Teaching the World in Minnesota

To see the how the face of Minnesota is changing, one needs to look no further than our schools. Every year new students, many of whom are not native English speakers, arrive in Minnesota bringing new cultures, perspectives and languages. During the 2011-2012 school year, there were more than 60,000 students who spoke more than 200 languages in Minnesota schools. These students are a marker of the expanding diversity in Minnesota, and a reminder that the transformation process from immigrant to American is a story that is never finished.

Click on the students to listen to their voices.

New tactics to help new students

To boost English learners' performance, some Minnesota schools are trying new approaches designed to help them more quickly grasp the language. Among them is Kennedy Elementary in Willmar, Minn., which has a growing number of students from Somalia.

The world in the classroom

The challenge of learning English can have many dimensions for the thousands of Minnesota students identified as English language learners. For some, it is a matter of survival in a new country. For all, it takes resolve, resilience and time.

Ranks of English learners grow in Minnesota schools

Nearly 65,000 English learner students are enrolled in Minnesota schools, representing more than 200 languages. That number has grown rapidly in the past two decades, soaring by 50,000, a 300 percent increase in English learners.

English language programs trace roots to mid-1970s

Though immigration has been a prominent feature of U.S. growth since the nation's founding, the modern age of English language learning programs traces back to only the mid-1970s.
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