Chapter 8: What Works for Ramon and Other English Language Learners

Ramon enters the fifth-grade classroom chatting and joking with his friends. Because of the community in which Ramon’s family lives, his oral English is a curious mix of African American vernacular grammar and a Spanish accent. Based on Ramon’s social language skills, his teacher, Mr. Smith, assumes that Ramon will do well in school. Yet Ramon struggles with both reading and writing.

Another student in this classroom, Joy, is also an English language learner (ELL). In India where Joy was born, his name is quite common, but here other students tease him about it. Although Joy can work near grade level in reading and writing, Mr. Smith does not realize this. Instead, Joy’s weak oral language skills combined with his shy nature, lead Mr. Smith to believe that Joy needs much more help in English than Ramon does.