Colorado’s School Population
- From 1980 to 2000
Hispanic population doubled: 81,567 to 159,000
- Asian population tripled: 8,799 to 20,932
And still growing…
Colorado Languages
Language % of ELLs
- Spanish 85.3%
- Vietnamese 2.5%
- Korean 1.4%
- Russian 1.4%
- Chinese 1.2%
- Hmong 1.1%
- Others 7.1%
(Based on 2003 Data)
Poudre High School Demographics
- 130 English Language Learners
- 82 Monitor Students
- 48 Receiving ELA Services
- 95 % Speak Spanish as a First Language
- 5% Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Arabic,Polish, Russian..and more
Some Statistics
- 1 of every 5 school-aged children in America comes from a home where a language other than English is spoken.
- 1 of every 3 teachers has an English Language Learner in his/her classroom.
Myth or Reality?
- It can take many years for a student to acquire English as a second or other language for academic purposes. Students will most likely not be able to perform academic tasks at the proficient level for their particular grade when only their oral language level English is proficient.
- English Language Learners move through stages when acquiring English
- Academic language can take anywhere from 5-10 years to learn
- Students should receive accommodations and sheltered instruction while acquiring oral as well as academic language
The "Iceberg" Metaphor
- BICS- Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (1-3 years)
- CALP- Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (5-10 years)
-BICS-
- Language needed to function in everyday interpersonal contexts
- Reached soon after a child enters school
- Not related to academic achievement
- Attained after two years in host country
-CALP-
- Proficiency needed to function in academic settings
- Skills needed to use language outside of immediate interpersonal context
- Related to Literacy Skills
- Attained between 5-10 years in host country
