Limited English Proficiency

Limited English proficiency can be defined as the difficulty in comprehension and production in English. The efficiency of the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) Model indicates eight components that were lesson preparation, building background, comprehensible input, strategies, interaction, practice and application, lesson delivery, review and assessment and these components were explained in detail in line with the aims of the current study. The fundemental aim of this research was to investigate how teachers improve the student's language performance for limited English proficiency through using the SIOP ® Model. In this paper, a qualitative research approach was adopted and semi-structured interview was used as the data collection tool to discover the teachers' perceptions about the SIOP ® Model, and to determine possible problems in limited English proficiency. The participants of the study consisted of 10 English teachers (3 males and 7 females) aged from 26 to 34 (M = 30.9). The results indicated that the factors of SIOP ® model can guide limited English proficient students and suggest some useful strategies for language teachers to handle the students' difficulties in language comprehension.

This action-research case study examines the potential benefits of explicit formfocused instruction (FFI) on the English learning of Mexican-origin adolescent students attending a middle school designated as low-performing. During the first year of the study I taught two sections of English as a second language to students beginning their second or third year in U.S. schools. At the beginning of the year I administered a pretest to 20 students, and throughout the year I documented and reflected on my teaching and my students’ learning through written and recorded notes. At the end of the year I administered a posttest to my students. During the second year of the study, I collected tests results using the same grammar test from students whom I had not taught and who had attended U.S. schools from two to eight years. I reported the results and analysis of the study through a retrospective narrative format. The findings suggest that grammar—as the abstract system it is—is difficult to teach and challenging to learn for adolescent immigrant students with varying degrees of prior knowledge. The findings also suggest that immigrant youngsters appear to benefit in diverse ways from being taught through a grammar-based approach. The retrospective narrative provides a description of research process, the contexts of the study, the students, the teaching and learning that went on in viii my classroom, and the results of the grammar test. Although the results of the grammar test favored the students exposed to FFI, these findings cannot be generalized to other students in other FFI classrooms. Limitations of the study are provided along with suggestion for future research and implications for teachers.

The social landscape of post-Katrina New Orleans continues to evolve. With increasing Latino presence, public schools must adapt to changing demographics. Latinos now represent 6% of the city’s youth population (Perry, 2016). During the 2015-2016 school year, seven schools in Orleans parish reported Latino enrollment greater than 15%; 30 out of 82 public schools that same year reported Latino enrollment greater than 5% (BESE, 2016). In neighboring Jefferson parish, one in four students is Latino (Dreilinger, 2016). In 2014, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) settled two landmark cases in Southeastern Louisiana related to civil rights abuses toward Latino English Language Learners (ELLs) and their Limited English Proficient (LEP) families. Despite a voluntary 2014 OCR resolution agreement settled by Orleans Parish School Board (OPSB), in New Orleans it remains to be seen how a decentralized school system will accommodate its own growing Latino immigrant population. This is particularly significant now (2017) as local public education undergoes a reunification process to centralize under one governing body: the OPSB. How will this school system ensure the provision of civil rights and equitable educational access to a linguistically isolated population within its district?

This dissertation examines Latino LEP parental involvement in decentralized New Orleans public schools. There is a positive correlation between parental participation in education and educational outcomes for Latino students (Sattin-Bajaj, 2014; Jeynes, 2016). Using lenses of cultural capital theory (Bourdieu, 1986; Lamont & Lareau, 1988), and democratic inclusion (Young, 2000), this research demonstrates how cultural capital –  including language, and institutional compass – affects Latino LEP parental participation in education. The primary contribution of this work is an in-depth examination of language access as a concept, process, and civil right. By examining the application of federal civil rights (Title VI, Civil Rights Act 1964) and education law (Title III, ESSA, 2015) in New Orleans, this dissertation quantifies compliance, and qualifies examples of policies and practices that foster inclusivity and belonging within diverse learning communities.

It is widely acknowledged that English has become the language of communication internationally (Yahya, 2012; Pennycook, 2014). To the researchers' best knowledge, no research has reported on neither the difficulties non-English major professors face when using English as their formal language of instruction nor on the impact of these difficulties on their professional development. Thus, this paper aims to offer a better insight into the different problems that university professors non-major in English specifically face when communicating in English and their influence on their academic and professional advancement. Non-English major professors need to be competent in communicating English because they need to contact international organizations for publications, introducing partnership, present up-to-date findings in their fields and so on. The sample of the study comprised of 20 non-English major lecturers randomly selected from Hashemite University. Data collected via semi-structured interviews revealed that the participants encountered numerous difficulties in reading, writing and speaking and listening when using English and that these difficulties impact negatively on their academic and professional development. In light of these findings, the paper concludes with some of the participants' suggestions to solve these difficulties.

