ELL numbers balloon

GRAND FORKS, ND–Amera Issa excitedly raises her hand to answer almost every question her teacher asks. Amazing, considering the 8-year-old second-grader at Century Elementary in Grand Forks is new to the English language. Issa is a Somali English Language Learner full story

States with Alternative Tests for ELLs

LEARNING THE LANGUAGE–Staff members of the U.S. Department of Education have provided me with a factual statement about states that have alternative tests for English-language learners for calculating adequate yearly progress under the No Child Left Behind Act—and full story

Strong grasp of mother tongue boosts students

CALGARY, CANADA–A cacophony of sounds emerges from the St. Mark School library as parents and children create multi-coloured advent wreaths. Intermingling conversations in Spanish, Asirian and Tagalog are encouraged in this specialized preschool for students full story

Programs aimed at helping students adjust to language

NASHUA, CT–Although America is a land of immigrants, throughout history, many Americans have hesitated to welcome newcomers. Even today, many want immigrants and refugees to assimilate quickly and are ambivalent about accommodations they believe might slow full story

What is ELL?

GRAND FORKS, ND–The English Language Learner program includes six levels. Level 1 contains students with no English background, and students become more proficient closer to Level 6. Students can be taken out of the program when they reach 4.5, according to state law, but staff full story

Move to Introduce English in Arabic Nurseries Hailed

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES–Children at a young age are more linguistically inclined in comparison to the later stages in their life. Parents thus believe that if English is taught in state-run and Arabic nurseries and schools it will make their children more proficient when they full story

Oregon Suspends Use of Aprenda–a Spanish-Language Test

LEARNING THE LANGAUGE–Oregon has become the latest state to stop using an alternative test for English-language learners because federal education officials have questioned its comparability with the state’s regular test. A number of states have already dropped alternative tests for English-language learners for the same reason. full story

Invigorating basic education

MANILLA, PHILIPPINES–Teaching basic education through the language spoken by the child at home is both a policy and a widespread practice among the more developed countries across Asia, such as in Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei and Japan.  full story

Course breaks barriers to language for non-English speakers

DESOTO, MS–Since 2002, the number of non-English speakers in the DeSoto County School system has multiplied 10-fold, from 70 to more than 800. And the trend is likely to continue. As a result, the district is embarking on a bold pilot program to integrate these children full story

English learners increase

DUNCAN, OK–The number of students who are classified as English language learners is increasing, and while officials say they don’t know what’s causing the growth, testing shows the students are having success with the district’s support programs. Duncan Public Schools reports that the number of English language learners (ELL) has full story