Assessing the literacy skills of adult immigrants and adult English language learners

2009 ◽  
Vol 2009 (121) ◽  
pp. 5-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heide Spruck Wrigley ◽  
Jing Chen ◽  
Sheida White ◽  
Jaleh Soroui
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
English Language ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Adult Immigrants ◽  
Adult English Language Learners

The Language Policy of Placement Tests for Newcomer English Learners

2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (7) ◽  
pp. 936-968 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kendall King ◽  
Martha Bigelow
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
English Learners ◽  
English Language ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Placement Test ◽  
Formal Schooling ◽  
High Stakes

U.S. public schools are required to establish policies ensuring that English language learners have equal access to “meaningful education.” This demands that districts put into place mechanisms to determine student eligibility for specialized English language services. For the most states, this federal requirement is fulfilled through the local administration of the WIDA–Access Placement Test (W-APT), arguably the most widely used, yet under-studied, English language assessment in the country. Through intensive participant observation at one, urban new student intake center, and detailed qualitative, discursive analysis of test administration and interaction, we demonstrate how the W-APT works as a high-stakes assessment, screener, and sorter, and how test takers and test administrators locally negotiate this test and enact this federal and state policy. Our analysis indicates that the W-APT is problematic in several respects, most importantly because the test does not differentiate adequately across students with widely different literacy skills and formal schooling experiences.

Teaching Reading to Young English Language Learners Through Folk Literature

2020 ◽  
pp. 65-80
Author(s):  
Nabat Erdogan
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
English Learners ◽  
Reading Ability ◽  
English Language ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Reading Tests ◽  
Folk Literature ◽  
Age Appropriate ◽  
Different Characteristics

The lack of sufficient reading ability and, consequently, inadequate reading achievement continue to affect large student populations in U.S. schools. English language learners (ELLs), who represent the fastest growing segment of student population in the U.S., constitute one of the largest groups of students who perform poorly on state reading tests. There are many factors contributing to English learners' low reading skills. One of these factors is the lack of appropriate and interesting reading materials or insufficient attention to effective text selection. What kind of texts are considered appropriate for language learners? Effective texts for ELLs should be age-appropriate, language-appropriate, culturally relevant, entertaining, and interesting. This chapter suggests that folktales possess many characteristics of effective texts and can serve as a valuable resource for improving young English learners' literacy skills in English. The chapter exemplifies different characteristics of folktales and provides recommendations for the use of folk literature in the language classroom.

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