little kids. They get sick so
much. What would you want to teach? Do you want to teach like elementary
school or high school?
Marlen: I think high school, for-
Emma Clark: Really? Why?
Marlen: Because I think they're going to listen more than the elementary school, and I
think I don't have the... Well, I love kids though, but it's just, sometimes it's
just...[silence and a shrug]
Emma Clark: I can see that, also, you're very soft spoken and very kind, so you might be really
good with little kids though.
Marlen: Oh, okay.
Emma Clark: Because I'm very loud and I'm like...[gibberish and weird movement] So I don't
usually work with younger kids. You guys are the youngest class that I've worked
with. I usually do high school.
Marlen: Really?
Emma Clark: Mm-hmm (affirmative). But I have to say, I'm having a blast. Let's see. What's
your favorite music artist? Like a singer or band.
Marlen: Or band? I like a band of Korea.
Emma Clark: You like a band from Korea.
Marlen: BTS.
Emma Clark: K-pop! Okay, yeah.
Marlen: Yeah, BTS. I think I talked to you about that. I remember, but I like this band, it's
called BTS. There's seven boys in it.
Emma Clark: Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Marlen: I also like Drake. I don't know how you say this, D-R-A-K-E.
Emma Clark: Yeah, Drake! Perfect. Why do you like BTS more than other K-pop bands?
Marlen: I don't know, because I think they're cute and also, because they, yes, really good.
Emma Clark: Yeah.
Marlen: Dancing really good too.
Emma Clark: Yeah. Their dances are very in sync.
Marlen: Yeah.
Emma Clark: Have you ever tried to memorize them, the dances? Learn it?
ELL CASE STUDY 24

Marlen: No [laughing]
Emma Clark: [also laughing] No??
Marlen: Because I thinks too difficult for me.
Emma Clark: You can do it. I've seen so many people online memorize dances. I think you can
do it. Let's see. Oh so you guys are going to a new school next year? Yeah?
Marlen: Yeah. Hmm. Bedichek, I'm going over there.
Emma Clark: Are you excited or..
Marlen: Yes.
Emma Clark: Or how are you feeling about it?
Marlen: I'm excited because I'm going to see my friends of last year, because I used to
have friends and that in fifth grade, we still play soccer all the time, and now I'm
going to be, "Okay, I'm going to see them again." So that's perfect.
Emma Clark: Yeah. I forgot you guys would have known older grades. Because you've been at
St. Elmo the whole time yeah?
Marlen: Well, not all the time, I came here in second grade though.
Emma Clark: Okay, right.
Marlen: Yeah.
Emma Clark: But then you would have known kids in the grades above you so you get to see
them again.
Marlen: Yeah.
Emma Clark: All these people will still be with you, right? All your classmates.
Marlen: Probably, I don't know if all they're going to Bedichek, or on to another school.
Emma Clark: That's exciting. Let's see. Do you have a favorite movie?
Marlen: A movie? I have favorite ones, my favorite one, but I forgot how you call it. It's
like a woman that two boys like her. But one is a vampire and the other one's a
wolf.
Emma Clark: Twilight?
Marlen: No, it's not Twilight. It's real persons, but I don't know if, it's moon something.
But it's this lady has a crush on both, but also the boys has a crush on her, and
then the vampire is just like jealous because the Wolf always take her to places
and all that. But I forgot her, the name of her is B-E-L-L-E, No, V-E-L-L-A.
Emma Clark: Bella.
Marlen: Yeah, Bella.
Emma Clark: [laughing] So it is Twilight!
Marlen: Say that, Oh.
Emma Clark: No, you're right. You said it's Twilight New Moon. Because I guess there's more
than one Twilight movie.
Marlen: Yeah, it's more, it's seven of them, this is like, "Oh, I love it."
Emma Clark: Why do you like that movies so much?
Marlen: I don't know, it's like sometimes it's romantic and sometimes it's "Oh my God, I
love it."
Emma Clark: So it's action and romance?
Marlen: Yes, action. Oh, that sounds so, I love it.
Emma Clark: Do you like the vampire or the werewolf more?
Marlen: The vampire, more.
ELL CASE STUDY 25

Emma Clark: Why do you like the vampire more?

