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Module 1 Analysis

CI5103 – Curriculum and Instructional Design for Diversity

12/01/2025
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Introduction

In the US school system, ELLs are a diverse and fast-growing populace that reflects new

national demographic trends. The largest proportion of public school students identified as

English Language Learners-a total of 10. 6 percent-is Hispanic or Latino (National Center for

Education Statistics, 2022). The three states with the highest concentrations of English Language

Learners are California, Texas, and Florida; in the school year 2022–2023, California alone

served more than 1.1 million ELL students . Of these students, over 70% have Spanish as their

primary native language, although many other languages are also represented, including Arabic,

Chinese, and Vietnamese. 67% of the ELL kids are eligible for either free or reduced-price lunch

programs, showing that most of them come from economically poor homes (California

Department of Education, 2024). Language barriers often combine with these other

socioeconomic issues to present additional challenges along the educational journey.

Accomplishment metrics in ELL children are oftentimes quite different from their peers.

While, for instance, approximately 40% of non-ELLs achieved proficient reading and math

scores on national examinations in 2022, only a mere 10% of the ELLs realized such scores.

Differences in performance factors relate to a host of other causative variables including but not

limited to class overcrowding, teacher preparation, and the availability of bilingual education.

The better performing schools are often ones that have more specialized support-such as certified

ESL teachers and structured literacy programs. The disparities also pop up in discipline data: in

some districts, ELLs have higher suspension rates-perhaps a result of miscommunication or

cultural misunderstandings (Boyce, 2020).

In some schools, the socioeconomic and academic issues ELL children face are even

exacerbated by a lack of resources (Ashcraft, 2023). Because many ELL families reside in low-
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income communities, schools in those communities may not have the budget for specialized

programs. Even so, state-level initiatives to boost teacher preparation and multilingual resources,

along with federal initiatives such as Title III funding, are being utilized to better the outcomes

for English Language Learners. It requires an approach that thoroughly addresses such problems

for the closing of achievement gap and realization of full potential by ELLs.

Literature Review of Scholarly Research Sources

Three scholarly research sources were selected and reviewed to identify the behavioral

challenges of ELLs. These sources are Rodriguez et al (2020), Combs et al., (2014) and Simpson

and Fournier (2023).

Article 1: Factors that Challenge English Learners and Increase their Dropout Rates

(Rodriguez et al, 2020)

This study explores the issues that drive dropout rates for ELLs in New York City public

high schools. According to the findings, due to multiple social and institutional barriers,

including academic tracking, stereotyping, and restricted access to resources, ELLs are more

vulnerable to dropping out of school compared to any other group of students. Teachers referred

to behavioral problems caused by low self-esteem, fear of failure, and disengagement that is

exacerbated by ignorance of the needs of English Language Learners. These often manifest as

disruptive behaviors, school avoidance, and conflict with teachers and students. Among the

strategies suggested in mitigating these challenges are early identification of at-risk students,

teacher professional development, and the creation of engaging academic and extracurricular

programs. Such interventions try to evoke a feeling of belonging and improvement of

attachments between students and teachers as ways of minimizing such behavioral challenges.

Addressing such behavioral issues improves the academic performance and retention of ELLs.
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Article 2: The Psychological Impact of English Language Immersion on Elementary Age

English Language Learners (Combs et al., 2014).

This qualitative study examines some of the psychological and emotional effects of

Structured English Emersion (SEI) programs on Arizona's elementary school-aged English

Language Learners. The study reported that due to the availability of school instruction only in

English, ELL students often undergo stress, depression, and phobia about school. These

problems then become behavioral manifestations of resistance, reclusiveness, and minimal

participation in class. It describes how SEI programs contribute to a hostile climate exacerbating

these problems through the suppression of students' first languages and cultural backgrounds.

Parents and students themselves report extreme stress on the students who are forced into this

immersion technique, which has been described as a form of psychological maltreatment. Results

underline the use of bilingual education models and culturally responsive teaching strategies in

an effort to create conditions that alleviate the emotional and behavioral struggles of ELLs.

Article 3: English Language Learning does not Equal Special Education (Simpson and

Fournier 2023)

This article describes how ELLs are being diagnosed to have special education needs

because they share characteristics such as low self-esteem and problems with language

processing. This research indicates that behavioral problems like discontent, indifference, and

antagonism against learning, along with feelings of alienation, are often an outcome of such

mislabeling. The paper thus advocates for an educational strategy that would support both the

English Language Learners and students with disabilities without confusing their difficulties by

emphasizing inclusive practices and brain-based teaching techniques. Among the suggested

recommendations are culturally sensitive teaching strategies, integrating the mother tongue of
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students into lessons, and encouraging co-operative learning settings between teachers, parents,

and the students themselves. These programs relieve behavioral problems by promoting equity

and reducing the stigma that English Language Learners often face in traditional learning

settings.

