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This multi-method study explored English Language Learner (ELL) enrollment and engagement in a community college to address a dearth of research on ELL retention in this context. Quantitative analyses were performed on four fall semester transcripts of ELLs (N = 161) and on samples of ELLs and non-ELLs (n = 139) matching in age, enrollment status, and race/ethnicity. Quantitative analyses were also performed on The Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) instrument for another set of ELLs (N = 45) and matched samples of ELLs and non-ELLs (n = 34). Qualitative analyses of interviews with a third set of ELLs (N = 28) were also conducted. Results suggest that ELLs overall do well as implied by their high GPAs and engagement scores, yet most do not persist long enough to complete the ESL program or graduate. GPAs were well above the minimum for graduation (2.00) and significantly higher (p < .05) than the non-ELLs. ELLs scored higher than the nation in all five benchmarks, and significantly higher than the non-ELLs in the support for learners benchmark. However, even though the majority of ELLs expressed that they wanted an associate's degree, only 43% successfully exit the ESL program and 13% graduate from the college. The graduation rate is significantly less (p < .05) than college (23%) and nation (25%).To explain, certain groups presented higher risk. Students who began in lower levels of ESL were five times less likely to complete the ESL program (p < .05). Nontraditionally aged ELLs had lower GPAs, persisted fewer fall semesters, and graduated less than their counterparts (all significant at p < .05). Also found were risk factors to which students attribute their leaving college: lack of finances, full time work, and family obligations. Interviews revealed implicit risk factors of linguistic challenges and their ELL status at the college, both of which affected their engagement, as well as a lack of procedural knowledge for navigating US colleges that could enable their retention. Students who persist, graduate, or transfer attribute this success to seeking tutoring and investing extra effort. Implications for practice and research are given. / CITE/Language Arts

This study examines the use of instructional coaching in one urban school as a form of professional development for teachers. The use of instructional coaches in the classroom has become more and more popular in many school districts across the nation as they look for ways to improve student performance by improving the performance of their teachers. With higher academic standards placed on schools, there is greater demand on teachers to make certain that all of their students are successful. The need for professional development and coaching for teachers of English language learners (ELLs) is discussed. The research site for this study, City View Middle School, is located in a large urban school district where approximately 176,000 students are English language learners. The participants include 1 principal, 14 teachers, and 2 coaches. At the school, all students are considered English language learners and 40% are also considered Students with Interrupted Formal Education (SIFE). This case study employed qualitative methods in the form of observations and interviews of each participant. From the teachers' perspective, three themes emerged as their greatest challenges in working with English language learners. These included: student stressors related to adapting to a new country, the wide range of literacy levels in the classroom, and teaching academic language. Even with these challenges facing them, were teachers willing to work with coaches in an effort to improve their classroom practice? Were teachers receptive to the feedback they received from coaches? Were they willing to try new strategies? Were there any signs of teacher resistance? How were coaches able to create change? The coaches offered a professional development program that included training in the following areas: vocabulary, reading, writing/lesson planning, and cooperative learning strategies. Two types of coaching were implemented at the school: 1) peer observations and group debriefing sessions in Teacher Learning Communities (TLCs); and 2) individualized coaching sessions, which included: a one-on-one pre-meeting, an observation, and a one-on-one debriefing session. The results of this study suggest that there were several preconditions for change. In order for change to occur there were several interrelated factors that needed to take place in the coaching relationship. The professional and personal qualities of the coaches became key factors in how coaching was established at the school. These qualities affected the ways in which they established trust, how they set the tone for their work at the school, how they provided teachers feedback and opportunities for reflective dialogue, and how they created a supportive and nurturing environment. These elements of coaching allowed teachers to feel comfortable to: ask questions, seek help, change their perceptions about what works and what does not work with ELLs, and the confidence to try something new. The support from the principal was also a key element in creating change. Without the principal's support, coaches would not have been able to accomplish their goals with the teachers. This study contributes to our understanding of how schools can support teachers who are experiencing an increasing number of English language learners in their classrooms and do not have the credentials to effectively teach them. / Urban Education

