Action Research Project Paper Ell

Running head: ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS 1
Action Research Project: Helping English Language Learners Succeed
Daisy Lopez
Pepperdine Graduate School of Education
Dr. Dawn Hendricks

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Part 1: Introduction………………………………………………………………….. 3
Background………………………………………………………………….. 3
Setting……………………………………………………………………….. 4
Problem…………………………………………………………………….... 4
Purpose Statement…………………………………………………………… 5
Overarching Question………………………………………………………. 5
Research Question………………………………………………………….. 5
Importance of Study……………………………………………………….... 6
Definition of Key Terms…………………………………………………….. 6
Ethical Plan………………………………………………………………….. 6
Methodology Overview……………………………………………………… 7
Part II: PAR Cycle Stories……………………………………………………………. 8
Cycle One Story………………………………………………………………. 8
Research Questions…………………………………………………………… 9
Literature Review…………………………………………………………...… 9
Actions Taken………………………………………………………………… 14
Measurement of Actions……………………………………………………… 16
Outcomes……………………………………………………………………... 16
Key Learnings………………………………………………………………… 18
Cycle Two Story………………………………………………………………. 18
Actions Taken………………………………………………………………… 22
Outcomes……………………………………………………………………... 24
Key Learnings………………………………………………………………… 25
Cycle Three Story…………………………………………………………….. 25
Actions Taken………………………………………………………………… 27
Outcomes……………………………………………………………………... 28
Key Learnings………………………………………………………………… 29
Part III: Discussion of Study Findings, Conclusions, Implications and Recommendations 29
Discussion of Study Findings………………………………………………… 30
Conclusions…………………………………………………………………... 30
Implications and Recommendations…………………………………………. 31
Part IV: Leadership Learning and Leading Change………………………………….. 32
Leadership Learning………………………………………………………….. 32
Leading Change Learning…………………………………………………….. 32
Part V: Summary
References…………………………………………………………………….. 34
Appendix………………………………………………………………………. 38
Part I: Introduction
Background
My Participatory Action Research (PAR) topic has been one that has always caught my
interest. It was not difficult for me to decide to focus on English Language Learners (ELLs).
Since working in school settings for the past eleven years now, either as a teacher’s assistant,
after school tutor, behavior therapist, and now school counselor the opportunities of working
with ELL has been numerous. Throughout this time, it was evident that ELLs have always
struggled to keep up with their peers. While in the classrooms being able to observe the different
teaching styles and strategies that teachers used while working with ELL students has been an
eye-opening experience for me. During those observations, it became apparent that some
strategies worked for ELLs and others did not.
After having several conversations with various teachers regarding how they teach ELLs
it was obvious that teaching them was not as easy as people may think. It also made me realize
that there is a high need to look for ways on how to help ELLs. English Language Learners
should not be placed on the back burner, and instead, they should become a priority. They are
slowly becoming a majority group, and it would be in our best interest as educators to make sure
that improvements are being made for ELLs, such as in the ways they are being taught.
I have experienced firsthand how difficult it is to be an ELL and how important it is to
have great teachers that use different strategies and are comfortable with teaching ELLs. My
teachers were not that effective, and it has hindered my writing and reading levels. If my teachers
had been better prepared and there had been more resources for me to use I would not have
struggled as much as I have. I would like to find a way to make it easier for ELLs to learn so that
they do not have to encounter the issues that I had to deal with as a previous ELL student.
Setting
This study was conducted at XYZ Middle School located in the San Fernando Valley
where I was a school counseling intern. At this school, Hispanics/ Latinos make up 95% of the
student population. Looking at previous records, it was evident that the percentage of English
Language Learners has increased by 2% from the 2011-2012 school year to the 2015-2016. The
current percentage of ELL at this school site is 28% (California Department of Education, 2017).
Some of the people that collaborated with me during the time of this study were six teachers and
six students that were classified as ELLs.
Problem Statement
English Language Learners are not being taught as effectively as they should be. For
example, the strategies that are being used in the classrooms could use improvements. ELLs
make up a significant portion of California public school students. In California, a total of
2,664,921 students (English Language Learners and Fluent English Proficient) speak a language
other than English at home. English Language Learners and Fluent English Proficient students
represent about 42.8 % of the state's public-school enrollment. Most English Learners (73%) are
enrolled in primary school, kindergarten through sixth grade. The rest (27%) are enrolled in the
secondary school, seventh through twelfth (California Department of Education, 2017).
There are several studies that have been conducted, and results demonstrate “that
teachers’ prior and present experiences, as well as their values and beliefs, greatly influence their
instructional decisions and practices” (Peter, Markham, & Frey, 2012, p. 305). The strategies that
are implemented in the classrooms with ELL has a lot to do with how successful the students are
compared to the English Only (EO) students. Valentino and Reardon (2015) state, “on average,
English Learners (ELs) perform far worse than non-EL on academic tests” (p. 612). However,
there is minimal information on which strategies being used by teachers are helping ELL succeed
in their academics. Therefore, a need exists to find out what strategies being used by teachers are
proven to be the most beneficial for ELL. Being that the percentages of English Language
Learners are still too high, I planned to focus my PAR project on the school site where I was a
school counseling intern since a quarter of the students there are ELL students.
Purpose Statement
The purpose of my PAR project was to investigate what strategies were being
implemented in the classrooms to promote success amongst ELL at XYZ Middle School as it
relates to academic achievement in all subject areas. Qualitative data was gathered through
interviews and observations that involved ELLs and ELL educators at XYZ Middle School.
Quantitative data was measured by academic grades and pre-and post-surveys.
Research Question
What are some of the strategies being used in the classroom, if any, to promote success
amongst English Language Learners at XYZ Middle School as it relates to their academic
achievement across all subject areas?
Importance of Study
I believe that the stakeholders at XYZ Middle School can benefit from this study and use
the outcomes as a guide to make necessary changes at their school site. This study adds more
specifics on strategies that have already been included in previous literature as being effective.
This study is compelling now because the number of ELLs in the school systems keeps growing,
and we need to be able to fit their needs so that they become successful students.
Definition of Key Terms
 English-language learners, or ELLs, are students who are unable to communicate
fluently or learn effectively in English, who often come from non-English-speaking
homes and backgrounds, and who typically require specialized or modified instruction in
both the English language and in their academic courses (The Glossary of Education
Reform, 2013).
 English Only Students, those students whose primary language is English (The Glossary
of Education Reform, 2013).
 TESOL, stands for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages and encompasses
what used to be called TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) and TESL
(Teaching English as a Second Language) (TESOL-direct, 2015).
Ethical Plan
To begin my PAR project, I explained the concept of study to the administrator at XYZ
Middle School. Once I explained it to her and she saw that it could benefit the students and staff
at her site she gave me permission to get started. I was fortunate to only need her approval since
this specific site was a charter school and they tend to have more freedom when it comes to
certain things such as school projects being conducted. Parent consent forms were given to the
students that participated in the study to reduce any potential risk factors. The student’s names
are not used and instead will be referred to as letters to protect their identity. The students were
also reminded of the confidentiality agreement at the start of every group and individual session.
Some of the methods included in this study were surveys, interviews, and observations. During
this process, I made sure to follow guidelines that are used to make sure that I did everything in a
professional and ethical manner.

