Impact of ESL Ideologies and Policies on Student Experiences in a Newcomers Classroom (2015)

Undergraduate: Yuman Wang

Faculty Advisor: Patrick Akos
Department: Economics

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Past literature reveals that many ESL programs in the U.S. are governed by a narrow English-dominant view that often bars ELLs from advancing in school. This paper seeks to explore language ideologies underlying newcomer¿¿¿s programs and how they impact student experiences. Focusing on North Carolina, the key questions I attempt to answer include the following: What are the language ideologies that steer ESL programs? What are the policies that result from these ideologies and their effects on programming and practices? And finally, how do students experience these structures and practices? To investigate these questions, I first synthesize national, state and local ideologies and policies. Then I analyze specific school policies and teacher practices by using field notes I collected from a local Newcomer¿¿¿s Program. I also included an interview of one student in detail to gain a deeper understanding of student experiences. Based on past research, I expect to find traits of the newcomer¿¿¿s program that suggest alternative approaches should be considered in future programming. _x000D_