ABSTRACT
Some students are more at-risk for school failure based on aspects of their background such as their language learning. Immigration due to economic or political circumstances results in classrooms with increasing numbers of students of migrant or refugee status. Language learning can also be an issue for students from indigenous backgrounds. This chapter describes who English language learners are and the impacts of having to learn language on top of other social-emotional issues. It outlines some practices within the multi-tiered culturally responsive system of support model that educators can incorporate in order to effectively support these students. Interactionists believe that language is learned through a stimulus, response, and reinforcement pattern and that humans are born with an ability to learn language. Basic interpersonal communication skills (BICS) involve the informal language of conversation. Children typically learn BICS through informal interaction with their peers, often while playing.
