Grouping English learners is fruitless: A new study

To learn English faster, students are often grouped together in classrooms - it's a pretty common practice.

Meanwhile, a new experiment shows that this approach has basically no benefits, so it's probably time to change something.

Let's find out more about it.

How it was discovered

A recent study conducted by literacy education researchers has found that grouping English learners (ELs) together in classrooms, which has been a common practice in schools, doesn't have a positive or negative impact on the reading development of elementary school students. 

The study followed 783 ELs from kindergarten to fifth grade and analyzed their progress.

The researchers looked at whether having a high concentration of ELs in classrooms affected reading development. 

They took into account factors like students' socioeconomic status, academic skills, and emotional well-being, as well as school-level variables. 

Surprisingly, the study found no significant relationship between the concentration of ELs in classrooms and reading development.

The results challenge the assumption that separating ELs into distinct classrooms is a beneficial practice. 

It's possible that the positive and negative effects of grouping EL students offset each other. 

For instance, while a classroom with mostly ELs may provide more targeted language instruction, it could lack the benefits of interacting with fluent English speakers.

Why it might be helpful

The researchers suggest that further research is needed to understand how teachers modify their instruction for ELs in different classroom settings. 

This could help determine when and how grouping ELs together might have specific advantages or disadvantages.
 

• Related news:
• research
• languages
• learning
• 25 October 2023

---