EFFECTIVE LITERACY TEACHING FOR ELLs: BEST
PRACTICES FROM RESEARCH
Rosemarie Brefeld
n Missouri, in 2008 there were
19,053 limited English proficient (LEP) learners.
In 2011, there were 24,779 LEP learners, a 23
per cent increase. This trend of rising numbers
of English language learners (ELLs) in our
classrooms is expected to continue. With the
increasing number of students who speak
languages other than English in their homes, it
is important for literacy teachers to be aware of
literacy practices which can help or hinder these
learners. The differences between teaching
literacy to children who speak English only (EO)
and children who speak another language at
home and who are learning English, (ELLs) can
be summarized by answering two key questions
about EL learners: 1) what are the students’
academic, social and cultural histories? And 2)
where are the learners in regards to their
trajectory toward English language proficiency?
With this background knowledge, reading
teachers can establish a baseline of
expectations.
Also, knowing about basic principles of
learning a second language aide understanding
of the variations of learning trajectories ELLs
might present. There are many similarities, but
the differences in the challenges of teaching
literacy skills to English language learners need
to be understood. This article will briefly discuss
basic understandings about second language
learners, focusing on what makes them
different from EO learners, summarize general
teaching practices for the various levels of
English language proficiency, and highlight
effective teaching strategies culled from
recently published research throughout.
Changes in Classroom Compositions
The demographic trend of language
diversity in Missouri mirrors that of the nation
which shows an increase in the number of
people speaking a language other than English
at home. Since 1980, the percentage of the
population who reported speaking a language
other than English at home rose from 23.1
Rosemarie Brefeld is a Ph.D. candidate in
Teaching and Learning at the University
of Missouri, St Louis. Her main focus of
study is the intersection of second language
acquisition and literacy. Her research
interests include narrative study, discourse
analysis of teaching and learning, the
language and social processes of teaching
education practices and the self-study of
teacher education practices. Her
dissertation work will center around a
professional development group of ELL
teachers inquiring how to teach literature
more dialogically. She has taught ESL for
more than fifteen years, mostly at the
higher education level, but she taught fifth
grade EFL in Venezuela and has tutored
Mexican kindergarten students in ELL.
She speaks Spanish and some French and
has extensive experience working with
Asian students.
million speakers to 57.1 million speakers in
2009. Ortman and Shin (2012) report research
that suggests that the United States will
continue to be a linguistically diverse nation in
the coming years. Their projections show that