Other ELL Students (Middle Eastern, African, European, etc.)

A Statistical Portrait of the Foreign-Born Population at Mid-Decade

by Pew Hispanic Center

Pew Hispanic Center. (2006). A Statistical Portrait of the Foreign-Born Population at Mid-Decade. Pew Hispanic Center: Washington, DC.

Topics Covered: Data (Demographics, Facts, and Figures);

Tags: Asian ELL Students; Latino ELL Students; Other ELL Students (Middle Eastern, African, European, etc.);

Target Population: Preschool, Elementary, Middle, High School, Post-Secondary

Research Questions the Report Poses: None; document is a collection of graphs and charts

Summary: This is a collection of 32 tables that examine various demographic categories of foreign-born individuals in the United States as of 2005. Some of the charts have comparisons to year 2000 data.

Findings:
None; collection of tables.

Policy Recommendations:
None; collection of tables.

• Link to Full Report

Children in Immigrant Families - The U.S. and 50 States: National Origins, Language, and Early Education

by Child Trends and the Center for Social and Demographic Analysis at SUNY-Albany / Donald Hernandez, Nancy Denton, and Suzanne Macartney

Hernandez, D., Denton, N., and Macartney, S. (2007, April). Child Trends and Children in Immigrant Families - The U.S. and 50 States: National Origins, Language, and Early Education. Albany, NY: Center for Social and Demographic Analysis at SUNY-Albany

Topics Covered: Data (Demographics, Facts, and Figures); Higher Education and Careers; Learning Disabilities and Special Education; Literacy and Reading / Writing Instruction; Literacy and Reading / Writing Instruction; Early (Pre-K);

Tags: Asian ELL Students; Bilingual Instruction; Bilingualism / Biliteracy; Latino ELL Students; Other ELL Students (Middle Eastern, African, European, etc.); Parent Involvement and Outreach / PTA;

Target Population: Preschool

Research Questions the Report Poses: None; instead makes the case that newcomer families and the children within them are, and will continue to be, a significant demographic in American education

Summary: At the time of this report's publishing, children from newcomer families (families with at least one foreign-born parent) account for 20 percent of the nation's schoolchildren. This research brief, whose data is based on the year 2000 census, makes the case that children of newcomer families will continue to make up a significant portion of American schoolchildren, especially since rates of white, non-Hispanic schoolchildren are expected to decline in the coming decades. The report notes that the specific national origin of newcomer families varies widely from state to state. It also makes the assertion that the nearly 50% of children in newcomer families who speak both English and another language well represent a great opportunity to promote bilingualism in the United States. However, the nearly 25% of children in newcomer families who live in linguistically isolated households will continue to pose a challenge for the American education system. The report also cites children from newcomer families going to pre-school with lower prevalence than children from native born families.

Findings:

• 25 percent of children from newcomer families have a parent who was born in the United States.
• Two-thirds of children from newcomer families have parents who have lived in the United States for ten or more years.
• 80% of children from newcomer families are US citizens
• Almost 60% of children have at least one parent who speaks English exclusively or very well
• Three-quarters of children from newcomer families speak English exclusively or very well
• Almost half of newcomer children speak both English and another language fluently or close to fluently
• Approximately a quarter of newcomer children are from linguistically isolated households
• Children from newcomer families going to pre-school with lower prevalence than children from native born families

Policy Recommendations:

• More resources need to be devoted to getting good early education to children from newcomer families
• A re-examination must take place of education policy toward language instruction, especially views of bi-literacy and bilingualism
• Education programs can and should improve outreach to newcomer parents

• Link to Full Report

To order a hard copy of the report, contact:
Child Trends
Bonnie Wahiba
4301 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Suite 350
Washington, DC 20008
E-Mail: bwahiba@childtrends.org
Phone: (202) 572-6136
Fax: (202) 362-8420 (third floor, Suite 350)

Practical Guidelines for the Education of English Language Learners: Research-based Recommendations for the Instruction and Academic Interventions

by David J. Francis and Mabel Rivera/Center on Instruction English Language Learners Strand, Nonie Lesaux and Michael Kieffer/Havard Graduate School of Education, Hector Rivera/Center on Instruction English Language Learners Strand

Francis, David J., Mabel Rivera, Nonie Lesaux, and Hector Rivera. (2006). Research-Based Recommendations for Instruction and Academic Interventions. Practical Guidelines for the Education of English Language Learners, Retrieved April 11,2008, from http://www.centeroninstruction.org/files/ELL1-Interventions.pdf

Topics Covered: About ELLs; Assessment and Accommodations; Learning Disabilities and Special Education; Literacy and Reading / Writing Instruction;

Tags: American Indian ELL Students; Asian ELL Students; Comprehension; Content Areas: Math; Fluency; Instructional Programs; Intervention; Language of Instruction; Language Proficiency; Latino ELL Students; Other ELL Students (Middle Eastern, African, European, etc.); Phonics; Phonological Awareness; Reading; Struggling Readers; Vocabulary; Writing;

Target Population: Elementary School, Middle School, High School

Research Questions the Report Poses: What students are classified as being English Language Learners? How are they best identified, and what recommendations should be made to more adequately instruct possible ELL students to prevent further learning difficulties?

