AnEnglish Language Learner (ELL) Handbook

For Mainstream Teachers and School Officials

Written by CESA 5 Consortium Members

Julee Dredske, Chris Frinak, Pat Goggin

Third Edition

2007

Published by CESA 5, Center for Accountability and Assessment

Title III Consortium Project

1

Working With Students Who Are

Learning to Speak English

An English Language Handbook for Mainstream Teachers and School Officials

Table of Contents

Introduction ...... 3

Glossary...... 4

For School Officials:

Is your school an ELL friendly school?...... 5

What are the legal obligations in working with ELLs?...... 5

What do I need to do when enrolling an ELL?...... 6

Do ELLs participate in the WSAS?...... 6

How do I Assess the Student’s English Language Proficiency Level?...... 7

What are Annual Measurable Achievable Objectives-AMAO?...... 7

For Mainstream Teachers:

Who are ELLs?...... 8

Where do I begin with a new ELL?...... 9

Where do I go next?...... 9

What can I expect of ELLs?...... 11

How do I assess ELLs?...... 11

Is the student ELL, EEN or both? ...... 13

Appendices:

Appendix A: School Climate Survey...... 14

Appendix B:Home Language Survey...... 17

Appendix C: Parent Notification Requirements...... 18

Appendix D:First Day Suggestions...... 19

Appendix E: English Language Proficiency Levels ...... 20

Appendix F: Individual Record Plans ...... 21

Appendix G: English Language Acquisition Stages & Cues...... 22

Appendix H: English to Spanish Quick Reference...... 23

Appendix I:Spanish Phrases for Office Personnel...... 26

Resources ...... 27

Bibliography...... 29

Introduction

The enrollment of English Language Learners (ELLs) continues to grow in the CESA 5 consortium schools. Whether you are a small, rural school with a handful of ELLs or a larger district with a categorical-aided ELL program, all schools have an obligation to comply with federal and state laws to best serve this population of students.

The purpose of the handbook is to provide a quick reference and simple answers to questions about working with ELLs for mainstream teachers and administrators. The very reason you may be pulling this handbook off your shelf is because you have just enrolled a student with limited English-speaking skills in your school or classroom. It is our goal to provide an “ELL 101” guide tohelp you better understand how to work with ELLs. From prior to enrollment to continued support, this guide will assist you in meeting theneeds of your ELLs and their families.

For those of you seeking more in-depth information on these topics, we have included a resource list and bibliography to point you in the right direction.

English Language Learners (ELL)

Glossaryof Terms and Acronyms

ACCESS for ELL® / Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State-to-State for English Language Learners. This is a required annual assessment for all Wisconsin ELLs who are receiving program support. This test is used to determine the English language proficiency level.
ACCULTURATION / The process of adapting to a new cultural environment.
ASSIMILATION / The native culture is essentially eliminated from a person's cognitive behavior as the second culture takes its place.
AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT / Allowing students various methods of assessment to demonstrate their knowledge and abilities based as closely as possible to real life experiences.
CALP / Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency
CLD / Culturally and Linguistically Different
COMPREHENSIBLE INPUT / Language delivered at a level understood by a learner.
ELL / English Language Learner (preferred acronym)
ELP / English Language Proficiency. This is usually evaluated on a scale of 1-6. (See Appendix D)
ENL / English as a New Language
ESL / English as a Second Language
FEP / Fluent English Proficient
FES / Fluent English Speaker
L1 / First Language Learned
L2 / Second Language Learned
LEP / Limited English Proficiency
NEP / Non English Proficient
OCR / Office of Civil Rights
SAE / Students Acquiring English
SCAFFOLDING / Temporary supports that permit L2 learners to participate before they are able to do so unassisted.
SHELTERED INSTRUCTION / Teaching strategies which are adapted to meet the needs of English language learners (ELL) so instruction is in comprehensible form.
TESOL / Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
W-APT™ / WIDA Assessment of ELLs Placement Test. This is a screening test used to determine the ELP level of new ELLs or ELLs who were not available during the ACCESS for ELL® testing window.
WIDA / A consortium of 10 states who design the ACCESS for ELL® and W-APT™ and oversee the annual testing of ELLs.
WSAS / WisconsinState Assessment System

Is your school an ELL friendly school?

Helping ELLs to feel welcomed in your school requires the efforts of all staff—not just one or two individuals working with ELLs. This includes a total school approach of examining cultures that are portrayed at your school, curriculum, environment, training and education of mainstream staff, etc. If mainstream staff is expected to meet the needs of ELLs, we must assist them in determining how they can best do this through instruction, modifications, and other tools available to help them with this process. Appendix A includes an evaluation to help you take a look at your school to determine if your educational environment is welcoming and sensitive to the needs of English Language Learners and their families.

From the first moment ELL parents enter the school, they should feel welcomed into their children's new educational environment. Every staff member should be sensitive to their needs. First impressions by staff are crucial to forming a partnership with parents.

