The TESOL Encyclopedia of English Language Teaching, First Edition. Edited by John I. Liontas (Project Editor: Margo DelliCarpini). © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published 2018 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. DOI: 10.1002/9781118784235.eelt0319 Accommodations MELANIE GOBERT Framing the Issue Accommodations in English language teaching refer to two different types of accommodations in two different contexts. One type of accommodation is the accommodation of English language learners (ELLs) in the regular classroom and in the evaluation of achieving the standardized curriculum. The second type of accommodation is the accommodation of ELLs with disabilities in the class- room and in the evaluation of their learning. Accommodating these students is not only an issue in the United States and other English-speaking countries, but inter- nationally, as there are currently almost 2 billion people learning English world- wide (Graddol, 2006). When ELL students are identified as having a learning disability (LD), they need the services that students with learning disabilities are entitled to, as well as the services designed to support ELLs (Eppolito, Lasser, & Klingner, 2013). In the US university system, students with learning disabilities are accommodated, but no accommodation is made for English language learners (Kanel, 2004). On the other hand, in the K-12 system in the United States, teachers and policy makers often conflate accommodation for ELLs with accommodation for students who are learning disabled (Schissel, 2014). Cawthorn (2010) calls upon the state to extend the accommodations provided to ELLs throughout their learn- ing career. Educational Testing Services (ETS, 2009) defines ELLs as students who are still developing proficiency in English. English language learners in the United States now make up 9.1% of the public school population, or an estimated 4.4 million students (English Language Learners, 2014). One in nine students is an ELL and most are concentrated in the lower grades (ETS, 2009). The ELL population is now a common feature of historically population-stable states as well as key immigra- tion states and there is a multitude of issues that arise when these students partici- pate in high-stakes state accountability measures (Liu & Barrera, 2013). While many of the ELLs in the United States are Spanish-speaking, many speak a multi- tude of languages in the home (Liu & Barrera, 2013). These students’ special needs as ELLs require a set of accommodations to participate fully in the regular Gobert, M. (2018). Accommodations. In J.I. Liontas (Ed.) The TESOL Encyclopedia of English Language Teaching. Wiley. https:// doi.org/10.1002/9781118784235.eelt0319