ELL News Headlines

Parents of students with disabilities who don’t speak English have long struggled to get their children’s learning plans translated into their native language, a crucial barrier to advocating for extra help or ensuring they are receiving the correct services.

In many parts of the country, access to a strong internet connection isn't a given. The Hope Center at Temple University reported in March that about 40% of college students have struggled with internet or computer access during the pandemic. The real number may be much higher: The report noted that, because the research relied on student responses from an online survey, "inadequate internet access could have contributed to low response rates."

Online education giant VIPKid, a Beijing-based tutoring platform that has raised $1.1 billion in capital since its founding and was at one point valued at over $3 billion, will end its flagship education program in China by early next month.

A $2.9 million grant will allow UC Riverside School of Education researcher Linda Ventriglia-Navarrette to continue developing technology-based language and literacy programs for English-language learners. 

A refugee resettlement agency has won the bid to create the statewide plan for English Language Learners through the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement.

The border guard steps over to the car and asks the woman inside to declare her citizenship. "Blackfoot," she responds. Thus begins the impasse that defines Borders, a graphic novel adapted by Natasha Donovan from the short story by Thomas King. The narrator and his mother are traveling from Canada to the United States. When the mother refuses to declare any citizenship other than Blackfoot, the Americans turn her away, and when she returns to the Canadian border post, the same thing happens. She and her young son are trapped in the gray area between borders. The story is a meditation on citizenship and nationality, as well as a testament to the fact that before any European set foot in North America, hundreds of sovereign nations stretched from coast to coast — sovereign nations that still exist. Borders is one of a growing number of graphic novels by and about Native people depicting a wide range of experiences and cultures.

A first-of-its-kind study from the University of Kansas (KU), examining three key cognitive functions and their role in learning to write, suggests that insufficient focus on bilingual education has hindered the progress of Hispanic English learners (ELs).

Mandy Smoker Broaddus is a practice expert in Native education at Education Northwest, which provides education support services to schools, districts, and communities. She’s also a member of the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Reservation in Montana. Through her work, she provides technical assistance and professional development in schools, tribal colleges, and at the state level. Here, she outlines the importance of culturally responsive teaching for all students.

Communicating with families is key to helping students thrive – and that’s become even more apparent during a pandemic that’s upended student well-being and forced constant logistical changes in schools. Educators should pay particular attention to the needs of parents who speak a language other than English at home, ensuring they stay informed and feel comfortable engaging in the school setting. In this webinar on Nov. 30 at 2pm ET, we’ll discuss concrete ways schools and districts can improve communication with families of English-language learners, including through alternate staffing approaches and smart use of technology.

'Last Night at the Telegraph Club' by Malinda Lo has won the 2021 National Book Award 2021 for Young People's Literature. The novel is set in the 1950s and follows the journey of seventeen-year-old Lily Hu as she falls in love with another young woman, set against Red-Scare paranoia.