ABSTRACT
In the United States, increasing numbers of students acquiring English as a second language-often called “English language learners”—are faced with developing their English at the same time that they are expected to use it to learn new academic content. In 1999-2000, 3 million students, compared to 2 million in 1993-1994, were classified as English language learners (Meyer, Madden & McGrath, n.d.). Spanish-speakers currently represent two-thirds of the English language learner population, with the majority from Mexico (Kindler, 2002). Other language groups include speakers of Arabic, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Hmong, Korean, Mandarin, Polish, Russian, and Hindi (Kindler, 2002).
