Support - In general, about 12% of population will have a learning disability whether they speak English or several languages.

Question: Why are ELL students and students with learning disability being grouped together in the first place? Is this due to lack of resources to assess them? Is this also because of predisposed biases and stereotypes that the school/admin have regarding certain ELL cultures/groups?

Question: How are ELL students both under and over represented as having learning disabilities as stated in the article?

In summation, the school needs sufficient evidence to proceed with the psychological assessment. If not, the student could endure unjustified stress.

Questions: What if a student refuses psychological assessment? How much evidence is enough evidence? What does this evidence look like? What strategies are used to collect evidence? How young is too young? How do you determine when the student has achieved english proficiency?

Concern: The criteria is very vague.

- We can tell if an ELL has learning difficulties and requires special education support by providing assessments in their mother tongue as well as English. We can also track their progress and make sure their language skills are increasing, as well as ensuring that their written and oral skills are progressing at a similar pace. Taking students’ emotions and body language can also signify whether they are having difficulty with the language or with academics in general.

Support 

- Students with a history of academic difficulties will continue to struggle no matter what language they are using. Students with exceptionalities would face difficulties with a wide variety of school work, while students having trouble with English language learning would likely only struggle when it comes to using their second language.

Question

- How should teachers navigate students struggling with exceptionalities as well as English language learning? At what point should teachers make accommodations or modifications for undiagnosed students, especially while maintaining high expectations for them?

The foundation of everything is for us as teachers to understand our learners through a holistic approach. 

Identify Supports:

Build a Student Profile: Gather background info on the student. 

What should it include:

• Language Proficiency 

• School experience 

• Family history 

• Social and emotional concerns

• Cultural considerations 

Share Assessment Information: This should include info about the student such as strengths and weaknesses (what the student can and can not do) and is observed both formally and informally. 

Present the Student at an In-school School Team Meeting: At the IST meeting, teachers should share information about the student’s progress and the reason for their concerns.

Provide the Student with Literacy Interventions: If a student is struggling to acquire literacy skills, it is important that age-appropriate interventions begin as soon as possible. We should not wait until a student has reached a specific level of english but interview as soon as possible. 

Question: How can a school that lacks resources, funding, or committees such as IST support ELL learners and their development of English acquisition?