Data-Driven Education Insights

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) acknowledged that key objectives for teaching mathematics are problem-solving, arguing, and interacting mathematically (NCTM, 1991). Research shows that English language learners (ELs) often get fewer opportunities to learn in mainstream American classrooms because of their limited English proficiency. This leads to other problems, which include lower academic achievement and delayed linguistic development because ELs are less active in classrooms and experience heightened “expressive and receptive communication difficulties” (Arreaga-Mayer, & Perdomo-Rivera, 1996, p. 246). As the issue of equity, access, and participation in everyday classrooms emerged, scholars developed different means of best practices (e.g., use of students’ first language to activate prior knowledge, use of realia, manipulatives, visual aids like pictures, etc.) to scaffold ELs’ participation in their regular content classrooms ( Aguirre, & del Rosa...

             Teaching English language learners in a regular science classroom where the majority of students are native English speakers is not an easy task. It gets even harder if teachers have no prior training or experience teaching language learners. From the perspective of these minority students, learning can be scary. I often remember my own experience of having low morale and confidence during my first semester in a mainstream American classroom and the hardships I encountered comprehending the lectures. I would read slowly because it took longer for me to comprehend, and even longer to process what to say if I were asked a question. It was frustrating to struggle with my language proficiency in an everyday class. I taught English for more than a decade to EFL students and also lived outside my country for three years communicating solely in English before I joined a graduate college to pursue a teaching degree...

During the 1990s, research in the field of English language learners (ELs) uncovered the huge achievement gap between ELs and native English-speaking students, which necessitated a significant amount of studies in this area. Researchers soon identified that the challenge of acquiring content knowledge while still learning the language posed a great burden on the part of the ELs ( DeLuca, 2010; Hart, & Lee, 2003; Latzke, & Canaday, 2002; Stoddart, Pinal). This gave birth to the following new questions, among others: (a) Is it possible for ELs to excel required language skills (speaking, reading, writing, and listening) including subject specific vocabulary for all courses included in a curriculum? (b) Is it the responsibility of language teachers to prepare language learners for content area classes? (c) Should ELs be pulled out of the mainstream classroom and taught language until they master the target language? However, the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 200...