This study investigated the relationship between teacher support, internalizing symptoms, and academic achievement in a sample of English Language Learners (ELLs) and non-English Language Learners (non-ELLs). Participants were middle school students from a culturally and linguistically diverse suburban school district. Linear regressions were used to examine mediation, moderation, and moderated-mediation models of teacher support on internalizing symptoms and academic achievement. The results showed that increased teacher support was related to higher classroom grades, particularly for non-ELLs, and decreased internalizing symptoms for both ELLs and non-ELLs. Implications, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed. / School Psychology

This study investigates orthographic skills in students with learning disabilities (LD), English Language Learning (ELL) students and their typical-achieving, native-English speaking (TYP) peers to help in the differentiation of these groups, and ultimately improve LD assessment for linguistically diverse students. A repeated-measures ANOVA was conducted to compare the effect of Group Type (LD, TYP, ELL) on the orthographic skills of 108 children as measured by the Words Their Way Primary Spelling Inventory on three administrations over the course of a school year. There were statistically significant differences between groups with medium and large effect sizes in all spelling inventory measures: Feature Points, Words Spelled Correct and Spelling Inventory Stage scores. In each grade and administration, the students in the LD group consistently had the lowest means and students in the TYP group had the highest means. On the Words Spelled Correct measure, there was a triple interaction with a medium to large effect size between the three groups by grade and over time. This interaction showed that in Kindergarten, both ELL students and students with LD score significantly lower than the TYP group. ELL students made substantial progress and by spring of first grade, they had similar scores to those of the TYP group. The LD group continued to have significantly lower scores than both other groups in first and second grades. A comparison of spring stage scores indicated significant differences between the ELL group and the TYP group in the number of students that were on or above grade level. There was also a significant difference between the number of students with spring spelling stages on or above grade level in the LD and the TYP group. However, there was not an equivalent difference between the LD and ELL groups. An analysis of student progress over the course of the school year found the rates of improvement in all three groups to be comparable, though the group means are consistently ranked with the LD group underperforming the ELL group and TYP group (LD <ELL <TYP). These important variations in how diverse students perform by grade and over time can inform both the instruction and assessment of students. In doing so, more well-designed pre-referral interventions can begin to correct problems of disproportionality of linguistically diverse students in special education. / Special Education

The present study examined five Korean elementary students' English learning experiences in the United States. By examining Korean students' experiences while they were living in the United States, the study aimed to explore what the students themselves thought about regarding what they had learned while living in an English-speaking community and the students' perceptions of how these experiences influenced their English learning. Specifically, the study investigated the linguistic, cultural, and attitudinal impact of living temporarily in the United States on Korean elementary students. Interviewing was the primary means of collecting data for the study. These data was supplemented by a short survey, classroom observation, and relevant documentation about the children's learning, such as samples of the children's schoolwork. The analysis of data for this study began with organizing a description of each case, then, analyses were constructed to construct themes that cut across the data, and these themes have been utilized to generalize about what significant experiences constituted the development of English as a second language. This document reports the findings concerning the nature of the processes of learning and development that five Korean children experienced in learning English in the United States; teacher and student interaction; student and student interaction; meaningful learning experience; and classroom activities. / Ph. D.

The number of English language learners continues to grow in United States' schools and their achievement level continues to lag behind their peers. This developmental study investigated the design and development of a multimedia environment that embedded cognitive strategy instruction to assist ELL students' academic content learning. High school ELL students face the hardship of preparing for various state mandated graduation requirements while learning the English language and learning strategies are believed to help ELL students improve their learning. The multimedia tutorial embedded rehearsal, elaboration, and compensation learning strategies to help the ELL students understand and recall information about state mandated computer competencies. Formative evaluation was used to gather data from five intermediate Hispanic ELL high school students in grades 9 through 11. Lessons learned from embedding rehearsal, elaboration, and compensation learning strategies in multimedia instruction and recommendations for future development are discussed. / Ph. D.