1. English as a Second Language
Who are our English language learners?

2. United States Facts
The U.S. has the 5th largest Spanish-speaking population in the world.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau (2007), 12.6% of the U.S. population is foreign-born.
Immigrant families are concentrated in CA, TX, NY, FL, IL, and NJ.
More than 5 million school-age children are learning English as a second language.
EPE Research Center (2009). A growing population. Education
Week, 28(17), 10.

3. Where U.S. Immigrants Come From
Top 10 Ethnicities of Immigrants Who Passed Through Ellis Is.
1. Italian
2. Jewish
3. German
4. Polish
5. Scandinavian
6. English
7. Irish
8. Scottish
9. Slovak
10. French
Top 10 Countries of Origin of U.S. Foreign-Born Population
1. Mexico
2. China
3. Philippines
4. India
5. El Salvador
6. Vietnam
7. South Korea
8. Cuba
9. Canada
10. Dominican Republic
2007
NY Times Upfront,
April 6, 2009

4. MTHS English Language Learners by Country of Origin
September 2009
Total of 68 ELLs expected to be at MTHS for the start of the school year, representing 18 different countries.

5. Are All ELLs Immigrants?
“Fifty-seven percent of adolescent learners
classified as limited English proficient were born
within U.S. borders and thus are second or
third-generation residents.”
These students have often achieved oral proficiency but lag behind in their ability to use English for literacy and content learning for reasons that may be only partly related to second language status—for example, mobility and switching between language programs.
Add info from Terry’s article about culture.
Rance-Roney, J. (April 2009). Best practices for adolescent ELLs.
Educational Leadership, 66(7),

6. Who are our ELLs? Immigrants Refugees Migrants Ethnic Minorities
Sojourners
Immigrant ELLs:
choose to leave their culture of origin
usually ready and willing to acculturate to U.S. society
after initial period of cultural adjustment, immigrant children typically adapt well to schooling.
Refugees:
forced to leave their home culture for political or economic reasons
granted asylum in U.S.
threats of death, bodily harm, economic ruin, and/or social isolation are the motivating factors for their refugee status.
acculturation may take considerably longer due to trauma or unwillingness to leave the culture of origin
children may face many issues due to the trauma of forced migration, which causes both stress and a delay in adapting to U.S. schooling.
Migrants:
itinerant workers who move from place to place for work opportunities
moving from location to location leads school-age children to have gaps in language and content instruction
Ethnic Minorities:
these are familities who take pride in maintaining their cultural heritage while surrounded by the dominant culture. (want everyone in the family to speak language of origin)
possible that children from these families might reject the values of success and achievement promoted by schools.
Sojourners:
have temporary residency in the U.S.
embrace U.S. culture while maintaining culture of origin (b/c they know they will return to culture of origin)
usually an exchange student or a child of professionals working temporarily in the U.S.
children are usually comfortable with academic culture
Cammilleri, A. (2009). Context and culture. WiDA Focus on
Language and Culture, 1(2), 1-4.

7. What can we learn from ELL student achievement data?
2005 NAEP Scores by English Language Proficiency
NAEP stands for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (often called “The Nation’s Report Card”)
Only national assessment of what students should and do know in various subject areas.
Assesses students in grades 4, 8, and 12
LEP students take the NAEP assessment unless:
The student has received reading or math instruction primarily in English for less than three school years, including the current year, AND
The student cannot demonstrate his or her knowledge of reading or mathematics in English even with an accommodation permitted by NAEP (e.g., extended time, etc.)

8. 2005 8th Grade NAEP Reading Results by Language Proficiency
The NAEP reading assessment test students ability to:
Form a general understanding
Develop an interpretation
Make reader/text connections
Examine content and structure
Results:
Results indicate that non-ELL students far outperform their ELL counterparts.
Practically no ELL students achieved the advanced level in reading.
Overall, ELL students are far from meeting national proficiency standards.

9. 2005 8th Grade NEAP Mathematics Results by Language Proficiency
The 2005 NAEP Mathematics Framework focuses on mathematical content and complexity:
Content:
Number properties and operations
Measurement
Geometry
Data analysis and probability
Algebra
Complexity:
Mathematical ability (conceptual understanding, procedural knowledge, and problem solving)
Mathematical power (reasoning, connections, and communication)
As you can see, the NAEP math test measures more than just a student’s ability to manipulate numbers. The math power section relies heavily on communication, and linguistic components of this section of the test affect ELLs.
Results:
ELL students performed slightly better in math than reading in terms of their achievement level.
Again, non-ELL students far outperformed their ELL counterparts.

10. Pennsylvania
There are approximately 42,500 students who are learning English in PA’s public schools.
The population of ELLs in PA has more than doubled since 1995.
Rieg, S. (2008). Supporting English-language learners as they
learn to read: strategies for building vocabulary and
comprehension. Pennsylvania Reads, 8,

11. Manheim Township School District
The number of English language learners in MTSD has increased substantially in the last 10 years.
81 in 1999
164 in 2004
334 in March, 2009
This year, there are more than 30 languages spoken by MTSD students.

12. Manheim Township High School
This fall we expect to have approximately 46 students at the high school who are learning English and are actively involved in our ESL program.
In addition, there are 22 students on “Monitor” status.
These students speak 14 different languages.
Amharic (Ethiopia)
Bosnian
Mandarin
Czech
Filipino
French
Gujarati (India)
Haitian-Creole
Khymer (Cambodia)
Korean
Laotian
Russian
Spanish
Vietnamese

13. From our own English language learners
Perceptions of MTHS
From our own English language learners

14. When you first came to MTHS, how were you treated by other students?
“Pretty good, my friends help me with English speaking.” (Laos)
“I didn’t ask anybody anything so they didn’t talk or do stuff to me.” (Cuba)
“As a foreigner student who could not speak English. Maybe, they thought that I am stupid because I could not express myself in English, but I haven’t heard them say so.” (China)
“Some are nice, some are so mean. They think we can’t speak English.” (China)

15. When you first came to MTHS, how were you treated by your teachers?
“Very good. They help me a lot, specially my English.” (Laos)
“I was treated fairly and I had a lot of attention from them and I think that’s good.” (Cuba)
“Like a kindergarten student.” (China)
“They were being nice to me. They did not give me much work to do.” (Taiwan)

16. How are you treated by your teachers now?
“Well respected, somewhat. Some teacher do put me down…They give me so much that I can’t keep up…so things with teachers get complicated.” (Cambodian student born in US)
“Just like regular kids.” (Vietnam)
“I’m still treated fairly, but not as much attention as before.” (Cuba)
“As a foreigner student.” (China)

17. Do you think your teachers at MTHS care about you and want you to do well?
“I’m not sure, because some teacher care and some teacher don’t.” (Taiwan)
“I can study my teachers very well, and some do care and some don’t care. I’ve met mean teachers and seems all they think of is go teach and get paid.” (Cambodia)
“Yes, teachers helps me a lot when I need help.” (India)
“Yes, I think some of them care because they always encourage me to do better.” (Dominican Republic)

18. What’s the best thing about America?
“I can get a good education.” (Dominican Rep.)
“The laws and the chance to pick your government.” (Cuba)
“Money.” (Vietnam)
“Free, more opportunities to realize your dreams.” (China)
“Less homework, less pressure, teachers are much cooler.” (China)

19. Stages of Language Acquisition
Stage 1: Preproduction (0-6 months)
Stage 2: Early Production (6 months – 1 year)
Stage 3: Speech Emergence (1-3 years)
Stage 4: Intermediate (3-5 years)
Stage 5: Advanced Fluency (5-7 years)