ELL News Headlines

Throughout the week, Colorín Colorado gathers news headlines related to English language learners from around the country. The ELL Headlines are posted Monday through Friday and are available for free!

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3 years since the pandemic wrecked attendance, kids still aren't showing up to school

When this school year began, Issac Moreno just couldn't get himself to go. During the pandemic, he'd gotten used to learning from his family's home in Los Angeles. Then, last fall, he started junior high, five days a week, in person. The last fully normal school year Issac remembers is third grade. Now, he's in seventh, with multiple classes each day, a busier schedule and new classmates. Issac's mother, Jessica Moreno, says it's been a struggle to get Issac back into the routine of going to school.

The English Learner Population Is Growing. Is Teacher Training Keeping Pace?

English learners are one of the fastest growing student populations in the country, yet the number of specialized educators for them is lagging behind. The number of certified licensed English learner instructors decreased by about 10.4 percent between the 2018-19 and 2019-20 school years, according to the latest federal data available. The national English learner population grew by 2.6 percent in the same time period.

Halifax choir brings newcomers together to learn English, one note at a time

In a large room at St. Andrew’s United Church in downtown Halifax, a piano player pounds out the chorus to a Talking Heads song as a group of 30 people sing along. “If I’m going to sing the wrong note, I’m going to sing it confidently,” choir director Rachel Manko Lutz tells them. This is a lesson for choir singers, but also for English language learners – and almost everyone here is one.

In 'Road to Healing' tour, Native American boarding school survivors speak out

In a high school gymnasium about 20 miles south of Phoenix, a room full of people shift in their seats. The space is silent, with every small creak echoing in the high rafters of the building. No one wants to be the first one to speak. Finally, a tall woman with dark hair stands up and walks to the microphone. She begins in English, but introduces herself in Tohono O'odham. "They call me April Ignacio and I am providing testimony on behalf of my family," she says. In her hands she holds a stack of papers that she reads from.

Promoting Outdoor Learning in Urban Settings

It’s a warm fall day, and a trio of students are bent over a carpet of red, orange, and gold leaves at their feet. They carefully pick through the pile and compare each leaf to the sketches they’ve already made, taking note of the curves and shape of each one. Their goal is to collect as many unique leaves as they can to support the building of a class tree identifier, but before they can complete their sketches,  a large American crow lands in the tree, calls out, and distracts them. The three students sit quietly, not wanting to disturb the recent arrival, but the bird takes off when a garbage truck goes barreling by its perch. The students get back to work — scooping up as many leaves as they can from their corner of 49th Avenue in New York City. 

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