The recent increase in immigration patterns in the United States has meant an increase in the number of children entering American schools whose first language is not English. Some reports indicate that as many as one in four students come from families where the language spoken in the home is not English. English Language Learners: The Power of Culturally Relevant Pedagogies provides teachers access to information that will help them understand the English language learner, develop effective strategies to teach English language learners, create effective learning environments, and use assessments to meet the needs of English language learners as well as garner community resources to support English language learners.

Ashraf Esmail is associate professor of criminal justice and director of the Center for Racial Justice at Dillard University.