Identifying and supporting ELLs with learning disabilities

Identifying and supporting ELLs with learning disabilities 
There are many studies on English language acquisition, and also on learning disabilities, but less is known about how to help learning-disabled students who speak English as a second language. There is no proven method to identify these students and then provide them with appropriate treatment. It is common for teachers and administrators to mistake learning disabilities for a lack of English knowledge, and vice versa. To address these challenges, a new reviewfrom the Institute of Education Sciences and REL West synthesizes findings of current policy practices and research on helping English language learners (ELLs) who have learning disabilities, and creates guidelines for identifying and helping these students.
 
As part of the review, the authors examined 52 articles and reports published between 2000-2015 that met criteria for topic and study design (experimental or quasi-experimental), looking for patterns that occurred two or more times in the literature. They also looked for patterns in policy in the 20 states with the largest ELL populations. Their review uncovered the following information:
 
To determine if an ELL has a learning disability, the authors suggest considering factors such as quality of instruction, rate of progress in expressive and receptive language given English language baseline, native culture norms, and adjustment to new culture.

Authors found that teachers do not always know why ELLs are not progressing, and that their referral processes are poorly designed. To address this, they suggest solutions such as professional development, parental involvement, using data from many sources, and developing guidelines and ways to track student data.

The authors also include policy implications, for example, they suggest that exit criteria must be established for ELLs in special education before they leave their English language learning programs. 

Johns Hopkins University 

Research in Brief

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