CIQ Introduction

One issue within urban education that is especially important to analyze are English Language Learners, otherwise known as ELL's, their school experience, and how certain policies, especially NCLB, and the impact it has on English Language Learners and their journey to learn English and integrate into English speaking classrooms. One way to effectively integrate ELL's into English speaking classrooms is through ESL or English-as-a Second-Language, programs. These classrooms aim to prepare students for the work in their classrooms where English is the primary language as well as to prepare them to take state tests that later judge their progress as well as compare them to other students and other schools in the state. The problem therein lies in the fact that the outcome of the state tests often determines whether or not a school and its students is designated as "failing." What resources are available then? How can we change the situation if the performance of ELL's is a factor?

Unfortunately, if ELL's are not prepared properly for state test and experience language difficulty, then this could mean big changes for the schools and teachers that help them. Even by providing these students with highly qualified teachers, as is the focus of NCLB, the students may still meet difficulty in second language acquisition and fall behind.

The focus of this project will be ESL programs, limitations that language creates for teachers and students, the possible limitations of ESL programs and the resources available and how it relates to NCLB, AYP goals and test scores, and possible restrictions and effects on schools and students. The project will aim to figure out what sort of issues are facing ELL's and what, if anything, is being done to combat the issues they face inside and outside of the classroom. Furthermore, to establish a connection to urban education, the project will also strive to determine the impact that certain issues associated with education in an urban environment like parental involvement, reading skills, resources, or primary language in the home effect the learning of ELL's.

The impact of NCLB and other policies on ELL's as well as the issues facing ELL's is especially important for several reasons. First, there is a connection between primary language capability and the policies at the heart of No Child Left Behind. For example, as outlined in an article called "Double the Work," despite a “growing awareness” of the issues affecting these children, many of them continue to struggle with literacy, reading, and writing in a new language. Policy and challenges to policymakers is also a growing concern and the article suggests things that can be done as well as the stalemate that occurs regarding NCLB restrictions and other restrictions. This is a key issue regarding students with limited language capability as these students are not tracked once they leave language programs designed to help them integrate into English speaking classrooms. Occasionally, ESL stdents are not "tracked" in terms of their progress. This is disconcerning as it relates to NCLB because without knowing their progress, students may lack the skills needed in the areas of state tests that NCLB aims to assess.

Secondly, we need to know the struggles that ELL's are met with in their education and the problems that teachers face when looking to integrate ELL's into English speaking classrooms. Also, establishing resources for these students is important because not only will it prepare them for the issues facing them in their classroom, but it will also prepare them for the job world and ensure that, though English was not their second language, there are opportunities for these students out in the world. Educators and policymakers in the state should aim to equalize education for all learners, including ELL's. There's little way to solve the problem, or even identify that it exists, without speaking to teachers first. Identifying classroom issues would be beneficial, but especially so if it points out an obvious flaw in the NCLB system of establishing AYP based on test scores that aim to put selected populations of students at a stark disadvantage.

Lastly, within the realm of urban education exists factors that may impact the education of ELL's and it's important to identify these issues, if they do exist, and zero in on the impact on an individual child's education. In urban areas of the state that serve Hispanic children like Newark, Carteret, and Paterson, Spanish culture is heavily integrated into Hispanic neighborhoods with bodegas and laundromats on one side and tiny Spanish and Mexican restaurants and hangouts on the other. Flyers advertising classes to better learn English are stapled on telephone poles next to dispensaries for Spanish language newspapers. For many ELL's whose first language is not English, they find themselves at a disadvantage. Therefore, this question is important to study as a means of figuring out how these issues impact the education of ELL's and aim to answer individualized questions like why parental involvement may impact second language acquistion, why the reading levels of ELL's may stagnate, or how extra resources may make movement from Spanish to English easier for a population of students who find themselves immersed in an environment that asks them to produce different languages in different contexts.