English as a Second Language

Who are our English language learners?

United States Facts

• The U.S. has the 5th largest Spanish-speaking population in the world.

• According to the U.S. Census Bureau (2007), 12.6% of the U.S. population is foreign-born.

• Immigrant families are concentrated in CA, TX, NY, FL, IL, and NJ.

• More than 5 million school-age children are learning English as a second language.

EPE Research Center (2009). A growing population. Education Week, 28(17), 10.

Where U.S. Immigrants Come From

Top 10 Countries of Origin of U.S. Foreign-Born Population

1. Mexico

2. China

3. Philippines

4. India

5. El Salvador

6. Vietnam

7. South Korea

8. Cuba

9. Canada

10. Dominican Republic

2007

Top 10 Ethnicities of Immigrants Who Passed Through Ellis Is.

1. Italian

2. Jewish

3. German

4. Polish

5. Scandinavian

6. English

7. Irish

8. Scottish

9. Slovak

10. French

1899-1931

NY Times Upfront,

April 6, 2009

MTHS English Language Learners by Country of OriginSeptember 2009

Are All ELLs Immigrants?

“Fifty-seven percent of adolescent learners

classified as limited English proficient were born

within U.S. borders and thus are second or

third-generation residents.”

Rance-Roney, J. (April 2009). Best practices for adolescent ELLs. Educational Leadership, 66(7), 32-37.

Who are our ELLs?

• Immigrants

• Refugees

• Migrants

• Ethnic Minorities

• Sojourners

Cammilleri, A. (2009). Context and culture. WiDA Focus on Language and Culture, 1(2), 1-4.

What can we learn from ELL student achievement data?

2005 NAEP Scores by English Language

Proficiency

http://www.carnegie.org/literacy/pdf/Measures_of_Change.pdf

2005 8th Grade NAEP Reading Results by Language Proficiency

2005 8th Grade NEAP Mathematics Results by Language Proficiency

Pennsylvania

• There are approximately 42,500 students who are learning English in PA’s public schools.

• The population of ELLs in PA has more than doubled since 1995.

Rieg, S. (2008). Supporting English-language learners as they learn to read: strategies for building vocabulary and comprehension. Pennsylvania Reads, 8, 20-27.

Manheim Township School District

• The number of English language learners in MTSD

has increased substantially in the last 10 years.

81 in 1999

164 in 2004

334 in March, 2009

• This year, there are more than 30 languages spoken

by MTSD students.

Manheim Township High School

• This fall we expect to have approximately 46 students at the high school who are learning English and are actively involved in our ESL program.

• In addition, there are 22 students on “Monitor” status.

• These students speak 14 different languages.

• Amharic (Ethiopia)

• Bosnian

• Mandarin

• Czech

• Filipino

• French

• Gujarati (India)

• Haitian-Creole

• Khymer (Cambodia)

• Korean

• Laotian

• Russian

• Spanish

• Vietnamese

Perceptions of MTHS

From our own English language learners

When you first came to MTHS, how were you treated by other students?

• “Pretty good, my friends help me with English speaking.” (Laos)

• “I didn’t ask anybody anything so they didn’t talk or do stuff to me.” (Cuba)

• “As a foreigner student who could not speak English. Maybe, they thought that I am stupid because I could not express myself in English, but I haven’t heard them say so.” (China)

• “Some are nice, some are so mean. They think we can’t speak English.” (China)

When you first came to MTHS, how were you treated by your teachers?

• “Very good. They help me a lot, specially my English.” (Laos)

• “I was treated fairly and I had a lot of attention from them and I think that’s good.” (Cuba)

• “Like a kindergarten student.” (China)

• “They were being nice to me. They did not give me much work to do.” (Taiwan)

How are you treated by your teachers now?

• “Well respected, somewhat. Some teacher do put me down…They give me so much that I can’t keep up…so things with teachers get complicated.” (Cambodian student born in US)

• “Just like regular kids.” (Vietnam)

• “I’m still treated fairly, but not as much attention as before.” (Cuba)

• “As a foreigner student.” (China)

Do you think your teachers at MTHS care about you and want you to do well?

• “I’m not sure, because some teacher care and some teacher don’t.” (Taiwan)

• “I can study my teachers very well, and some do care and some don’t care. I’ve met mean teachers and seems all they think of is go teach and get paid.” (Cambodia)

• “Yes, teachers helps me a lot when I need help.” (India)

• “Yes, I think some of them care because they always encourage me to do better.” (Dominican Republic)

What’s the best thing about America?

• “I can get a good education.” (Dominican Rep.)

• “The laws and the chance to pick your government.” (Cuba)

• “Money.” (Vietnam)

• “Free, more opportunities to realize your dreams.” (China)

• “Less homework, less pressure, teachers are much cooler.” (China)

Stages of Language Acquisition

• Stage 1: Preproduction (0-6 months)

• Stage 2: Early Production (6 months – 1 year)

• Stage 3: Speech Emergence (1-3 years)

• Stage 4: Intermediate (3-5 years)

• Stage 5: Advanced Fluency (5-7 years)