If the student decides to go into a trade, he/she may be able to find an apprenticeship in his/her first language, but what kind of a customer base will he/she be able to establish without being able to speak English? If he/she goes into the military, what language will orders be given in? English. When this student finishes high school and wants to go to college, he/she can take remedial math courses if needed, but those courses will be in English. Yes, he/she also needs to be able to read and write, do basic math, and understand science, etc., but he/she needs to be able to do all of this in English. In order to have a future, he/she will need to be able to speak English. This student has moved to our country and intends to live here for the rest of his/her life. Yes, they also need to learn math, science, history, etc., but ultimately their greatest need is to learn English. The problem is that while I agree, it is easier and it does (at least in the short-term) make everyone happier, it is not the best thing for the student in the long term.

It’s easier on the teacher, it’s easier on the student, the teacher is happier, the student is happier…what’s the problem? I completely understand the tendency towards just translating materials, getting bilingual paras to translate classroom discussions, and generally relying on a student’s first language. But the real work ultimately falls on the classroom teacher, and classroom teachers are the busiest and hardest working people in education (except maybe school secretaries–they truly make the education world go round!). I do this through various means such as providing teachers with resources (such as my CCSS-old WIDA I Can Statement alignment), finding alternate readings, pre-teaching vocabulary, working with students on projects, helping adjust tests, etc. A big part of my job as an ESL teacher involves helping ELLs succeed in their content classes. There are many annual struggles in education, but the one I’m considering today is the one that I have been most involved in over the years: the struggle between the ESL teacher and the classroom teacher over accommodations for English language learners (ELLs). We are now a month (or more) into another school year and that means it is time for the annual struggle to begin.

Ell accommodations