Fast facts about ELL's and Interesting News on Biliteracy Education
Greetings and Salutations!
Welcome to my first ever blog. Through this weekly blog, I hope to provide quick, helpful summaries of current articles about teaching and learning ESL.
So let's get right to it:
This week I read two relevant articles from my English as a second language learning Google alert. The first article by Caitlyn Maltese written this past Thursday gave seven informative facts about ELLs as follows:
Both of these articles caught my interest because they show the hard work, hardships, progress, perseverance, importance, and accomplishments of ELLs. I am excited to continue my study of TESOL and look forward to working with L2 learners.
Thanks for stopping by and see you next week!
ALW
ESL = English as a Second Language
ELL = English Language Learner
L1 = First Language
L2 = Second Language
TESOL = Teaching English to students of Other Languages
Click here to read Maltese's entire article
Click here to read Morello's entire article
Welcome to my first ever blog. Through this weekly blog, I hope to provide quick, helpful summaries of current articles about teaching and learning ESL.
So let's get right to it:
This week I read two relevant articles from my English as a second language learning Google alert. The first article by Caitlyn Maltese written this past Thursday gave seven informative facts about ELLs as follows:
- 27% of U.S. children age 5 and under have at least one parent who speaks a language other than English.
- ELLs are more likely to live in poverty with two-parents families of low levels education.
- 71% of dual language school-age learners come from Spanish speaking homes.
- ELLs' native language or L1 is valued, culturally important, and builds familial relationships.
- Strong L1 skills correlates to the better acquisition of English language skills.
- Continued dual language usage and learning from an early age helps to build brain connectivity in the memory, attention, executive, and language processing areas.
- ELLs are less likely to experience brain decline later in life.
The second article by Rachel Morello written today highlights the Waukesha School District in Wisconsin and their recognition of students who studied two or more languages proficienctly with a badge of honor known as the Seal of Biliteracy. This honorable award is recognized in 25 states and helps publicly inform interested persons, such as colleges, military, and employers, of students' language accomplishments to give them the competitive edge.
Both of these articles caught my interest because they show the hard work, hardships, progress, perseverance, importance, and accomplishments of ELLs. I am excited to continue my study of TESOL and look forward to working with L2 learners.
Thanks for stopping by and see you next week!
ALW
ESL = English as a Second Language
ELL = English Language Learner
L1 = First Language
L2 = Second Language
TESOL = Teaching English to students of Other Languages
Click here to read Maltese's entire article
Click here to read Morello's entire article
These articles were both very interesting and I was glad that you were able to include the links to each of the articles. I think that it is important to highlight the hard work of our ELLs and the information that you provided really reinforced this belief. The Seal of Biliteracy is a great way to recognize the accomplishments of these hardworking students. I also believe that an ELL's L1 and culture should be valued. I always try to make it a point to familiarize myself with my student's native cultures and languages and incorporate them into the classroom. I also try to reinforce the importance of their L1 because many of my 5th graders have made comments about forgetting their L1. I am also not surprised to see that ELL's are less likely to experience brain decline later in life, which I think is due to their ability to effectively function in more than one language.
ReplyDeleteI like that you listed the meanings of ESL, ELL, etc. I'm used to those acronyms and I easily forget that they are not normal for everyone. I was really fascinated that one of the articles you quoted gave data from Waukesha, Wisconsin. I am from that area. When I grew up there, it was predominately white, with almost 100% English speakers. It makes me wonder how the area might have changed over the last thirty years. l like that fact that they honor bilinguals with the seal of biliteracy. It should be celebrated!
ReplyDeleteThese articles were very informative. For the most part I am not surprised about the statistics and I definitely believe that knowing two languages truly expands the mind. Thus it is also not surprising that ELLs are less likely to experience brain decline in later life. However, it is interesting that there is evidence that proves it to be true. Your summary was very effective and to the point. I think your layout is great. Good work!
ReplyDeleteHi there! I am looking forward to following your blog! Thanks for sharing the information about the Seal of Biliteracy. I had no idea that such a thing exists, but now I see that it is recognized by 25 states! What a great way to celebrate the accomplishments of students who have overcome such a great roadblock to learning. In our school this year, we provided graduating seniors with an orange cord to show that they were ELLs. They wore this cords proudly at the graduation ceremony. It is so important that they are recognized for their achievement.
ReplyDeleteI also read the article by Rachel Morello's last week. My blog has been about bilingual education and the research that supports this program. Reasons 5, 6, and 7 also reinforce support for bilingual education.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments everyone! I appreciate all of them.
ReplyDelete