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There isn't one set description for English Language Learners - they may speak any one of many dozens of languages, bring with them a wide variety of cultural perspectives, identify themselves culturally in a variety of ways, and experience varying degrees of exposure to and integration into an English speaking community.

If English is the language of instruction across the school, students who do not have a good understanding and facility with the language experience difficulties in all subject areas. The alternative, when lecture is the main form of content delivery, is for the teacher to employ a different, less rich vocabulary to ensure all students understand the content.

In the US, the segment known as English Language Learners - a designated subgroup under NCLB - is the fastest growing segment in the school-age population. The majority of ELLs are in six states, Arizona, California, Texas, Florida, New York, and Illinois, but statistics indicate that many other states are experiencing rapid growth in this segment. As the NCTE points out in a policy research brief entitled, appropriately, English Language Learners, in the larger sense, in schools in English speaking countries, all students are English Language Learners with the only difference being their position on a wide spectrum of language and cultural experiences.

One to one makes it possible to shift from a 'one-size-fits-all' classroom to an environment that supports personalized learning, where each student is able to not only move along at her or his own rate but can find the learning resources that develop the specific skills s/he needs to practice. The potential for 1:1 to enable the development of powerful learning environments for English Language Learners is only just beginning to be recognized.

AALF is pleased to offer an online course designed to provide participants with an introduction and overview to effective 1:1 practices for English Language Learners (ELLs). Emphasis during these sessions will be on effective 1:1 practices, in general, and, more specifically, on 1:1 SDAIE (Specially Designed Academic Instruction in English) principles, strategies, and activities.

Click here to learn more about this course or to register.