{"pk":48257,"title":"Language Through Music: Bridging the Opportunity Gap in the ELD Classroom","subtitle":null,"abstract":"Because long-term English language learners (LTELs) in California normatively take two hours of English language instruction beginning in middle school, their schedules disallow participation in electives, such as arts, representing a significant opportunity gap. This mixed methods study examined the student, parent, and teacher experiences as well as the student English language development outcomes of a pilot program undertaken in one Southern California school district, in which one class of 17 LTEL students were placed into a choir class that embedded ELD standards into the curriculum. After one semester of the pilot program, qualitative data in the form of interviews, journals, and a focus group indicated that the program improved social-emotional outcomes for LTEL students and was highly supported by their parents, while teachers indicated that the program was positive, but needed further support in order to work well as a regular course offering. Quantitative results derived from ANCOVA analyses of English language assessments indicated that the students in the program significantly improved in their English development in comparison to a demographically matched control group from the same district. Implications for practice and further research are discussed.","language":"en","license":{"name":"","short_name":"","text":null,"url":""},"keywords":[{"word":"English language learners"},{"word":"music education"},{"word":"opportunity gap"},{"word":"Achievement Gap"},{"word":"propensity score matching"},{"word":"English Language Development"},{"word":"singing"}],"section":"Language Arts","is_remote":true,"remote_url":"https://escholarship.org/uc/item/21h3c7wd","frozenauthors":[{"first_name":"BENITA","middle_name":"L","last_name":"SCHECKEL","name_suffix":"","institution":"Azusa Pacific University","department":"None"},{"first_name":"Stacy","middle_name":"M","last_name":"Kula","name_suffix":"","institution":"Azusa Pacific University","department":"None"}],"date_submitted":"2020-08-03T16:25:28-04:00","date_accepted":"2020-08-03T16:25:28-04:00","date_published":"2022-05-06T10:43:25-04:00","render_galley":null,"galleys":[{"label":"","type":"pdf","path":"https://journalpub.escholarship.org/cla_jlta/article/48257/galley/36330/download/"}]}