College of Education & Human Services

Overview

As teachers, it is our responsibility to provide educational excellence and equity to all students.

Illinois School Code is very specific regarding the education of English Language Learners. Please read and refer to the following link for Illinois School Code ILSC 14C 1-13 regarding the legislation particular to language minority students.

http://www.isbe.net/bilingual/htmls/legislation_rules.htm

The numbers of English Language Learners (ELLs) in public schools across Illinois and the United states is increasing at dramatic rates. 195,516 students were enrolled in Illinois ELL programs for school year 2009. School districts enrolled 6,000 more ELLs in SY 2009 than in SY 2008. Linguistically and culturally diverse students are not only enriching our large metropolitan areas, but also an important segment of our rural schools’ student populations.

By completing this course, the participant will be able to:

English Language Learner Students...They're Everywhere

  • Identify ELL demographics.
  • Locate information regarding home language survey.

A Little Theory You Should Know

  • Recognize difference between academic language and conversational language.
  • Understand what it is like to have restricted language.

What About Standardized Testing of English Language Learners?

  • Experience a standardized test in Japanese.
  • Recognize the importance of parents using home language at home with their children.

Thank you for joining STAR-Online to increase your knowledge and skill level of providing
for the English Language Learner in the classroom.

Getting Started

In this course, we will be referring to the WIDA English Language Proficiency Standards. Go to: http://www.wida.us/standards/elp.aspx to download and print your own copy of the English Proficiency Standards before continuing this module.

When you have accessed the WIDA site, you will find a number of resources available. For this module, we will be using the following documents. You can go to the WIDA site above or download them from here:

NOTE: The ELP standards are available as two separate documents to reduce the size of the download. If you have any difficulty opening these documents, please make sure that your computer has the latest version of Adobe Reader installed (www.adobe.com).