Newly Arrived English Learners
a Positive for Existing ELs
By Kara Arundel
Kara Arundel briefly highlights the findings of a study about the impact of a significant increase in the ML population in Delaware between 2000 and 2019. The general expectation is that new MLs would have a negative effect on other students. Although newcomers need more support initially, and this can affect districts as resources are created for these students, it does not negatively affect other students. In fact, the supports for newcomers had a positive impact on both students who had exited ESL classes and those still in these classes.
The researchers evaluated English and math test scores of all K-12 students and the English proficiency tests of ML K-12 students from 2015-2016 and 2018-2019 in Delaware. Although the study did not cover the reasons why newcomers had a positive effect on other students, the researchers theorized that it could be the result of increased funding and resources, better teaching strategies that focused on language acquisition, the new students’ motivation to learn, and an increase in “social connections” for other MLs.
Genesee writes that while the ML population has increased in recent years, there is pushback against bilingual education despite research that has shown that the use of students’ home language is a vital resource for learning. The author lists the difficulties that MLs face in English only programs.