Critical Barriers for ELLs Success

One of the major challenges toward the achievement of ELLs lies in the realm of a lack

of culturally appropriate methodologies. Often, this dilemma walks hand in hand with systemic

issues such as little parental involvement and limited resources for them to access school

technology. Schools often make kids' home languages a basis for learning frustrating,

disengaging students and contributing to literacy challenges with behavior problems (Rodriguez

et al., 2020; Combs et al., 2014). The involvement of parents, as important as it is, is always

weakened by the unfamiliarity with the school system and the linguistic barriers that diminish

parents in their role of being able to support their children (Simpson and Fournier, 2023).

Classrooms with over-inclusions prevent an abundance of individual teaching times due to high

student-teacher ratios, furthering behavioral and academic issues of ELLs. These interrelated

issues also demonstrate that comprehensive service delivery for ELLs requires systemic reforms,

which include teacher professional development, infusion of bilingual education methods, and

improved communication between the schools and families(Combs et al., 2014; Simpson and

Fournier, 2023).

Effective Approach to Overcome Barriers and Improve ELLs Success

Inclusive, culturally sensitive teaching taking into consideration both the academic and

socio-emotional needs of students is one sure way to cross over barriers into the successful

development of ELLs (Lau, 2023). Since research indicates that leveraging first-language skills
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enhances second-language acquisition and the development of general literacy (Rodriguez et al.,

2020), it is a crucial first step to using the students' home languages in curriculum design.

Effective ELL lesson plans incorporate differentiated instruction based on student competency

levels, scaffolded learning experiences, and explicit teaching of academic language in context.

This is evident where bilingual programs that integrate English language development with

content education in the students' mother tongue result in better academic outcomes and a

reduced sense of isolation when only English is spoken.

Also, by empowering parents through seminars and multilingual communication, a

family could therefore be more aware of how to support their children in pursuing academics

(Bellón et al., 2024). Instructions are more further supported by staff professional development

in inclusive practices, along with technologies such as adaptive software and language learning

applications. Smaller class sizes and collaboration between general education and ESL teachers

reduce the numbers of children assigned to one teacher, enabling proper attention to be given to

ELLs and thus solving some behavioral and academic problems. Schools can help close

performance gaps and promote long-term success for ELL children by creating a welcoming and

supportive environment.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the linguistic and academic barriers will be directly addressed through

bilingual education programs and culturally responsive teaching methods, which will meet the

full curriculum needs of ELLs. First-language support is utilized in such programs to provide a

sound foundation in learning English, and this has been proved to enhance general academic

performance. Differentiated instruction, explicit vocabulary development, and scaffolded

learning experiences ensure that ELLs have the ability to meaningfully access curriculum content
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at their independent skill levels. Of these, collaborative approaches, particularly general

education and ESL co-teaching, even further ensure the extent to which instruction aligns with a

variety of learning demands. It creates a welcoming learning space that bridges home to school

through the involvement of families, via multilingual communications and resources. The above

efforts will build, beyond short-term curriculum needs for ELLs, long-term academic and

personal successes on equity, inclusion, and engagement.

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References

Ashcraft, A. (2023). Effects of Socioeconomic Status on English Language Learners’ Success in

School . M.Ed. Literature Reviews. 19.
https://digitalcommons.tacoma.uw.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?
article=1005&context=med_theses

Bellón, P., Nieva, S., & Lyons, R. (2024). Amplifying Parental Views about Language Choice
When Raising Multilingual Children: Towards a Family-Centered Approach in
Professional Contexts. Languages, 9(7), 250. https://doi.org/10.3390/languages9070250

Boyce, S. (2020). Disparities Within School Discipline: An Examination of Race, English

Language Learner Status, & Suspension. Cornerstone: A Collection of Scholarly and
Creative Works for Minnesota State University, Mankato.
https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/etds/1073/

California department of education. (2024, October 22). English Learners in California Schools
- Student Group Information (CA Dept of Education). Www.cde.ca.gov.
https://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/sg/englishlearner.asp

Combs, T. (2014). The Psychological Impact of English Language Immersion on Elementary

Age English Language Learners. Journal of Multilingual Education Research, 5, 4.
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1176131.pdf

Lau, W. S. (2023, August 15). Culturally Responsive Literacy Instruction and Social–Emotional
Teaching Practices for Linguistically Diverse Learners in the United States. Education
Dissertaion. https://digitalcommons.spu.edu/soe_etd/76

National Center for Education Statistics. (2022, May). English learners in public schools.
Nces.ed.gov. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cgf/english-learners

Rodriguez, D., Carrasquillo, A., Garcia, E., & Howitt, D. (2020). Factors that challenge English
learners and increase their dropout rates: Recommendations from the field. International
Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 25(3), 1–17.
https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2020.1722059

Simpson, L., & Fournier, P. (2023). ELL Does Not Equal Special Education English Language
Learners (ELL) Does Not Equal Special Education. NEC Journal of Applied Educational
Research, 341(1), 2021. https://www.nec.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/English-
Language-Learners-Does-Not-Equal-Special-Education.pdf