Language Program Models for Recently Arrived English Learners

Author

Sarah E. SchulzFollow

Date of Award

4-20-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Education

Department

Education

Program

Education with Emphasis in English as a Second Language

Capstone Instructor

Dr. Kelly Sadlovsky

Second Reader

Dr. Tamara Nuttall

Keywords

English Language Learners (ELLs), Recently Arrived English Learners (RAELs), Language Instruction Educational Program Plan (LIEP), Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education (SLIFE)

Abstract

Many schools in the United States have been responding to the growing number of Recently Arrived English Learners (RAELs) and the academic needs when adjusting to mainstream classrooms. These students can have long periods of interrupted schooling, traumatic immigration experiences, and unique acculturation processes that require specific needs apart from other English Language Learners (Sugarman, 2023). This literature review examined the ways K-12 schools can support RAELs academically and socially-emotionally during the transition to becoming accustomed to the educational models used in the United States of America by analyzing current research on the effectiveness of various English Language Program Models. The studies reviewed were a mix of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed method approaches in elementary, middle, and high schools in the United States. Research indicated that newcomer programs help students adjust to the U.S. school system and prepare them for the academic rigor in the mainstream classrooms (Perry& Parker, 2023). However, newcomer programs commonly lack adequate social-emotional supports for students (Hos, 2016; Newcomer et al., 2020; Li & Qin, 2022). For schools to address every need of RAELs, they must take a comprehensive approach (Martin & Suárez-Orozco, 2018). Full-service community schools offer an example of how a school with a comprehensive approach can best support RAELs (Meloche et al., 2020; Bajaj, 2018; Provinzano et al., 2020). This paper concludes that schools can determine their preferred newcomer program model, but must plan beyond to take a comprehensive approach in supporting RAELs.

Recommended Citation