National Symposium on Learning Disabilities in Engligh Language Learners. Symposium Summary

摘要

Research on bilingual/multilingual learning in the United States has not kept pace with the increasing growth of our culturally and linguistically diverse population. Nearly one in five Americans speaks a language other than English at home, and almost 45 percent of U.S. teachers have at least one student with limited English proficiency in their classrooms. Schools are striving to meet the mandate of leaving no child behind, despite the challenges associated with teaching students from multiple cultural, linguistic, and experiential backgrounds, including those who are new to the English language, or English language learners (ELL). Additionally, there is the responsibility of determining whether a students academic difficulties stem from learning a second language or from the presence of a learning disability, or from both. There is widespread anecdotal evidence suggesting that ELL students may be either bypassed for consideration as a child with a disability because teachers assume the child is not achieving solely because of his or her language difference, or over-represented on special education rosters due to inappropriate placement based upon inaccurate measures and ill-conceived procedures. In response to these concerns, three federal agencies jointly organized a National Symposium on Learning Disabilities in English Language Learners, held October 14-15, 2003 in Washington, D.C. The goal of this symposium was to determine how best to apply knowledge about identifying and assessing learning disabilities in native English-speaking students to the identification and assessment of learning disabilities in ELL students. In addition, symposium participants discussed ways to distinguish between actual learning disabilities and the challenges associated with learning a new language.