Because several challenges exist when providing English as a Second Language (ESL) services to culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), such services may be overlooked in deference to other educational needs. Therefore, this study used a survey to obtain information from 121 special education teachers in the state of Utah to explore the types of ESL services offered to CLD students with ASD. Results indicated that only 30% of the special educators participating in the study provide second language services in their classrooms. Results also show that language services provided by speech language pathologists are typically provided in English only and do not address second language needs. Almost 80% of participants agree that it is important to provide ESL/Bilingual services to CLD students with ASD. Lack of training, lack of use of second-language materials and difficulty ensuring appropriate placement are cited as challenges faced by participants when working with CLD students with ASD. This study suggests that CLD students with ASD in Utah are not receiving appropriate language services. Results show the need for improvement in teacher training and provision of second language materials and resources for special education teachers.

The current study examined the effects of language instruction with two preschool age students who are English language learners who have developmental delays using the incidental teaching method. Language targets were randomly chosen according to the language level of each student and the targets were either in Spanish (L1) or English (L2). The students were in a special education classroom and researchers worked with them one-on-one, using the natural learning environment to teach and to better implement learning objectives. Targets were withheld during play and students had to mand, tact, or use intraverbal skills to receive the item. Their reward was the object they desired after they manded, tacted, or used intraverbal language. The experimental effects were measured using a single case, repeated acquisition design. The intervention was maintained for five months. The results indicated that acquisition of English (L2) is acquired faster after Spanish (L1) has been appropriately taught. Implications for further research are discussed.

Much of how Florida and other states across the country justify the practice of mainstreaming English language learners into regular content classrooms rests on the premise that with the guidance of state officials, local school districts adequately train content teachers to work with English language learners. Yet little to no research exists that can help identify and analyze the overall efficacy of these programs. Consequently, this study has attempted to determine whether district training sessions in Florida are sufficiently covering the state-mandated content areas that teachers are required to learn and to what extent in-service teachers agree or disagree that they received the appropriate amount of instruction that would prepare them to instruct English language learners. Training sessions in three large Florida school districts with high proportions of English language learners were studied using a mixed-methods approach that gathered quantitative and qualitative data from observations, surveys and in-depth interviews. Among other things, the findings revealed a pattern of districts overemphasizing cross-cultural awareness issues to the detriment of other critical areas teachers need to know such as methods and curriculum. In addition, there was a general consensus on the part of participants that the trainings lacked specificity and were both impractical and redundant. A number of specific recommendations are offered such as ways to modify the focus of the curriculum, provide incentives to teachers, and create more accountability and oversight of the training sessions themselves. Policymakers are strongly urged to prioritize these types of programs by providing training sessions with more resources and attaching to them a larger sense of importance.

This study utilizes Lave and Wenger’s (1991) communities of practice (COP) model to explore how ELLs navigate their positions within and between their many language learning communities. Drawing on Norton’s (1995, 2013) work on ELLs’ identity negotiation and Wenger’s 1998 work on the reinforcing impacts of identities between multiple COPs, this study explores what adults consider to be their COPs, how they perceive themselves within and between them, and how past, current, and imagined or possible COPs impact each other. A constructivist, multiple case study design was used to focus on participants’ perceptions of their identity negotiation processes through their own narratives across three interviews and weekly audio-recorded self-reports. Eight adult ELLs participated in the study, and their narratives revealed the temporal and situational nature of their connections to past, present, and future identities as English learners, as professionals, and as members of their communities. They experienced persistent explicit and subtle barriers to participation in their COPs with native English speakers, including a range of linguistic gatekeeping strategies. The study revealed several themes of COP membership, in particular an identification with a larger, less concrete, immigrant group that lead the participants to focus their narratives and English-learning efforts on their ability to advocate for themselves and for other immigrants in the United States. Recommendations from the ELLs and the researcher are presented for a more holistic approach to adult ELL instruction that incorporates more of the multiple facets of ELLs’ learning trajectories in the target-language context.

English language learners (ELLs) are the fastest-growing population in California schools, with a high percentage of students not meeting the standard of the English language arts performance on the California Standardized Test (CST). This project study investigated the problem in a California school district where it was unknown whether the intervention strategies provided to teachers gave them the curricular skills needed to address the instructional needs of ELLs. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine whether teachers' self-reported instructional preparedness to teach ELLs was related to ELLs language arts performance. The study was grounded in Marzano's model of teaching effectiveness, which guided the anonymous survey given by the district to assess teacher instructional needs for ELL and helped define the independent variables. Archival data from the teacher survey and the CST were analyzed by using a simple linear regression and factor analysis in response to the research questions, which explored whether a relationship existed between self-reported teacher preparedness and the standardized test scores of ELLs students. Findings indicated no relationships between teacher preparedness to instruct ELLs and language arts performance on the CST. A significant finding on the teacher self-reported survey was that English language arts is a topic of concern to teachers and warrants additional training. To address this, a professional development project was created and influenced by Marzano's model of teaching effectiveness to address the best instructional practices for ELLs. Better preparation of teachers to instruct ELLs may promote positive social change by increasing student performance in English language arts and providing better opportunities for college and career that ultimately benefit the community.

