Teaching & Learning

English Learners

Learn more about students whose first language is not English, also referred to as students learning English as a second language

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Webinars on English Learners
Browse and register for free professional development on students learning English as a second language, dual-language instruction, and bilingual education.
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  • Teacher working with young schoolgirl at her desk in class
    iStock / Getty Images Plus
    English Learners The Science of Reading and English Learners: 3 Takeaways for Policy and Classroom Practice
    Two experts joined Education Week for a webinar on best practices for teaching young English learners to read.
    Sarah Schwartz, March 6, 2024
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    5 min read
    Mon., March 04, 2024, 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. ET
    English Learners Webinar English Learners and the Science of Reading: What Works in the Classroom
    ELs & emergent bilinguals deserve the best reading instruction! The Reading League & NCEL join forces on best practices. Learn more in our webinar with both organizations.
    Register
    March 4, 2024
    The child is studying the alphabet.
    Germanovich/iStock/Getty
    English Learners Nuanced Accountability Would Help English Learners. New Research Shows How
    A new report offers suggestions on how states can approach federal accountability measures with more nuance for English learners.
    Ileana Najarro, February 8, 2024
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    5 min read
    Images shows colorful speech bubbles that say "Q," "&," and "A."
    iStock/Getty
    English Learners Opinion How to Connect With English-Language Newcomers. Teachers Share Their Favorite Lessons
    Stock classrooms with books that reflect students’ lives, languages, and cultures and invite them into as yet unfamiliar worlds.
    Larry Ferlazzo, February 6, 2024
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    10 min read
    Eric Parker teaches a class NW Classen High that has immigrant students and he has a flag representing each, which is a way to make them feel welcome, Tuesday, September 10, 2019.
    Eric Parker teaches a class NW Classen High that has immigrant students and he has a flag representing each, which is a way to make them feel welcome, Tuesday, September 10, 2019. In a study published in the Review of Economic Studies last year, researchers analyzed population-level school records and birth records from Florida to measure the impact of immigrant students on U.S.-born peers’ academic outcomes.
    Doug Hoke/The Oklahoman via AP
    English Learners Do Immigrant Students Help the Academic Outcomes of U.S.-Born Peers? One Study Says Yes
    Schools and districts across the country have recently been reporting larger numbers of immigrant student enrollment, researchers say.
    Ileana Najarro, January 31, 2024
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    5 min read
    Billy Lopez and Indica Beckham read together during kindergarten class at Fairview Elementary in Carthage, Mo., on Nov. 26, 2018. The Carthage School District, along with three other Missouri districts, is participating in a $2.6 million five-year grant project that seeks to bolster its English Language Learners program. The grant will provide ELL training to teachers in the Carthage, Kansas City Public, Bayless and Columbia school districts.
    Billy Lopez and Indica Beckham read together during kindergarten class at Fairview Elementary in Carthage, Mo., on Nov. 26, 2018. The Carthage School District, along with three other Missouri districts, is participating in a $2.6 million five-year grant project that seeks to bolster its English Language Learners program.
    Roger Nomer/The Joplin Globe via AP
    English Learners Federal Funding for English Learners Has a New Home. What Do Educators Hope This Means?
    $890 million in Title III grants moved to the federal office of English language acquisition in December.
    Ileana Najarro, January 30, 2024
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    4 min read
    High school English teacher Puja Clifford sits below signs posted on a wall in her classroom at San Francisco International High School in San Francisco on April 19, 2016. The school accommodated migrant students by rewriting young-adult novels at a basic level to spark the newcomers' interest in reading.
    High school English teacher Puja Clifford sits below signs posted on a wall in her classroom at San Francisco International High School in San Francisco on April 19, 2016. English learner education, including for migrant students, has evolved over the last 50 days after a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case.
    Jeff Chiu/AP
    English Learners Timeline: The U.S Supreme Court Case That Established English Learners' Rights
    Fifty years ago the landmark Lau v. Nichols case set the stage for federal English-learner policy.
    Ileana Najarro, January 19, 2024
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    4 min read
    High school teacher Tara Hobson talks with a student in the school cafeteria at San Francisco International High School in San Francisco on April 19, 2016. Some districts have gone to extraordinary lengths to accommodate migrant students, who often come to join relatives, sometimes escaping criminal gangs or extreme poverty. San Francisco International High School rewrote young-adult novels at a basic level to spark the newcomers' interest in reading.
    High school teacher Tara Hobson talks with a student in the school cafeteria at San Francisco International High School in San Francisco on April 19, 2016. The quality of education for English learners, including migrant students in San Francisco, has evolved over the last years in part due to landmark civil rights Supreme Court decision.
    Jeff Chiu/AP
    English Learners How a 1974 U.S. Supreme Court Case Still Influences English-Learner Education
    Fifty years ago Lau v. Nichols required schools to provide language support to English learners to ensure access to public education.
    Ileana Najarro, January 19, 2024
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    7 min read
    Books sit on shelves in an elementary school library in suburban Atlanta on Aug. 18, 2023.
