Developing Literacy in Second-Language Learners (original) (raw)

2009, Educational Researcher

Teaching language-minority students to read and write well in English is an urgent challenge in the nation's K-12 schools. Literacy in English is essential to achievement in every academic subject-and to educational and economic opportunities beyond schooling. Compounding this challenge are increasing numbers and diversity of language-minority students. These indicators illuminate the challenge: • A large and growing number of students come from homes where English is not the primary language. In 1979, there were 6 million language-minority students; by 1999, this number had more than doubled to 14 million students. • Language-minority students are not faring well in U.S. schools. For the 41 states reporting, only 18.7 percent of English-language learners scored above the stateestablished norm for reading comprehension (Kindler, 2002). • Whereas 10 percent of students who spoke English at home failed to complete high school, the percentage was three times as high (31 percent) for languageminority students who spoke English and five times as high (51 percent) for language-minority students who spoke English with difficulty (National Center for Education Statistics, 2004). Language-minority students who cannot read and write proficiently in English cannot participate fully in American schools, workplaces or society. They face limited job opportunities and earning power. Nor are the consequences of low literacy attainment in English limited to individual impoverishment. U.S. economic competitiveness depends on workforce quality. Inadequate reading and writing proficiency in English relegates rapidly increasing language-minority populations to the sidelines, limiting the nation's potential for economic competitiveness, innovation, productivity growth, and quality of life.