Courtesy of Jon Feingesh

According to the NYC Department of Education, an English Language Learner (ELL) is a student who speaks a language other than English at home, or scores below proficient in an assessment test prior to entering the school system.

Nationally, 79% of the high school population considered to be English Language Learners are Spanish-speaking. Interestingly enough, more ELLs are U.S.-born than foreign-born, but most grow up speaking the native language and only begin learning English when they get to school.

English Language Learners are not necessarily non-English speakers; they are usually students who are not fluent in English because of the influence of their native language at home and within the community or because they are not native English speakers.

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