Sheltered Instruction

The academic achievement of English language learners (ELLs) is a critical issue confronting educators today because the burgeoning number of ELLs in United States (U.S.) schools affects policies, curricula, instruction, as well as almost every aspect of schooling. English language learners are defined as those students—regardless of cultural background—for whom English is not their native language. Many of these students learn to speak English fairly quickly but there is an important difference between conversational ability, known as basic interpersonal communicative skills (BICS), and the academic language necessary for completing academic tasks. This academic language, called Cognitive/Academic Linguistic Proficiency (CALP), is more complex and cognitively challenging than everyday language.

Standards-based instruction, that relies on academic language proficiency, demands more from students than a simple understanding of spoken English. With each grade level, the rigor of the...