Response to Intervention for English Learners

Abstract

When compared to English-only (EO) students, English learners (ELs) continue to demonstrate lower academic achievement in all areas throughout their school careers. There appear to be a number of reasons why this is the case, including a lack of emphasis on research-based English language development (ELD) instruction in the schools and, concurrently, a lack of differentiated instruction for ELs throughout the school day. Additionally, due to the fact that EL students tend to be concentrated in urban, low-income environments, these students tend to lack vocabulary and literacy skills in their first language. All of these issues serve to place EL students at a disadvantage early on, and this achievement gap becomes more pronounced later on. Fortunately, there is a movement in schools toward the use of response to intervention (RTI), and with that, the adoption of evidence-based instructional programs and practices in schools. Consequently, this chapter focuses on the advantages this movement provides for EL students, and specifically, the incorporation of empirically based ELD instruction and classroom practices that support academic language development during content area instruction. Additionally, specific recommendations for screening, instruction, progress monitoring, and intervention at tiers 1 and 2 are discussed.