Changing Demographics of Dual Language Learners and English Learners: Implications for School Success

Abstract

This Social Policy Report, with a focus on the diversity of the Dual Language Learner and English Learner populations, is drawn from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's 2017 publication, Promoting the Educational Success of Children and Youth Learning English: Promising Futures (the Promising Futures report) with additional research reviewed by the authors of this Social Policy Report to address policy and instructional implications. The Promising Futures report provides extensive summaries of research on English Learner language acquisition, English Learners and special education, and English Learner assessment. The report also discusses considerations related to research and practice that can be of considerable usefulness for understanding and acting upon the educational success of Dual Language Learners (DLLs; children age 5 and under learning two languages at once) and English Learners (ELs; children in the pre-K-12 education system whose primary language is not English and who are learning English as a second language). This Social Policy Report focuses on the demographic characteristics of DLLs and ELs to emphasize that these children and youth are a rapidly growing and substantive population in U.S. schools; are highly diverse in national, cultural, and linguistic origins; are dispersed throughout the nation; and have distinct socioeconomic situations, immigration experiences, and backgrounds. In addition, this Social Policy Report includes a brief discussion of the assessment of English learners, workforce needs, and implications for practice. The report attempts to further contextualize an understanding of the educational needs of these students and the increasing diversity of DLLs and ELs.

A Pilot Randomized Wait-list Controlled Trial of an Online Family Literacy and Wellness Program for Latino Dual Language Learners (Preprint)

“…8,9 Latino dual language learners (DLL) are a rapidly growing segment of the population 9 who experience pervasive inequities in school readiness that predispose them to poor educational, occupational, and health outcomes. 4,10,11,12 Thus, sustainable interventions to support this population are urgently needed.…”

Language and Special Education Status: 2009–2019 Tennessee Trends

“…U.S. children from a non-English language background (NELB)—the formal school-designated term—represent a growing share of the school-age population across the nation, with the largest growth concentrated in the American South, such as Tennessee (Romo et al, 2018). NELB students may be English-proficient bilinguals (EPB) or current English learners (Current ELs).…”

“…Achievement gaps between NES students and their NELB peers (namely Current ELs) persist, given that English proficiency is a requisite for academic success in the United States (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, & Medicine, 2017). But it is essential to underscore that socioeconomic disadvantage—not bilingualism itself—is an established risk factor for compromised academic achievement, and it is a risk factor to which NELB students are disproportionally vulnerable (Romo et al, 2018). Additionally, Current ELs may require specialized services to best support their English academic achievement, but their representation in special education (SPED) remains highly contentious (Counts et al, 2018).…”

Moving Through the Pipeline: Ethnic and Linguistic Disparities in Special Education from Birth Through Age Five

“…Most (about 25%) are identified as Hispanic or Latino (herein: Latino/a). Latino/a children and children from non-White backgrounds are often learning languages other than or in addition to English at home (Romo et al, 2018). Ensuring less biased evaluation and services provision may be particularly challenging for Latino/a children when they are seen for communication concerns, which are common in EI and ECSE; 40% of children in EI (Hebbeler et al, 2007) and ECSE (US DOE, 2022) are eligible due to primary disorders in speech, language, and/or general communication.…”