Teaching English Language - Essay Example

In 1990, one in 20 public school students in grades K-12 was an English language learner (ELL), that is, a student who speaks English either not at all or with enough limitations that he or she cannot fully participate in mainstream English instruction. Today the figure is 1 in 9. Demographers estimate that in 20 years it might be 1 in 4. The ELL population has grown from 2 million to5 million since 1990, a period when the overall school population increased only 20 percent. By far, the majority of ELLs - 80 percent - are Spanish speakers" (Teaching English Language Learners, p3).

CALP - (cognitive academic language proficiency) the dimension of proficiency in which a learner manipulates or reflects on the surface features of language in academic contexts, such as text-taking, writing analysis, and reading academic texts. The following definitions have been earmarked for further study: "Predictable and consistent classroom management routines, aided by diagrams, lists, and easy-to-read schedules on the board or on charts, to which the teacher refers frequently; Graphic organizers that make content and the relationships among concepts and different lesson elements visually explicit; Additional time and opportunities for practice, either during the school day, after school, or for homework; Redundant key information, e.g., visual cues, pictures, and physical gestures about lesson content and classroom procedures; Identifying, highlighting, and clarifying difficult words and passages within texts to facilitate comprehension, and more generally greatly emphasizing vocabulary development; Helping students consolidate text knowledge by having the teacher, other students, and ELLs themselves