Essay On Stereotypes Of English Language Learners

When thinking about English language learners, they are often all put into the same category: low test scores and low achievement. However, this stereotype is simply that, a stereotype. English language learners come from many backgrounds that contribute to their learning of English and in their everyday education. By using this information, educators can better educate students, so the students do not come to despise school and English as a language, because currently the educational system is failing English language learners. As current trends are going, approximately 40% of the school age population will be learning English as a second language by 2030 (Freeman, pg. 31). The education system needs to figure out how to better educate these students, before they come overwhelmed, because it could turn into …show more content…
This aspect creates a language barrier between the teacher and student, which cannot be broken down, no matter how proficient the student becomes in English. One reason being if the student’s parents do not speak English, then the teacher is unable to communicate with them about their child’s performance in school. The second and biggest reason, is the student does not have a foundation to grow from. Teachers are unable to help students make connections between the two languages. For example, if a teacher is trying to teach a native Chinese speaking student the word “language” in English, the teacher is unable to show or say the word in Chinese, because they do not know the language (Gandara & Contreras, pg. 146). This lack of a foundation is creating English more difficult for students than it needs to be; however, it is difficult for there to be a teacher in the school who knows these different languages, even a basic background on the language would be better than no