--- title: 5 Things Literacy Leaders Should Know About Supporting English Learners in the Classroom description: We share five things that every literacy leader should know about supporting English Learners in their schools and classrooms. image: https://blog.institute.aimpa.org/hubfs/5%20Things%20Literacy%20Leaders%20Should%20Know%20About%20Supporting%20English%20Learners%20in%20the%20Classroom%20(1).png --- [![AIM Institute 2025 Landscape Subtitle CMYK (1)-1](https://blog.institute.aimpa.org/hs-fs/hubfs/AIM%20Institute%202025%20Landscape%20Subtitle%20CMYK%20(1)-1.png?width=2725&height=750&name=AIM%20Institute%202025%20Landscape%20Subtitle%20CMYK%20(1)-1.png "AIM Institute 2025 Landscape Subtitle CMYK (1)-1")](https://institute.aimpa.org/) Search Search Translate Website Select Language Afrikaans Albanian Amharic Arabic Armenian Assamese Aymara Azerbaijani Bambara Basque Belarusian Bengali Bhojpuri Bosnian Bulgarian Catalan Cebuano Chichewa Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional) Corsican Croatian Czech Danish Dhivehi Dogri Dutch Esperanto Estonian Ewe Filipino Finnish French Frisian Galician Georgian German Greek Guarani Gujarati Haitian Creole Hausa Hawaiian Hebrew Hindi Hmong Hungarian Icelandic Igbo Ilocano Indonesian Irish Gaelic Italian Japanese Javanese Kannada Kazakh Khmer Kinyarwanda Konkani Korean Krio Kurdish (Kurmanji) Kurdish (Sorani) Kyrgyz Lao Latin Latvian Lingala Lithuanian Luganda Luxembourgish Macedonian Maithili Malagasy Malay Malayalam Maltese Maori Marathi Meiteilon (Manipuri) Mizo Mongolian Myanmar (Burmese) Nepali Norwegian Odia (Oriya) Oromo Pashto Persian Polish Portuguese Punjabi Quechua Romanian Russian Samoan Sanskrit Scots Gaelic Sepedi Serbian Sesotho Shona Sindhi Sinhala Slovak Slovenian Somali Spanish Sundanese Swahili Swedish Tajik Tamil Tatar Telugu Thai Tigrinya Tsonga Turkish Turkmen Twi Ukrainian Urdu Uyghur Uzbek Vietnamese Welsh Xhosa Yiddish Yoruba Zulu - 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[Who We Are](https://institute.aimpa.org/who-we-are) - [Who We Serve](https://institute.aimpa.org/who-we-serve) - [What We Provide](https://institute.aimpa.org/what-we-provide) - [Research & Impact](https://institute.aimpa.org/research-impact) - [Connect & Learn](https://institute.aimpa.org/connect-learn) ![](https://blog.institute.aimpa.org/hubfs/5%20Things%20Literacy%20Leaders%20Should%20Know%20About%20Supporting%20English%20Learners%20in%20the%20Classroom%20(1).png) # 5 Things Literacy Leaders Should Know About Supporting English Learners in the Classroom Published by [AIM Institute](https://blog.institute.aimpa.org/aim-resources/author/aim-institute) on Sep 13, 2023, 2:18:18 PM ![5 Things Literacy Leaders Should Know About Supporting English Learners in the Classroom (1)](https://blog.institute.aimpa.org/hs-fs/hubfs/5%20Things%20Literacy%20Leaders%20Should%20Know%20About%20Supporting%20English%20Learners%20in%20the%20Classroom%20(1).png?width=420&height=352&name=5%20Things%20Literacy%20Leaders%20Should%20Know%20About%20Supporting%20English%20Learners%20in%20the%20Classroom%20(1).png) If you have an uptick of English Learners (ELs) in your classrooms, you’re not alone. As of 2019, one-tenth of America’s student population are ELs and that number continues to grow each year, making it crucial for literacy leaders to understand the diverse needs of EL students. Here are five things that every literacy leader should know about supporting ELs in their schools and classrooms. ## 1. The English Learner Population is Growing Rapidly In the last two decades, 1.5 million ELs have been introduced to classrooms around the United States. As you can see on the map below, while ELs made up 8.1% of the school population in 2000, they now comprise 10.4% of the population, representing over 5 million students in today’s classrooms (National Center for Education Statistics, 2022). ![](https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/sw7oUyP92RemUDTy7pltHbxDSSy3eS5yJL2oD4hh8ol9AZ1C3EJjX8_xVgy7VOvkXFSO3EvWTSApx8pg_Ui3QdQJ5odwaZ9XyS66u7XwEvB5GpQ8gnv5VXEIWpvg5rHiA28qBoKNE2_53NsXsWxCCsU) ## 2. There is Wide Linguistic Diversity and Proficiency That map represents the over 400 languages spoken by students in American public schools! While Spanish remains the most common home language spoken by ELs in U.S. schools at more than 77%, it’s just the tip of the linguistic iceberg! The second most common home language is Arabic, which makes up 2.6%, followed by Chinese, Vietnamese, and Portuguese with less than 2% (NCES, 2022).  In addition, it’s important to note that native language skills among ELs can vary greatly. Some may come to school with only their oral language skills in their native tongue. Others might be proficient in reading and writing in their home language but are newcomers to English (Cárdenas-Hagan, 2020). ## 3. Teachers Need More Training to be Prepared Despite the increasing number of ELs in U.S. public schools, only a shocking 3% of teachers possess the necessary qualifications to effectively teach these members of the classroom community. This isn’t just a statistic—it’s an urgent call to action! Teachers need more training and resources to meet the needs of this growing group of students. Assessment and data-based decision making is a key step in ensuring our ELs’ needs are met. ## 4. There are High Stakes for English Learners Consider this: students who speak English as a second language face a 13% of not graduating from high school and are twice as likely to