Yvonne S. Freeman

Keys to Success for Bilingual Students with Limited Formal Schooling

Abstract As the number of immigrant students in U.S. public schools has grown, so has the number of English learners who arrive with little previous schooling. These are often the same students whose limited education has been interrupted. In 1993 an estimated 20% of those identified as limited English proficient (LEP) in high schools and 12% of those in middle school had missed two or more years of schooling. It is critical that teachers have some understanding of effective strategies for working with older English learners with limited and/or interrupted formal schooling. When they start school, these students are already significantly behind. They have been labeled as overage, preliterate, or low literacy LEP, but whatever labels schools might use, these students have needs that are generally not met by the instructional designs of regular English as a second language (ESL) or bilingual programs in most school districts. This article describes how one bilingual teacher has successfully worked in a multi-age 4th, 5th, and 6th grade classroom to meet the academic needs of newcomer Spanish, Mixteco, and Triqui-speaking students with limited previous schooling. This teacher uses many different research-based strategies in the classroom to provide her students with the keys to succeed academically. By using these strategies, she gives her students a positive start as they move into secondary school taught entirely in English.

Revaluing the Bilingual Learner through a Literature Reading Program.

Bilingual learners have traditionally been labeled “limited English proficient” (LEP). The LEP label limits the potential of second language learners, who are often considered to have a learning deficit simply because they do not speak English fluently. In this article, we present alternatives to three misconceptions about bilingual learners to promote the revaluing of these students. In addition, traditional views of literacy instruction for second language learners are described and a whole‐language literature program alternative is suggested. Finally, the difference between inauthentic, controlled, literature‐based reading programs and meaningful, authentic literature programs is laid out so that educators can better understand how to draw on the strengths and rich diversity of bilingual students in the classroom.

Between Worlds: Access to Second Language Acquisition

Exploring the worlds inside and outside the school, this work looks at second language acquisition theory and examines social and cultural factors that affect the school performance of language minority students. Classroom examples put the theory into practice and promote cultural sensitivity.