Methodology Overview
My PAR project was a qualitative study that consisted of pre and post surveys,
interviews, observations, looking at grades on transcripts, and reflection journal analysis. The
same methods were used through out the three cycles. During the first cycle, the focus was on
what strategies teachers were using and how ELLs felt about learning English. For cycle two, the
focus was on the role school counselors play and how they can help ELL students succeed. The
reason it was decided to focus more on counselors was because I had just started my new
position as a High School counselor. I also realized that I needed to help students build more
self-confidence because of the results I had gathered during cycle one, even though it had been
conducted at a different school site. All the students I was working with were lacking confidence
in themselves and I wanted to help them build that confidence while completing cycle two.
Although my participants were different due to the change in settings I have noticed that most
ELL students do need to develop more confidence in themselves; therefore, the students I
worked with during cycles two and three benefited from my PAR project. For cycle three, my
aim was to help ELLs increase their feelings of belongingness and inclusiveness by developing a
peer tutor system with EO students.
Part II: PAR Cycle Stories
PAR Cycle One Story
At XYZ Middle School, like at many other schools, there is a need to improve how ELL
students are being taught. It seems that many teachers and administrators forget that the
strategies being used in the classrooms might not work for all students. It is not a one size fits all.
It is also important to keep in mind that when working in schools there is always room for
improvement and we must improve the way ELL are being taught so that they can become
successful students.
Research questions. Four research questions guided this action research cycle:
 How can we improve the strategies being used with ELL at XYZ so that they become
more effective and help narrow the achievement gap between ELL and EO students?
● What are some of the strategies being used in the classrooms to teach English Language
Learners?
● How qualified are the teachers that are teaching English Language Learners?
● How do ELL students feel about how they are being taught in their classrooms?
Literature Review. For cycle one of PAR, twelve sources were collected to complete
cycle one table (Table 1A, See Appendix). There were several sources that had information
about ELLs. Six themes were noted during this time and they are as follows: TESOL,
Teacher Collaboration, Strategies Used in the Classroom, Professional Development, Getting
to Know Students, and Teacher Preparation.
Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL):
Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) certifications are offered
through various schools and institutes. Teachers who take the courses and pass them become
TESOL certified. These courses are designed to prepare teachers to use effective techniques
when teaching ELL. It is important to consider not just the teachers that are getting certified but
also the professors that are teaching these courses, “University faculty members who teach
TESOL endorsement courses thus are challenged to impact to the greatest extent possible
teachers’ attitudes, beliefs, and practices while being attuned to teachers’ needs, level of
education, work setting, and motivations” (Peter et al., 2012, p. 305). The professors that are
teaching the courses should be knowledgeable and have an understanding that what they teach is
important and their students are in high demand since there are not too many TESOL certified
teachers. According to DelliCarpini and Alonso (2014), “While the U.S. government mandates
ESL and/or bilingual education services, most ELL spend most of the school day in mainstream
classrooms with teachers who are often unprepared to work with them” (p. 156). When this kind
of information is given, it raises some real concerns. If teachers are not properly trained, then
they will not be as efficient and ELL will be the ones having trouble with their academics.
Also, research revealed that those who had training with working with ELL had a more
positive perspective about teaching them than those who did not have such previous training
(Youngs & Youngs, 2001, as cited in DelliCarpini & Alonso, 2014). When teachers are trained
properly their expectations for their students become higher again knowledge is the key to
successful teachers. Furthermore, Buxton et al. (2012) argue that “one critical component of
teachers’ knowledge that guides instructional decision making is a better understanding of how
students use language in the classroom, and how this language use aligns with the content-area
language used in the academic discipline being taught” (p. 348). We also must recognize that all
teachers are responsible for teaching ELL how to write (Andrei, Ellerbe & Cherner, 2015).
Strategies Used in the Classroom:
The way strategies are implemented when teaching curriculum could make big difference
when teaching ELLs. Teachers need to be able to choose the strategies that best fit their ELL
needs (Bolos, 2012). If students already have basic knowledge of their first language it will be
easier for them to learn a second language (Valentino & Reardon, 2015). Teachers should keep
in mind that, “only a limited number of words can be directly taught, it is critical to choose those
that will be the most broadly useful and the most applicable to content learning” (Nisbet &
Tindall, 2015).
Also, there has been evidence that using both languages can be promising for positive
student outcomes. For example, in a previous study “teachers integrated the use of both English
and Spanish vocabulary within science teaching, including word walls and in daily lessons when
introducing new science words or other descriptor words used in science” (Johnson et al., 2016,
p. 484) and that resulted favorably for ELL. Furthermore, “needing multiple exposures to a word,
learners must actively engage in meaningful, contextualized practice involving speaking,
listening, reading and writing” (Nisbet & Tindall, 2015, p. 77). ELL teachers should make sure
that what they are teaching makes sense and that they too are using language that can be learned
by students yet challenge them as well. Gamez and Lesaux (2015) study “provides evidence in
support of increasing teachers’ use of sophisticated vocabulary in classrooms as potentially
promising way to support the reading comprehension skills of early adolescents” (p. 456). Nisbet
and Tindall (2015) stated that, “Research findings indicate that vocabulary instruction for ELLs
must be intentional, systematic, and rigorous” (p. 80).
Collaboration in the classroom amongst students is helpful for ELLs because it is an
opportunity where they can teach one another, and the teacher is not the only one teaching the
class (Johnson et al., 2016). This strategy seems to be successful because it promotes self-
confidence for ELLs. Another strategy that was noted was modeling, such as, “teaching the steps
of the writing process (i.e. brainstorming ideas, organizing, looking at models, editing) and
employing same strategies they use for struggling students such as repetition” (Andrei et al.,
2015). Moreover, Bolos (2012) suggested that teachers reading aloud is beneficial for students
because the teachers are modeling the process of reading. Good teachers need to be cognizant of
when adjustments need to be made for ELL “teachers tailoring rubrics for their ELL to
accommodate for the language innovations and minor mistakes ELL make” (Andrei et al., 2015)
has been quite effective. Lastly, the more tools teachers utilize the easier it will be for their ELL
to learn new words (Bolos, 2012).
Teacher Collaboration:
When it comes to teaching, working together has been known to be a positive thing,
“teacher collaboration refers to the activities ranging from informal discussions about shared
students to highly structured and formalized co-teaching models” (DelliCarpini & Alonso, 2014,
p.160). Teachers who work with their colleagues seem to have a clearer understanding of
specific goals that need to be met. In addition, setting similar expectations of content for all
science classrooms can in return benefit ELLs (Johnson, Bolshakova &Waldron, 2016).
Moreover, DelliCarpini and Alonso (2014) found that “ELLs and their teachers benefit when
collaborative practices exist” (p. 160). They also stated that “this eliminates the “sink or swim”
effect that both content and ESL teachers can encounter when they are required to teach in
isolation” (p. 160). Lastly, when teachers work together “they make progress in sharing ideas,
professionalism, and risk taking” (Johnson et al., 2016, p.497).
Professional Development:
Professional development is an important part of teaching ELLs and a book club can be a
great source of Professional Development (Andrei et al., 2015). Professional Development (PD)
