Characteristics of a Long-term EL Student

Figure 1
Type of Learner	Characteristics
Newly Arrived with Adequate Schooling	s  Recent arrival (less than five years in U.S.) s  Adequate schooling in native country s  Soon catches up academically s  May still score low on standardized tests given in     English
Newly Arrived with Limited Formal Schooling	s  Recent arrival (less than five years in U.S.) s  Interrupted or limited schooling in native country s  Below grade level in math s  Poor academic achievement
Long-Term English Learner	s  Receiving EL services for six years or more s  Below grade level in reading and writing s  False perception of academic achievement s  Adequate grades but low test scores s  ESL or bilingual instruction but no     consistent program

Figure 1 Types of Older English Learners (adapted from Freeman & Freeman 2002)

There has been very little research done on long-term English learners.  These are students who remain in the process of learning English after 6 years or more in the United States, are characterized by low levels of academic literacy in both English and their home language and typically score below grade level on assessments. Some long-term ELs may be negatively impacted by inconsistent language support programs, frequent absences and mobility of the family.  They usually receive passing grades (Cs and an occasional B) for their work which may give them a false perception of their academic achievement.  It is when they take high school exit exams and standardized tests that their deficiencies appear.  Long-term ELs are fluent in conversational English, but lack the academic language proficiency and often score below grade level in reading, writing and often, math. (Freeman & Freeman, 2002). 

Freeman, Y. S., & Freeman, D. E. (2002). Closing the Achievement Gap: How to Reach Limited-Formal-Schooling and Long-Term English Learners. Portsmouth: Heinemann.

Menken, K. (2009). Meeting the Needs of Long-Term English Language Learners in High School, Phase II. New York: Research Institute for the Study of Language in an Urban Society.

Cummins and Krashen on Language Acquisition

Learning Acquisition vs Language Learning

http://www.sdkrashen.com/content/articles/2013_siop_research_support_bclaims.pdf

There are opposing views in the field of language acquisition, The “Skill-Building” Hypothesis and The Comprehension Hypothesis. The Comprehension Hypothesis claims that language is acquired and literacy is developed in one way which is by understanding messages that we hear and read. According to this Hypothesis, language acquisition happens subconsciously, and it is not acquired by studying grammar rules or memorizing vocabulary lists.  The “Skill-Building” Hypothesis depends on conscious learning.  It holds that students first need to learn and master grammar, vocabulary and spelling skills before using them in real situations (Krashen, 2013).

Stephen Krashen, professor emeritus at the University of Southern California, and world renowned linguist, educational researcher and activist explains that there is overwhelming evidence that supports The Comprehension Hypothesis which holds that nearly all of our competence in language comes from understanding what we hear and read as opposed to what we speak and write.  However, our ability to speak and write is a result of receiving comprehensible input.   Studies have long shown that students who read more, have develop higher abilities in vocabulary, reading and writing.  Krashen emphasizes the effectiveness of student free voluntary reading. 

 

Jim Cummins, a world leader in the field of second language acquisition makes an important distinction between BICS and CALP in this video (Cummins, 2013) –  BICS stands for Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills are the basic language skills we use in everyday conversation.  CALP stands for Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency which is the language in academic sources such as text books.   BICS is the language that small children take to preschool and kindergarten.  It is the language they use ask questions and hold simple conversations with their friends and teachers.  Our goal as educators is to expand their conversational skill into the academic realm over the course of their education.   We want to expand from basic familiar high frequency vocabulary and basic grammatical expressions into the realm of lower frequency vocabulary, complex grammatical structures and academic language(Cummins, 2013).

Cummins notes that literacy is very much rule governed.  Discreet language skills such as – phonemic awareness, phonics and spelling are taught.  Decoding skills are taught using high frequency words.  Second language learners can pick up these skills as well as conversational skills relatively quickly - within two or three years.  However, they may still have large gaps in their knowledge of English when expanding into low frequency vocabulary, more complex grammatical structures not commonly used, discourse conventions.  Academic language acquisition  our ability to interpret produce increasingly complex  language of text books, passive voice, low frequency words that have Greek and Latin roots  language we don’t use in everyday conversation(Cummins, 2013).  

Teaching vocabulary and grammatical rules out of context is difficult for second language learners.  They need to be taught patterns in vocabulary such as Latin and Greek based roots, suffixes and prefixes along with the passive voice and the language in the content areas of math, social studies and science(Cummins, 2013).

