Some educators feel bilingualism is 鈥渢oo lofty a goal鈥� for English-language learners with disabilities, an attitude that could limit the educational trajectory of an already underserved population, a Lehigh University study found.
During a , , an applied linguist and assistant professor in Lehigh鈥檚 College of Education, found that some educators did not prioritize language services for ELLs because they had low expectations for the students.
鈥淭his underscores the necessity for teacher education programs to work towards systematically dismantling these perceptions through curricula,鈥� Kangas wrote in her study. 鈥淚f teachers working in the capacity of language believe ELLs are semilinguals, then the possibility of high expectations for academic and linguistic development of these students is grim.鈥�
Kangas defined semilingual students as those who aren鈥檛 proficient in their first or second language. During her research, she spent months observing classrooms, interviewing teachers and administrators, and collecting documents in a charter school in the northeastern United States, which used a dual-language immersion model in Spanish and English
Kangas said her findings don鈥檛 just reflect a 鈥渃harter school problem.鈥� Schools of all stripes have long : in 2016, a 20-state review from the federal Institute of Education Sciences and written by the Regional Laboratory West found that many states don鈥檛 have well-defined processes for identifying ELLs with disabilities.
In addition, as my colleague Christina Samuels reported in 2015, many states didn鈥檛 have for ELLs in special education. But that could change under the , which requires states to provide a much clearer picture to the public on how English-learners are doing in schools,.
Research has shown that English-learners with disabilities have higher academic performance and linguistic development when exposed to both languages, even for more severe disabilities such as developmental delay.
鈥淒ismissing the importance of bilingual development for ELLs with special needs out of a belief in their pervasive deficit has serious ramifications, both academically and personally, for these learners,鈥� Kangas wrote.
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