SUPPORTING ESL/ELL STUDENTS IN THE MATHEMATICS CLASSROOM

1. SUPPORTING ESL/ELL STUDENTS IN THE MATHEMATICS CLASSROOM By: Kelsey Gacek, Kelli Segobiano, and Marissa Walczak

2. WHAT IS ELL AND ESL? • ELL stands for English language learners meaning that English is not their first language. • Often ELL students come in to the classrooms far behind the rest of their peers. • In ELL programs, teachers do not have to be certified to know the language. • ESL stands for English as a second language. • In ESL programs, teachers must be certified to teach the ELL students’ specific language, but other students may be in the classrooms that are fluent in English.

3. QUESTION 1: CURRENTLY, HOW MANY STUDENTS IN THE US SPEAK A LANGUAGE OTHER THAN ENGLISH AT HOME? • 1/2 • 1/5 • 1/10 • 1/3

4. WHY IT’S HOT? • In 2007, one in five students spoke a language other than English at home, and the majority of these students are learning English as a second language in school. • In 1972, 22% of all students enrolled in elementary and secondary public schools were of racial/ethnic minority backgrounds. By 2003, racial/ethnic minority students accounted for 41% of total enrollments in U.S. public schools. • Educators sometimes misjudge immigrant families’ ability to contribute to their children’s school success, especially those of English learners.

5. WHAT ARE THE RELEVANT ISSUES? • 16-20 year old immigrants who seek to attend school are often discouraged from enrolling and referred to adult literacy programs offering far fewer hours of schooling. • Enrolling large numbers of adolescent ELL’s can put a school at risk of failing to make AYP. • As schools are dealing with budget cuts and federal program funding reductions, adolescent ELL’s are often viewed as an unwelcome presence in schools, a drain on the limited resources available. • Teachers aren’t prepared to work with ELL students.

6. QUESTION 2: WHY DO YOU BELIEVE ELL STUDENTS ARE TAKING LOWER LEVEL MATH CLASSES IN SCHOOLS? • Not enough resources available • Teachers don’t know the student’s native language • The student isn’t willing to learn English • ELL students aren’t smart • Parents don’t know how to support or they don’t support their children at home

7. WHAT DOES THE RESEARCH SAY? • Social language development occurs within a year or two but academic language takes 4-7 years to acquire. Students with no or little previous schooling can require 7-10 years to catch up academically with their peers. • Teachers who involve families seek positive results. Cognitive and academic development in the first language has an extremely important and positive effect on second language learning at school. • Although large enrollments of K-12 ELL’s have been common in some metropolitan areas of the US, most school districts across the country are unprepared to handle the changes in student population that have occurred during the last three decades. A major challenge is the shortage of teachers qualified to meet the needs of this new population. In fact, nationwide, only 2.5% of teachers of ELL’s have received special preparation to work with these students.

8. QUESTION 3: HOW WOULD YOU REACT IF ONE OF YOUR STUDENTS IS STRUGGLING BECAUSE HE/SHE CAN’T UNDERSTAND ENGLISH AND IS SLOWING THE PACE OF THE CLASS DOWN? • Give up on the student • Tell the student’s parents to start only speaking English at home • Take time during class to give the student individual attention • Start incorporating group work and using multiple means of representations

9. BEST PRACTICES • Explain and define key terms • Using writing or journals as a learning tool • Group work and discussion • Graphic organizers • Incorporating multiple representations • Have engaging projects like games/puzzles/activities • Create team-based support where the ELL works with a team of individuals for support and help • Have parent education programs • Translate your newsletters and reminders into other languages so parents can see and understand what’s going on in class • Be approachable to parents and students

10. WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? • It is very likely that some of our future students will be English language learners. • All educators must know about learning a second language in order to provide effective instruction. • Students need opportunities for social interaction that require the use of the language even if it is not used perfectly. • Rather than discouraging students from using their existing linguistic repertoires, teachers should encourage ELL students to rely on their funds of knowledge and build on their bicultural and bilingual experiences as a bridge to developing academic English proficiency.

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