Acquiring Academic English in One Year

This article examines the primary assumption underlying the recent passage of propositions aimed at meeting the need of English language learners (ELLs). The assumption is that English language learners normally need only one year of intensive structured English immersion to learn English well enough to be academically successful in an all-English instructional environment. This assumption is examined by engaging in an analysis of the learners’characteristics, the nature of academic language, and the conditions under which the learners are expected to acquire academic English. No theoretical or empirical evidence was found to support the central assumption underlying such propositions. It seems that the only support for the propositions stems from an uninformed voting public and the propositions’ authors.

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