Assessing the English Language Learner

Assessing the English Language Learner (ELL)

The Growth of ELL (ESL)
The number of human beings who speak a language other than English continues to increase in the United States, Canada, and Australia, for example, as the number of immigrants grows. In 2006, 34.70% of the population of Los Angeles, California, was foreign born; 25.50% of Miami, Florida; 39.60% of Vancouver, British Columbia; 45.70% of Toronto, Ontario; 28.90% of Melbourne, Australia; and 31.70% of Sydney, Australia (Statistics Canada, 2008). In the United States, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES, 2004) reported that “The number and percentage of language minority youth and young adults— that is, individuals who speak a language other than English at home—increased steadily in the United States between 1979 and 1999” (p. 1). NCES added,
Of those individuals ages 5–24 in 1979, 6 million spoke a language other than English at home. By 1999, that number had more than doubled, to 14 million. Accordingly, of all 5- to 24-year-olds in the United States, the percentage who were language minorities increased from 9 percent in 1979 to 17 percent in 1999.
(p. 1)
The number of ESL students in U.S. public schools has almost tripled over the last decade (Goldenberg, 2006). In 2004 Crawford observed that one-fourth of the school-age students in the United States were from homes where a language other than English was spoken. The school-age population (K–12) will reach about 40% ESL in about 20 years (Center for Research on Education, Diversity, and Excellence, 2002). Between 1990 and 2000, the number of Spanish speakers increased from about 20 to 31 million (U.S. Census Bureau, 2001). The Census Bureau report also showed a significant increase in the number of speakers from other linguistic groups, particularly Chinese and Russian. Individuals at all ages enter school to learn the English skills they need to learn, gain employment and participate in society. Planning for their

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