Social Justice and Language Acquisition for English Language Learners

Abstract

Language development is critical to social justice, especially for the adolescent. Many issues can affect language skills. Language acquisition is key to communication skills and is complex, especially when viewed from the multicultural perspective related to second language learners. There is a difference between conversational language and academic language that must be considered when teaching adolescent English language learners (ELLs) that can influence the teacher’s perception of an adolescent’s language acquisition. Success in social language should not be mistaken for proficiency in the type and depth of English used in the classroom. Many language adolescent minority students possess conversational language, but experience academic failure because they lack cognitive academic language proficiency. Advocates for social justice education look to address the educational inequities facing ELLs since not all reading difficulties are disability related and sociocultural factors can be easily overlooked. These factors can lead to a higher rate of special education placement, especially for low-income minority students. Recognizing how second language learners function in academic contexts can greatly influence pedagogy. Classroom teachers can implement various pedagogies with positive results for their students related to language acquisition and application. One focus of these strategies is through the informal assessment of expressive language and application of classroom strategies and techniques to address noted student needs. This chapter will focus on social justice needs of adolescents by considering the theory of ELL language acquisition as well as approaches, techniques, and strategies. These will address issues related to the needs of the ELL adolescent students’ emerging language skills related to receptive and expressive language using reading instruction as the focus.