Finding my Serpent Tongue

The number of English Language Learners (ELL) in the United States continues to increase dramatically. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), between 1979 and 2008, the number of students who speak a language other than English at home climbed from 3.8 to 10.9 million (U.S. Department of Education, 2010). By 2025, it is estimated that in the United States (U.S.), one student in four will be an English Language Learner (National Education Association, 2010, p. 1). Although English Language Learners represent a variety of ethnic populations and linguistic communities, the majority of ELL students are educated in states that have a high percentage of Latino/a students, specifically Arizona, California, Florida, New York and Texas (Fry, 2007, p. 1), and the majority of ELL students are Latino (National Clearinghouse, 2007). These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.