There are a rising number of students living in the United States that are classified as English Language Learners or ELLs. These students are not only learning grade-level content but also learning how to communicate in English. The majority (77.2 percent) come from Spanish speaking countries in Latin America. Latino ELL students are typically enrolled in schools that do not have experience serving this special population. In the past several decades there has been a change in the demographic in the South due to the increase number of Latino immigrants moving to this region after the adoption of the North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA. Although the student population has shifted in kind, the teacher population has remained largely monolingual, …show more content…
Others connected students’ use of languages other than English with poverty or crime. A significant number of teachers explicated instructed students to not use their home language in the classroom.
Ignorance/benign neglect of home language
Many teachers implied that their ELLs did not use their home language in the classroom or at school in general. Some also stated that students did not use their home language at school due to lack of peers. In both cases teachers did not explicitly prohibit students from speaking their home language, nor did they invite their students to use their home language in the classroom or take any responsibility for including their students’ home language into their teaching in order to facilitate the acquisition of English language skills or the understanding of academic content.
Passively accepting home language
The majority of control teachers and a number of treatment teachers passively accepted their ELL student’s home language use without actively encouraging it.
Valuing home