English Language Learners Lit. Review
Classroom Engagement, Home Connections, and ELL Students
Angela Johnson
Washington State University
Literature Review
This literature review is my work in progress for my master`s final project at Washington State University. My chair Dr.Tom Salsbury recommended some of the articles that I included in this literature review. The key words are engagement, motivation, English language Learners, reading, struggling readers, parent involvement, home literacy, literacies, home-school connections, and funds of knowledge.
Introduction
Of all student populations (aside from participants in Special Education programs), English Language Learners (ELLs) face the most academic challenges—especially on standardized evaluations emphasizing academic literacy skills (Baker, 2006; Crawford, 2004). In the US, many policies have been put forth over the past 60 years to meet the needs of ELL students (Johnson, 2009). Stemming from the Civil Rights activist movements in the 1960s, language-minority students were assured the right to a bilingual education (Title VII of the ESEA). In the 1970s, the Lau v. Nichols case played an important role in the history of bilingual education because it determined the right to a comprehensible education. The 2002 No Child Left Behind Act eliminated the emphasis on bilingual education and shifted the overall focus on English acquisition (Crawford, 2004). This monolithic emphasis on English stems from an ideological orientation that positions languages other than English as a problem (Ruiz, 1988).
Nowhere are challenges with academic literacy more evident than in school districts with high immigrant and language-minority populations (McCarty, 2005a; McCarty & Watahomigie, 2004; Pérez, 2004a). This trend is even more apparent in low socioeconomic contexts (Heath, 1983; McCarty, 2005b; Moll & Ruiz, 2002; Tollefson & Tsui, 2004). Unfortunately, the current emphasis of federal education policy on standardization,
Angela Johnson
Washington State University
Literature Review
This literature review is my work in progress for my master`s final project at Washington State University. My chair Dr.Tom Salsbury recommended some of the articles that I included in this literature review. The key words are engagement, motivation, English language Learners, reading, struggling readers, parent involvement, home literacy, literacies, home-school connections, and funds of knowledge.
Introduction
Of all student populations (aside from participants in Special Education programs), English Language Learners (ELLs) face the most academic challenges—especially on standardized evaluations emphasizing academic literacy skills (Baker, 2006; Crawford, 2004). In the US, many policies have been put forth over the past 60 years to meet the needs of ELL students (Johnson, 2009). Stemming from the Civil Rights activist movements in the 1960s, language-minority students were assured the right to a bilingual education (Title VII of the ESEA). In the 1970s, the Lau v. Nichols case played an important role in the history of bilingual education because it determined the right to a comprehensible education. The 2002 No Child Left Behind Act eliminated the emphasis on bilingual education and shifted the overall focus on English acquisition (Crawford, 2004). This monolithic emphasis on English stems from an ideological orientation that positions languages other than English as a problem (Ruiz, 1988).
Nowhere are challenges with academic literacy more evident than in school districts with high immigrant and language-minority populations (McCarty, 2005a; McCarty & Watahomigie, 2004; Pérez, 2004a). This trend is even more apparent in low socioeconomic contexts (Heath, 1983; McCarty, 2005b; Moll & Ruiz, 2002; Tollefson & Tsui, 2004). Unfortunately, the current emphasis of federal education policy on standardization,