History of ELL

Richard & Amanda

Origins of ELL

 North America 1664 teaching in non English languages begin

 Native Americans primary focus
 At least 18 languages 17th century
 18-19th century more people settled the continent with various backgrounds
 1839 states begin to adopt bilingual education laws
 Instruction in languages other than English

 Although these laws were in effect immigrants “Americanized” and replaced their
native language with English (WWI social issues)
The truth

 Even though laws were in effect many non-English speakers were submerged
in an English only setting
 No second instruction included
 Not large enough work force
 Did not want to include
 By the mid 1920’s almost all bilingual classes were non existent
 This decline continued until the 1960’s
Why the 1960’s???
Cuban Immigrants

 1963 due to the huge influx of Cuban immigrants the first large scale
government sanctioned bilingual program was founded in Florida.
 Dade County, Florida became unofficial model for the U.S.
 Educators/ researchers from around the county came to examine this “new” form
of education
 This is ELL’s beginning snowball effect.
Tesol (Teachers of English to Speakers of
Other Languges)
 In 1966 the Tesol organization, was established in response to the increased
demand for ESL materials and methodologies due to the influx of immigrants,
refugees, and international students to the United States.
Bilingual Education Act

 In 1968 congress passed the act under Title VII of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act.
 This represented the first national acknowledgment of the special educational
needs of non/limited-English speaking children.
 These students are not intellectually inept
 However, Title VII’s “poverty criterion” was seen as a strategy for
“repudiating the effects of poverty and cultural disadvantage”.
 Some believe that the act was mainly to help less fortunate children not
necessarily ESL students
New York

 In 1974 the Puerto Rican Legal and Educational Fund sued the state resulting
in a Federal court order that required the New York City chancellor of
education to develop adequate bilingual programs
 Content instruction was not sufficient for Spanish speaking children which resulted
in lower test scores
 Intensive English instruction and some content instruction in Spanish
Lau vs. Nichols case

 In 1974 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Lau (Chinese) and 1,789 other
Chinese students from the San Francisco area were denied access to equal
educational opportunities because they could not sufficiently understand the
language of instruction.
 Most Chinese immigrants went to California for work opportunities and were often
disliked by the public
 set the expectation that school systems must adopt some kind of comprehensive
strategy
 addressed the needs of non-English speaking students
 The court did not mandate any specific model
ESL is not a one language
situation
Elementary and Secondary Education Act
(ESEA)
 Most programs funded by ESEA in 1984 were reorganized in two divisions
 Title I: provides money for disadvantaged students, as well as migrant education
programs.
 Title II: provides block grants to the states under such laws as “Ethnic Heritage
Act” and the “Emergency School Aid Act.”
 Ethnic Heritage Act:1. develop new diverse curriculum 2. put it into school classrooms
3. provide training for educators and fund future development
 Emergency School Aid Act: eliminates non diverse curriculum and promotes cultural
diversity by funding schools who promote the same ideals

 Funding for Limited English Proficient (LEP) students (another term for ELL),
comes from all of these programs to varying degrees.
Proposition 227

 During California's 1998 primary election proposition 227 was passed.

 Restructured education for language minority students by mandating a one-
year structured English immersion (SEI) program
 parents can choose to opt out of the program
 Supporters of 227 say that LEP students have acquired English at a higher rate
since the inception of the proposition in school
 Many academics believe there is no evidence supporting this claim
 Those against the proposition believed it made it significantly harder for ESL
students to succeed because it practically took away Bilingual instrunction
Proposition 203

 In 2000 Arizona passed proposition 203 ending bilingual education in that

state.
 the non-profit corporation One Nation, One California led by software mogul
Ron Unz is pursuing similar legislation in Colorado, New York, Massachusetts,
and Texas.
What could be the effects on these
learners if this happens
 Social
 Economic
 Education
No Child Left Behind

 In 2001 George W. Bush passed the No Child Left Behind Act. In the act it
references bilingual education the term was changed to Language instruction
education programs.
 Now a state administered formula grant program NCLB required states and
districts to help ensure the success for ESL students and hold them to high
standards.