Academic Gains of English Language Learners Prove High Standards, Accountability Paying Off, Says Secretary Spellings: Prepared Remarks for Secretary Spellings at the Fourth Annual "Celebrate Our Rising Stars Summit: From Essential Elements to Effective Practice" Hosted by ED's Office of English Language Acquisition in Washington, DC

There is a growing need to implement an alternative and viable solution in U.S. K-12 schools that will address the ever-growing gap that the rapidly growing English Language Learner (ELL) population presents. This chapter examines various technology-based tools and their potential impact. These technology-based solutions could help to alleviate an already taxed educational system, as well as significantly aid in improving and increasing English language acquisition among the nation’s K-12 ELL population. A review of recent research provides evidence and a strong foundation that supports the integration of these solutions. An ELL Design Quadrant ensures that one follows best practices when integrating technology, and a practical applications section presents examples of contemporary technology with accompanying instructional strategies that educators can utilize in the everyday classroom. Throughout the chapter, references to language acquisition and learning theories provide the evidence and background knowledge necessary to integrate technology into the ELL literacy curriculum, based on sound judgment.

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Technology-Based Literacy Approach for English Language Learners

Technological Tools for the Literacy Classroom ◽

10.4018/978-1-4666-3974-4.ch015 ◽

2013 ◽

pp. 263-279

Author(s):

Erin L. White

Keyword(s):

English Language Learners ◽

Language Acquisition ◽

Language Learners ◽

English Language ◽

Learning Theories ◽

Literacy Curriculum ◽

English Language Acquisition ◽

Practical Applications ◽

K 12 ◽

Everyday Classroom

There is a growing need to implement an alternative and viable solution in U.S. K-12 schools that will address the ever-growing gap that the rapidly growing English Language Learner (ELL) population presents. This chapter examines various technology-based tools and their potential impact. These technology-based solutions could help to alleviate an already taxed educational system, as well as significantly aid in improving and increasing English language acquisition among the nation’s K-12 ELL population. A review of recent research provides evidence and a strong foundation that supports the integration of these solutions. An ELL Design Quadrant ensures that one follows best practices when integrating technology, and a practical applications section presents examples of contemporary technology with accompanying instructional strategies that educators can utilize in the everyday classroom. Throughout the chapter, references to language acquisition and learning theories provide the evidence and background knowledge necessary to integrate technology into the ELL literacy curriculum, based on sound judgment.

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Technology-Based Literacy Instruction For English Language Learners

Journal of College Teaching & Learning (TLC) ◽

10.19030/tlc.v8i6.4280 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 8 (6) ◽

pp. 1 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Erin L. White ◽

Sharlett Gillard

Keyword(s):

English Language Learners ◽

Language Acquisition ◽

Language Learners ◽

English Language Learner ◽

English Language ◽

Language Learner ◽

English Language Acquisition ◽

Viable Solution ◽

Potential Impact ◽

K 12

There is a growing need to implement an alternative and viable solution in U.S. K-12 schools that will address the ever-growing gap that the rapidly growing English language learner (ELL) population presents. This article examines various technology-based solutions, and their potential impact. The systematic implementation of these technology-based solutions could aid in alleviating an already taxed educational workforce, as well as significantly aid in promoting English language acquisition among the nations K-12 ELL population.

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Teachers’ Practices in the Acquisition of English by Asian Immigrant English Language Learners

Malaysian Journal of Learning and Instruction ◽

10.32890/mjli2019.16.1.9 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 16 (Number 1) ◽

pp. 207-232

Author(s):

Mazlina Che Mustafa ◽

Nor Mashitah Md. Radzi ◽

Abdul Halim Masnan ◽

Juppri Bacotang ◽

Zainiah Mohamed Isa ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Early Childhood ◽

English Language Learners ◽

New Zealand ◽

Language Acquisition ◽

English Language ◽

Early Childhood Teachers ◽

Asian Immigrant ◽

English Language Acquisition ◽

Beliefs And Practices ◽

Teachers Beliefs

Purpose - The increase in the enrolments of immigrant children in New Zealand seems to have posed great challenges to early childhood education services when it comes to developing the children’s English language acquisition. This qualitative case study explored how New Zealand early childhood teachers develop the English language acquisition of Asian immigrant English language learners (ELLs). The theoretical framework of this research drew on a range of sociocultural perspectives, including sociocultural adaptation and acculturation strategies. Methodology - The main participants of this study were seven early childhood teachers and six Asian immigrant ELLs from two early childhood centres. Data on the teachers were collected through observations and semi-structured interviews. For each centre, observations were carried out over a six week period which enabled a series of snapshots of how the teachers developed the English language acquisition of the ELLs. Findings - Making interactions comprehensible for the ELLs is one of the main strategies used by the teachers in developing the acquisition of English language by the ELLs. In the process of teaching the English language to the ELLs, most of the teachers were observed to use certain strategies in making interactions comprehensible for them. The teachers highlighted the strategies and modifications they made in order to make their interactions comprehensible for the ELLs. During the interview, it was clearly seen that with better proficiency in the English language, the communication between the ELLs and their teachers improved. Therefore, the sociocultural adaptation process takes place in a smooth manner for both the ELLs and the teachers. Significance - The central significance of the finding is that through the exploration of New Zealand early childhood teachers’ beliefs and practices, important insights are offered which lead to the improvement of educational practices in early childhood settings for immigrant children in relation to English acquisition. While some of the teachers’ beliefs and practices may have facilitative or positive effects on English acquisition, others may bring debilitative or harmful effects. The findings also add to the existing body of knowledge on teachers’ beliefs and practices in developing English acquisition among the ELLs, particularly Asian children. In the New Zealand early childhood education context, the study provides a platform on how early childhood teachers in New Zealand could develop English acquisition among Asian immigrant ELLs, while valuing and understanding children’s cultural backgrounds.

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The crosslinguistic study of language acquisition: Vol. 5. Expanding the contexts. D. I. Slobin. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum, 1997. Pp. 339.

Applied Psycholinguistics ◽

10.1017/s0142716499213070 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 20 (3) ◽

pp. 449-454

Author(s):

Beverly A. Goldfield

Keyword(s):

English Language Learners ◽

Language Acquisition ◽

Language Learners ◽

English Language ◽

Language Learner ◽

Systematic Sampling ◽

Intractable Problems ◽

The Individual ◽

Typological Variation ◽

Theoretical Issues

For many years, research and theory on language acquisition have been sustained by data on English language learners, with an occasional crosslinguistic contribution. With more than 5,000 languages currently spoken in the world, we are not even close to a systematic sampling of languages and language learners. However, current crosslinguistic inquiry motivates much of the most interesting work in theoretical linguistics, neurolinguistics, and, thanks in large part to Dan Slobin's multivolume series, language acquisition. Volumes 1, 3, and 4 of The Crosslinguistic Study of Language Acquisition summarize critical features and the overall course of development for 25 languages. The chapters in Volume 2 consider theoretical issues raised by the crosslinguistic evidence. Volume 5 is the most recent publication, and, like Volume 2, its chapters provide a broader perspective on the data. The five chapters of the current volume attempt to enlarge the all-too-often narrow portrayal of the individual language learner grappling with the intractable problems of syntax and morphology. The authors review relevant data from previous volumes and consider how prosody, semantics, and pragmatics can disambiguate syntax and morphology and how a framework of systematic typological variation is crucial to understanding just how this might be accomplished.

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