Legal Responsibilities: What are the legal obligations in working with ELLs?

The State of Wisconsin defines a student with limited-English proficiency as a pupil “who has difficulty with reading, writing, speaking or comprehending in English within the academic classroom setting.” PI 13.03

The Department of Public Instruction has posted a Bulletin No. 3 on their website ( that addresses both federal and state legal obligations. It is important to note that these legal requirements apply to districts in which only one ELL student may be enrolled. The list below is a summary of this bulletin:

Each district must annually complete a census to identify language minority students; assess their language proficiency; and classify each by language, grade level, age, and English language proficiency level.

Legal Residency Status: The Court emphatically declared that school systems are not agents for enforcing immigration law and determined that the burden undocumented aliens may place on an educational system is not an acceptable argument for excluding or denying educational services to any student. Therefore, school districts are prohibited from requiring U.S. passports, social security numbers, residency permits known as “green cards,” or any documentation or inquiry that would indicate whether a child or family was or was not a legal resident or citizen of the United States.

Appropriate Language Instruction: Districts must provide “appropriate language assistance” services aimed both at developing proficiency in English and helping students master the same challenging academic material as all other students. This instruction should:

  • Not include unnecessary segregation. A clear example of unnecessary segregation would be keeping students apart during music, art, physical education, or any nonacademic or extracurricular activities.
  • Be bilingual-bicultural instruction, to the extent possible, to ensure that students do not fall behind academically while English skills are being developed
  • ELL programs must be evaluated to determine students’ growth in English proficiency and increased academic competence. If the local program is not effective, it must be changed.

School districts with larger populations of students speaking the same non-English language have additional obligations under the state’s bilingual-bicultural statute. If any school within a district has ten ELLs speaking the same non-English language at grades K-3, 20 students at grades 4-8, or 20 students at grades 9-12, the district must design a program and prepare a formal plan of services (PI-1849) for meeting the needs of these students. ( This plan of services must be approved by the department. The statute requires all such programs to be staffed by licensed bilingual teachers. When bilingual licensed teachers are not available, ESL licensed teachers may be used with bilingual teacher aides except in programs serving Spanish speakers.

Additional suggestions to ensure “appropriate instruction” compliance can include:

  • Use of an Individualized Record Plan (IRP) (seeAppendix E sample). This plan would include background information about the students as well as a plan for program interventions that can be shared with appropriate teachers.
  • Maintain academic support for ELLs until they have progressed beyond a Level 5. The ability to carry on conversational English language skills (Level 1 & 2) should not conclude support for students as they enter more rigorous instruction in Levels 3-5.
  • Schools must make a serious effort to communicate with language minority parents/guardians in the home language. This may include translation of documents sent home for parents, audio taped versions, or a special phone line.
  • Taking steps so that ELLs are not assigned to special education classes because of their lack of English language proficiency, rather than because they have a disability.

Most ELLs should reach full English proficiency and age appropriate academic parity in five-seven years.

What do I need to do when I enroll the ELL student?

Home Language Survey: As a component of the application/enrollment process in your school, every student should be asked about their language. This may be as simple as a few questions about the student’s language choice included on an enrollment form or a separate form.

A sample of a home language survey is provided in Appendix B. Students indicating that another language is spoken by the student or others in their home should also participate in a language screening test to determine their language proficiency level.

Any student who is identified as language minority (having a non-English language spoken in the home) during the school enrollment process should be given an English language proficiency assessment within the first few weeks of enrollment using a DPI approved instrument—the W-APT. This test can be downloaded at CESA 5 conducts annual workshops to assist schools in administering this test.

Within 30 days from the start of the school year or within two weeks of new enrollment, schools must notify parents of their student who may be identified as ELL and admitted into an English language development program. See Appendix C for complete requirements of this notification.

Do ELLs participate in the WSAS?

Complete information about testing and accommodations for limited-English proficient students can be found on the DPI website:

Beginning in 2006-07, the U.S. Dept of Education will not allow the use of the WAA-ELL (Wisconsin Alternate Assessment) for accountability purposes. Districts should follow these guidelines when making decisions about assessment for ELLs at English proficiency Level 1 or Level 2 (students previously eligible for the WAA-ELL):

  • Students who have been attending a U.S. school for less than one year must take the mathematics portion of the WKCE. They may take the reading portion of the exam. These students will have an impact on test participation for Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for mathematics but not for reading. They will count as a test participant only. This status should be indicated onthe student test booklet. Students, in the country for less than one year, can only be exempt from the reading portion one time.
  • Students who have been attending a U.S. school for more than one year must take the math and reading portion of the WKCE. Students who are not enrolled in the school for a full academic year* will nothave an impact on the individual test subject portions for Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). They will count as a test participant only.
  • Students who have been attending a U.S. school for more than one year must take the math and reading portion of the WKCE. Students who are enrolled in the school for a full academic year* will have an impact on test participation and each tested subject for Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP).
  • A district may continue to administer the WAA-ELL if the district believes it provides useful information for teachers, but it will not be part of the Wisconsin Student Assessment System beginning 2006-2007, and will not be used in calculating AYP.

