There are always and will always be debates regarding English Education. Increasingly, over the past few years, news outlets and researchers have set their focus on the rise of English Language Learners (or ELLs) and their support (or lack thereof) in school systems. My chosen article discusses this issue, citing that forty percent of teachers have ELL students in their classrooms, with only a third of those teachers feeling prepared to support these students (para. 5). I, myself, feel somewhat unprepared to teach ELL students, as it is not a requirement with my degree to take a course on teaching multilingual students. Of course, I am applying to graduate schools that require courses on this subject, for preparation to face and support the rising populations of ELLs across the nation. And truly, it is a nationwide matter.
It is also true when Milliard states, “Schools can’t agree on whether to adopt bilingual education or just teaching English” (para 11). As it is different at every school district. Biddeford, where my practicum is, has rooms for multilingual learners to be among others as they develop English language skills. Biddeford also supports students in the test for a seal of biliteracy, awarded to students who excel at both English and another language, which is often the goal for ELL students.
The consensus surrounding ELL programs I have heard of is the general lack of funding and resources for schools to integrate bilingual programs. However, there has been minimal action taken to support these programs, since schools are underfunded as is. This article does not propose ways to support the growing ELL populations or the lack of training for teachers. They reference the new Common Core Standards as something that could possibly make a difference, though their tone is not hopeful.
Work Cited
Milliard, Trevon. “Millions of American Students Need to Learn English.” The Atlantic, 12 19 2023, https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2013/12/millions-of-american-students-need-to-learn-english/282522/. Accessed 21 10 2025.
