Many U.S. schools now have adolescent students who are recent immigrants arrive throughout the school year--sometimes with little English or having had interrupted formal education in their home country. Teachers need strategies to involve such "newcomer" students in classroom work right away. The author describes a framework of…

"It's not the circumstances students bring to school that limit students' growth but their lack of opportunity at school," writes teacher consultant Deborah Wolter. In this article, she argues that a deficit mindset in education--particularly about students who are seen as struggling for linguistic, economic, physical, or academic…

A teacher is doing something right when his high school students--kids with limited English, no less--form groups and begin discussing a lesson on quadratic equations at the start of class, without any teacher direction. Bondie, Gaughran, and Zusho describe "discussion routines" that teachers at International Community High School in the…

As the ranks of English language learners swell in the United States, the number of students with interrupted formal education (SIFE) is on the rise. In 2004-05, New York City schools estimated that 10 percent of their English language learners were students with interrupted schooling. According to the New York State Department of Education,…

Although educators working with limited English-speaking students applaud reformers' efforts to establish readiness and high achievement standards for all students, they are troubled by a lack of attention to opportunity-to-learn standards. Most students need greater access to high-quality instruction, services, and assessment. Steps to alleviate…

Hoping to improve their schools and to integrate the area's Portuguese-speaking students, Fall River Public Schools (Massachusetts) embraced controlled choice. Parents can choose to enroll their children in any school in the system, but choices are subject to available space and the requirements of minority balance guidelines. Includes four…

Hispanics are the largest and youngest ethnic group in the United States. Moreover, young Hispanic children make up approximately 80 percent of the U.S. English language learner population. They are a heterogeneous group, born both inside and outside the United States and having origins in Mexico, Cuba, Central America, South America, and the…

NCLB is leaving English language learners behind because it defies logic and common sense, is internally self-contradictory, and sets AYP expectations that the subgroup cannot possibly attain. Although the U.S. Department of Education allows states to use a variety of strategies to avoid having a Limited English Proficiency (LEP) subgroup, few…

This article describes professional development activities in specific suburban school districts that are experiencing rapid growth in their proportions of students of color, culturally and linguistically diverse students, and students from low-income families. As the author has worked with these districts, he has identified five phases of…

Advises educators on how to address the learning needs of Latino students. Includes understanding the issues, valuing Latino strengths, adopting culturally sensitive pedagogy, and examining society's unexamined norms. (Contains 21 references.)

A veteran English-as-a-Second-Language teacher recently discovered the effectiveness of using videos and TV together with a diverse student population that speaks 22 languages. Video segments linked to tasks, close-captioned instructional TV programs, and interactive TV and video helped students with language acquisition skills. The idea was to…

In Sheltered English classrooms, teachers help Limited English Proficient and Fluent English Proficient students through the difficult task of learning academic content while mastering a second language. (Author/TE)

A teacher of Limited English Proficient elementary students in California describes how she put her students through daily timed read-aloud drills to boost their scores on a benchmark assessment of reading rate that her school district required. Corn briefly reviews the rationale behind measuring reading rate as an indicator of fluency. The reason…

Using the varying perspectives on bilingual education concerning the status quo of students, the future of society, and curriculum methods and delivery systems, the author examines the events and opinions that have shaped the history of bilingual education from the mid-1960's to the present. (MLF)

Instead of viewing English learners as a problem needing remediation, educators should build an enriched bilingual program for all students. In successful two-way programs, both language groups stay together throughout the school day, serving as peer tutors for each other. After five or six years, English learners can demonstrate English and…