ELL Trivia Quiz
Statistics about English Language Learners to
accompany “Straight Talk about Language Diversity
Session”
Slides created by Liz Howard
Assistant Professor of Bilingual Education
elizabeth.howard@uconn.edu
What do we mean by
English Language Learners (ELLs)?

Federal definition (Anstrom 1996): a
student who “has sufficient difficulty
speaking, reading, writing, or
understanding the English language and
whose difficulties may deny such
individual the opportunity to learn
successfully in classrooms where the
language of instruction is English or to
participate fully in our society due to one
or more of the following reasons:



was not born in US or environment where
English is the dominant language;
is a Native American or Alaskan; or
is migratory and comes from an environment
where English is not the dominant language.”
What do we mean by
English Language Learners (ELLs)?
Bilingual Education Statute: Section
10-17e-j, inclusive,
of the Connecticut General Statutes
Sec. l0-17e. Definitions.
Whenever used in sections 10-17 and 1017d to 10-17g, inclusive:(1) “Eligible
students” means students enrolled in
public schools in grades kindergarten to
twelve, inclusive, whose dominant
language is other than English and
proficiency in English is not sufficient to
assure equal educational opportunity in
the regular school program.
How many ELLs are there in U.S.
public schools?
1.
2.
3.
4.
Less than 1 million
1-3 million
3-5 million
More than 5 million
How many ELLs are there in CT?
1.
2.
3.
4.
Less than 10,000
10,000-20,000
20,000-30,000
More than 30,000
How many ELLs are there in CT?
30000
27962
25869
25000
20000
29609
20499
21529
22885
15000
ELLs in CT
10000
5000
0
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
In the U.S., how does the growth of
ELL student enrollment compare to
growth in total student enrollment?
1.
2.
3.
slower
the same
faster
The growth of English Language
Learners in the US 1989-2005
In CT, how does the growth of ELL
student enrollment compare to
growth in total student enrollment?
1.
2.
3.
slower
the same
faster
The growth of English Language
Learners in Connecticut 1994-2005
What percentage of ELLs in the U.S.
are native Spanish speakers?
1.
2.
3.
4.
Less than 25%
25% - 50%
51% - 75%
More than 75%
79% of ELLs in the U.S. are
native Spanish speakers
17
1
1
1.6
Spanish
2
Vietnamese
Hmong
Cantonese1
Korean
Other
79.2
What percentage of ELLs in CT are
native Spanish speakers?
1.
2.
3.
4.
Less than 25%
25% - 50%
51% - 75%
More than 75%
71% of ELLs in CT are
native Spanish speakers
22%
Spanish
3%
Portuguese
Polish
4%
Other
71%
How many home languages other
than English are spoken by students
(not all ELLs) in the U.S.?
1.
2.
3.
4.
Less than 50
51-100
101-150
More than 150
How many home languages other
than English are spoken by students
(not all ELLs) in CT?
1.
2.
3.
4.
Less than 50
51-100
101-150
More than 150
What percentage of school districts
in CT serve ELLs?
1.
2.
3.
4.
Less than 25%
25% - 50%
51% - 75%
More than 75%
72% of school districts in CT
serve ELLs
10%
13%
7%
56%
7%
7%
Bridgeport
Hartford
New Haven
Stamford
Waterbury
Other