HISTORY AND

POLITICS OF ELL
WHAT IS THE BIG DEAL ABOUT ELL?

• ELL = English Language Learners.

• Polarizing political topic due to peoples beliefs.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVHsP_tEmYg
• Inclusion and Fairness vs “National language”
• 350 languages spoken in schools across America
THE BEGINNING

• ELL education became a topic discussed by the people in the turn of

the 20th century.
• Immigrants in early 20th century
• National Language late 1800’s
• Naturalization Act on 1906
• English only education 1920’s
EARLY 1900’S, MONOLINGUALISM

• German is banned in schools due to World War I

• Monolingualism is adapted into schools

• 1923 – 34 states passed laws saying that school must be taught in English

only
MID 1900’S

• 1954 Brown vs Board of Education – separate but equal is not equal. Although it did not
directly address language, it was included.
• 1960 Mass influx of Hispanic speaking students in Dade, Florida puts a demand for multi-
language education.
• 1968 Bilingual Education Act – Established policy for bilingual and economically
disadvantaged language students. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzTt_oLD1nc
• 1974 Lau vs Nicholas – Education is not equal for students using materials they can not
understand. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYH_Cj9aRUM
 RECENTLY

• 1981 Castaneda vs Pickard – Appropriate action to overcome language barriers can be taken and
the programs should be well documented. Set standard for courts in examining programs for
LEP students.
• 1999 – 43 states had Bilingual Education and ELL instruction laws.
• 2001 NCLB – Gave funding to states to help give ELL students academic achievement standards.
NCLB title III – Limited English students must obtain English proficiency but also meet academic
standards in all content area’s as their peers.
• Every student Succeed Act 2015 – Provided more funding for ELL students.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5WA56IpcAU
SOURCES

• https://esl.yourdictionary.com/about-esl/the-history-of-esl.html
• https://www.preceden.com/timelines/321151-history-of-esl-bilingual-education-in-the-u-s-
-timeline
• https://www.lcmcisd.org/228658_4
• https://ed.psu.edu/pds/elementary/intern-resources/esl-handbook/politics-of-language