Communication Disorders Quarterly 27:4 • pp. 240–247240 Language in the English as a Second Language and General Education Classrooms: A

As the culturally and linguistically diverse population of the United States continues to increase dramatically, speech– language pathologists (SLPs) and special education teach-ers in particular face the challenge of how best to assess and teach those students whose primary language is not Eng-lish. The changing U.S. demographics are driving a need for a more comprehensive understanding of students learning English as a second language and the effect upon their ed-ucation of learning English as a second language. A sub-stantial number of English language learner (ELL) students, with and without disabilities, may not possess the requisite classroom discourse or pragmatic skills, may face difficulties, and may be incapable of fully benefiting in their learning. This tutorial will discuss factors related to describing class-room discourse in the context of five ethnographic studies