Abstract
In the 2018–19 school year, additional language learners (ALL) represented 10% of total student enrollment K–12 schools with over 5 million ALL learners enrolled in U.S. schools. Additional language learners are the fastest growing population in education in America. There is a disproportionality in the number of ALL learners referred to exceptional education programing in the U.S. instead of being taught in culturally responsive ways specifically to develop language skills in additional languages. Teachers often refer for Exceptional Education assessments ALL learners who are not progressing as fast as students with English as their home language for a learning disability. This chapter aims to identify the acculturation process and best practices for teaching English as an Additional Language specifically in the acculturation period for learners. This chapter will give an overview of ALL learners, culture, acculturation, and differentiation in instruction and assessment for ALL learners in working towards more appropriate and effective programming for ALL learners in American schools.
TopIntroduction
Additional Language Learners
English as an Additional Language learners are students whose home language is other than English and who require specialized programming and/or additional services to develop English language proficiency and academic proficiency. The term ALL will be used throughout this article to refer to students whose home language is one other than English instead of English Language Learner, (ELL) a title or label that in and of itself is additive, declaring the addition of a language while the title English Language Learner or ELL comes from a deficit point of view of not honouring the fact that learners already have a home language and in some cases more than one and are learning English as an additional language. Furthermore, the term ALL has been used to move from deficit thinking about language learners to honour the fact that 1. Students have a home language and are developing bilingual language and thinking skills in an additional language and 2. That English is NOT assumed to be the second language that they are acquiring - it may be - but it also may be their third language or students in other places in the world are acquiring the host country language and this research seeks to include more voices and perspectives in education.
ALL learners may be students who are new to the country or who have been born in the U.S. and have a home language other than English. In the U.S. the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) focuses on ensuring equal access to high-quality education and gives federal policy for assessment and accountability, educational standards, teacher quality, program innovations, etc, and works to improve access to education for all students.
According to Sullivan (2011) and Duran (2008) ALL learners “have among the highest grade retention and dropout rates of all youth.” Other factors of the systemic issues further diminish learners' access to quality education with legislation, language supports, shortage of teachers with ALL training and linguistics fluency in the students’ home languages. Legislation often dictates the type and amount of language support available to students in different states and limits students' opportunities to learn leading to behavioral issues, low engagement, grade retention, dropout, and inappropriate referral to special education (Garcia & Ortiz, 1988). So much is being done on federal and state levels in theory and legislation that is not able to be translated into practice in the classroom due to funding, training, staffing needs, and a myriad of other issues within the current systemic issues in education in America. Language learners are greatly impacted by the disparities in implementing best educational practices and funding throughout the state level to local level school districts.
Background
While policies and best practices concerning ALL learners draw on research and effective practices specifically concerning ALL learners, bilingual education, and additional-language learning, the theory is not often put into practice in schools and the disproportionality of ALL learners referred to exceptional or special education programming demonstrates this. In part, this stems from inaccurate and culturally inappropriate testing and assessment practices that have spanned over the past fifty years in education. For example, the class-action lawsuit of Diana v. State Board of Education in 1970, (McLean, 1995) and that when students were given the assessments in their home language students scored an average of 15 IQ points and students moved out of the below-average performance potentially indicating a neurodiversity or learning difficulty.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Acculturation: How a person's individual personality traits, values, beliefs, and behaviors, affect adaptation to a new culture. The acculturation process changes a person's experiences as a result of moving from their culture to a new culture. In the acculturation process individuals go through different periods and cycles that may significantly impact their personality, ability to learn, and attitudes towards school and learning.
Culture: Beliefs, values, norms, language, ways of behaving, art, dance, knowledge, communication styles, and understandings of a group of people who transmit the shared ways by socializing new generations.
ALL: Additional Language Learner. This term has been used to move from deficit thinking about language learners to honour the fact that 1. Students have a home language and are developing bilingual language and thinking skills in an additional language and 2. That English is NOT assumed to be the second language that they are acquiring - it may be - but it also may be their third language or students in other places in the world are acquiring the host country language and this research seeks to include more voices and perspectives in education.
Cultural Proficiency: When culture is held in high esteem and one seeks to add to their knowledge by reading, studying, conducting research, and developing new approaches for culturally competent practice.
Cultural Competency: Acceptance and respect for differences, continuing self-assessment, careful attention to dynamics of differences, continuous expansion of cultural knowledge and resources. Adaptations to belief systems, policies, and practices.
Culturally Responsive Teaching Methods: Curriculum, instruction, and assessment that honours success for all students and uses methods that accept and respect differences and encourages expansion of culture for all community members in classrooms, schools, and districts.
Assessment: The systematic process of examining the learning and development of students. It is the process of defining, selecting, designing, collecting, analyzing, interpreting, and using information to increase students' learning and development to reach their full potential and realize their goals.