Marlen: I don't know. I think his eyes are cute and I don't know why I think that.
Emma Clark: So you think he's cuter?
Marlen: Yeah. He's cuter.
Emma Clark: Oh, I never asked you how many siblings?
Marlen: I have one.
Emma Clark: One-
Marlen: One sister. She's two years old, so yeah.
Emma Clark: Awh, she's little.
Marlen: Yeah, she's still little.
Emma Clark: Do you wish you have more siblings?
Marlen: I wish I have a brother, a big brother.
Emma Clark: Really?
Marlen: Yeah.
Emma Clark: Why?
Marlen: I don't know why. My mom has brothers and they're just like, "Are you okay?
You need something," or like that. So I'm just like, "Oh, that's so sweet." So I
want to have a brother to say that.
Emma Clark: I have a big brother. He's... Hold on. (Went outside here to quiet girls in the hall).
I'm doing an interview, so can... No, you're fine. Don't worry about it. It's just, it's
audio recording so it's picking up all your voices, but you're good. No worries.
Got it. Sorry. I also get distracted very easy.
Marlen: Yeah, and also because I think for some reason I want a brother that's jealous. I
don't know why.
Emma Clark: What do you mean jealous?
Marlen: Protect.
Emma Clark: Protective. So, he's like...
Marlen: Yeah. For me and all that.
Emma Clark: Bring a boy over, he's going to go, "Is he good enough for you?"
Marlen: Yeah!
Emma Clark: Kind of be like... I know what you mean. I mean, I have an older brother, he's not
really like that. I think he would be though if he needed to be. I think if it came
down to it... but most of the time no.
Marlen: Yeah. So that's what I want, a big brother, but I don't have one. So I'm the big
sister.
Emma Clark: Do you like being a big sister? Do you taking care, helping with...
Marlen: It's good being a big sister, because... I mean you cannot hit your sister, but at the
same time you can say, "Don't do this because I'm your sister and I have to take
care of you."
Emma Clark: Yeah, I know. I think I know what you mean, She's two, so does she talk and stuff
yet?
Marlen: Oh she's learning though.
Emma Clark: Yeah.
Marlen: She already counts in English and Spanish.
Emma Clark: Dang!
ELL CASE STUDY 26

Marlen: Most of the time, 1, to 10 and it's like, "Oh my God, you're so smart," I'm like
"You're more smarter than me, but okay. It's fine."
Emma Clark: No she's not- you need to be nicer to yourself! You're so mean to yourself
sometimes. Let's see, if you were an animal, what kind of animal would you be?
Marlen: An animal? Maybe a butterfly.
Emma Clark: A butterfly?
Marlen: Yeah.
Emma Clark: I could see that. I'm trying to think what other animal you kind of remind me of.
Kind of remind me of a cat, you know those cats that just kind of, are so nice and
they just...
Marlen: Yeah.
Emma Clark: Because you have all such pretty hair and you're always just so nice and calm.
Whereas, I feel like I'm more of a...
Marlen: Dog, yeah.
Emma Clark: [laughing] A dog, because I have too much energy and I'm all over the place.
Marlen: A lot of fun. I like cat because I do like cats, but I'm allergic to them.
Emma Clark: No. Why would you be a butterfly?
Marlen: A butterfly? Because I think their wings are super pretty and they can fly and they
can go to Mexico. They migrate, so they go to Mexico and they stay longer there,
longer, that's cool.
Emma Clark: Yeah. Oh that's awesome. I like that explanation. What did it say? If you could
travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Marlen: Oh, I want to go to Korea.
Emma Clark: Why do you want to go to Korea?
Marlen: Why? Oh, oh yeah. I want to go to Korea, because... I don't know. I think it's a
cute place, it's just like...
Emma Clark: And BTS might be there.
Marlen: [laughing] BTS, maybe yes, but I think it's a cute place!Because I also watch a
movie, that it's about a dog that was from Korea, but they sent it to United States,
right here, and then, but they got lost. So it just this, is this a statue for that dog, so
I want to go see it too.
Emma Clark: Oh. Yeah. I mean I've always wanted to go to South Korea.
Marlen: South Korea.
Emma Clark: I've never left the country. I've never left the U.S.
Marlen: South Korea and I also wanted to go England.
Emma Clark: To England?
Marlen: Yeah. I don't know why.
Emma Clark: Is there a reason why?
Marlen: I just want to go, for some reason.
Emma Clark: Yeah, no I think most people would be like, "Yeah, I want to go to England
because it's one of..." I don't know. There's a lot also if you go to Europe, the
countries are very small, and so you can drive to three different countries in one
day. Whereas here in Texas, Texas is like the size of three countries put together
in Europe terms. It's crazy. Last thing, do you have any questions for me?
Anything you want to ask me about whatever.
ELL CASE STUDY 27

