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View of Breaking the Silence: A Critical Review of Language Policy and Planning for Long-Term English Learners

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Return to Article Details Breaking the Silence: A Critical Review of Language Policy and Planning for Long-Term English Learners

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Dr. Clara Vaz Bauler: Recommended Resource

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Dr. Clara Vaz Bauler: Recommended Resource

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https://shop.scholastic.com/parent-ecommerce/books/rooted-in-strength-using-translanguaging-to-grow-multilingual-readers-and-writers-9781338753875.html

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Dr. Clara Vaz Bauler: Recommended Resource

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Dr. Clara Vaz Bauler: Recommended Resource

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Lessons for Centering the Voices and Experiences of Bilingual Latinx Students

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Language is powerful.

When, as educators, our life's work has everything to do with the vocabulary of our craft, words carry even more weight and significance.

Here's our vocabulary for today: English Language Learner.

The descriptor "English Language Learner" (or "ELL") has existed in our academic world for years without much thought. That's beginning to change.

The last months have opened doors for necessary (if sometimes uncomfortable) conversations about the language we place on our children. In piecemeal, we're identifying areas where we can grow in affirming students' inherent worth and promise.

This brings us to our target terminology. We're long overdue for a makeover in the way that we use words to label, define, and describe the language learner.

Early on in my career as a Newcomer teacher (some 15 years ago), students' cultural and linguistic diversity wasn't viewed from an asset lens- at least not in the broader sense that it is now.

You didn't often hear, "Wow- that's so cool that you can speak another language and navigate another culture!" in the hallways. Instead, "ELL" was a tag that indicated a liability. It signaled a need for a real English-centric push- even if that push came at the expense of a home language other than English.

We're beginning to see a shift

Well, sort of. We've seen a pretty good shift in some areas.

For one, bilingualism is pretty cool these days. In fact, traditional English-speaking homes are shelling out more money than ever for foreign language tutors.

Authentic inclusion is a growing talking point in our schools. More measures are in place to recognize, celebrate, and capitalize on existing funds of knowledge- including language and cultural knowledge- that is alive within our students' homes.

But our institutional language isn't reflective of our (mostly) evolving take on culturally and linguistically diverse education. Specifically, many schools and districts remain rooted in the use of terms like "English Learner" (EL) or English Language Learner (ELL).

What's the big problem?

Our values and mission statements speak to holding up new-to-English students. But placing the value on English only can actually have a diminishing effect on the identities of our emergent bilingual and multilingual students.

To compound matters, "ELL" often overlaps with "culturally diverse". Diversity deals with identity- another area where words resonate with a particular impact (and also where our institutional language tends to fall short).

Simply, we've done a lot of talking, but we're only walking part of the walk.

So- let's get clear in our language.

At DiverisifiED, we've deepened our commitment to referring to new-to-English students as emergent bilinguals and emergent multilinguals.

Leaning into the descriptor "emergent multilingual" sets the stage for asset-based action. It also shifts the focus from English only to English and.

The move is a subtle but significant one. It tilts the focus away from a deficit of English language ability- and toward the incredible socio-economic asset that is multilingualism (including bilingualism).

The shift speaks volumes about where we place value (and where students learn to recognize the value that they bring with them into the learning space). Emergent multilinguals have an incredible superpower that enables varying degrees of socio-cultural maneuverability.

The advantages of having more than one language in the toolbox are many: Bilingual and multilingual experience increases academic performance , boosts SEL well-being , enhances workforce success , grows income , and even slows down age-related brain decline.

Not to mention, language grants access to culture, which carves pathways to increased empathy, greater willingness to learn about diverse populations, and lower incidences of racist behaviors.

When we apply an "English and..." view to more traditional English Language Development (ELD) programming, we are acknowledging possibility, dignity and agency.

We are recognizing that new-to-English students aren't broken and in need of fixing- they're whole and capable of expanding.

And, by shifting the language we use to define our ELD goals and practices, we are taking one actionable step toward abolishing limitations on what "successful" student identity looks and sounds like.

When we apply an "English and... " view to more traditional English Language Development (ELD) programming, we are acknowledging possibility, dignity, and agency.

We are recognizing that new-to-English students aren't broken and in need of fixing- they're whole and capable of expanding.

And, by shifting the language we use to define our ELD goals and practices, we are taking one actionable step toward abolishing limitations on what "successful" student identity looks and sounds like.

Diversified's small part

From here forward (and in the newest book, due January 2022 through ASCD), you'll notice our dedication to this language shift. We recognize that this may make some of our content less "searchable". But we know it's the right thing to do and there's no better time than, well... yesterday.

We'd like to applaud the teachers, schools, and districts who have already made the transition (and we're cheering for broader-reaching momentum).

We hope that you'll invite a similar transition in your organization. Already made the move? We'd love to hear how you've reframed "English Learner" and the impact it's having in your classroom, school, or organization!

