|
Limited English Proficiency
Limited English proficiency (LEP) is a term used in the United States that refers to a person who is not fluent in the English language, often because it is not their native language. Both LEP and English-language learner (ELL) are terms used by the Office for Civil Rights, a sub-agency of the U.S. Department of Education. According to data collected from the U.S. Census Bureau and Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) data, LEP individuals accounted for 9% of the U.S. population over the age of five. The definition of "limited English proficiency" varies between states and within state districts. History The term "limited English proficiency"—together with the initialism "LEP"—was first used in 1975 following the U.S. Supreme Court decision ''Lau v. Nichols''. ELL (English Language Learner), used by United States governments and school systems, was created by James Crawford of the Institute for Language and Education Policy in an effort to label learners positively, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Language Proficiency
Language proficiency is the ability of an individual to use language with a level of accuracy that transfers meaning in production and comprehension. There is no singular definition of language proficiency: while certain groups limit its scope to speaking ability, others extend it to cover both productive and receptive language skills and their effective application in varying practical contexts. However, this diversity has implications for its application in other language domains such as literacy, testing, endangered languages, language impairment, etc. There is little consistency as to how different organizations classify it. Native-level fluency is estimated to require a lexicon between 20,000 and 40,000 words, but basic conversational fluency might require as few as 3,000 words. Developing language proficiency Developing proficiency in any language begins with word learning. By the time they are 12 months old, children learn their first words and by the time they are 36 mont ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |