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English Language Learners in Community Colleges: Challenges and Opportunities

Though a significant number of English language learners (ELLs) and language minority students (LMs) begin their postsecondary education at community colleges, there is a dearth of knowledge on the policies, experiences, and outcomes of these learners. As community colleges increasingly restructure developmental reading and writing programs that have traditionally served this population, it is critical to better understand how issues of categorization, placement, assessment, curriculum, and pedagogy shape these learners' experiences and trajectories. This panel took a comprehensive approach to examining the experiences of ELLs and LMs in their pathways through community colleges from the point of their identification as language learners, to faculty considerations about curriculum and instruction, to issues of assessment, and language learning outcomes.

Participants

Research Associate
Community College Research Center
Heather Bobrow Finn
Associate Professor, Academic Literacy and Linguistics
Borough of Manhattan Community College
Sharon Avni
Associate Professor, Academic Literacy and Linguistics
Borough of Manhattan Community College
Rebecca Bergey
Researcher, Center for English Language Learners
American Institutes for Research
Stefani Relles
Assistant Professor, Educational Psychology and Higher Education
University of Nevada-Las Vegas
Blanca Rincón
Assistant Professor, Educational Psychology and Higher Education
University of Nevada-Las Vegas
Meryl Siegal
Professor
Laney College

Associated Project(s)