Marlen: I never, okay. Do you like to be a teacher and why?

Emma Clark: [laughing] Oh, I was expecting you not to ask anything! Okay. Do I like being a
teacher?
Marlen: Yeah. Because you said that you want to be a teacher, right?
Emma Clark: Yeah. Yeah.
Marlen: So why?
Emma Clark: I like, I love being a teacher. I don't know, I always knew I couldn't do a desk job,
like what other adults do or just sitting and not talking to anyone all day. I feel
like I have the mind of a kid so I'm just getting to hang out with people who are
really inspiring too. You guys are! You're smart, you're funny, you guys are so
strong, you guys really want to learn and you're... I don't know. I'll be in a bad
mood and then I come in to school and you guys are so excited to see me and I'm
excited to learn.
Emma Clark: I also didn't like school growing up, so I'm like, "I don't want other kids to not like
school," because school is actually really fun, and you learn so much and you get
to just know more facts. I don't know. I think school is really cool, but I did not
like it growing up, and I had some bad teachers so I want to do the opposite of
that.
Marlen: Oh. Can I ask you another question?
Emma Clark: Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Marlen: What is your favorite subject at school?
Emma Clark: Hmm. I really like, I don't know, I really like history and I really like reading and
writing, but I started liking science when I got older. I didn't like science when I
was little. I like all the subjects. I'm not as good at math though, so I would say
math is not my top subject, but all the kind can go together. I like reading and
writing about history and then I also like learning science, which has a lot of
reading and writing. I don't know. It all ties together.
Marlen: Okay. What is your favorite color? I just want to know, sort of stuff.
Emma Clark: I really like blue, all shades of blue, and I like the color of black a lot. Just to wear
the color, I like the color black but on other things I like the color blue and I like
red.
Marlen: Okay.
Emma Clark: What's your favorite color?
Marlen: I have blue and black. I don't really [inaudible 00:11:58].
Emma Clark: Really?
Marlen: We have that, I think just the black is just more, is something that match with
everything.
Emma Clark: It's so easy. I have most of my clothing is black. I try not to wear that much black
when I come here and try to look colorful, but it matches with everything. It's so
easy. It's so easy.
Marlen: Blue is because it remind me of the ocean, and the skies.
Emma Clark: I love going to the beach. Would you rather go to the beach or to the mountains?
Marlen: Beach.
Emma Clark: I think I'm the same way. So I think Miss Heinz is going to start her thing. I'm
going to say, "Thank you Marlen." I'm turning off the recording now
ELL CASE STUDY 28

Appendix B
SOLOM Results

1 2 3 4 5 Score
Understands Has difficulty Understands Understands Understands
little or no simple following grade most grade level most grade level grade level
grade level level content content content content
content terminology and terminology and terminology at terminology and
Academic terminology or academic academic normal speed, academic
Comprehension academic discourse, even discourse when although discourse 2
discourse. when spoken spoken at slower occasional without difficulty.
slowly and with than normal repetition and
frequent speeds with rephrasing may
repetition and some repetition be necessary.
rephrasing. and rephrasing.
ELL CASE STUDY 29

