BICS - acronym for basic interpersonal communication skills required for verbal face-to-face communication; a type of "survival English" where linguistic interactions are embedded in a situational context accompanied by gestures

Bilingual Education - a carefully planned instructional program in which two languages are used; the program provides ESL instruction and utilizes the student's native language as the medium for instruction in the content areas; language arts instruction in the student's native language is also provided; bilingual education models include transitional, development and dual-language programs

Bilingualism - the ability to use two languages

CALP - acronym for cognitive/academic language proficiency; the language ability required for academic achievement

Castaneda v. Pickard - 1981 decision in the 5th Circuit Court establishing a three-pronged test for evaluating programs serving ELLs; accordingly schools must:

1. Base their program on educational theory recognized as sound or considered to be a legitimate experimental strategy
2. Implement the program with resources and personnel necessary to put the theory into practice, and
3. Evaluate programs and make adjustments where necessary to ensure that adequate progress is being made.

Communicative-Based ESL - an approach to teaching English as a second language (also referred to as the functional approach or communicative approach) based on the theory that language is acquired through exposure to meaningful and comprehensive messages, rather than being learned through the formal study of grammar and vocabulary; the goal of communicative-based ESL is communicative competence

Communicative Competence - ability to interact appropriately with others by knowing what to say, to whom, when, where, and how

Content-Based English as a second language - an approach to teaching English as a second language making use of instructional materials, learning tasks, and classroom techniques from academic content areas as the vehicle for developing language, content, cognitive and study skills; English is used as the medium of instruction

Dominant Language - the language with which the speaker has greatest proficiency and/or uses most often

Dual Language Program - also known as two-way immersion, development or two-way bilingual education; the program aims to develop language proficiency in two languages by putting two language groups together and delivering instruction through both languages; for example, in the US native English- speakers might learn Spanish as a foreign language while continuing to develop their English literacy skills and Spanish-speaking students might learn English while developing literacy in Spanish; the goal is for both groups to become bilingual

ELL - acronym for English language learners; students whose first language is not English and who are in the process of learning English

ESL - acronym for English as a second language; an academic discipline that is designed to teach English language learners social and academic language skills as well as the cultural aspects of the English language necessary to succeed in an academic environment; it involves teaching listening, speaking, reading and writing at appropriate developmental and proficiency levels with little or no use of the native language; courses of study must be carefully articulated K-12 and must be correlated to the PA Academic Standards for Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening; ESL program models include departmentalized, sheltered, intensive, pull-out and push-in

ESOL - acronym for English for speakers of other languages

Equal Education Opportunities Act of 1974 - a civil rights statute prohibiting states from denying equal educational opportunity to an individual on account of his or her race, color, sex or national origin; the statute specifically prohibits states from denying equal educational opportunity by the failure of an educational agency to take appropriate action to overcome language barriers that impede equal participation by its students in its instructional programs

Immersion Program - an approach to teaching language in which the target language is used exclusively to provide all instruction

Language Experience Approach - an approach to literacy development based on the idea that students can learn to write by dictating to the teacher what they already know and can express verbally, and that they can then read that which has been written

Lau v. Nichols - 1974 landmark Supreme Court ruing that identical education does not constitute equal education under the Civil Rights Act; school districts must take affirmative steps to overcome educational barriers faced by non-English speakers

LEP - acronym for limited English proficient; a term used to identify those students who have insufficient English to succeed in English-only classrooms

LEA - acronym for local education agency

Migrant Education - educational programs established mainly to meet the needs of children of farm laborers, who often face such challenges as poverty, poor health care, limited English proficiency, and the readjustments of moving often from school to school

Multilingualism - use of three or more languages

NABE - acronym for the National Association for Bilingual Education; an association of teachers, administrators, parents, policy makers and others concerned with securing educational equity for language minority students

NEP - acronym for non-English proficient

OBEMLA - acronym for the Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Languages Affairs in the US Department of Education established in 1974 by Congress to help school districts meet their responsibility to provide equal education opportunity to limited English proficient students

OCR - acronym for the Office for Civil Rights, US Department of Education; OCR has the responsibility for enforcing Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and investigates allegations of civil rights violations

PDE 3044 - Pennsylvania Department of Education form for school district annual report of services to ELLs

PSSA - acronym for the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment

PHLOTE - acronym for primary home language other than English

SEA - acronym for state educational agency

Structured Immersion - an approach to instruction in which students receive all of their subject matter instruction in their second language; the teacher uses a simplified form of the second language; students may use their native language in class, however, the teacher uses only the second language; the goal is to help minority language students acquire proficiency in English while at the same time achieving in content areas

TESOL - acronym for Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages; a professional association of teachers, administrators, researchers and others concerned with promoting scholarship, the dissemination of information and strengthening of instruction and research in the teaching of English to speakers of other languages and dialects

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 - prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance; Title VI regulatory requirements have been interpreted to prohibit denial of equal access to education because of language minority student's limited proficiency in English

TPR - acronym for total physical response; a language-learning approach based on the relationship between language and its physical representation or execution; emphasizes the use of physical activity for increasing meaningful learning opportunities and language retention; a TPR lesson involves a detailed series of consecutive actions accompanied by a series of commands or instructions given by the teacher while students respond by listening and performing the appropriate actions