To summarize, while conversational fluency and discreet language skills may take one to three years to acquire, academic proficiency will take at least five to seven years and sometimes longer.  Just because a student is speaking fluently they are far from showing it on a cognitive academic assessment.  The question of “Where do children find academic language?” must be asked and answered.  They find it in printed text, text books and in the classroom, so unless children are reading extensively they are not accessing the academic language they need to become successful in the classroom.  

View video at:      Jim Cummins explains the differnces between BICS and CALP

Cummins, D. J. (2013). Dr. Jim Cummins explains the differences between BICS and CALP. (T. A. Inc., Interviewer)

Krashen, S. (2013). Does SIOP Research Support SIOP Claims. International Journal of Foreing Language Teaching. 8(1), 11-24.

Background Knowledge & Comprehensible Input

Building Background

English learners who emigrate from other countries bring a variety of experiences that are very different from most students in the main stream classroom.  Even for those students who are born in the United States, culture may have an impact on reading comprehension.   

It has been a widely accepted idea that a learner’s “schemata,” or knowledge of the world, plays a part in understanding, learning and remembering facts and ideas.  For EL students there may be a disconnect between the concepts presented in class, which are written and designed around culture in the US, and their own cultural background. An effective teacher can present information in a way that students can understand keeping in mind their language development needs and any gaps in their educational experiences.   Building background is crucial in filling the gaps and helping students access grade-level content concepts  (Echevarría, Short, & Vogt, 3013).  

Comprehensible input

Communication must be made understandable through speech that is appropriate to students’ proficiency levels.  Slower speech (but natural speech) and more repetition may be needed for beginners.  Instructions for assignments and activities must be clear and presented step-by-step through modeling using visuals for each step if needed.  

Reading comprehension skills and writing skills are positively correlated with oral language proficiency in English.    (Echevarría, Short, & Vogt, 3013)

Echevarría, J., Short, D. J., & Vogt, M. (3013). Making Content Comprehensible for English Learners The SIOP Model. Boston: Pearson.

Robert Putnam: When Did Poor Kids Stop Being ‘Our Kids’?,

        There have been dramatic changes in American life just in the last quarter century as we place increasing value on individual independence.  In his 2000 book Bowling Alone, Robert Putnam, a researcher at Harvard University, notes declining civic ties among adults.  He notes that students in poverty growing up in the middle of last century had greater economic and social mobility than children in the same situations growing up today.  He suggests that we as a society have drifted away from the notion that “it takes a village,” and he writes about the increasing inequalities among America’s poor children.   

        According to the article in Education Week, Robert Putnam: When Did Poor Kids Stop Being ‘Our Kids’?, the wealthiest 25% of students were two to three times more likely than the poorest 25% to have an adult mentor outside of the family.  Mr. Putnam emphasizes the importance of informal relationships with adults who are outside of the students’ economic class who can serve as mentors, support students with their education, help students with the college application process, and guide students not only in career planning, but in life (Sparks, 2015).

A recent analysis of data of the National Educational Longitudinal Study finds that even top performing students in poverty have a difficult time getting ahead. Students in the poorest 25% of families who performed in the top one-third on national math achievement were slightly less likely to graduate college than low performing students in the wealthiest 25% of families (29% vs. 30%) (Sparks, 2015)

The book offers a few suggestions on ways educators can help rebuild poor students' social and educational supports, including:

·         Tailor school-based parent-involvement programs to specific skills and supports. For example, Mr. Putnam suggests that rather than simply asking parents to "read to your child every day," schools can provide coaching on specific skills, like questioning-and-response practices.

·         Build more community-school partnerships to provide health, social services, and enrichment activities for students in schools.

·         Ensure that students in poverty have access to both advanced courses and strong career training, even in high-poverty schools.

Sparks, S. D. (2015, March 9). Robert Putnam: When did poor kids stop being 'our kids'? Education Week.

Exploring the Educational Involvement of Parents of English Learners

The population of children from immigrant families is growing faster than any other group of children in the United States. According to the U.S. Department of Education, over five million school-age children are categorized as English Learners.   ELs are more likely to have parents with lower formal education levels than their non-EL counterparts and to come from low-income families (Vera et al., 2012). 

Parent educational involvement has been one of the most important predictors of school success.  Most research suggests that it has a great impact on the academic success of children of all ages.  When parents are involved, children tend to have higher attendance, higher achievement levels and more positive attitudes toward school.  This is true not only in the United States, but also internationally (Vera et al., 2012). 

