Supporting Emergent Bilinguals | Lexia Learning (2024)

• Home
• Solutions

Emergent Bilinguals are one of the fastest-growing segments among school-age children in the U.S. According to the National Center of Educational Statistics, one out of 10 children in classrooms across the nation are Emergent Bilinguals, also known as English Language Learners (ELLs) or English Learners (ELs). Since 2010, the number of students who are English Learners has increased by more than half a million. Despite these growing numbers, as a group, Emergent Bilinguals have not been given the instruction they need to perform as well as their monolingual peers.

While many factors impact student learning, some contributing factors are a one-size-fits-all pedagogy to English language learning, teacher resource and training constraints, and classrooms that aren’t culturally responsive.

The Challenge

How can we honor students' heritage to accelerate learning?

Why we use the term 'Emergent Bilinguals'

For the 5 million Emergent Bilingual students in America, honoring students’ culture and life experiences is essential to accelerate English language and literacy acquisition. The language we use matters. Terms like “English Language Learners” emphasize what students don’t know, as opposed to what they do. The phrase “Emergent Bilinguals,” on the other hand, celebrates the asset of bilingualism that these students bring to our schools and our society. As the number of Emergent Bilingual students continues to increase nationwide, school leaders need smarter ways to ensure better academic outcomes for every learner. This means providing both teachers and Emergent Bilingual learners with the tools they need for success.

Learning equity begins with respecting and representing who students are and the assets they bring to the classroom. Lexia’s language and literacy programs seek to convey equitable and multidimensional representations of people across lines of diversity including race, culture, language background, gender, ability, socioeconomic status, community, and national origin. The goal of our products like Core5, PowerUp, and Lexia English is to integrate these representations throughout the program’s illustrations, photographs, and texts in ways that validate diverse experiences, promote positive self-images, and cultivate an inclusive understanding of the world.

Learn More

Emergent Bilingual Week: A new era in multilingual learning!

Celebrate the superpowers of the 5 million+ multilingual students across the country. Check out expert panels with the latest research, strategies and tools to celebrate the assets every student brings to the classroom.

Watch the Webinars

Unlike other English Language Development products, Lexia English is an asset-based speaking and listening program that creates an inclusive classroom where students find a safe, non-judgmental environment to practice that builds confidence as students learn academic English.

Lexia English is an adaptive blended learning program that supports Emergent Bilingual students’ English language acquisition through academic conversations. The program integrates speaking, listening, and grammar in the subjects of math, science, social studies, general knowledge, and biographies providing students with the academic English skills they need to be successful.

Through academic conversations with 17 culturally and ethnically diverse characters, learners remain engaged every step of the way and see their achievements and successes celebrated. These relatable characters allow learners to see themselves in their learning so they feel represented and respected, and that supports their socioemotional well-being.

Proof speaks volumes

With thousands of students currently using Lexia English, together with our education partners, we are making an impact. A recent study on the Lexia English program found that Emergent Bilingual students who used the program scored an average of 15 points higher than nonusers on the English Language Proficiency Assessment for California (ELPAC) test and scored an average of 18 points higher on the ELPAC’s oral domain than nonusers. Blending student-driven learning with teacher-led instruction, both Core5 and PowerUp have also proven effective in accelerating English language and literacy for Emergent Bilinguals.

Learn More