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Addressing Long-Term ELLs (LTELs): Why Some Students Don’t Exit ESL Programs
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2025-08
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Long-term English learners (LTELs) are English Language Learners (ELLs) who remain in ESL programs for 6 or more years without reclassification. LTELs often appear to be fluent when conversing in social settings, but they struggle with academic language in the classroom. This capstone explores how schools and districts can design and implement effective interventions to support the academic language development of LTELs. This capstone focuses on three key challenges: lack of academic language instruction, limited access to rigorous content, and insufficient teacher training. A professional development (PD) series was designed for both general education teachers and ESL teachers to address these issues. The goal of the PD is to help teachers identify who LTELs are, what are their unique needs, how to embed academic language instruction in their lessons, and how they can support LTELs by using strategies such as scaffolding and translanguaging. The PD provides a framework to help shift practices and opens a pathway for more consistent academic language instruction practices. This capstone highlights the need for further research on how teacher practices impact LTELs’ academic growth and additional opportunities for professional learning.