Different types of parental involvement have different relationships to achievement.  In this study, the most common type of educational involvement among families of EL students involved monitoring homework and asking children about their school day. Helping their children to utilize community resources, such as tutoring at a public library, was found to be the least common type.  Also depending on some demographic factors such as English language fluency, educational background, ethnicity, some parents were more likely to be involved than others.  Overall school climate and parents’ perceptions of barriers were other predictors.  

Other barriers exist, such as a negative climate toward immigrant parents, individual barriers – lack of dominant language proficiency, logistical barriers – work responsibilities.  Furthermore, in other cultures and countries parental involvement may be very minimal depending on the country.  In some cultures it is disrespectful to probe about the teacher’s methods.  In some countries parents do not question the schools.  It is the schools job to educate children. 

Another barrier parents of ELs encounter, according to this study, is not understanding the U.S. school system.  They also feel they shouldn’t interfere with how teachers do their jobs. This barrier significantly correlated with parents reading less with their children.  One suggestion for an intervention is providing education for parents about how schools work in the U.S. and expectations about the involvement of parents in the United States (Vera et al., 2012).

 

It is less educated, Latino parents who may be at higher risk for not participating in certain types of parental involvement.  parents’ educational level was a significant predictor with respect to parental involvement in reading to their children. In other words, parents who are more literate, even in their native language, are more likely to participate in family literacy experiences than those who lack literacy skills.

Even though there is a plethora of research that supports the findings that parents who have high expectations for their children are also those with the most investment in their child’s educational achievement.  This includes have structure and routines in the home such as having a regular bedtime, restricting media, enforcing a regular homework routine etc. This may be an intervention to help educate parents about the benefits of having such routines. 

It is important to tailor interventions designed to increase parental involvement based on educational background and linguistic fluency.

The article mentions possible courses of action for engaging parents, one of them being a community building forum, but schools should not have the mind-set that they are going to “train” the parents.  It should not be a gathering in which teachers speak to the parents and then everyone goes home, rather parents tell their stories while teachers listen.  Families and teachers work together.

Vera, E. M., Israel, M. S., Coyle, L., Cross, J., Knight-Lynn, L., Moallem, I. & Goldberger, N., 

          (2012) Exploring the Educational Involvement of Parents of English Learners, School 

          Community Journal, 22(2), 183-202

Procrastinating and Self-efficacy: Tracing Vicious and Virtuous Circles In Self-regulated Learning

“How self-efficacy sustains itself”

How a student perceives their self-efficacy, that is “the anticipation of success based on one’s own competencies”  greatly influences their motivation to learn.  Perceptions of self-efficacy are related to academic performance. Self-efficacy depends on previous experiences of success in academic tasks.  Educational researchers Sitzmanna and Yeo found that self-efficacy was a product of performance on previous experiences and not the driving force behind it.  If a student perceives himself to have high self-efficacy it can affect their performance in a positive way.  Likewise, if a student’s perceived self-efficacy is low, it can negatively affect their quality of studying and thereby affect their academic performance.  This can lead to a cycle which can lead to high or low achievement.

The article mentioned that according to Zimmerman’s cyclical-interactive theoretical model of self-regulated learning, there are three phases a student goes through: a forethought phase, a performance phase and a self-reflection phase.  In the forethought phase, students estimate their self-efficacy on a certain task.  They assess what it will take to complete the task.  It is in this phase that procrastination occurs as the students assess whether or not they fell adept to complete the task and they may perceive their goal achievement level as being pretty low. In the performance phase, students who are highly self-efficacious will use cognitive learning strategies at their disposal which will help them to succeed in completing the task successfully.   On the other hand, if the student doesn’t have many learning strategies, and if he or she anticipates failure, they may become tempted to avoid this failure to the point of avoiding the task altogether.  Such actions would then lead to a cycle repeated failure which could leave some students vulnerable and unable to self-regulate their learning.  In the self-reflection phase students perceptions are then reshaped.  Students who have a high degree of goal achievement due to their high level of perceived self-efficacy and their experiences of success will become more motivated when it comes to taking on new challenges.  

