Long-Term English Language Learner Project

 

English Language Learners (ELLs) are currently the fastest growing student population in the United States, and the greatest growth within the ELL population has occurred at the secondary level. Despite this growth, little research has been conducted on ELLs in high school. The limited research that has been done has focused on newcomers. There is a dearth of research on ELLs who have been mostly or fully educated in the United States, but who continue to be designated as ELLs as they enter high school. These students are known as Long Term English Language Learners (LTELLs), and are defined as students who have been receiving ESL or bilingual services for 7 or more years. These students are orally bilingual but have limited literacy skills in both their native language and English. This limited literacy creates barriers to their academic success that are distinct from the barriers faced by newcomer ELLs. Nevertheless, they are oftentimes treated as if their needs are the same as newcomers.

With funding from the New York City Department of Education, the Research Institute for the Study of Language in Urban Society (RISLUS), located at the CUNY Graduate Center,explored the characteristics of these students, and indentifying best practices in meeting their needs. The first phase of this research was conducted in the 2007-2008 school year, and consisted of interviews with 29 LTELLs, their teachers, and administrators to identify the characteristics and educational needs of these students. The second phase was the implementation of a pilot program of support services specifically targeting LTELLs in two New York City high schools with a focus on bi-literacy development across all content subjects.

This Web site is designed to share the research and resources that we have collected as part of this research study. We hope to begin a national dialogue about this underserved and overlooked population, and be a resource for disseminating the most current research and best practices to meet the needs of LTELLs.

Click "Project Description" for more information on this project.