Part 107: Who are English Language Learners?

Post 107: Who are English Language Learners in the United States?

In my day, ELL students were known as ESL (English as a Second Language) students. Now, ESL students go by many different names. The most general name is ELL (English Language Learners). Other names for students whose first language is not English are the following: Emergent Bilingual students,  English Language Learners, Bilingual students, Language Minority Students, and Limited English Proficient Students, Vacation ESL students, Immigrant students, Adult Immigrant students, Non native speakers of English (NNS), foreign students, Developmental English Learners, and International students.

For the purposes of this blog, I will refer to students who are in the US and whose native language is not English to be ELL (English Language Learners).Through the years, I have taught many different kinds of ELL's.

Vacation ELL (University age, teenagers)

Vacation ELL 's come to the US to be a tourist. They take ESL classes in the morning at an ESL school where they study English grammar, English listening, English conversation and English lab. Then, most Vacation ELL go sightseeing in the afternoon.  The Afternoon classes for the few Vacation ELL's who take the afternoon classes are ESL Writing and ESL reading classes. Vacation ELL students usually come during the summer time when year round school is out. Vacation ELL students tend to be university aged students 18-25 and they come from all over the world. I love teaching these classes because these students are just brimming with enthusiasm. I get to learn about different cultures and I love teaching these students about American culture, American slang, and American conversation. Vacation ELL are just in the US to have fun and studying English is just another fun thing for them to do while they take their vacations in the US.

College ELL (University age)

College English Language Learners are International Students who come to the United States to study at an American university. They come from all over the world to study at UCLA, Princeton to study all kinds of fields ranging from computer science, engineering, mathematics and humanities. College ELL's study ESL so that  they can pass the TOEFL test to get into an American university or they take ESL classes to fulfill their English Proficiency requirement or fulfill their Freshman English Composition requirement College ELL students are hard working and serious and really want to get into an American university.  Like Vacation ELL, they come from all over the world.

Immigrant ELL (Elementary School age to High School K-12)

The kids of Immigrant ELL go to public schools to learn ESL or participate in Bilingual Education programs to learn English, to maintain their first language/heritage, and to mainstream into regular content classes.  Immigrant ELL kids tend to be poor and low income. Their parents came to this country from war torn countries or poor countries in search of a better life or in search of the American Dream.  In my next few blogs, I will be talking about the different kinds of Bilingual programs and ESL programs available for Immigrant ELL's.  Other names for Immigrant ELL are Emergent Bilingual Students and Language Minority Students.

Adult Immigrant ELL

Adult Immigrant ELL usually work during the day in the US and take ESL classes at night in Adult ESL classes just for Adult immigrant students. Adult Immigrant students are more interested in taking Business English, or Survival English so they know enough English to function in American society. Some take ESL classes so they can prepare for US Citizenship tests.  They are usually the parents of the Immigrant English Language elementary aged (K-12) Learners. They work hard during the day and study hard at night.

All these students are taught by ESL teachers who are specially trained in Second Language Acquisition teaching techniques. If you want to teach Vacation ESL students, or College ESL students you need to have a TESOL degree or a MA in ESL/Applied Linguistics. If you want to teach Immigrant ELL students, in California, you need a Single Subject Teaching Credential and BCLAD. If you want to teach Adult Immigrant ELL students, you need an Adult ESL Teaching Certificate. If you want to teach EFL students (English as a Foreign Language students), you need a TESOL or TEFL Certificate. Credentialed teachers teach al these students. I have a MA in ESL/Applied Linguistics, so I have taught all these groups of students.