Allgaier A., Fink S., Lachner A., Nückles M. Wäschle K., Procrastinating and self-efficacy: Tracing 

          vicious and virtuous circles in self-regulated learning. Learning and Instruction 29 (2014) 103-

          114, Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2013.09.005

How Motivation and Engagement Predict Reading Comprehension Among Native English-speaking and English-learning Middle School Students with Disabilities In a Remedial Reading Curriculum

In this article, the role of motivation as a predictor of reading comprehension is investigated.  Worth mentioning is the fact that this is not studied very much despite its impact on the choices students make about reading. One of the questions this article examines is, what motivates some students to choose to read more often and for longer periods of time.  This is one of only a handful of studies that specifically addresses motivation & reading comprehension among ELL students and students with disabilities.  The guiding questions are:

            1) In the context of a remedial reading program, what is the role of motivation in

            predicting reading comprehension among students with disabilities?

            2) Does ELL status moderate any effects of motivation predicting reading

            comprehension?

The study in this article reports on motivation levels of 76 middle school aged English language learners with disabilities in an urban Northeastern school district in the United States.  It investigated whether intrinsic & extrinsic motivation and self-efficacy predicted comprehension outcomes. 

Extrinsic motivation is the motivation influenced by external elements, such as rewards, recognition, grades etc.  Intrinsic motivation involves students curiosity about reading and how important students perceive reading to be. Research has shown a positive relationship between intrinsic motivation and reading comprehension, and a negative effect between extrinsic motivation and reading comprehension.  This article notes that intrinsic motivation has been a predictor of reading comprehension among White American students, but not among Black and Latino students. 

Self-efficacy is another construct used to understand motivation in students.  Students with self-efficacy, according to the article, “participate more readily, work harder, and persevere longer in the face of difficulties, and achieve at a higher level.”

Patrick Proctor, C., Daley, S., Louick, R., Leider, C.M., & Gardner, G.L. (2014).  How motivation           and engagement predict reading comprehension among native English-speaking and English-

      learning middle school students with disabilities in a remedial reading curriculum. Learning &           Individual Differences, 36 76-83. doi: 10.1016/j.lindif.2014.10.014

Revising Strategy Instruction in Inclusive Settings: Effects for English Learners and Novice Writers

De La Paz, S., Sherman, C.K., Revising strategy instruction in inclusive settings: effects for English learners and novice writers, (2013), Learning Disabilities Reasearch & Practice, 28(3), 129-141

In this study, students were instructed on how to write a research paper.  They received 45 minutes of strategy instruction, three times a week for four weeks.  Instruction included developing background knowledge on the genre of focus, defining characteristics and purposes of expository writing, and explanations on what it means to revise writing.  Students were taught how to make meaningful changes using “add,” “move,” “delete,” and “rewrite” revising techniques.  Teachers modeled this using sample writings.  Students made changes to sample essays before making changes to their own writing.

Teachers also taught the revising strategy FIX using a mnemonic device to help students remember the steps. The F stands for “Focus” on the essay elements.  The I for “Identify problems, and the X for “Execute changes.  Throughout the study, students were taught how to self-regulating procedures such as goal setting and self-reinforcements, how to use color coded strategy cards.  For example, yellow cards were used for self-statements that helped students identify problems, such as “I need to look for things that don’t sound right.”  The red cards helped students focus on essay elements.  There was plenty of modeling and collaborative practice before students revised on their own.

 

This study’s purpose was to evaluate a revising strategy, called “FIX,” for sixth-grade students. Student were to read their writing, focus on the elements of expository writing, identify anything that didn’t belong or anything that needed changing, and finally make those changes.  After learning this strategy, all students reported that the FIX revising strategy made revising easier by giving them steps to follow in the revision process.  Students also learned how to make meaningful changes to their writing.  In fact, the end results showed that struggling students made more meaningful changes that improved their writing, than students who wrote well.  “EL students who were low, average, or above average writers appeared to respond to the revising instruction as well as their native English speaking peers at the same writing achievement level….”