The U.S. Census Bureau’s language statistics are used by a wide range of public and private interests but many users are unaware of what those statistics mean or the reasons they are produced. This article examines how and why the Census Bureau asks about language, paying special attention to the interplay of public policies and language questions. After presenting a taxonomy of census language questions and their policy uses, I turn to the U.S. Census Bureau’s current language question, explaining both the development of the question and synthesizing the research that has been used to evaluate its validity and reliability, as well as discussing how U.S. language policies have changed since the current language question was adopted. Finally, I present the results of a recent qualitative study that sought to determine the basis of respondents’ answers to the Census Bureau language question, as well as to explore the criteria that respondents use when evaluating the English-speaking ability of other household members

The purpose of this literature review is to identify the most effective instructional principles for English language learners (ELLs) as documented by prominent researchers in the field
and existing research reviews. This report is intended as a high-level synthesis of existing reviews of the literature rather than a comprehensive search and documentation of all primary
research articles on ELL teaching and learning. To this end, this review lists the most effective principles for ELL instruction and documents the supporting research evidence for those principles.

Low or limited English language proficiency (LEP) is an existing problem among a percentage of undergraduates who opt to follow the BBA degree conducted by the Faculty of Management and Finance of a national university in Sri Lanka. This university already has made provisions for these students to receive English language assistance in collaboration with the English language teaching unit of this same university. However it was observed that the assistance provided lacked alignment with the first year students’ academic content and the language demands and needs of following the first year of the BBA (Bachelor in Business Administration) degree in this university.  This paper aims to contribute to a larger study that involves identifying the English language needs of first year undergraduates of the English medium BBA degree programme with the purpose of designing a specialized English language intervention to help LEP students to be more able to deal with the English language demands of this programme.  The needs analysis conducted encompassing the BBA students and content lecturers revealed that lectures were the main mode of transmitting subject content in the first year. It was also revealed that the English medium lectures were one of the main sources of challenging language for the LEP student. This paper is concerned with the activity designing process for assisting the students with lecture comprehension. This paper explores how principles of curriculum design can be related to the designing of language teaching activities that are specially prepared for assisting LEP students with comprehension of the English medium BBA lectures. It was found that the principles of curriculum design provide a sound basis for catering to the students’ needs and thus capable of guiding this specific activity designing process.

Many hospitals have popularized the use of Video Remote Interpreting (VRI), a technology that facilitates communication between healthcare providers and deaf/hard of hearing (DHH) patients in medical settings. The technology utilizes American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters by way of a computer or tablet with a webcam and Internet connection. While VRI provides prompt services for emergency care and is cheaper than in-person interpreting services, there have been several challenges with its use, such as poor connection, limited flexibility to maneuver, or small screen size, which makes it difficult to see ASL interpreters or DHH patients on the screen.

To improve VRI services, this study investigated the preferences and priorities of healthcare providers and DHH patients related to VRI and in-person interpreting. The study utilized a mixed methods approach. Data collection included a quantitative online survey for healthcare providers and DHH patients to learn about their preferences regarding VRI versus in-person interpreting, as well as qualitative in-depth interviews with healthcare providers and DHH patients.

Findings indicated that both healthcare providers and DHH patients prefer in-person interpreting for critical care to obtain effective communication, translation accuracy, trust-building, and better treatments. Despite their preferences, both groups often end up using VRI due to time demands, budget concerns, limited in-person interpreter availability, and constraints imposed by hospital administration systems.

Based on study findings, recommendations for not only improving VRI equipment, and improving healthcare communication with deaf patients include: training healthcare providers for cultural interaction; training hospital administrators and VRI companies to meet legal obligations; medical training for VRI interpreters; and training DHH patients and their families for understanding their rights.

To explore clinicians' perceptions of the communication difficulties experienced with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) patients and the clinical risks these difficulties pose in hospitals, as well as patterns of interpreter use among these clinicians. Senior health professionals in the two District Health Boards (DHBs) in the Wellington Area (about 900) of New Zealand were sent an electronic survey. Twenty clinicians were interviewed about their experience in 22 consultations with LEP patients, and an equal number with English proficient patients. Descriptive statistics were calculated, and 95% confidence intervals and formal statistical tests. 141 responses were received to the survey. There was a high level of awareness of how to access interpreters (84%) and lesser awareness of DHB interpreter policy (65%). Most respondents felt that communication difficulties with LEP patients have a significant effect on care at least sometimes, but there is a wide variation in reported ac...

Australia and New Zealand both have large populations of people with limited English proficiency (LEP). Australia’s free telephone interpreter service, which is also used by New Zealand through Language Line (LL) but at a cost to the practices, is underused in both countries. Interpreter guidelines warn against the use of family members, yet the lack of uptake of interpreter services must mean that they are still often used. This paper reviews the literature on medical interpreter use and reports the results of a week-long audit of interpreted consultations in an urban New Zealand primary health centre with a high proportion of refugee and migrant patients. The centre’s (annualised) tally of professionally interpreted consultations was three times more than that of LL consultations by all other NZ practices put together. Despite this relatively high usage, 49% of all interpreted consultations used untrained interpreters (mostly family), with more used in ‘on-the-day’ (OTD) clinics. ...