Understands Has great Understands Understands Understands

little or no social difficulty most of what is social social
conversation. following what is said in social conversation, conversation in a
said. Can conversations at although variety of
comprehend slower than occasional settings,
Social only social normal speed repetition and including 3
Comprehension conversation with some rephrasing may classroom
spoken slowly repetition and be necessary. directions.
and with rephrasing.
frequent
repetition and
rephrasing.
Speech is so Usually hesitant, Speech in social Speech in social Speech in social
halting and often gives up conversation conversation conversation
fragmentary that due to language and classroom and classroom and classroom
conversation is limitations; gives discussion discussion discussion fluent
virtually mainly one or frequently generally fluent, and effortless; 3
impossible. two word disrupted by with occasional approximates
Fluency answers. student’s search lapses while that of a native
for correct student English speaker.
manner of searches for the
expression. correct manner
Uses short of expression.
phrases and
sentences.
Vocabulary Difficult to Frequent use of Occasional use Use of academic
limitations are so understand wrong words; of inappropriate vocabulary and
extreme as to because of conversation terms and/or idioms
Vocabulary make misuse of words somewhat rephrasing approximate 3
conversation and very limited limited because because of those of a native
virtually vocabulary. of inadequate inadequate English speaker.
impossible. vocabulary. vocabulary.
Pronunciation Pronunciation Pronunciation and Usually Pronunciation
and intonation and intonation intonation intelligible, and intonation
make speech make speech necessitate although approximate
virtually difficult to concentration by pronunciation or those of a native
Pronunciation unintelligible. understand; the listener and intonation may English speaker. 4
must frequently occasionally lead slightly interfere Accent may be
repeat in order to with present but does
to be misunderstanding. understanding. not interfere with
understood. intelligibility.
Errors in Difficult to Frequent errors Occasional Grammar and
grammar and understand in grammar and errors in word order
word order so because of word order; grammar or approximate that
severe that errors in meaning word order; of a native
speech is virtually grammar and occasionally meaning not English speaker. 3
Grammar
unintelligible. word order; must obscured. obscured.
either rephrase
or restrict
speech to basic
patterns.
ELL CASE STUDY 30

MN-SOLOM Levels of Oral Proficiency

Total Points Speaking/Listening
MN-SOLOM Oral Proficiency Level

Score
6-8 Level 1, Beginner

9-14 Level 2, Early Intermediate

15-21 Level 3, Intermediate

22-26 Level 4, Early Advanced

27-30 Level 5, Advanced

ELL CASE STUDY 31

Appendix C
References
ELL CASE STUDY 32

References
Andrews, L. (2015). Linguistics for L 2 Teachers. Mahwah, NJ: Routledge.

Celic, C. M. (2009). English Language Learners, Day by Day. Heinemann.

Fillmore, L. W. & Snow, C. E. (2000). What Teachers Need to Know About Language. Center
for Applied Linguistics.

Freeman, D. D., & Freeman, Y.S. (2006). Essential Linguistics: What You Need to Know to
Teach Reading, ESL, Spelling, Phonics, and Grammar. Heinemann.

Gay, G. (2002). Preparing for Culturally Responsive Teaching. Journal of Teacher Education,
Vol. 53 (2). DOI: 10.1177/0022487102053002003.

Goldenberg, Claude. Teaching English Language Learners. AFT.org, American Federation of

Teachers, 2008, www.aft.org/sites/default/files/periodicals/goldenberg.pdf
https://www.austinisd.org/dre/surveys/2018-2019/bilingual-and-english-second-language-
program-and-demographic-summary-2018

Orosco, M. J., & O’Connor, R. (2014). Culturally Responsive Instruction for

English Language Learners with Learning Disabilities. Journal of Learning
Disabilities, Vol. 47 (6), pp. 515-531. DOI: 10.1177/0022219413476553

Ovando, J. C. (2003). Bilingual Education in the United States: Historical Development and
Current Issues. Bilingual Research Journal, Vol. 27. DOI:
10.1080/15235882.2003.10162589

“Herrera Murry Ch 1 2 Video”. Youtube, 18 Jan. 2019.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwZvFC3tHS8
ELL CASE STUDY 33