De La Paz, S., Sherman, C.K., Revising strategy instruction in inclusive settings: effects for English learners and novice writers, (2013), Learning Disabilities Reasearch & Practice, 28(3), 129-141

http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.western.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=7&sid=7e8cc952-5118-4308-9c59-26cd2cbccc21%40sessionmgr4004&hid=4208

Closing Literacy Gaps: Understanding the Interrelationships Between Bilingualism and Biliteracy Development

From 1998 to 2011 results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress show a gap of about 40 points between the reading achievement of emergent bilinguals and English-proficient students in the fourth, eighth, and 12^th grades.  The researchers of this article point out that researchers often focus on a single component of literacy, such as vocabulary development, when they should instead look to the following question for guidance and direction: “What programs and strategies work with which emergent bilinguals in what context, and under what conditions?”  This strategy takes a look at the complex relationships between bilingualism and the development of literacy.  It considers the contexts, media and content of literacy development.  Topics include; transforming power relationships in literacy instruction; language of Instruction; program models that support bilingualism and biliteracy; and home-school collaboration;

This article reinforces what research has shown for years about the benefits of developing literacy skills in both languages among bilingual students (bilingualism and biliteracy).  In traditional ESL programs, beginning English learners are asked to begin reading in a language they do not yet understand and speak.  Native-language instruction can more effective since beginning English learners can learn to read and learn content at the same time.   The transfer of literacy skills from one language to another will then occur more easily.  Not all bilingual programs have as a goal to promote true bilingualism and biliteracy however.  In some programs students receive instruction in the native language until students are ready to transition into an all English program. 

Ortiz and Fránquiz note that the choice in models a district makes to support ELLs speaks volumes of their willingness to support (or not support) bilingualism and biliteracy.  Research has shown for quite some time that dual language programs have a greater chance of closing the achievement gaps between emergent bilinguals and non-ELL students yet many schools rely on the English-as-a-second-language model in which students get no support from the native language.  In these cases, what schools can do is encourage families to continue to build first language literacy skills at home and through classes outside of school.  School libraries can stock books in other languages, and bilingual teachers can be allowed to use their first language as a scaffold whenever possible.

Home-School Collaboration is another topic in this article.  According to the article, research shows that even the slightest amount of parent involvement supports student learning and behavior, regardless of socioeconomic factors and parent education level.  Schools can better student achievement by involving parents in their children’s education.  Schools can take it a step further by incorporating the home-language and literacy contexts to ensure that curriculum and instruction is “meaningful and culturally responsive.”

Fránquiz, M.E., Ortiz, A.A. (2014) Coeditors’ introduction: Closing literacy gaps: Understanding the         interrelationships between bilingualism and biliteracy development. Bilingual Research Journal:         The Journal of the National Association for Bilingual Education, 37:2, 113-119, DOI: 

         10.1080/15235882.2014.938579

Link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15235882.2014.938579

Developing Teacher Capacity for Serving ELLs’ Writing Instructional Needs: A Case for Systemic Functional Linguistics

The growth in the ELL population over the last decade has presented many challenges for teachers.  Many schools are in need of training to adequately meet the needs of English Language Learners.   This article notes the increasing need for developing linguistic skills, especially the learning of academic language.   One concern mentioned in the article is that while attempting to make content comprehensible to students, instructors may not be exposing students to enough academic language which is key to Ell’s success in school.  The article suggests that it is necessary for teachers to learn and develop methods for teaching academic language.   Using Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) as a guide, the researchers present the effectiveness of professional development in the linguistic features of academic language to address this issue.

Researchers blame the achievement gap between ELLs and native English speakers in part on the lack of instructional focus on academic language.  One of the needs is writing instruction that explicitly focuses on language to develop skills in academic areas to help them reach more advanced levels of English proficiency.   Students will need these skills to demonstrate proficiency on standardized tests.  In trying to shelter instruction, educators must be careful not to reduce opportunities for ELLs to develop academic language.

Researchers of this article also make a distinction between oral discourse, which relies on shared experiences and a different set of language structures, and language in academic texts, which requires a separate set of skills in order to gain meaning from them.  Explicitly teaching these differences to students will increase an awareness of the expectations of their learning.

Aguirre-Muñoz, Z., Amabisca, A., Boscardin, C.K., Park, J., (2009). Developing teacher

        capacity for serving ELLs’ writing instructional needs: A case for systemic functional 

         linguistics.  Bilingual Research Journal: The Journal of the National Association for             Bilingual Education, 31:1-2, 295-322, Retrieved from   

        http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15235880802640755

Habla con ellos -- Talk to them: Latinas/os, achievement, and the middle grades

     As of 2007, Latinos made up 15% of the total U.S. population, with about one-third self- identifying as Mexican.  The article Habla con ellos---Talk to them, in The Middle School Journal states the importance of culture, and the role it plays in middle school.  The emphasis must be to “develop our collective dispositions,” that is our attitudes about language and cultural differences which can play a major role in our youth’s achievement.  This is especially true in communities where culturally and linguistically diverse students are non-dominant. 

