The 3 Growing Divides for ELLs

Language
It is not surprising that ELLs have a language divide and that depending on when they arrived in the United States this divide will impact their lives to a lesser or greater degree.  I have been in the U.S. since I was nine and even though English has become my main language, I will always be an ELL.  It doesn't affect my reading or listening, but my speaking and my writing continue to be a challenge especially if I am nervous.  I remember in college when I got nervous my English accent would get more pronounced and I would struggle to pronounce everyday words although they were part of my common usage. Now I still struggle to express myself when I get nervous, my ideas are clear in my head, but what comes out gets all jumbled up.  Especially if I am speaking among natives and they start looking at me like they can't understand what I am saying, then the nervousness increases and I need a translator to make my point. As for many ELLs this is my divide.

Using Technology
Thanks to a colleague I worked with when I first graduated from the university, technology has not been a divide for me.  My technology skills have actually opened doors for me and allowed me to travel around the U.S. training others.  This is why I am such a strong proponent of empowering ELL students with technology skills.  Although ELLs might, like me, struggle to improve the language divide, if we give them the opportunities to use technology to learn content they have a chance to have career opportunities they might not otherwise have.

Creating Technology
All students in public education are facing another divide, the divide between those students who know how to use technology and those who know how to create technology.  Private school students are benefitting from STEAM programs where they are designing using technology.  Although public schools are starting to bring in STEAM programs, many are focusing only on STEM and still focusing only on the students that are mathematically inclined to leave out those who are not, many of those girls, underprivileged students and of course ELLs.

So now ELLs have 3 barriers against them to be successful in school: language, lack of technology and creating technology skills.

As educators we can make a difference in ELL students lives and help close these divides. Let's prepare ELLs for a bright future in the 21st Century.

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