1. TYPES OF BILINGUAL STUDENTS
*Balanced bilingual- Has achieved oracy and literacy in two languages
Monolingual/literate in native language- Is fluent and can perform well academically in one
language; has had limited exposure to English, including limited cultural knowledge.
Monolingual/preliterate in native language-Is fluent in, but cannot perform well orally or
academically in the primary language; has had limited exposure to English, including limited
cultural knowledge.
Limited bilingual- Is fluent in the primary language; may be fluent in English, including cultural
knowledge, but academic skills in both languages are not yet established.
Lynne,T. Diaz-Rico. Stategies for Teaching English Learners p. 308.
*In the largest sense, all students are learning English, and each ELL student falls at a different
point on the spectrums of experiences described above. One thing is certain: there is no one
profile for an ELL student, nor is one single response adequate to meet their educational goals
and needs. ELL students are a diverse group that offers challenges and opportunities to U.S.
education and to English language arts teachers in particular.
www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/PolicyResearch/ELLResearchBrief.pdf
*Although dual language learners (DLLs) are linguistically, culturally, and socially diverse,
researchers usually study them in aggregate and compare them to non-DLLs. The authors'
purpose was to identify subgroups of preschool DLLs using latent class analysis. There were
7,361 DLLs and 69,457 non-DLLs. Results revealed three distinct classes. Children in class 1
(emergent bilingual children) tended to speak mostly their native language but some English at
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2. home and in the classroom. Children in class 2 (bilingual children) tended to speak English only
in the classroom, but spoke both languages at home. Children in class 3
(heritage language speakers) tended to speak only their native language at home and in the
classroom. Different demographic profiles and levels of development and learning were
observed across classes. The DLL subgroups and their profiles provide important information
about how educational programs may be tailored to meet the diverse needs of young DLLs.
Do, Hong Kim.(2018). Journal of Educational Research, Vol. 111 Issue 1, p43-57. 15p)
As an educator I will approach the various types of English Language Learners with an
eclectic approach. Each student is different and may be considered to be more than one type.
These classifications give a good base to stem off of however when determining the educational
approach to ELL’s. In order to understand what works best I feel it would be best to know as
much about the students background as possible.