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The Power of Words: Shifting from "English Learner" to "Emergent Multilingual" - DiversifiED Consulting

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Language is powerful. When, as educators, our life's work has everything to do with the vocabulary of our craft, words carry even more weight and significance. Here's our vocabulary for today: English Language Learner. The descriptor "English Language Learner" (or "ELL") has existe

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Restoring Students’ Innate Power: Trauma-Responsive Strategies for Teaching Multilingual Newcomers - ASCD

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This book explores the effects of trauma on newcomer students and presents stress-mitigating strategies that empower these multilingual students as they transition to a new environment. Diverse insights and experiences bring high-powered learning spaces to life. However, the cultural backgrounds of

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Multilingual Strategies Referenced in Saddleback Webinar 3/17

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Multilingual Strategies Referenced in Saddleback Webinar 3/17

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Students stereotypically labeled "long-term English learners" are painted in broad strokes as having two main characteristics: Being recent immigrants or children of immigrants and only speaking a non-English language at home.

While these characteristics may apply to some students, they are by no means universal. Dr. Maneka Brooks, an associate professor of Reading Education, is on a mission to challenge the assumptions of that stereotype and the subsequent and often reductive teaching methods that come with it.

The latest iteration of her effort comes in the form of a textbook she wrote titled "Transforming Literacy Education for Long-Term English Learners: Recognizing Brilliance in the Undervalued."

"My book [asks], 'What could literacy instruction that builds on students' abilities look like?' It looks at providing concrete strategies and ways of going beyond myths about who students are," Brooks says. "I wrote it for educators, principals and instructional leaders to really think through the label 'long-term English learner' and the assumptions about who a student is, what they are and what they can't do."

The book, published less than two years ago, has already found a passionate fanbase of educators around the country who have spent years searching for more effective methods to use with their students.

Among that fanbase is Patty Payne, who has taught high school English as a Second Language (ESL) in the suburbs of Chicago for more than 40 years, since the field was in its early days. Payne has seen the field of English language instruction evolve without always necessarily improving.

She first heard Brooks speak at an online conference in summer 2020. The influence Brooks had on her was immediate and lasting.

"Dr. Brooks' book is very cutting edge and very different from other things that I've seen before. The same label is given to both the student who comes in ninth grade from China and the young man who is born in the U.S., raised in a Spanish-speaking family, and for whatever reason is falling through the cracks," Payne says. "If they were monolingual speakers of English, we would say, 'Oh, okay, we need to help them in this way and that way.' But because there is another language involved, they are seen as different. This is something I never thought about until I read her book."

Reading Brooks' book has helped Payne understand that when a student is struggling with some element of literacy, it is not a deficiency on the student's part; it is because of a failure in the system. This idea of justice and its absence for some students is a central theme in Brooks' work.

"I try to avoid using terms like 'achievement gap', and [instead] talk about opportunity gaps. It's about resources," Brooks says. "When you look at things like achievement gaps, it's very individualistic, and it assumes that certain people are doing better than others. When you think about opportunities and who has access to what and whose abilities are recognized and whose cultures are recognized in school, then the question gets a lot more complicated."

Pasco County English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Curriculum Specialist Magda Mackenzie has also noticed the tendency schools have to overlook and underserve the needs of certain populations of students.

Mackenzie often sees students either incorrectly classified as English learners or being given support during the initial stages of their English learning, just to later be released into an unsupported classroom environment once they have demonstrated a certain level of English proficiency.

Mackenzie is trying to actively improve this process, starting with having all the members of her district's ESOL team read and discuss Brooks' book together, one chapter at a time.

"We're trying to figure out what it is in the system that's causing this phenomenon and how we can all contribute to interrupting the pattern," Mackenzie says. "One of [Brooks'] strongest points is that a lot of times, society is looking at long-term English learners from what they can't do and going right past what they can do. We want to look at students from an asset point of view instead of from a deficiency point of view."

In Brooks' experience, a large part of understanding students in terms of what they are capable of and playing to those strengths comes from actually listening to students. Listening is an integral part of education she is focused on promoting in schools.

"[I'm] thinking about how we can make schools spaces where children's voices are heard, and I think for certain demographics of children that does happen more often than others," Brooks says. "That's where I'm at right now. It is connected to literacy education because it's about creating spaces where people can learn."
Brooks' "Transforming Literacy Education for Long-Term English Learners: Recognizing Brilliance in the Undervalued" is available for purchase on . More information about her research can be found on her .

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Professor flips page in English literacy education through new book

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Students stereotypically labeled "long-term English learners" are painted in broad strokes as having two main characteristics: Being recent immigrants or children of immigrants and only speaking a non-English language at home. While these characteristics may apply to some students, they are by no means universal.

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https://www.canva.com/design/DAE6H5N4CVM/snzQ9bP4-E_MjtlNBo_VQg/view?utm_content=DAE6H5N4CVM&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=sharebutton

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Saddleback LTELs - Presentation by Louise Yaafouri