meetings usually consist of one or two main people leading the meeting, but in a book, club
setting all that are present can participate. It is also a less informal way of a PD meeting which
can create a feeling of comfort making sharing for teachers more feasible.
There was also another form of PD mentioned in the sources known as Transformative
Professional Development (TPD) which focuses on student achievement, teacher quality and
school climate (Johnson et al., 2016, p. 481). Johnson et al. (2016) study found that “TPD did
empower teacher participants to overcome many of the barriers through their collective network
established through the professional learning community that was built as a part of the
relationship component of the program, TPD teachers supported each other to overcome
challenges of closing schools, shifting district boundaries, and teacher mobility in the midst of
the program” (p. 505).
I have noticed that PD meetings are an essential component to school staff success and it
is important to make sure that these meetings include different types of PD strategies and remain
relevant. For example, one of the sources mentioned “Systematic Functional Linguistics (SFL) a
theory that promotes that linguistics should be learned through context of culture and context of
situation” (Schulze, 2015, p.112). This would be a great topic to include in a PD meeting but,
according to Schulze (2015), not all teachers have enough knowledge of SFL to include it into
teacher preparation or professional development programs. SFL could be a good theory to apply
with ELL.
Getting to Know Students:
As simple as it may sound teachers and other school staff does not always take the time
to get to know their students even though it would be beneficial for ELL students’ success. For
instance, teachers realized that ELL are a unique group of learners that bring their experiences
into their learning (Andrei et al., 2015). In addition, “allowing students to speak about language
in ways that highlight tensions they experience in schools is a critical step toward transforming
language and literacy ideologies youth may have” (Martinez & Montano, 2016, p. 212). One of
the participants in a study acknowledged how important is to integrate cultures and build rapport
with students when teaching (Johnson et al., 2016). Finally, “when teachers value the home
languages of their students, strengthens the linguistic identities of their learners” (Bolos, 2012).
Teacher Preparedness:
It was important for me to separate the TESOL topic from Teacher Preparedness because
the information about TESOL was more specific. The Teacher Preparedness theme that I will be
discussing here is more general.
DelliCarpini and Alonso (2014) believe that “the achievement gap, in part is a result of
issues related to the preparation of content-area teachers who spend much of the day working
with students for whom they have little to no preparation” (p. 158). Many of the ELL spend their
time in mainstream classrooms. There are teachers who are not at fault for not being prepared to
teach ELL. Sometimes administrators are the ones placing ELL students in classrooms where
they should not. However, Andrei et al (2015), states “it is imperative more attention be given to
supporting teachers’ understanding of how to teach writing” (p. 3). Teachers are given the
responsibility to be prepared to teach ELL not only how to write but to read and speak as well.
As noted by Schulze (2015), “teachers increased knowledge of language facilitates the
construction of language focused instruction to support the academic literacy development of
English Language Learners” (p. 109). Teachers that are prepared to teach ELL play a very
important role in their students’ over all academic success.
Actions Taken. Interviews were set up with the teachers that had agreed to part of my
PAR project. The six teachers with questions such as: Are there any PD meetings on strategies to
use when teaching English Language Learners? How often and are they helpful? How long have
you been teaching English Language Learners? (See Appendix B) During the interviews, the
interviewer was writing down their responses and included follow up questions so that there
could be more information to gather.
After interviewing the teachers, the facilitator met up with the six students individually
and spoke to them about their grades and explained to them the purpose of my PAR project. The
next step was to set up a time to meet with the students in a group setting and handed out pre-and
post-surveys during those sessions that were later analyzed. The facilitator met with the six
students as a group twice a week for ten weeks, during those times she would ask them to share
any difficulties that they are having in class due to the lack of English proficiency. During the
first meeting, a pre-survey was given and at the last meeting a post survey that included
statements that could be answered using a Likert scale (See Appendix C). For example, I am
comfortable with asking teachers for help. It would help if I were taught in Spanish and English.
The one on one sessions with the students were once a week at the end of the week so
that they could give me feedback about the previous group sessions that had happened previously
in that week. The facilitator also took this time to discuss their grades and what they would like
more help with or what had worked for them that they have been learning from being part of my
PAR project.
The facilitator also made time to observe all six teachers while they taught ELL students
in their classrooms and took notes during the observations. The facilitator went into the
classrooms of the six teachers twice a week for seven weeks and stayed there for two hours each
visit to make observations and took notes then wrote reflections based on my notes. While the
was observing she would focus on things such as: Are students given enough time to provide
feedback when asked questions? What kind of strategies are they using to teach their ELL
students? (See Appendix D)
Measurement of Actions. For the teacher interviews, the interviewer began to look at
any similarities between the teachers answers and making notes of those answers. As for the
classroom observations, she wrote down some of the trends that seemed to appear in all the
classrooms that she had observed and coded them, she also noted some of the strategies that
seemed to work with the ELL students and those that did not seem to be as efficient.
When it comes to student group sessions, the facilitator would also write down what was
discussed during those sessions. She also compared the pre-and post-surveys and looked for any
differences in their responses and tallied those and made a bar graph to demonstrate the pre and
then post survey answers. Regarding the individual sessions, she looked at the students’
transcripts to see if there were any grade changes whether positive or negative over the time of
my PAR project. She also used that time to ask students how they felt about the topics that we
had been discussing in the group sessions and asked them for ideas on future topics for the
following group sessions
Outcomes. The teacher interviews revealed that the teachers would like to have more PD
meetings that included strategies to use to better assist ELLs and to collaborate more often with
one another. An interesting outcome was that four out of the six teachers did not feel comfortable
teaching ELL students because of the lack of support and necessary tools. The classroom
observations showed me that working in pairs on in groups is beneficial for ELL students, and
that is one of the most used strategies in the classrooms. It was also evident that allowing ELL
students more time to respond to questions was a great strategy being used. Another thing that I
noticed was that teachers need to take some time to build rapport with students to figure out what
specific strategies best fits their needs.
The facilitator enjoyed the group sessions because during those gatherings she was able
to build more rapport with the students, and she was also able to find out what they all seemed to
have in common. One of the things they had in common was that they all needed to increase
confidence in themselves. The lack of confidence was holding them all back from their true
potential. Most of them mentioned that they were often embarrassed to ask their teachers for help
when they needed it. After analyzing the pre and post-surveys, the facilitator did notice that there
were some positive changes in the students’ responses to the question I am comfortable with
asking teachers for help. On the re-survey only one student “I Agree” to being comfortable with
asking teachers for help and five students’ selected “I Disagree” in the options that were given in
the survey (See Figure 1). I was happy to see that in the post-surveys the number of students
feeling comfortable asking teachers for help had increased (See Figure 2).
Figure 1 (Pre-Survey)
I am comfortable with asking teachers for help
Students comfortable with asking teachers for help

