Background Information
The United States continues to see a growing number of English language learners moving into secondary schools across the nation, with Texas experiencing some of the largest increases among all the states. According to a US Census Bureau Press Release of May 2006, the total population of the nation was estimated to be more than 288 million. Between July 2004 and July 2005, Hispanics accounted for almost 50% of the nation’s population increase, resulting in a growing population of students in public schools who do not possess the English language skills necessary for academic success. This is a key issue since language minority students are held to the same rigorous academic standards as mainstream students, but often do not receive the same educational support due to their language and cultural differences.
For English language learners (ELLs) to succeed, it is essential that teachers fully understand how to meet their unique needs. Specifically, teachers should know how ELLs acquire another language and how they learn academics. Research has demonstrated the effectiveness of the strategies of sheltered instruction to improve the academic performance of ELLs (Echevarria, Vogt & Short, 2004). Unfortunately, while 41% of teachers in the United States have taught ELLs, less than 13% have received professional development that addresses how to best meet the instructional needs of language minority students. The CTELL project was developed to address this critical need in the Houston metropolitan area.
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