*Full academic year means the student has been enrolled from the 3rd Friday count from the previous year- 9.25 months

Note: If a school district desires to not have a migrant ELL student counted in the AYP numbers, they must be certain to withdraw the student each year so that they are not enrolled for a full academic year.

How do I Assess the Student’s English Language Proficiency Level?

The ACCESS for ELL® is a secure, state-mandated exam administered on an annual basis. The window for this test is December-February. Students, who have been identified as ELL, must take this exam annual until they exit the program by reaching an English Language Proficiency Level of 6 or meeting other exit criteria. For more information about this annual test, visit (

Students enrolling outside this testing window may be administered a local assessment to determine their language proficiency level. This language screener can be downloaded at Each district is assigned a password and login that must be used to assess these files.

Both the ACCESS for ELL® and the W-APT™ address speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills in English. The results of the English proficiency assessment should be compared to the proficiency definitions as stated in the administrative rule [PI 13.08]. (For complete definitions of proficiency levels, see Appendix D.)

CESA 5 annually conducts workshops to help schools become familiar with the requirements of administering both the ACCESS for ELL® and the W-APT™. For more information about administering these exams, please contact Julee Dredske, Ext. 289, CESA 5.

What is Annual Measurable Achievable Objective (AMAO)?

No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) inaugurated major changes in the expectations placed on state and local education agencies regarding assessment of and accountability for Limited English Proficient (LEP) students – also known as English Language Learners (ELL). Specifically, three specific AMAO target areas have been established under the law:

AMAO 1: / Progressing in English language acquisition
annual increases in the number or percentage of students making progress in learning English

AMAO 2: / Exiting or reaching English language proficiency
annual increases in the number or percentage of students attaining English language proficiency by the end of each school year AMAO for ELP #2 Exiting: 20% of (a) all of students in ELP Level 5, and (b) any students exiting who begin at a level lower than Level 5.
AMAO 3: / ELL-Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)
AYP for the ELL subgroup (under Title I) in meeting grade-level academic achievement standards in English Language Arts (Reading) and Mathematics

Who are these ELLs? Know Your Students

Educators need to understand who the ELLs are and the types of schooling they have had in order to best serve them.

There are three types of ELLs who may enter your classroom:

  • Literate in first language--These students may have high skills and academic backgrounds in their first language. They will need help in transferring knowledge from 1st to 2nd language.
  • Immigrants/refugees--These students may or may not be literate in first language. Not having background knowledge in their native language can make learning a new language even more challenging. These students may also be dealing with major issues (i.e. displacement, exposure to war, poverty) that affect learning.
  • Second language learners—The U.S. is their home country, but are not native English language.

Prior knowledge is crucial to making sense of new material. For example, it is much easier for a student to learn to read English if they already know how to read in their native language. Do encourage students to continue to communicate in native language. In addition these students will benefit from the life-long skills of being multi-linguistic.

Where do I begin with a new ELL student?

In order to provide the proper instruction, classroom teachers should be knowledgeable of the ELLs ELP level. This information can help the teacher guide appropriate instruction for the student.

Any newstudent entering your classroom in the midst of the school year can be difficult for the teacher and student. It is a disruption to the normal daily routines. To make the addition of a new ELL as smooth as possible, a newcomer kit may be helpful. The contents of this kit would vary with grade levels, but here are a few ideas:

  • daily and weekly schedule
  • list of classroom rules and procedures
  • map of building and layout of classroom
  • blank calendar for the month for noting all school events such as conferences, holidays, early release and delayed start days, assemblies, etc.
  • picture of classmates with their names, maybe in the form of a seating chart
  • notebook and writing utensils
  • age-appropriate information sheet to learn about the student
  • blank personal dictionary for showing known words in English and adding new ones
  • age-appropriate resource sheets such as: expected spelling words, alphabet, number words, money and values, etc.
  • index cards for labeling classroom objects

Tools that can be helpful in overcoming language barriers are picture dictionaries (see resource list), Franklin handheld electronic translators,quick reference guides. Many of these are available for checkout in the CESA 5 IMC. A useful, quick English-Spanish reference guide (Appendix G) that is laminated and easy for the teacher to reference a word or a phrase is available through AMMIE Enterprises (see resource listing) 1-800-633-5544. These guides contain school terminology, report card/parent teacher conference reference phrases, medical terminology, etc. Also available in the CESA 5 IMC is HELP! My Students Don’t Speak English: A Basic Translator for Classroom Survival. This flipchart also contains many common English-Spanish phrases used in the classroom.