Article: Language Demands to Grow for ELLs Under New Standards

From http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/04/25/29cs-ell.h31.html

Language Demands to Grow for ELLs Under New Standards
Students required to go well beyond grammar, vocabulary
By Lesli A. Maxwell
April 23, 2012

Putting the common-core standards into practice in classrooms is a monumental change for teachers in the nation's public schools, but for educators who work with English-language learners, the shifts in instruction are expected to be even more groundbreaking.

That's because the new academic expectations for English/language arts and mathematics now adopted by all but four states require much more sophisticated uses of language than the mishmash of standards that have been in use for years across the states, say language-acquisition experts.

Helping English-learners surmount the higher expectations of the common standards will depend largely on how well teachers get them to understand academic language, in contrast to the informal, everyday English they use outside the classroom.

Read the full article at http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/04/25/29cs-ell.h31.html