Wisconsin English Journal Volume 53, Number 2 Fall 2011 64 Laura Baecher ____________________________________________ Introduction The growing population of English language learners (ELLs) in the nation’s schools is not limited to states like New York, California, Texas, and Florida, where their numbers have been high for many years; now, midwestern and southeastern states are seeing the greatest increases. For instance, the population of ELLs in Wisconsin saw a 140% increase between 1998 and 2008 (NCELA, n.d.). Instruction for ELLs is now of relevance to all teachers in the state, who may or may not have a background in teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL). The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of key strategies that support effective instruction for ELLs in secondary English classrooms, with illustrative examples shared by both English as a second language (ESL) and English teachers. It is hoped that these will provide readers with some concrete ways to differentiate instruction to support ELLs. English Language Learners in the Secondary English Language Arts Classroom Research on the academic achievement of ELLs in U.S. high schools has helped to identify the numerous factors which make learning academic content in a new language “double the work” (Short & Fitzsimmons, 2007). Variables connected to students’ ease or difficulty include the level of first language literacy, years and type of schooling in the home country, length of residence in the U.S., and the nature of academic English (Thomas & Collier, 2002). High schools present high literacy demands, in multiple genres, and require linguistic, discourse, sociolinguistic and strategic competence (Canale,1983) as well as specific semantic and syntactic knowledge (Shlepegrell, 2001). In their various content classes, English language learners must pull together their emerging knowledge of the English language with the content knowledge they are studying in order to complete the academic tasks associated with the content area. They must, however, also learn how to do these tasks—generate the format of an outline, negotiate roles in cooperative learning groups, interpret charts and maps, and such. The combination of these three knowledge bases—knowledge of English, knowledge of the content topic, and knowledge of how the tasks are to be accomplished— constitutes the major components of academic literacy (Echevarria & Short, 1999, p. 5). The level of the learner’s literacy in the native language and the demands of academic language influence the learner’s progress towards English language proficiency, and explain why it might take 5-7 years to develop academic language (Collier, 1989; Cummins; 1994). One common misconception about working with ELLs is that simply immersing them in English will bring about language proficiency. This is problematic for two reasons: first, interaction between ELLs and native English speaking students is usually very limited, and when it occurs it is limited to brief exchanges (Harklau, 1999). Even cooperative learning activities where students are assigned academic tasks and are required to participate may The author shares differentiation strategies that maintain consistent whole- class learning objectives, while meeting the needs of adolescents learning English as a new language. Differentiated Instruction for English Language Learners: Strategies for the Secondary English Teacher