Students not comfortable with asking teachers for help
Figure 2 (Post-Survey)
I am comfortable with asking Teachers for help
Students comfortable with asking teachers for help

Students not comfortable with asking teachers for help
As for the individual sessions, she looked over the student’s transcripts and three of them
had raised their grades in one class or more. She was very happy to see that their grades were
improving, and she was determined to help the other three students improve their grades as well.
Key Learnings. After completing my first cycle the facilitator learned that teachers
would like more help when it comes to teaching ELLs effectively. The strategies that they use
are very common, but there is still a need to use new strategies to target different types of
learners. She was also reminded how crucial it is to get student feedback to better serve our
students and their suggestions can make a world of difference. She also realized that we must
encourage our students and have them build confidence in themselves. She planned to focus the
next cycle on how school counselors can help ELL students because it is not just about teachers
who are teaching them and how it should be a collaborative effort.
PAR Cycle Two Story
The setting for cycle two was different from the one where she was conducting cycle one
because she recently cleared her school counseling credential and was fortunate to find a school
counseling job soon after. She was happy to finally start the career that she had been working so
hard for although it meant that she had to come up with ways to start my project right away at a
completely different site. It was very stressful for her, but Dr. Hendricks was very supportive and
offered suggestions so that she would be able to continue the PAR project at her new job site.
PAR cycle two was conducted at ABC High School located in the Antelope Valley area. It is a
charter school with an independent study system that was established by a nonprofit
organization. The facilitator had brought up the PAR project during her interview, and the
Principal and the other interview panel members seemed very interested in it. At the previous
site, she only needed the Principal’s approval which she got right away. She did give the
participants parent consent forms to those who were underage.
For cycle two, she decided to focus on how school counselors can help ELL students
succeed and more specifically how to help them become more confident in themselves. After
finishing cycle one, she noticed that the ELLs that she was working with had low confidence
levels that were hindering their success as students. She kept thinking about ELL students that
she had worked with in the previous years as a teacher’s assistant and as an after-school tutor and
came to the realization that all of them had low confidence levels. Therefore, any ELL student
would benefit from a project that was intended to help increase those confidence levels. Rather
than repeating what she did during the first cycle at the new site she decided to continue what she
had intended to do at the old site.
Research Questions. There were two research questions that guided my cycle two:
 What can school counselors do to help English Language Learners succeed?
 How qualified are school counselors to fulfill the needs of English Language Learners?
Literature Review. There were a total of five additonal sources for cycle two and there
were three themes that emerged Confidence/Self-efficacy, Advocacy, and Effective
Communication.
Confidence/Self-Efficacy:
ELL students can benefit academically, socially, and emotionally from increasing their
self-confidence. According to Bessman, Carr, and Grimes (2013), school counselors can build
student confidence and self-motivation both emotionally and academically by using individual
counseling. In addition, Cook (2015) suggests that another way school counselors can increase
self-esteem is by “encouraging student participation and leadership in storytelling” (p.13).
School counselors can also invite successful ELL high school graduates to speak to current high
school students to contradict negative perspectives on ELL academic achievements that would
also help student’s self-efficacy (Cook, Perusse & Rojas, 2015). Another way to assist students
with building confidence would be to focus on student success and celebrate it when it happens
(Cook, Perusse & Rojas, 2015). Lastly, Bondie, Gaughran and Zusho (2014), believe that
establishing discussion routines helps ELL become comfortable with asking questions without
feeling embarrassed.
Advocacy:
One of the first things that school counselors are taught are that they need to advocates
for their students especially for those that are underserved. Cook, Perusse and Rojas (2015)
argued that “professional school counselors can serve as mentors and advocates in encouraging
academic success” (p.15). Furthermore, they believe that counselors should work with teachers
to ensure that ELL students have access to advance and college preparatory courses. In addition,
school counselors can advocate for ELL students by informing them about alternative testing
options to accommodate their needs (Bessman, Carr & Grimes, 2013). They also suggest that
school counselors should recommend any other necessary interventions that ELL students may
need to improve their academic achievements. “Consequently, it is within the school counselor’s
purview to support the academic needs of ELL students” (Cook, 2015, p. 6). School counselors
should make sure that all students have what they need to be able to reach their highest academic
potential (Cook, 2015). If school counselors advocate for equal access for ELL students they can
help close the achievement gap (Cook, Perusse & Rojas, 2015, p.28). In addition, data can be
used by school counselors to identify current achievement challenges for ELL students and take
action to close that gap (Johnson, Ziomek-Daigle, Haskins & Paisley, 2017).
Effective Communication:
Effective communication can be considered a key factor in helping ELL students succeed
not just in school but in life in general. Bessman, Carr and Grimes (2013), suggest that schools
should reach out to the families of ELL students so that a system can be placed where the
interaction is “genuine and effective” to better serve students. They also state that by having this
communication between school and home the students and their families can learn more about
resources that are out there that can benefit them. For example, Cook (2015) mentions that
school counselors can help with linking ELL students with community enrichment activities that
can help these students further develop their hobby’s or talents. School counselors can encourage
students to find out “what education means to them and their family” (Cook, Perusse & Rojas,
2015, p.10). If school counselors give ELL students the opportunity to include family values in
the college planning process then it increases that feeling of connection between school and
home (Cook, Perusse & Rojas, 2015). Providing workshops about educational opportunities
where parents can attend have been noted to increase college attendance amongst ELL students
(Johnson, Ziomek-Daigle, Haskins & Paisley, 2017). It is important that school counselors
“maintain relationships with families and community members” (Cook, Perusse & Rojas, 2015,
p.26).
Actions Taken. The facilitator started out by talking to one of the other counselors at the
site and she explained her PAR project, and he immediately became a “critical friend”. She
asked him to be one of my participants for my project, and he agreed. She also reached out to
three other counselors at one of our other sites that who also agreed. She interviewed the four
counselors on a one-on-one basis and there was a total of five open ended questions (See
Appendix E).
Her critical friend was also able to direct me to the ELL teacher on campus. When she
met her, she described my project and she thought it was wonderful. She then asked her for
names of six students whom she thought would benefit from being part of my PAR and she
pointed out those that had been struggling the most. The reason she asked for six students was
because that was a good number to work with and she had noticed that during the cycle one
phase. She did not want too many students so that during the group sessions everyone had
enough time to participate. The fact that there were not many students in the sessions seemed to
make students more comfortable when sharing their thoughts or ideas. She gave her eight names
in case any of them declined. Which one of the students did kindly decline being part of the
project because she had just gotten a part time job that required most of her free time.
The facilitator started off by talking to each student’s supervising teacher and they helped
get in touch with each student. She set up meetings with each student individually and explained
to them the PAR project. Most of the time she was explaining to them in Spanish and let them
know that they could ask her any questions or concerns they had about participating in my
project. She was fortunate that only one of the students kindly declined and she asked the next
student that was on my list of names that was provided by the ELL teacher on campus. That
student agreed and she had all her participants ready to get started.
Once she had her focus group just like she did in cycle one, she met up with them twice a
week and gave them pre-survey during the first session and post survey during the last session
that could be answered using a Likert scale (See Appendix F). During the session she would
have the students do activities that would help them with self-efficacy. For example, she had the
students write down what their favorite subject in school was and why? Then, they would share
their answers with the rest of us. This activity was focused on their strengths and that made the
students feel good about themselves. It also gave her the opportunity to find out what subjects
they enjoyed the most and was able to guide me towards the direction of the future sessions. At
the end of each session we would have an open conversation about what they enjoyed about the
activity and how the activity made them feel.

