An English language learner is a student who has a first language other than English, is in the process of acquiring English, and is not yet able to profit fully from English-only instruction.
English language learners are a heterogeneous group of individuals between the ages of three and twenty-one that differ along many dimensions:
- length of residence
- literacy skills
- previous schooling
- primary languages
- parental education
- socioeconomic status
- neighborhood and community resources
- life experiences
- cultural norms