All Children in America are English Language Learners
by This essay looks at the concept that all children in the USA need to be looked at as English Language Learners, not just those that are born to parents who are acquiring the English language as a second language. A recent published report from the NAEP that highlights reading scores comparing white and black eighth grade students from the years 1972 to 2007 identify that there is still a gap and neither group are really meeting National Standards!
Now we can go even further and really look at this situation. Research indicates that the majority of a child’s language acquisition comes in the first 5 years of life, (80%) then it is safe to assume that a child coming from a home with limited communication, little parental contact, etc., is also at an English language deficit. Even the child that is coming from a home with rich language opportunities is indeed an English language learner.
So now let’s take this to the main point: The primary responsibility of schools is to teach children how to function in society. We teach children how to fully function in a society based on language, by teaching them that language. So, with all of that said, we must fully train all educators first and foremost how to be teachers of the language, in the United States it is the official language, English, American English to be exact. We are teaching children, children who must be literate. Children who will be proficient, fluent English speakers, readers, writers before they reach a certain age that age is to be determined by education specialist. A child who is literate can ultimately make their own meaning. A literate child is one who can speak the language, read the language and write the language.
Although we must identify that teaching a person a second language is a little different then acquisition of the first language, it must become the primary objective of all education systems to first and foremost to create a literate society. So, it is agreed then that children who are coming from homes devoid of the English language are at a great disadvantage. As more and more children are raised by alternative caregivers outside of the home, and there is an acknowledgement of ethno-linguistic influences, then it indeed supports the contention that all educators be well trained first in literacy and the teaching of English Language Learners, and secondly other areas of content.
I encourage all who read this to become knowledgeable in the way in which teachers are educated, the expectations of State Boards of Education, and begin to get involved with the powers that be, as they are spending excessive amounts of taxpayer money to justify reinventing the wheel, when the primary responsibility of education is to create a literate society rich in a fundamental basic education for all.
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