ABSTRACT

In U.S. K-12 public schools, educational policy and practice for English learner (EL) students center around two sets of academic standards: English language proficiency (ELP) standards and content standards such as in English language arts and mathematics. This study examined the types of language demands manifested in those standards in Grade 5. Additionally, we investigated perceptions of both general education and ESL teachers about the language demands in the standards and the challenges in implementing the standards with EL students. Overall, a large overlap was found between academic content standards (particularly, English language arts) and ELP standards in terms of language functions with a heavy emphasis on integrated language skills and interaction skills. The teacher data indicate there is a strong desire for professional learning to better understand the language demands in the standards and to support the systematic collaboration between content-area and ESL teachers. Implications for practice and research in addressing the language demands in academic standards for appropriate EL education are discussed.

摘要

在美国 K-12 公立学校，英语学习者 (EL) 学生的教育政策和实践围绕两套学术标准：英语语言能力 (ELP) 标准和内容标准，例如英语语言艺术和数学。本研究调查了 5 年级这些标准中体现的语言要求类型。此外，我们调查了普通教育和 ESL 教师对标准中语言要求的看法，以及对 EL 学生实施标准的挑战。总体而言，学术内容标准（尤其是英语语言艺术）与 ELP 标准在语言功能方面有很大的重叠，特别强调综合语言技能和互动技能。教师数据表明，强烈希望通过专业学习更好地理解标准中的语言要求，并支持内容领域和 ESL 教师之间的系统协作。讨论了在解决适当的 EL 教育的学术标准中的语言需求方面的实践和研究的意义。