What's the Need?

When teaching ELL students and watching student progress data, it is sometimes confusing to know whether their  unsatisfactory progress is due to a language need or if they might have a reading disability. When teachers are working with the Special Education staff on initiating an IEP, there is a question that asks whether the student has a learning disability that is not determined by their second language learning. Students who have disabilities, "...have similar patterns of difficulty in their native language" (ColorinColorado). Teachers need to monitor both reading progress and also language progress. It is recommended that students who show a lack of progress are tested in both lagnuages to have a more complete picture of the student and to help determine the need of the student; whether the student needs both intensive language services and services from a special education provider. 

When determining needs for language learners, teachers have to closely examine a child's learning progress to determine the right interventions. For many students, they are lacking in language learning, so they need scaffolds for that. However, students who have identifiable disabilities will need even more scaffolding than other learners with disabilities (ColorinColorado). 

Planning for instruction for ELLs with identified disabilities is more comprehensive than planning for ELLs without disabilities. Teachers must: 

1. Determine difficulty of material: Assuming background knowledge in order to read, thinking of the cognitive demand places on a student who is an ELL with a learning disability, presuming upon what the student may/may not have retained from previous lessons.
2. Use materials and strategies which promote comprehensible input: Pre-teach vocabulary, preview concepts/genre, access and give background knowledge, make a connection to their native language and culture, use graphics and graphic organizers
3. Make sure all materials and activities are accessible: provide a checklist with pictures, offer listening instead of reading or oral presentation instead of written presentation, modify the process and product of the assignment
4. All for heterogeneous and homogeneous collaboration 
5. Use elements from their culture to encourage motivation: use reading materials about/from their culture, highlight cultural customs

References

ColorinColorado. (N.D.). English Language Learners with Learning Disabilities. Accessed through Regis University WorldClass.

Institute on Community Integration, University of Minnesota (http://ici.umn.edu/products/impact/261). Citation: Liu, K., Watkins, E., Pompa, D., McLeod, P., Elliott, J. & Gaylord, V. (Eds). (Winter/Spring 2013). Impact: Feature Issue on Educating K-12 English Language Learners with Disabilities, 26(1). [Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, Institute on Community Integration].