Interventions for English Language Learners: A Review

Abstract

English Learners are students who have “sufficient difficulty reading, speaking, writing, or understanding the English language” (US Department of Education, 2014). Nearly five million students enrolled in American public schools are English Language Learners. This means that one in every ten students are not proficient in English (National Center of Education Statistics, 2015). This population has increased by one million over the last ten years. It is predicted that by 2025, one in four enrolled public school students will be an English Language Learner (National Education Association, 2008). This fast-growing rate illustrates the clear necessity of well-equipped instructors and evidence-based instructional methods to meet the needs of these students so that they are able to successfully meet state standards. Teachers and educational stakeholders must understand the importance of using evidence-based interventions in their instruction. Approximately 71% of English Language Learners speak Spanish as their first language (Migration Policy Institute, 2015). While Spanish is the primary language spoken by English Language Learners, there are over 400 languages spoken by ELLs in America today (National Education Association, 2005). This demonstrates that these students come from a wide variety of cultures, backgrounds and needs, which has clear implications for effective intervention. Interventions cannot be streamlined or based in a specific language or cultural context because of the diversity of these students.