She also met with the students one-on-one just like she had done with the students in the
first cycle. When she met with them she looked over their grades and asked them how she could
help them in those courses in which they had been having the most difficulty in. During these
meetings, the students and her would come up with weekly goals that could help them boost their
confidence. For example, one student had a weekly goal to choose a book and read a certain
number of pages to me every time we would meet. She also asked for feedback regarding the
sessions that we had been having and asked them for suggestions for the next topic to be
discussed in our group session. The one-on-one sessions were very important to me because that
was when the students would open up the most about what they have been struggling with and
would ask her to help them.
Measurement of Actions. For the counselor interviews, She looked for similarities in
their responses and coded them to make it clearer for data analysis. As for the focus group
sessions, she did what she had done in cycle one which was write down what topics had been
brought up by the students and some of their comments and responses. She also compared the
pre- and post- surveys looked for any differences and tallied their responses and made a graph to
demonstrate the results. For the individual sessions, she looked over the student’s transcripts and
checked for any grade changes just like she had done during cycle one. She also decided to
complete a reflection and journal analysis during cycle two since it seemed to help me out a lot
when she completed cycle one.
Outcomes. The school counselor interviews disclosed that there have not been any
PD meetings that included strategies to use when advising ELL students. It was also evident that
school counselors are not sure who to reach out to when extra support is needed to advise ELLs.
The focus group sessions revealed that students all liked when they had things in common because
they felt part of group and started to become friends. The surveys suggested students had a more
positive outlook on school counselors after the sessions they attended with me. Another positive
outcome was that students became more comfortable with asking their classmates for help which
she felt could relate back to the confidence level increase in each of them. Figure 3 (below)
Asking Classmates for Help

4.5
3.5
2.5
1.5
0.5
0
Pre-Survey Post-Survey
Comfortable Not Comfortable
After looking over transcripts, she saw grade improvements in four out of the six students
in the focus group and no change in the other two participants. The facilitator was glad that
students’ grades were improving.
Key Learnings. Now that she completed cycle two, she realized how much of a positive
impact having self-confidence can make on student achievement amongst ELL students. She also
learned that school counselors would like some more guidance on how to advise ELLs. With
proper training school counselors can give the ELLs the best options so that they can become not
just successful students, but successful in all other areas of their lives. The facilitator also noticed
that confidence lead to socializing more and how the focus group became closer and closer as the
weeks went on. It was as though they all developed this feeling of belongingness which can have
a positive effect on students. For cycle three, She planned to focus on how school counselors can
increase the feeling of inclusiveness of ELLs with English Only students.
PAR Cycle Three Story
The purpose of cycle three was to find out if the feelings of inclusiveness had any effect
on ELLs academic achievements. It was also aimed to find if there were any positive differences
when ELLs had peer tutors. Since the purpose of this project was to figure out ways to help
ELLs succeed narrowing it down to inclusiveness and peers seemed like a good idea.
Research Questions. There were two research questions that guided my cycle three:
 How can we make English Language Learners feel more included with English Only
students?
 Does having a peer tutor have a positive impact on English Language Learners?
Literature Review. Six additional sources for cycle three were reviewed and there were
two themes that were evident, Inclusiveness and Cultural Awareness.
Inclusiveness:
Many ELLs are placed in mainstem classrooms and have trouble not just learning a new
language, but also worry about fitting in (Holmes, Rutledge & Gauthier, 2009). Smilan (2017),
suggests that one of the ways to promote collaborative learning is to facilitate small group
activities. Group work allows ELLs to practice listening, speaking, reading, and writing
(Holmes, Rutledge & Gauthier, 2009). Another strategy to use to make ELLs feel included is
peer tutoring which in return can reap positive benefits, Bowman-Perrot, DeMarin, Mahadevan,
and Etchells (2016) believe that peer tutoring increases written and language abilities. Moreover,
“cross-age and same-age peer tutoring as well as cooperative and competitive tutoring
arrangements seem to be beneficial for ELLs” (Bowman-Perrot, DeMarin, Mahadevan &

