Recognizing the Realities and Needs of Unaccompanied Minors in the All-English Classroom

Abstract

This chapter provides key information about a growing population of English language learners (ELLs) in United States classrooms: unaccompanied minors from the Northern Triangle nations of Central America. Part one provides contextual information about unaccompanied minors, including a description of the immigration process that channels children from detention facilities along the U.S.-Mexico border to communities—and classrooms—across the country. Part two draws on empirical data gathered through an ethnographic case study conducted across the 2015–2016 school year and focuses on one pedagogical practice, dialogue journaling, in a classroom serving unaccompanied minors with limited and interrupted formal schooling. Part three provides a list of resources for exploring the topic further including materials that provide a deeper understanding of the sociopolitical contexts in which children cross borders as well as practice-oriented materials teachers can use to create welcoming classroom spaces in which they provide culturally relevant, linguistically accessible instruction.