    Books fill the shelves of an elementary school library in suburban Atlanta on Aug. 18, 2023.
    Hakim Wright Sr./AP
    English Learners Q&A English Learners Need Equal Access to Rich Texts. How One School Makes That Happen
    A coordinator for an English-learner program discusses how to integrate language supports into English/language arts classes.
    Sarah Schwartz, January 15, 2024
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    6 min read
    View of the back of a woman lecturer giving a presentation to Ba blurred out group of diverse adults
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    English Learners Q&A WIDA to Help Mainstream Teachers Work with English Learners
    WIDA aims to offer more professional development opportunities for all teachers working with English learners, not just specialists.
    Ileana Najarro, January 9, 2024
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    6 min read
    Education Secretary Miguel Cardona speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in his office at the Department of Education, Sept. 20, 2023 in Washington. A new federal rule threatens to cut federal money to college programs that consistently leave graduates with low pay or unaffordable debt. The gainful employment rule finalized by the Biden administration on Wednesday applies mostly to for-profit colleges, along with certificate programs at traditional universities.
    Education Secretary Miguel Cardona speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in his office at the Department of Education, Sept. 20, 2023, in Washington. Cardona requested that the management of English-learner federal aid return to the office of English language acquisition earlier this year.
    Mark Schiefelbein/AP
    English Learners $890 Million in English-Learner Aid Is Under New Management. Why Researchers Are Hopeful
    The office of English language acquisition will once again manage Title III formula grant funds.
    Ileana Najarro, December 19, 2023
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    4 min read
    Andy, left, a first-grade student at Mount Pleasant Elementary School, works on his math homework with Sharon Francisco, an English learner teacher with Roanoke County Public Schools on April, 26, 2022, in Roanoke, Va.
    Andy, left, a 1st grade student at Mount Pleasant Elementary School, works on his math homework with Sharon Francisco, an English-learner teacher with Roanoke County Public Schools on April, 26, 2022, in Roanoke, Va.
    Heather Rousseau/The Roanoke Times via AP
    English Learners Ed. Dept. Releases New Toolkit to Engage English Learners' Families
    The updated English-learner family toolkit is available in four languages and as a mobile app.
    Ileana Najarro, December 8, 2023
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    3 min read
    Reinaldo Caraballo, Angel Solivan, center, and Joseph Santana, center right, participate in a group activity during a history class at Pascagoula High School on Oct. 25, 2021 in Pascagoula, Miss. The Pascagoula-Gautier School District has by far the largest English Learner population of any on the Coast, at about 13% as of May 2021, most of whom are native Spanish speakers. That’s one of the five biggest EL populations in the state, according to data the Sun Herald requested from the state Department of Education.
    Reinaldo Caraballo, Angel Solivan, center, and Joseph Santana, center right, participate in a group activity during a history class at Pascagoula High School on Oct. 25, 2021 in Pascagoula, Miss. The Pascagoula-Gautier School District has by far the largest English Learner population of any on the Coast, at about 13% as of May 2021, most of whom are native Spanish speakers.
    Hannah Ruhoff/The Sun Herald via AP
    English Learners To Effectively Support English Learners, Build Teachers' Skills, Experts Say
    All teachers should be responsible for English learners, but not all are prepared for the work, researchers said.
    Ileana Najarro, November 30, 2023
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    4 min read
    Students Anthony Gonzalez, middle, and Kritza Ardon Blanco, right, listen to teacher Kristine Jones, left, in the library at Valencia Newcomer School on Oct. 17, 2019, in Phoenix. Children from around the world are learning the English skills and American classroom customs they need to succeed at so-called newcomer schools. Valencia Newcomer School in Phoenix is among a handful of such public schools in the United States dedicated exclusively to helping some of the thousands of children who arrive in the country annually.
    Students Anthony Gonzalez, middle, and Kritza Ardon Blanco, right, listen to teacher Kristine Jones, left, in the library at Valencia Newcomer School on Oct. 17, 2019, in Phoenix. Valencia Newcomer School in Phoenix is among a handful of public schools in the United States dedicated exclusively to helping some of the thousands of children who arrive in the country annually.
    Ross D. Franklin/AP
    English Learners State Officials Share Advice on Supporting New Immigrant Students
    Less than half of all states offer resources on how to enroll and support students new to the United States.
    Ileana Najarro, November 30, 2023
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    5 min read
    English Language Learning Program coordinator Dina Saunders, collects worksheets while helping in Katie Pringnitz's 6th grade Language Arts classroom on Aug. 24, 2016 at Mount Pleasant Middle School in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. The Mount Pleasant school district has Spanish, Vietnamese, Lao, Chinese, English and Indigenous languages from Central America and Vietnam speaking students.
    English-language learning program Coordinator Dina Saunders collects worksheets while helping in Katie Pringnitz's 6th grade language arts classroom on Aug. 24, 2016 at Mount Pleasant Middle School in Mount Pleasant, Iowa.
    John Lovretta/The Hawk Eye via AP
    English Learners How Schools Should Support Newcomers to the U.S.: A Case Study
    The number of students enrolling into high school from other countries in Massachusetts has tripled in the last 15 years.
    Ileana Najarro, November 29, 2023
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    5 min read
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