The Consequences of English Learner as a Category in Teaching, Learning and Research

Three issues are explored in this article: (1) How do categorical acronyms such as ELL (English language learner), EL, ESL, and EAL (English as an additional language) misrepresent diversity? (2) What does history reveal about immigration, first languages (L1s), bilingual education, and diversity and their influence on attitudes and beliefs? (3) How are categorical acronyms misrepresented in research? This article seeks to answer these questions.