When it comes to learning an additional language, it is important that teachers prepare students to communicate with different speakers, respecting and understanding the different English-accented speeches around the world. This article helps English teachers from different parts of the world embrace language variation in their lessons,…

Federal law requires school health leaders to ensure meaningful access to language resources to promote optimal health and education outcomes. This paper aims to inform all stakeholders, including decision-makers, about the importance of developing language access plans and policies. Multiple sources and legal guidelines provide a comprehensive…

In the United States, the number of dual language learners has rapidly increased, requiring essential instructional support, especially for young children. Without the intentional teaching of academic vocabulary, academic words are not incorporated into the repertoire of emergent bilingual children (EBC). A recent systematic review of vocabulary…

Both educators and students in the United States feel the continuous pressure to improve achievement scores as a form of validation for their work and success. However, emerging bilingual (EBs) learners encounter barriers within assessments that break the assumptions of validity, reliability, and fairness and prevent them from demonstrating their…

The Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) has synthesized key data on English learners (ELs) into two-page sheets on a variety of subjects. This fact sheet focuses on: (1) Most Common Languages Spoken by English Learners (Excluding Spanish and English): Fall 2020; (2) Number of Reported Arabic-Speaking English Learners: 2008 through 2020;…

Drawing on the concept of family language policy (FLP), this paper reports on how four Chinese-English interlingual families maintain the minority language of Chinese with their preteenager children in Australia. The study takes an integrative approach to explore both parents' and children's perspectives on language development. While highlighting…

This report provides data on: (1) Number of English Learners Who Are American Indian/Alaska Native: School Year 2021-22; (2) Five States With the Highest Percent of English Learners Who Are American Indian/Alaska Native: School Year 2021-22; (3) Percent of American Indian/Alaska Native Students Who Were Identified as English Learners: School Year…

This brief explores the potential of bilingual programs to support access to core content courses for students classified as English Learners (ELs). The most common types of bilingual education programs in Oregon are: (1) dual language: instruction is in English and a partner language, with goals of biliteracy and bilingualism. This is also known…

Access to quality early care and education is particularly important for dual language learners (DLLs), as these years represent an important window for exposure and initial development of both English and their home languages. This fact sheet presents information about children under the age of 6 growing up speaking a language other than English…

This book is a comprehensive introduction to the topic of assessing students who use two or more languages in their daily life. The book provides foundational information for assessing multilingual learners (MLs) in schools, with an emphasis on school language and content. Major assessment ideas are viewed through a framework called PUMI (Purpose,…

Providing appropriate academic evaluation and intervention services for English learners remains a challenging goal for school support teams. Understanding English language proficiency assessment and universal screening processes can help teams make better decisions when considering possible continued intervention or referral for a comprehensive…

In this Teaching Issues contribution, six instructional strategies to address culture in second language (L2) writing are discussed. These strategies have been conceptualized as a set of heuristics to enhance student awareness about various cultural and linguistic resources in L2 writing. Each teaching strategy is based on challenges that student…

A paradox marks bilingual education in the United States. On the one hand, many states encourage high school students to learn a second language by awarding them seals of biliteracy on their diplomas. On the other, young children who come to school with skills in languages other than English are not encouraged to retain these skills and are even…

Following the multilingual trend in language education, translanguaging advocates active use of multiple languages and other meaning-making resources in a dynamic and integrated way in teaching and learning. When it comes to foreign language education, translanguaging advocates a view that the languages the learners already have should and can…

This brief aims to contextualize and promote translanguaging as an approach to educating bi-/ multilingual students in US literacy classrooms. Broadly, "translanguaging" has been defined as "the deployment of a speaker's full linguistic repertoire without regard for watchful adherence to the socially and politically defined…