       Furthermore, educators of early adolescents are in a position to counter any negative stereotypes about Latinos which can be harmful.  Immigrant adolescents are especially vulnerable to attacks on their self-worth.  As the Association for Middle Level Education has stated, “Academic success and personal growth increase markedly when you adolescents’ affective needs are met.  Each student must have one adult to support that student’s academic and personal development.” 

     As the title of this article states, one of the best ways for educators to reach their students is by simply talking to them; finding their interests; talking about the similarities and differences of the cultures; and encouraging conversation among all students to openly discuss what they have in common.  Asking questions such as, "What do you like doing?" and "What are you good at?" might be  a good place to start.  The important thing is that educators make time for this type of dialogue in their quest to find out what motivates Latino students and how to engage immigrant parents.      

Fitchett, P.G., Jones,J.P., Kissau, S., Salas, S., (2013) Habla con ellos—Talk to them: Latina/os,

       achievement, and the middle grades. Middle School Journal. Vol 45. pp18-23          

Seeing How to Ask First: Photo Elicitation Motivates English Language Learners to Write

This article discusses the use of image based methods in writing with adolescent English language learners.  Some of the positive effects include growth in students writing proficiency and raising awareness of reasons to care about school. The article emphasizes the power of using visual materials in aiding ELL adolescent students who are at the beginning level of language learning.

The writing method describes several findings:

Finding 1. Asking ELLs to write. Instead of telling ELL students why school and writing are important, the researchers asked them what they believed about school.  Students documented this through photographs and writing.  Students revealed unexpected insights into their personal lives, which was sometimes negative, and they began to see the value in having an education thus increasing motivation.

  

Finding 2. Others’ images as engaging.  Using peers’ work helped with engagement and appreciation of writing activities.  The assignment students had was to analyze their peer’s photos or images and address certain questions about the photos/images.  Students were intrigued with one another’s work, especially in finding commonalities.  They learned from one another and were more likely to share more about themselves after looking at pictures from other people their age. 

Finding 3. Walking – photo walking – beyond the classroom.  In this activity, students and teachers ventured outside the classroom into other parts of the school and even outside the school into the community.  They took photos that they later reflected on and wrote about.  Students began to see that many things in their lives outside of school can have an impact on their lives.

Adolescent beginning language learners would benefit greatly from methods such as these, which incorporate visual materials into writing activities, especially if students are writing about their own life experiences.

Bell, A., Ewaida, M., Lynch, M., & Zenkov, K. (Nov 2012) Seeing how to ask first: Photo elicitation motivates English language learners to write. Middle School Journal v44 n2. Retrieved from http://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ990871

Contexts For Learning; English Language Learners in US Middle Schools

Contexts For Learning; English Language Learners in US Middle Schools

In the last few decades there has been a conceptual shift in the human sciences.  The term 'acquisition' is often replaced with the term 'participation' to emphasize the social the social aspect.

This article examines the learning culture within the schools as well as the community outside the school.  It also takes a look at the importance of engaging students in the community.  The researcher argues that in addition to the subject matter being taught, the following also help to shape learning opportunities available to ELL students.  

                     1) The teacher's conceptualization of the needs of second-language students

                      2) The ways in which they perceive their own role in the responding to these needs

                     3) The larger context of institutional practices

One study conducted in a Canadian high school identified 5 "interacting variables" that may have contributed to strong academic outcomes for ELLs

                     1) Administrative support

                     2) Collaboration among colleagues

                     3) Contact hours in the ESL class

                     4) Direct explicit instruction with respect to language learning objectives

                     5) A strong sense of advocacy for ELLs

Haneda,M. (2008) Contexts for learning: English language

       learners in US middle school. International Journal of

       Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. Vol.II Iss.1

ERIC Article: Listening to Their Voices: Middle Schoolers' Perspectives of Life in Middle School by Mary Anne Steinberg and Erica D. McCray

This article examines life in middle school from a middle schoolers' perspective. A qualitative study involving 15 middle school students from three middle schools in the Southeast region in the United States, discovers what students are looking for in middle school. Students were asked, "If you could change one thing at your middle school, what would it be?"  Some of the students' responses included: More caring teachers, and more active classrooms.  Another important finding is the use of technology impacts students attitudes toward learning, and through its incorporation in everyday problem solving, and through recognizing adolescents as individuals, learning can be impacted in a positive way.ERIC Listening to Their Voices Article