Comparison of Oral Language Usage Among English Language Learners Diagnosed With a Learning Disability and Those in General Education

Abstract

The investigator compared the linguistic characteristics of Spanish and English language samples taken from English language learners (ELLs) diagnosed with an academic learning disability (LD) and ELLs in general education to determine if the errors and characteristics of their language use differ. There was a statistically significant difference in the morphological error ratios of the English language samples when comparisons were made across groups. Comparisons within groups indicate a significant difference in the English morphological error ratios for students with an LD diagnosis. Although these findings were significant, all students, regardless of group membership, had generally mastered the fundamentals of English morphology and syntax and demonstrated the ability to learn and use English in the context of story retelling.