 Teaching Students who are LEP/ELL LEP = Limited English Proficiency ELL= English Language Learner

LEP/ELL Demographics in the United States:  In the United States, there are over _____ LEP students.  A majority of LEP students are first or second generation Hispanic immigrants, though we have LEP students from across the globe in every state.  Many LEP struggle with reading and writing, and need your help for them to have success!

How do we determine if a student is LEP/ELL?  When students enter the US education system, the parents must first fill out a “Home Language Survey,” which indicates if the main language used in the home is English.  If the main language is NOT English, then the student must take an English assessment (the W-APT) to determine English proficiency.  This test will result in a score between 1 and 6 for each of the main communicative areas (Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening). If a student struggles in any of those regions due to limited English, they will be labeled LEP/ELL, and will have access to LEP services or will have their academic progress monitored by an ESL teacher.

Why is the W-APT/WIDA test score important?  As the teacher, it is very important to know and understand your LEP/ELL students’ WIDA scores. These scores range from 1 to 6, and reveal which communication areas the student may have trouble with.  The highest score a student can have is a “6” in any area, and this should indicate that the student has native-like English skills in that area.  The lowest score a student can have is a “1” which indicates they have little if any English communication capabilities in that area. These students are often new to the country and there fore called “newcomers.”  The next slide reveals the general English capabilities of students on each level from 1-6.

Performance definitions of WIDA LEP scores:  As seen on the chart to the side: a student who scores a “1” can only produce words or short phrases, whereas a student who scores a “6” has very specialized and technical English production.

What do we need to keep in mind while reading a students’ WIDA scores?  Students develop different capabilities at different speeds.  Often, LEP/ELL’s develop the speaking and listening English proficiency much sooner than reading and writing.  Speaking/listening depends on social vocabulary, and is picked up quickly in the lunch room/school yard, but Reading/Writing depends on more academic language, and takes much longer to acquire (5-7 years).  Therefore, a student may have native like speaking/listening, but is not able to succeed in reading/writing still because they do not have the academic language required.

A brief guide: A few reasons that LEP/ELL students struggle in content  Limited vocabulary : this prevents students from fully understanding and comprehending grade-level texts. This also limits a student’s ability to produce academic and technical analysis in writing.  Low reading levels : Many LEP/ELL students have below grade- level reading skills, in fluency and/or comprehension. Therefore, even simple reading tasks may be difficult of confusing for ELL’s.  Writing : Due to many factors (grammar, limited vocabulary, limited syntax, etc.), LEP/ELL’s often struggle to communicate fluently in writing. While the student may often understand a concept, they may have difficulty expressing that idea in English.  Background Knowledge : Finally, LEP/ELL students may have difficulty understanding content due to a lack of or different background knowledge about the world. If students have little familiarity with a concept, they will have difficulty understanding the information and connecting it with prior knowledge.