Proud to be tvmbo - Kortlopend Onderwijsonderzoek

2.5.4 USA: English language learners (ELLs)
Genesee et al also carried out a review of research about English language learners, or
ELLs, in the USA (Genesee et al, 2009). ELLs are individuals in the American school
system who are learning English; they are acquiring English as a second language and
speak another language as a mother tongue (for example, Spanish or Chinese). ELLs
make up about 10% of the school population in the USA. In 2001, the USA implemented
the somewhat controversial “No Child Left Behind Act of 2001” (or NCLB),
where all children in public schools receiving federal funding should “have a fair,
equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a high quality education.” NCLB requires
all states to identify English learners, measure their English proficiency, and include
them in state testing programs that assess academic skills. Schools are required to
demonstrate that these students are progressing – that they are not ‘left behind’.
Genesee’s conclusions about ELLs which are of interest to tvmbo schools are as follows:
• ELLs need three to five years to achieve good proficiency in English.
• ELLs benefit from interaction with teachers and with their fellow students.
• The achievement of ELLs in English reading, including comprehension, is related
to the amount of vocabulary the ELLs’ have.
• At the start of programmes, ELLs score lower. However, at the end of school,
“educational outcomes of bilingually educated students… were at least comparable
to, and usually higher than, their comparison peers” (Genesee, 2009: 375).
• ELLs who received attention on the NCLB specialized programs were able to
catch up and in some cases do better than regular students with English as a first
language.
Some of Genesee’s recommendations are relevant for tvmbo schools, as follows.
• The initial development of oral language skills is vital, and this will take a number
of years. Tvmbo students will need to work hard on their oral skills until they
achieve a reasonable level. Tvmbo schools might, thus, consider implementing extra
oral classes in the first year and remedial English classes throughout the school
for those students needing extra English.
• Learning to speak apparently also helps reading skills, and interaction is important,
too. This means that tvmbo teachers need to think carefully about the design
of appropriate (speaking) tasks at the start of tvmbo at school, so as to include a
lot of oral practice and interaction with the teacher and between students themselves.
In this way, students work on developing their fluency in English. One
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