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Language Acquisition Principles

In: English and Literature

Submitted By dayshaw
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Language Acquisition Principles
An article from the online journal of Education.com had a great article about language acquisition principles for English Language Learners (ELL). The title of the article is “Delicate Balance: Managing the Needs of ELL students” and was written by Jon Nordmeyer.
The article begins with a quote from a middle school English Language Learner (ELL) that states “it is hard to be an ESL student sometimes. Between ESL students, I could make many friends, but when I have any classes like math or science I feel an invisible space between ESL students and regular students. I envy the regular students because I was good at science in my own country, and now the only reason for my C on science was pictures in the textbook” (Nordmeyer, 2006, p. 1). ELL students represent the fastest-growing student population in United States public schools and this quote is cause for immediate reactions for modifications in classroom curriculum and lesson plans. Increasing diversity, greater accountability, and stretched school budgets are some of the greatest challenges for today’s public schools. The article states that finding a balance between language learning and content learning so schools can operate on an all-inclusive classroom program is the ideal outcome.
Learning academic content in English is one of the biggest problems ELL students have. This is added to other tribulations of social adaptation and acceptance, cultural changes, and personal challenges. Research consistently shows that it takes five to seven years to become fluent in cognitive English skills, while social English skills can be learned as quickly as twelve months. With these results, classroom educators need to “understand how to work effectively with ELLs in their own classes by acknowledging the essential role culture plays, using strategies to scaffold content instruction to

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