Summary: After briefly highlighting the characteristics of and how to best identify ELL students the articles attempts to show the importance of effective instruction and intervention not only for academically struggling ELL students, but also for all ELL students including those individuals who are linguistically fluent in English. Before looking into the proposed recommendations the article also briefly looks into the importance of mastering academic language skills as key elements to academic success. The importance of academic language skills is revisited under the recommendations sections for both reading comprehension and mathematics.

Findings:

• Statistics for ELLs may be hard to obtain or may be inaccurate since many ELL students go without being properly identified
• ELL students can better from more individualized instruction
• Mastery of academic language is necessary for academic success, which can prove to be difficult even for English speaking proficient ELLs
• In order to provide effective support of reading comprehension to ELLs educators must have an understanding of the child's individual needs
• In addition to reading comprehension it is crucial for students to become proficient in mathematics

Policy Recommendations:
While the article did not have any specific policy recommendations the recommendations listed in the article could be taken as such and thus included in this section.

Recommendations for Reading Instruction and interventions:

• ELLs need early, explicit, and intensive instruction in phonological awareness and phonics in order to build decoding skills.
• K-12 classrooms across the nation must increase opportunities for ELLs to develop sophisticated vocabulary knowledge.
• Reading instruction in K-12 classrooms must equip ELLs with strategies and knowledge to comprehend and analyze challenging narrative and expository texts.
• Instruction and intervention to promote ELLs' reading fluency must focus on vocabulary and increased exposure to print.
• In all K-12 classrooms across the U.S., ELLs need significant opportunities to engage in structured, academic talk.
• Independent reading is only beneficial when it is structured and purposeful, and there is a good reader-text match.

• ELLs need early explicit and intensive instruction and intervention in basic mathematics concepts and skill.
• Academic language is as central to mathematics as it is to other academic areas. It is a significant source of difficulty for many ELLs who struggle with mathematics.
• ELLs need academic language support to understand and solve the word problems that are often used for mathematics assessment and instruction.

• Link to Full Report

To order a hard copy of the report, contact:
N/A

Promoting Academic Literacy Among Secondary English Language Learners: A Synthesis of Research and Practice

by UC Davis School of Education

Maxwell-Jolly, J., Gandara, P. & Benavidez L. M. (2005). Promoting academic literacy among secondary English language learners: A synthesis of research and practice. Davis, CA: UC Davis School of Education.

Topics Covered: Best Teaching Practices / Professional Development;

Tags: American Indian ELL Students; Asian ELL Students; Latino ELL Students; Other ELL Students (Middle Eastern, African, European, etc.);

Target Population: middle and high school

Research Questions the Report Poses: What policy steps should occur in California to improve the education of secondary English Language Learners?

Summary: Provides an overview of issues related to teaching English language learners (ELL), and recommendations for California policy including: challenges secondary ELL students face; needs and limitations of teachers and schools in CA; and best practices cited by researchers and practitioners. The report largely summarizes three days of panel presentations and discussions by ELL experts convened in 2005.

Findings:
A number of themes emerged from the panel discussants including:

• the need for identifying ELL students better; inadequate existing programs for ELL secondary students;
• the need for more teachers and administrators who are knowledgeable about the needs of secondary ELL students; and
• the importance of advocacy and staying on-message to improve ELL education.

Policy Recommendations:
The report adopts five policy steps that should occur including:

• Convene a panel of experts;
• Promote pilot programs;
• Develop an effective ELL assessment system;
• Establish a committee in the CA legislature to recruit and retain highly skilled ELL teachers and administrators; and
• Organize a summit to bring attention and focus to the need for improved ELL secondary education.

• Link to Full Report

To order a hard copy of the report, contact:
NA

The Growth of the Linguistic Minority Population in the U.S. and California 1980-2005

by University of California Linguistic Minority Research Institute

University of California Linguistic Minority Research Institute. (2006). The Growth of the Linguistic Minority Population in the U.S. and California 1980-2005. University of California Linguistic Minority Research Institute: Santa Barbara, CA.

Topics Covered: Data (Demographics, Facts, and Figures);

Tags: American Indian ELL Students; Asian ELL Students; Latino ELL Students; Other ELL Students (Middle Eastern, African, European, etc.);

Target Population: Preschool, Elementary, Middle, High School

Research Questions the Report Poses: No Research Question, Data Presentation Only

Summary: This short document has a chart and a table detailing population trends in both the United States and California from 1980 to 2005. According to the data here, California has a much higher percentage of linguistic minority (ELL) students than the nation overall does, and in the time period 1980-2005, California's linguistic minority population increased greatly compared to that of the United States.

