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Migrant Education
Under Construction
English
Language Learners
Under Construction
• Key Terminology
for English Language Learners
ELL – An “English Language Learner” is a native speaker of another language in the process of learning English -- also referred to as “Limited English Proficient” or “LEP.”
ESOL
– “English for speakers of other languages” is the currently
accepted term for programs teaching language skills to students from non-English
speaking backgrounds.
This term replaces the term “English as a Second Language”
or “ESL.”
LEP
– “Limited English Proficient” is a term used by the
federal government and by many state and local schools districts to identify
and categorize students whose
English is insufficient to succeed in English–only classrooms.
FEP
– “Fluent” or “Fully English Proficient”
is the term used to identify students who are from backgrounds where English
is not the primary language spoken but have
attained an English proficiency level which enables them to succeed in
an English-only classroom.
TESOL
– “Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages”
refers, in general, to the discipline of teaching English to non-native
speakers but also to the international
professional organization of educators involved with teaching English
as an additional language.
Title III
-- The portion of the No Child Left Behind Act authorizing appropriations
and establishing standards for English language acquisition programs in
schools.
The focus of the title is on assisting school districts in teaching English
to Limited English Proficient students and in helping these students meet
the standards
required of all other students.
OELA
– The “Office of English Language Acquisition”, Language
Enhancement, and Academic Achievement for Limited English Proficient Students
is an office of the U.S.
Department of Education which administers the Title III ESL programs.
BICS
– “Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills” are often
referred to as "playground English" or "survival English.”
BICS are the basic language ability required for
face-to-face communication and usually acquired first by ELL students.
However, BICS are not sufficient to meet the cognitive and linguistic
demands of an academic classroom.
CALP
– “Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency” is the linguistic
ability necessary for more formal language usage and is typically found
in academic texts and settings.
This proficiency generally develops with schooling and takes ELL students
longer to develop than BICS.
L1: A student's first or primary language, generally the language spoken at home.
L2: A secondary or additional language a student learns or is in the process of learning after a first language has already been acquired.
LMS
– “Language Minority Students” are students living in
countries where their first or primary language is not the dominant language.
These students generally have no
or limited proficiency in the dominant language.
Language Majority Students -- Students whose first language is that of the majority population.
For a comprehensive glossary of key terminology relevant to educational
programs, please visit the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Civil
Rights website at:
http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/ell/glossary.html
The full text of No
Child Left Behind can be viewed at:
http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/index.html