Etchells, 2016, p. 378). When learning a second language peers are important because they spend
a considerable amount of time with one another (Huang, Eslami & Hu, 2010). If teachers
perceive nonnative speakers’ knowledge as an opportunity to add to the curriculum not only will
ELLs feel included, but EO students would also gain knowledge (Holmes, Rutledge & Gauthier,
2009). They mention that “they bring a wealth of experiences, knowledge of vocabulary
concepts, and hopes and dreams to the classroom” (p.287). In addition, having social support
from teachers and peers can have a positive impact on students’ academics (Huang, Eslami, &
Hu, 2016). In a study, conducted by Huang, Eslami and Hu (2016) “results suggested that a
warm and accepting relationship between the teacher and students is important in facilitating
language learning” (p.36).
Cultural Awareness:
If teachers are empathetic when teaching diverse populations, they can come up with
ways to make it easier for students to adapt in mainstream classrooms (Zhang, 2016). Holmes,
Rutledge and Gauthier (2009) note that “less visible than language and race are the differences in
home cultures and prior experiences that shape the thoughts and language of each student”
(p.285). If ELLs are not integrated correctly into mainstream culture it can hinder their academic
success (Gaines, 2015). Smilan (2017), notes that “Well designed art curriculum can embrace,
and thus alleviate “otherness” helping students and teachers expand their visual vocabulary and
cultural empathy” (p. 223). She adds, that if we learn about other peoples values we can develop
a better sense of who they are (Smilan, 2017). Teachers that work with ELL should be exposed
to various cultures so that they can become more effective when teaching them (Smilan, 2017).
For example, ELLs and EO can learn literacy practices from other cultures giving everyone an
opportunity to feel like they are the teachers (Holmes, Rutledge & Gauthier, 2009). Culture and
language go hand in hand they are also important factors in a student’s life (Holmes, Rutledge &
Gauthier, 2009).
Actions Taken. To begin cycle three the facilitator approached the lead English teacher
and asked her if she would nominate students that she felt would make great peer tutors. At first
the peer tutors were going to be known as a buddy system, but that sounded more for elementary
level. After speaking to Dr. Hendricks, they were then referred to as peer mentors, but after
careful consideration mentors sounded so “above” others and in the end peer tutors was what the
EO students were known as. It took the English lead teacher about a week to come up with the
list of students she thought would be good tutors for the ELLs that had been participating in
cycle two. There was a total of ten names on the list that was given. After two weeks of reaching
out to students either in person or via phone, there finally were six that agreed and four that had
declined. It was fine because only six were needed since there were only six ELLs participating
in the PAR project.
The ELLs were introduced to their peer tutors for the first time in one of the group
sessions that were still happening twice a week for an hour each session. The EO peer tutors
were also attending the groups sessions, but they only had to attend one session instead of two.
The group meetings that were at the beginning of the week was when only the ELLs attended
and the session towards the end of the week was the one where both ELLs and EO students were
required to attend. During the sessions where only the ELLs attended was when the facilitator
asked the students what they would like their peer tutors to help them with and it included
academics and social skills. Once the sessions where all students attended the facilitator would
ask the peer tutors to help their ELL friend out. The peer tutors started to spend time with the
ELLs during class time and also outside of class time. ELLs were interviewed by the facilitator
at the end of the cycle regarding their feelings of how they felt about having a peer tutor (See
Appendix G). The next step was to interview the school counselors that were participating in
PAR project. The interview had questions about inclusiveness of ELLs and school culture (See
Appendix H).
Measurement of Actions. Observation notes were taken during all group sessions by the
facilitator and tallied anytime the same topics would come up. The interviews with the ELLs
were looked over and checked for similar answers and coded. As for the school counselor
interviews those were reviewed and were also coded based on similarities. Cycle three did not
include pre or post surveys because the facilitator wanted to find a deeper meaning based on
interview questions that were open ended versus pre and post surveys that only include options
in a Likert scale system. The transcripts of all six ELL participants were viewed at both the
beginning and the end of cycle three.
Outcomes. Some of the topics that were mentioned often during the group sessions were
how to make friends, how difficult schoolwork was, family, and things they liked to do for fun.
There were many times where students would mention how hard it was to make friends
especially with the EO students because of language barriers. Student A, stated that “Student H
(peer tutor) has been helping me make new friends and even translating a lot for me.” Student B
mentioned that it was “really hard to get work done, I don’t understand some of it.” The concept
of family was brought up at every single session whether it was about something that was
happening at home or if it had to do with school. Many of them started bonding over similar
hobbies that they had this was amongst all the ELLS and EO students. The facilitator wanted to
make sure that everyone felt included and comfortable in the group.
The results of the ELL interviews revealed that five out of the six students enjoyed
having a peer tutor and the one that did not, said they would have liked to spend more time with
their peer tutor like some of the others students did. It was interesting to see that all six ELLs felt
that school staff and peers should try more to make them feel included. The school counselor
interviews showed that all feel that they should come up with more activities that promote
collaboration between ELL’s and EO students and that more needs to be done to create cultural
awareness. One of the counselors said, “I want to start developing a peer tutor program like the
one you created.” After comparing the transcripts from the start of the project to the end of cycle
three all six students had demonstrated an increased grade letter in at least one subject area or
more.
Key Learnings. After completing cycle three, it was evident that peer tutors did have a
positive impact on ELLs. Both the ELLs and the EO peer tutors seemed to enjoy each other’s
company and at the same time helped and learned from on another. It was also clear that school
counselors should pay more attention to how they can help ELLs feel more included and that
their cultures are being acknowledged. They must also try and become more culturally aware and
pass on that knowledge to their colleagues. The ELL students were happy to see that their grades
were improving and the facilitator made sure to celebrate and commend them for their hard
work.
Part III: Discussion of Study Findings, Conclusions, Implications, and Recommendations
Discussion of Study Findings
For cycle one, I started out by focusing on the strategies that teachers use with ELLs.
Bolos (2012) mentioned the importance of teachers choosing the best strategies to use to fulfill
students needs. While conducting the PAR project it became clearer how important it is for all
school staff to learn about different types of strategies. This led me to cycle two where school
counselors were involved and how we need to advocate for our ELL students. School counselors
are advocates for student academic achievement (Cook, Perusse & Rojas, 2015). I then moved
on to cycle three where creating schools that make everyone feel included and that their cultures
are also welcomed is so important to ELLs success. Cook (2015) emphasizes on the fact that
school counselors can be those key players that link the students with the community resources.
Making sure that ELLs have resources to help them can have positive effect on their school and
community experience.
Conclusions
ELL students can be very successful if given the right tools and attentiveness from school
staff. Using peer tutors or groups sessions are great ways for ELLs to gain confidence and feel
included. Terrell and Lindsey (2009) argue that students and educators may treat each other
differently because of not having enough similar experiences. In order to narrow the achievement
gap between ELLs and EO students we need to make sure that we are all culturally aware of
differences but use those differences to engage in more meaningful learning opportunities.
Through all of the cycles I noticed that ELLs can learn so much from observing everyone that is
around them and everyone can learn from them too. The use of modeling is a great way to teach
ELL’s (Andrei et al., 2015).
Implications and Recommendations
ELLs are still struggling to learn English and there are many strategies out there that are
being used but it is important that we look at which ones are benefiting our students. Attention
also needs to be payed to how we can help ELLs socially because that has an effect on their
academics either positively or negatively. It all depends whether or not they are feeling
supported and included. We also need to realize that everyone plays a role in assuring ELLs
academic success. Sanborn (2004) states that “An individual can still make a difference. You can
make a difference” (p 8).
The topic of ELLs is so broad that I felt I could have been even more specific in cycle
one. I noticed that as I was completing the cycles there were so many different ideas that I could
have pursued, but instead I went in the directions that I was more interested in because I felt
those were the ones that would help me the most in the end. My sample size was probably small
but it was what I felt I could handle since I was not sure of what the outcomes would be. After
finishing the cycles, I would feel comfortable conducting a next cycle with a larger group since
my findings were very positive. I do believe that further studies can be made in any areas that
include ELLs, again it is a very general topic that can be studied and looked and in countless
ways. The single and double loop learning concept I felt occurred the most from cycle one
moving in to cycle two because I was trying to figure out if what I had done in cycle one was
helpful to ELLs and what my next step should be.
Part IV: Leadership Learning and Leading Change Learning
Leadership Learning
When it comes to my personal leadership, I realized that my passion for improving
schools to best fit the needs of all learners not just ELLs has grown through this PAR process. In
The Oz Principle, Connors, Smith and Hickman (2010) mention the “Above The Line” concept
and I feel that I do my best to stay above the line because I hold myself accountable for my
actions and I have a “see it, own it, solve it, do it attitude” (p.15). While completing this PAR
process I learned that I am good at seeing situations from different perspectives. For example, I
looked at my PAR project from the angles from a teacher, counselor, and student perspective
because I was trying to understand them and help them. I feel this is an important trait to have as
a leader. Bolman and Deal (2002) suggest that “administrators and executives are more
successful when they can look at things from more than one angle” (p.3). It is difficult to be a
great leader but I am definitely up for the challenge.
Leading Change Learning
In regards to what leading change while collaborating with others, I learned that PAR
cycles are continuous because there will always be room for improvement and that I can be that
person guiding those cycles. Covey and Merrill (2006) stated that “Get better is based on the
principle of continuous improvement, learning and change” (p. 178). I know that no matter what
future positions I hold I will always have the ability to lead others to advocate for our students’
needs. Zander and Zander (2002) note that we can lead from any chair. I also realized how
important it is to ask questions “great results begin with great questions” (Adams, 2009, p. 131).
Each of the cycles began with questions that led into the actions taken in PAR that developed
some good results. It is also crucial to ask questions to find out how we can help others. I like to
show people that I care about them. One way to reassure someone that you are there to help is by
simply asking them questions. A leader knows that working with others is the best way to create
positive change that is much needed in this world right now.