Findings:
According to the data here, California has a much higher percentage of linguistic minority (ELL) students than the nation overall does, and in the time period 1980-2005, California's linguistic minority population increased greatly compared to that of the United States.

Policy Recommendations:
None

• Link to Full Report

To order a hard copy of the report, contact:
n/a

The Return to English in a Non-English Speaking Country: Russian Immigrants and Native Israelis in Israel

by Kevin Lang and Erez Siniver/National Bureau of Economic Research

Lang, Kevin and Siniver, Erez, The Return to English in a Non-English Speaking Country: Russian Immigrants and Native Israelis in Israel (August 2006). NBER Working Paper No. W12464.

Topics Covered: About ELLs; Access, Equity, and Adequacy; Data (Demographics, Facts, and Figures); Higher Education and Careers;

Tags: Bilingualism / Biliteracy; Fluency; Language Proficiency; Other ELL Students (Middle Eastern, African, European, etc.);

Target Population: High School, Post-Secondary

Research Questions the Report Poses: What role does English play for Russian immigrants to Israel and Israel natives? How does this role differ?

Summary: The purpose of the study presented is to examine the return to English knowledge by reviewing samples of Russian immigrants and Israeli natives. The importance of such data as cited by the article is 1) due to the high level of press on/about globalization and the importance of foreign language knowledge, 2) that examining the Hebrew acquisition as well as the English acquisition among Russian immigrants to Israel they are addressing the criticism of literature on the role of host-country language acquisition on assimilation, and 3) to contribute to other literature showing language-skill complementarities.

Findings:
Below are the findings as listed in the report (p. 2):

• In cross-section estimates there is a significant return to English knowledge for both immigrants and natives with high levels of education.
• Language acquisition is an important element in immigrant/native earnings convergence, but most of this convergence is explained by factors other language acquisition.
• The results are confirmed using panel data on wages and knowledge of Hebrew and English over time.
• The benefits of English knowledge vary across occupations in ways that are largely consistent with past evidence on language-skill complementarities.
• Natives and immigrants with high levels of education benefit similarly from knowing English. While immigrants with low levels of education do not benefit from knowledge of English, there is some evidence that native Israelis do.
• Conditional on occupation the rate at which immigrants learn English and Hebrew are largely orthogonal. Therefore earlier work on the importance of knowledge of the host country language (Hebrew) does not appear to be significantly biased by the absence of measures of English knowledge.

Policy Recommendations:
N/A

• Link to Full Report

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N/A

Urgent but Overlooked: The Literacy Crisis Among Adolescent English Language Learners

by Alliance for Excellent Education

(February 2007). Urgent but overlooked: The literacy crisis among adolescent English Language Learners. Retrieved April 11, 2008, from Alliance For Excellent Education Web site: http://www.all4ed.org/files/UrgentOver.pdf

Topics Covered: About ELLs; Assessment and Accommodations; Bilingual Education; Literacy and Reading / Writing Instruction;

Tags: American Indian ELL Students; Asian ELL Students; Bilingual Instruction; Comprehension; Differentiated Instruction; Fluency; Instructional Programs; Intervention; Language of Instruction; Language Proficiency; Latino ELL Students; Other ELL Students (Middle Eastern, African, European, etc.); Reading; Transfer of Literacy Skills;

Target Population: Pre-K, Elementary School, Middle School, High School

Research Questions the Report Poses: What factors prevent ELL students from receiving effective literacy instruction?

Summary: ELL students represent the fastest growing segment of the student population and yet with respect to reading and literacy rates they are among the country's lowest performing students. This article looks at the crisis of low literacy rates among ELL students, what research is currently being done, the findings of that research, addresses key policy questions needing to be addressed by policymakers as well as a brief look into the types of support needed in order to provide ELL students with effective literacy instruction.

Findings:

• ELLs comprise 10.5 percent of the nation's pre-K-12 school enrollment, up from 5 percent in 1990
• ELLs continually score lower on the reading portion of the National Assessment of Educational Progress
• As the population of ELL students increases so does the demand from teachers for better methods of instruction
• The literacy needs of ELLs are both identical and distinct to their English-proficient peers
• Local, state, and federal policymakers need to address effect of the growing ELL student population's effect on demographic trends, educational challenges, school performance, etc.
• Improvements must be made on the types of support available to teachers working with ELL students, with special recognition that there are no one size fits all approaches to effective literacy instruction
• It should be the goal of the nation to educate all students

Policy Recommendations:
N/A

• Link to Full Report

To order a hard copy of the report, contact:
N/A