What Research Tells Us About Improving the Academic Achievement of Students with Diverse Background / ELLs

Major areas include:

• Diverse Background
• Literacy achievement gap
• Cultural component
• Equity issue
• Instructional strategies

Who are the Limited English Proficient Students (LEP) / English Language Learners (ELL)?

LEP/ELL students are those who:

• Come from a home where a language other than English is spoken.
• Speak a language other than English as their primary means of communicating.
• Are learning English but are not proficient in understanding, speaking, reading, or writing English.
• Score below the 40th percentile on a standardized English reading test.

Diverse Background

• Ethnicity, SES, Primary Language
• In the United States
  • African American, Latino American, Native American.
  • From low income families.
  • Speak a home language other than standard American English.

Academic Gap 

• More significant in high school - Students lose 4 year of learning.
• Historical research on rising standards of literacy (Stedman & Kaesthe, 1991).
• Globalization as the impetus for higher standards.
  • American workers need to out-think workers in other parts of the world.

Equity Issue 

• In comparison to mainstream students, students with diverse backgrounds tend to receive:
  • A great deal of instruction in lower-level skills.
  • Little instruction in higher-level thinking about text.

Cultural Component

1. Learn about the historical background of each ethnic group
   • Why they are here - There are many reasons why these groups came to the United States:  Political, Economic, Etc.
   • Culture & Learning Styles
   • Language & Identity Crisis - Is there?
2. Bridging the Academic Gap
   • Content Based
   • Collaborative approach
   • Native language support
   • Identity validation / sense of belonging
3. Parental Involvement in School
   • Building trust
   • Home visits
   • Parent meeting, using translator or liaison to help with communication
   • Validate and give parents a sense of purpose and how valuable they are to the school / community
   • Have parents come in to be guest speakers to share their experience, knowledge and background.

Instructional Strategies

• Culturally Responsive Instruction
  • Build on values and experiences students bring from the home & see their home languages as a resource.
  • this principle applies to all students, including those of mainstream backgrounds
  • Respect for the home language = Respect for the students and their culture ( Au, 2004)
  • Multicultural books
  • Culturally related content
  • Bi-literacy
• Cooperative Learning
• Hands-on
• Sheltered Instruction
• Differentiated Instruction
• TPR (Total Physical Response)
• Preview/Review
• Two-Way Bilingual Immersion
• Natural Approach