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Appendix
Table 1A- Cycle 1
Author TESOL Teacher Strategies Professional Getting Teacher

Collaboration Used in the Development to know Preparedness
Classroom students
Andrei, E.,
Ellerbe, M., &
Cherner, T.
(2015). "The
Text Opened
My Eyes": A
Book Club on X X X X X
Teaching
Writing to
ELLs. TESL-EJ,
19(3).
Bolos, N.
(2012).
Successful
Strategies for
Teaching
Reading to
Middle
Grades
English
Language
Learners. X X X
Middle School
Journal, 44(2),
14-20.
http://dx.doi.
org/10.1080/0
0940771.2012
.11461843
Buxton, C.,
Allexsaht-
Snider, M.,
Suriel, R.,
Kayumova, S.,
Choi, Y.,
Bouton, B., &
Baker, M. X X
(2012). Using
Educative
Assessments
to Support
Science
Teaching for
Middle School
English-
language
Learners.
Journal Of
Science
Teacher
Education,
24(2), 347-
366.
http://dx.doi.
org/10.1007/s
10972-012-
9329-5
DelliCarpini,
M., & Alonso,
O. (2014).
Teacher
Education
that Works:
Preparing
Secondary-
Level Math
and Science
Teachers for
Success with X X X X X
English
Language
Learners
Through
Content-
Based
Instruction.
Global
Education
Review, 1(4),
155-178.
Gámez, P., &

Lesaux, N.
(2015). Early-
adolescents’
reading X X
comprehensio
n and the
stability of the
middle school
classroom-
language
environment.
Developmenta
l Psychology,
51(4), 447-
458.
http://dx.doi.
org/10.1037/a
0038868
Johnson, C.,
Bolshakova,
V., &
Waldron, T.
(2014). When
Good
Intentions and
Reality Meet:
Large-Scale
Reform of
Science
Teaching in X X X X
Urban Schools
With
Predominantl
y Latino ELL
Students.
Urban
Education,
51(5), 476-
513.
http://dx.doi.
org/10.1177/0
04208591454
3114
Martinez, D.,
& Montaño, E.
(2016).
Toward
Expanding
What Counts X X X
as Language
for Latina and
Latino Youth
in an Urban
Middle School
Classroom.
Literacy
Research:
Theory,
Method, And
Practice,
65(1), 200-
216.
http://dx.doi.
org/10.1177/2
38133691666
1517
Nisbet, D., &

Tindall, E.
(2015). A
Framework
for Explicit
Vocabulary
Instruction
with English
Language
Learners. X X
Kappa Delta Pi
Record, 51(2),
75-80.
http://dx.doi.
org/10.1080/0
0228958.2015
.1023141
Schulze, J.
(2015).
Academic
Language,
English
Language
Learners, and
Systemic
Functional X X
Linguistics:
Connecting
Theory and
Practice in
Teacher
Education.
The CATESOL
Journal, 27(1).
Valentino, R.,
& Reardon, S.
(2015).
Effectiveness
of Four
Instructional
Programs
Designed to
Serve English
Learners:
Variation by
Ethnicity and X X X
Initial English
Proficiency.
Educational
Evaluation
And Policy
Analysis,
37(4), 612-
637.
http://dx.doi.
org/10.3102/0
16237371557
3310
Appendix B
Interview Questions for Teachers
How long have you been teaching ELL students?
Do you feel that you are provided with enough support to teach ELL students? Why or Why not?
How comfortable are you with teaching ELLs?
Are there any PD meetings on strategies to use when teaching ELLs? If so, how often and are
they helpful?
Who can you reach out to when extra support is needed to teach ELLs?
Did the TESOL certification courses have an impact on the way you teach ELLs?
Appendix C
Survey questions: For students in focus groups
Pre and Post:

1.Teachers provide me with help when needed.
a. I Strongly Agree
b. I Agree
c. I’m Neutral
d. I Disagree
e. I Strongly Disagree
2. I am comfortable with asking teachers for help.
a. I Strongly Agree
b. I Agree
c. I’m Neutral
d. I Disagree
3. I have a hard time learning when I am being taught in English.
a. I Strongly Agree
b. I Agree
c. I’m Neutral
d. I Disagree
4. It would help if I were taught in Spanish and English.
a. I Strongly Agree
b. I Agree
c. I’m Neutral
d. I Disagree
5. It is easier for me to learn when I am given examples or pictures to look at.
a. I Strongly Agree
b. I Agree
c. I’m Neutral
d. I Disagree
6. I am comfortable with asking my classmates for help.
a. I Strongly Agree
b. I Agree
c. I’m Neutral
d. I Disagree
7. I am happy with my current grades.
a. I Strongly Agree
b. I Agree
c. I’m Neutral
d. I Disagree
Appendix D
Classroom Observations Guide/ Reflection Guide
Are the teachers using the strategies that are most beneficial for ELL student success?
Are teachers requesting additional support when needed?
How much time were students given to answer a question when called on?
Do the students seem more confident in themselves?
Do teachers seem confident when they are teaching ELLs?
Do students ask questions during class?
Were students grades impacted?

Appendix E
Interview Questions for School Counselors
How long have you been working with ELL students?
Do you feel that you are provided with enough support to work with ELL students? Why or Why
not?
How comfortable are you with working with ELLs?
Are there any PD meetings on strategies to use when working with ELLs? If so, how often and
are they helpful?
Who can you reach out to when extra support is needed to work with ELLs?
Were there any courses included in you counseling credential program that focused on working
with ELLs?
Appendix F
Survey questions About Counselors: For students in focus group
Pre and Post:

1. School Counselors provide me with help when needed.
f. I Strongly Agree
g. I Agree
h. I’m Neutral
i. I Disagree
j. I Strongly Disagree
2. I am comfortable with asking School Counselors for help.
f. I Strongly Agree
g. I Agree
h. I’m Neutral
i. I Disagree
3. I have a hard time getting a hold of my counselors.
f. I Strongly Agree
g. I Agree
h. I’m Neutral
i. I Disagree
4. It would help if I were to see a Counselor on a weekly basis.
f. I Strongly Agree
g. I Agree
h. I’m Neutral
i. I Disagree
5. School counselors care about me.
f. I Strongly Agree
g. I Agree
h. I’m Neutral
i. I Disagree
6. I can ask my counselors for help.
f. I Strongly Agree
g. I Agree
h. I’m Neutral
i. I Disagree
7. I am comfortable with asking my classmates for help.
f. I Strongly Agree
g. I Agree
h. I’m Neutral
i. I Disagree
Appendix G
Interview Questions for ELLs about Peer Tutors
Did you like having a peer tutor? Why or why not?
What was your favorite part about having a peer tutor?
Did the peer tutor help you make friends? If yes, how so?
Did the peer tutor help you with school work? If yes, how so?
Was it easier to practice your English-speaking skills with the tutor? Why or why not?
Did having a tutor help you feel more confident?
Do you feel that school staff and peers to include ELLs? If so, how?
Did you have things in common with your peer tutor? If so what were they?
Did you spend time outside of school with your peer tutor?
Did having a peer tutor help you feel more included at school?
Appendix G
School Counselors Interview Questions
Do you feel that you should come up with more activities to promote collaboration with ELLs
and EO students? If yes, give example.
Are you able to speak Spanish?
Do you consider yourself to be culturally proficient? Why or why not?
Do you feel that this school acceptable of other cultures?
How have you advocated for ELL students’ needs?
What are your thoughts on ELLs having EO peer tutors?

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Running head: ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS 1

Action Research Project: Helping English Language Learners Succeed

Pepperdine Graduate School of Education

Dr. Dawn Hendricks

Definition of Key Terms…………………………………………………….. 6

Part II: PAR Cycle Stories……………………………………………………………. 8

Cycle One Story………………………………………………………………. 8

Cycle Two Story………………………………………………………………. 18

Cycle Three Story…………………………………………………………….. 25

Part III: Discussion of Study Findings, Conclusions, Implications and Recommendations 29

Discussion of Study Findings………………………………………………… 30

Implications and Recommendations…………………………………………. 31

Part IV: Leadership Learning and Leading Change………………………………….. 32

Leading Change Learning…………………………………………………….. 32

strategies worked for ELLs and others did not.

I have experienced firsthand how difficult it is to be an ELL and how important it is to

six students that were classified as ELLs.

make up a significant portion of California public school students. In California, a total of

secondary school, seventh through twelfth (California Department of Education, 2017).

Quantitative data was measured by academic grades and pre-and post-surveys.

achievement across all subject areas?

Definition of Key Terms

 English-language learners, or ELLs, are students who are unable to communicate

fluently or learn effectively in English, who often come from non-English-speaking

of Education Reform, 2013).

(Teaching English as a Second Language) (TESOL-direct, 2015).

professional and ethical manner.

peer tutor system with EO students.

Part II: PAR Cycle Stories

PAR Cycle One Story

Teacher Collaboration, Strategies Used in the Classroom, Professional Development, Getting

to Know Students, and Teacher Preparation.

Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL):

Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) certifications are offered

Strategies Used in the Classroom:

learners must actively engage in meaningful, contextualized practice involving speaking,

support of increasing teachers’ use of sophisticated vocabulary in classrooms as potentially

must be intentional, systematic, and rigorous” (p. 80).

Collaboration in the classroom amongst students is helpful for ELLs because it is an

to learn new words (Bolos, 2012).

professionalism, and risk taking” (Johnson et al., 2016, p.497).

the program” (p. 505).

Getting to Know Students:

discussing here is more general.

As noted by Schulze (2015), “teachers increased knowledge of language facilitates the

construction of language focused instruction to support the academic literacy development of

important role in their students’ over all academic success.

could be more information to gather.

students? (See Appendix D)

following group sessions

specific strategies best fits their needs.

I am comfortable with asking teachers for help

Students comfortable with asking teachers for help

I am comfortable with asking Teachers for help

Students comfortable with asking teachers for help

who are teaching them and how it should be a collaborative effort.

PAR Cycle Two Story

participants parent consent forms to those who were underage.

had intended to do at the old site.

 What can school counselors do to help English Language Learners succeed?

were three themes that emerged Confidence/Self-efficacy, Advocacy, and Effective

self-esteem is by “encouraging student participation and leadership in storytelling” (p.13).

activity and how the activity made them feel.