Ward 1

Anna Ward
EDU 215
Harris
16 April 2013
Word Count: 793
English Language Learners
As diversity of school populations continue to increase, it becomes
increasingly important to address the needs of students with limited English
proficiency. Now schools commonly provide an ESL/ELL program for students
whose native language is not English. Teachers need to be prepared to
interact with these students and provide them with the support and
understanding they need to be successful. Being a future teacher, it is
necessary to observe the supports currently provided to ELL students and
brainstorm ways to improve the learning environment and school experience
for these students.
Laura F. McGrath provided some important data relating to the English
Language Learning program in Harrisonburg city schools. She said that there
are currently 1764 active LEP, or limited English proficient, students.
Students with a LEP identification are part of the ELL program which varies
according to grade. In most cases, students are removed for part of the day
to work on content material while learning and practicing English. McGrath
also said that there are 40 to 50 languages represented in Harrisonburg city
schools. Within the next 2 years, 55 percent of students in Harrisonburg city

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school will have received some form of support from the ELL programs. She
mentioned some of the struggles of the program include: inadequate
funding, overflow of ELL students into special education classes, and
resources for all languages present (like Tigrinia).
Within Smithland Elementary School, almost half of students are
designated as LEP. Approximately 48 percent of students at Smithland are
LEP (Virginia Department of Education). Within the Kindergarten class I
observe, 50 percent of the students have limited English-speaking abilities.
Ms. Cs class contains one student who is bilingual in Kurdish and English,
and about 10 students who speak Spanish as their native language. The
students of Ms. Cs class have a block where they learn Spanish. In addition,
some of the students are pulled out for ELL classes. Speech specialists also
come into the classroom to help teach content to students are learning
English or are struggling with literacy and speech. They still receive the same
content and have access to the same activities as other students, but their
lessons are tailored to focus on word association and pronunciation. Ms. C
also provides all forms for parents in both English and Spanish, as they are
the dominant languages spoken in the homes of her students.
To understand how to interact with and teach English language
learners, it is important to see the struggles they have faced in the past and
the obstacles they still face today. Latino languages are directly and
intrinsically linked to cultural identity (Spradlin 127). Language serves to

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express cultural values and beliefs; the devaluation of Spanish and other
Latino languages weakens Latino community and identity (Spradlin 127-128).
Bicultural language programs would help students to learn English, while still
maintaining their native language, and therefore their cultural identity
(Spradlin 128). Spradlin explains that while bicultural language programs
could be just as or more effective than English only ELL programs, the
English only programs dominate current school structures (128). Teachers in
ELL are not even required to speak Spanish, leaving Latino students without
a teacher who can communicate and understand their native language and
culture. Lastly, many ELL students are improperly placed into special needs
classes due to limited understanding of English and not a learning disability
(Spradlin 129). Structures within schools and classrooms need to be
reevaluated to ensure that the best teaching and programming is being
offered to all students, not just English proficient students.
As a future educator, it is important to have multiple strategies to
effectively teach LEP students. If I have students who speak little to no
English, I can use actions and physical responses to communicate initially. I
can also learn basic words and phrases for all of the languages represented
in my classroom; this way, I can make the students feel welcomed and
understood. Signage in my classroom can be in English and Spanish. My
classroom could also have a cultural celebration day where students bring in
things from home and teach the students something about their language
and culture. Parents and other individuals in the community with differing

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language abilities can come to my classroom to teach students about

language and culture. I will have my students learn how to say hello in
every language that is represented or spoken in our classroom. If every
student knows how to say hello, then they can greet their classmates in a
way that is special and unique. I hope that these strategies make my
classroom an equitable, safe, welcome, and understanding place for every
student.

Works Cited
Virginia Department of Education, . Virginia. Department of Education. Fall
Membership. Richmond: Commonwealth of Virginia, 2011. Web.
http://www.doe.virginia.gov/statistics_reports/enrollment/fall_members
hip/index.shtml
Spradlin, Lynn K. Diversity Matters: Understanding Diversity in Schools. 2nd Ed.
Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning, 2012. 127-129. Print.