ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses some of the major policies and pedagogical issues related to educating English Language Learners (ELLs), the fastest growing segment of the American school population. Many ELs struggle with reading, writing, and oral language in English, which interferes with their academic work in all subjects. One of the biggest challenges facing ELs is going beyond the intermediate level of English to develop advanced language skills. Many ELs are fluent in the conversational English needed for everyday interaction, but have considerable difficulty in navigating the dense, decontextualized language of academic English. Contrary to a popular assumption that all ELs are recent arrivals, a significant number of ELs are actually born in the United States. One of the most politicized issues surrounding EL education has been the question of what language(s) should be used for instruction.