drop out of high-school in comparison to their non-Hispanic White peers (Cárdenas-Hagan, 2020; National Assessment of Educational Progress, 2019). Every literacy leader should be aware of these futures at stake and be motivated to make a change! ## 5. Literacy Leaders Should Embrace An Inclusive Approach Recognizing and addressing the unique needs of ELs is the first step to ensuring every student gets the quality education they deserve. The next step is creating an inclusive environment that celebrates their diverse backgrounds, acknowledges their challenges, and uses evidence-based structured literacy strategies. These steps can be achieved with our brand-new literacy training course, created in direct partnership with renowned literacy researcher and EL expert, Dr. Elsa Cárdenas-Hagan. [Specialized Reading Knowledge Bundle: English Learners](https://institute.aimpa.org/aim-pathways/aim-pathways-individual-cohort/el) helps all members of the classroom community develop the essential knowledge to accelerate language and literacy proficiency for English Learners in any program model with immediate instructional applications. ## Partner with AIM Institute Interested in learning more about creating supportive structured literacy systems for all learners, including ELS, within your district, school or classroom? [Let’s start a conversation. ](https://info.institute.aimpa.org/lets-connect) **About AIM Institute:** The AIM Institute for Learning & Research® is a non-profit center for educational excellence and professional development, providing educators with the latest research, technology, and best practices in the fields of literacy and language-based learning disabilities. [![Contact Us](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/39622625/74c7de19-d019-405c-bc20-698d5c644dbb.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/39622625/74c7de19-d019-405c-bc20-698d5c644dbb) Tags: [Literacy](https://blog.institute.aimpa.org/aim-resources/tag/literacy), [Leadership](https://blog.institute.aimpa.org/aim-resources/tag/leadership) [Back to Blog](https://blog.institute.aimpa.org/aim-resources) - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) ## Related Articles ## [Sonia Q. Cabell on Breaking Down Silos: The Key to an Effective Learning Experience](https://blog.institute.aimpa.org/aim-resources/sonia-q.-cabell-on-breaking-down-silos-the-key-to-an-effective-learning-experience) In a recent video with AIM Institute, Sonia Cabell highlighted a significant issue in the education... [Read More](https://blog.institute.aimpa.org/aim-resources/sonia-q.-cabell-on-breaking-down-silos-the-key-to-an-effective-learning-experience) ## [Back to School with AIM Institute: Professional Learning Highlights](https://blog.institute.aimpa.org/aim-resources/back-to-school-with-aim-institute-professional-learning-highlights) AIM is proud to partner with educators and leaders in over 39 states to provide high-quality... [Read More](https://blog.institute.aimpa.org/aim-resources/back-to-school-with-aim-institute-professional-learning-highlights) ## [How Educational Leaders Can Ensure More Accurate Assessments, Effective Instruction, and Inclusion of English Learners](https://blog.institute.aimpa.org/aim-resources/educational-leaders-english-learners) The English learner population is growing rapidly—they now comprise 10.4% of the population and... [Read More](https://blog.institute.aimpa.org/aim-resources/educational-leaders-english-learners) **AIM Institute for Learning & Research** 1200 River Road Conshohocken, PA 19428 (215) 483-2461 F: (215) 483-4597 [consulting@aimpa.org](mailto:consulting@aimpa.org) **The AIM Institute for Learning & Research provides evidence-based professional development to build strong, sustainable literacy instruction.** *The Academy In Manayunk (DBA as AIM Institute for Learning & Research and AIM Academy) is a registered 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. Federal Tax ID# is 01-0849648. Contributions are tax deductible as allowed by law.* - [Linkedin](https://www.linkedin.com/company/aiminstitutepa/) - [X](https://x.com/AIMtoLearn) - [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/aiminstitutepa/) - [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/aiminstitutepa) - [Find Your Training Pathway](https://institute.aimpa.org/what-we-provide) - [Get AIM News](https://institute.aimpa.org/who-we-are/institute-news) - [Contact Us](https://institute.aimpa.org/who-we-are/contact-us) - [Research to Practice Symposium](https://institute.aimpa.org/research-impact/research-to-practice-symposium) - [Careers at AIM](https://institute.aimpa.org/who-we-are/careers) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "AIM Institute", "url" : "https://blog.institute.aimpa.org/aim-resources/author/aim-institute" }, "dateModified" : "2023-09-13T18:18:18.513Z", "datePublished" : "2023-09-13T18:18:18.000Z", "headline" : "5 Things Literacy Leaders Should Know About Supporting English Learners in the Classroom", "image" : [ "https://blog.institute.aimpa.org/hubfs/5%20Things%20Literacy%20Leaders%20Should%20Know%20About%20Supporting%20English%20Learners%20in%20the%20Classroom%20(1).png" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://blog.institute.aimpa.org/aim-resources/supporting-english-learners", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://blog.institute.aimpa.org/hubfs/AIM%20Institute%202025%20Landscape%20Subtitle%20CMYK%20(1).png" }, "name" : "AIM Institute for Learning & Research" } } ```