m or be required to retake the test each year until they are considered Fluent English Proficient (FEP) (The Progress, 2005). The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 also established a mandate for improving the number of students achieving gains in English proficiency and the number considered FEP.
ESL programs are basically designed as stand-alone programs or ESL-plus programs (McKeon, 1987). ESL stand-alone programs teach groups of students English in the same manner as any other language is taught, and usually occupy a small portion of each school day. ESL-plus courses include a component of special instruction in and about English beyond just linguistics, with the focus on content area instruction, and may be given in the student's native language or in English and generally takes up more of the day
Pull-out sessions are session in which a student is pulled out of their regular classroom for special ESL instruction (McKeon, 1987). In pull-out instruction children from different language backgrounds may be separated into groups, and the teacher may not be bilingual or trained in ESL. Pull-out is usually used in elementary schools. In middle or secondary school settings, ESL instruction is provided in a regular class period, and students gain credit just as with other courses. Students may be grouped according to their proficiency level in English, and the teacher is not usually bilingual.
Bilingual education is used to teach students partially in English and partially in their native language, and the concept is based on the idea that it will help them understand the curriculum and succeed in an English-based environment (Bilingual, 2005). The premise is that once they are proficient in English, they can continue their education in English-only schools. The programs used today are based on the Bilingual Education Act (Title VII) of 1968. It is part of the Civil Rights Title VI, which prohibits discrimination base...