Physical Education Teachers Perceptions in the State of New York about Appropriate Strategies when Teaching English Language Learners

Abstract

Schools in the United States of America are becoming more culturally and linguistically diverse. It is estimated that by year 2030, English Language Learners (ELL) will make up 50% of the population of public schools across the United States of America (USA) (Culp & Schmidlein, 2012). This means that by next decade almost half of the students in public schools will be learning English as their second language, with a proficiency in a language other than English. Students who are ELL, are also labeled as students who have English as a Second Language (ESL), and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Learners (CLD), should be welcomed to bring their culture into the classroom (Culp & Schmidlein, 2012). The level of English proficiency of these students varies tremendously and a coordinated process is needed to take place to make sure they have the same chances as their peers to be successful in school. Some of these students may not know any English, while others may know a bit more. Spanish makes up the largest portion of this population comprising of 77% of the students in the United States. The remaining 23% is comprised of students who speak Vietnamese, Hmong, Korean, and Haitian Creole, (Culp & Schmidlein, 2012).