English language learners (ELLs) in a Midwestern urban elementary school have not been meeting the local school's adequate yearly progress (AYP) in reading in 3 consecutive years on statewide test scores. Meeting school standards is important because failing to meet AYP for 6 consecutive years can result in the restructuring or closing of any public school in the nation. The rationale for this qualitative case study was to examine the perceptions of stakeholders, 7 parents, teachers, and school administrators, all of whom have demonstrated knowledge of and proximity to the school's AYP decisions, to develop vocabulary strategies that may increase students' state test scores in reading. The conceptual framework was based on Gardner's multiple intelligences. The research questions focused on understanding stakeholders' perceptions of the proficiency of ELLs in reading, professional development for reading teachers of ELLs, recommendations for helping ELLs improve reading proficiency, and the challenges reading teachers face in ELL classes. Semi-structured interviews with each participant were transcribed, color-coded, and analyzed using holistic and typological analysis techniques to search for and develop themes and patterns. Findings revealed a need for teachers to receive professional development training related to improving ELLs' vocabulary to improve their reading proficiency. A 3-day professional development curriculum project was developed to focus on teaching effective vocabulary strategies. This study has implications for social change focused on improving teachers' capacity to work with ELLs and to improve their reading scores which have lasting impact on students' lives.

English Language Learners (ELLs) do not achieve sufficiently on standardized tests, as required by federal law. Fourth grade ELLs at a suburban elementary school in the Southern United States experienced similar problems in the failure rate on the state standardized test. Still, this school outperformed several of the schools in the same area of the county. In this sequential, explanatory study, teacher and administrator perceptions of school culture and its impact on the achievement of ELLs in a Southern elementary school were examined. Vygotsky's cultural-historical theory provided the theoretical framework to ground this study, as culture within a school could influence student achievement. At the study site, 26 elementary teachers voluntarily responded to the electronic School Culture Survey during the quantitative phase. Analysis of these surveys yielded means, produced factor scores, and identified discrepant areas. Two administrators, five 4th grade teachers, and four ELL teachers were invited and were interviewed to collect and analyze data in the qualitative phase. The thematic coding of the data identified teacher collaboration, collaborative leadership and perceptions of school culture as deficient in the school. The subsequent project, a position paper based on the findings, informed school leadership of the results and potential benefits a regional examination of school culture could provide. Improving school culture can allow teachers and administrators to better serve an underachieving student population; an improved culture could consequently contribute to positive social change for these ELLs.

Researchers have described how a missing element in instructional services for English language learners is effective collaboration between general education and English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) teachers. This collaboration is vital to the success of English language learners. This multisite case study was designed to gain insight into current practices and how to improve collaboration between educators in a way that improves instructional services for English language learners. Knowles' theory of andragogy, the transfer of learning theory, and constructivism were used as a basis for analyzing educators' perspectives and instructional practices. Two sites were selected for the study-one that implemented pull-out services for ESOL students and one that implemented coteaching. Data included individual interviews with 24 educators and 17 observations of lessons within the classroom. Data were open coded and thematically analyzed. Results from the interviews indicated that coteaching was perceived by teachers as beneficial in improving instructional practices for English language learners when educators participate in structured planning with face-to-face communication. Observation findings included similarities between the content, delivery, and format of instruction between schools, which indicated the potential success of implementing coteaching in the school that initially implemented pull-out services. This study may be beneficial to schools and districts seeking to transition from the format of pull-out instructional services to more inclusive models.

Being able to read proficiently is a critical skill all students must master in order to graduate from high school, pursue postsecondary learning opportunities, and secure employment. English language learners (ELLs) are a group of students at risk for leaving school without becoming proficient readers. Repeated reading has been identified through the literature as a promising approach for remediating reading difficulties for adolescent ELLs with reading difficulties (Denton et al., 2004; 2004; Hawkins et al., 2011; Malloy et al., 2006; Tam et al., 2006; Valleley & Shriver, 2003). Repeated reading been shown to increase students' reading fluency and in turn their comprehension, and vocabulary instruction is considered an essential component of instruction for ELLs. The main purpose of this study was to extend the literature and investigate two components of reading intervention for adolescent ELLs with reading difficulties: fluency instruction and vocabulary instruction. Specifically the study examined the following research questions: (1) What is the impact of a repeated reading intervention on the reading fluency, accuracy, and reading comprehension of adolescent ELLs with reading difficulties? (2) What are the additive effects of vocabulary instruction, in conjunction with the repeated reading intervention, on the reading fluency, accuracy, and reading comprehension of adolescent ELLs with reading difficulties? Summary of Study Design and Findings A single case ABCBC multi-treatment design was used to investigate effects of repeated reading over no intervention (baseline) and the additive effects of vocabulary instruction for three adolescent ELLs with reading disabilities. The repeated reading intervention phases consisted of adult modeling, error correction, feedback, and practice reading expository passages. The repeated reading + vocabulary instruction phases added direct instruction of six vocabulary words found in the passage. Overall findings indicate that ELLs with reading disabilities benefit from repeated reading interventions but respond differentially to the addition of vocabulary instruction.

The disproportionality of culturally and linguistically diverse learners in exceptional education is an ongoing issue (Bernal, 2002; Ford, 2012). One of these special populations is that of English learners (ELs), who are overrepresented in special education programs and underrepresented in gifted and talented programs (Ford, 2012).The extant literature suggests that a rapid rate of growth in English language proficiency (ELP) may be one of the characteristics used to indicate giftedness in English learners (Brulles, Castellano, & Laing, 2011; Harris, Plucker, Rapp, & Martinez, 2009). However, no studies have analyzed English Language proficiency (ELP) growth trajectories of gifted ELs. This study explored the growth in English language proficiency of 4,558 ELs, of which 118 were identified as gifted. Scores from the Comprehensive English Language Learning Assessment (CELLA), were used to determine their typical English language proficiency growth trajectories of ELs. This was done using latent growth curve modeling. The growth trajectories were then analyzed to determine if differences existed in the trajectories of ELs identified as gifted. The findings were that differences did exist in the English language proficiency growth of ELs identified as gifted, particularly in the areas of listening/speaking and writing, where gifted ELs seem to grow at a more rapid rate than their non-identified peers.