Breaking new ground: Teaching students with limited or interrupted formal education in U.S. secondary schools Andrea DeCapua and Helaine W. Marshall (2011). Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, paperback, 160 pp.

Abstract

Learning the new language and content is difficult, but you also struggle with an entirely new way of conceptualizing knowledge and feel completely alienated. This is just one example of the many different life histories of youth who make up a subgroup of English language learners (ELLs) that are referred to as students with limited or interrupted formal education (SLIFE). SLIFE may have one or more of the following histories: (a) limited, interrupted, or no formal education due to conflict, migration, or economic obstacles; (b) little or no literacy skills in their home language(s); (c) little to no foundational and grade-level content knowledge; and (d) cultural values and understandings that often conflict with those of the U.S. education system (DeCapua, Smathers, & Tang, 2009).