About 10 percent of public school students in the United States learn English as a second language. In some states, that number is much higher. About five million students in the country are considered English language learners, or ELLs. Such students are the fast-growing group in the US public schools.

The most commonly first spoken languages among ELLs in America are Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Haitian Creole and Vietnamese. Speakers of those five languages make up 92 percent of all ELLs included in the report.

English language learners can choose one of several kinds o1 program. There are some programs, in which students are mostly taught in their native language. And there are other programs, which offer students almost all classroom teaching in English. However, These kinds of programs do not always allow students to write and read in their native language.

There are also so-called bilingual programs. These programs offer teaching in two languages-English and another language. Research has shown that English language learners do best in bilingual programs, especially if the second language is their native language.

The lack of high-quality bilingual programs is clear. Nationally, about 83 percent of students complete their high school education. But the graduation rate (比率) among English language learners is far lower 65 percent.

School systems across the country sometimes look for bilingual educators internationally. But education experts say there are ways for states to find and train new teachers in their own areas. This spring, America came up with a list of “grow your own” rules for schools and states to follow. It advised states to offer a series of ways for bilingual teachers. It also suggested training bilingual teachers in their own areas even if they do not have a college degree.

Among the four skills in learning English，which one of these is the “odd-man-out”? The answer is speaking．The other three you can do alone on your own．But you can’t really speak alone! Speaking to yourself can be “dangerous” because men in white coats may come and take you away!

Where can you find people to speak English? And how can you practice speaking when you are alone?

At school- If you pay to go to a language school, you should use the opportunity to speak．If your teacher asks you to speak in pairs or groups with other students, try to say as much as possible．Don’t worry about your mistakes．Just speak!

Conversation Clubs-Many cities around the world have conversation clubs where people can exchange one language for another．Look in your local newspaper to find a conversation club near you. They are usually free although some may charge a small entrance fee(费用)．

Shopping-Even if you don’t want to buy anything，you can ask questions about products that interest you in a shop．“How much does this cost?” “Can I pay by cheque?” Often you can start a real conversation-and it costs you nothing!

Café and Bars-There are often American，Britain，Irish and Australian bars in many large cities．If you can find one, you’ll probably meet many people speaking English as a first or second language．

Language is all around you-Everywhere you go，you find language．Shop names，street names，advertisements，notices，and car numbers….When you walk down the street，practice reading the words and numbers that you see．Say them to yourself. It’s not exactly a conversation, but it will help you to “think” in English．But don’t speak too loud!

Songs and Video-Repeat the words of an English song singing with the music until it becomes automatic．It’s good practice for your memory and for the mouth muscles that you need for English．

Above all, speak as much as possible! Make as many mistakes as possible! When you know that you have made a mistake，you know that you have made progress!

As an English learner, we sometimes get questions like this: “How can I speak English with more confidence?” That is a great question. 【小题1】 Today, we have several pieces of advice to help you.

Every day, the most important person you talk to is yourself. That’s to say, your own thoughts matter. If you lack confidence as an English speaker, you may say things like, “English is too hard” “I’m so sorry for my English.” What’s worse, you are sure to start believing them. 【小题2】

To sound more confident, speak slowly enough so that people can easily hear you. Many English learners worry that speaking too slow will make them sound inexperienced. 【小题3】 So avoid worrying that you are speaking too slow for the people around you.

【小题4】 If you are not confident, you may try to say as little as possible. For example, if asked what people’s favorite color is, an English learner may give a short, direct response like, “blue”, while a native English speaker is likely to say, “Well, to be quite honest, I don’t really have an actual color, but I guess I may go for something like blue or grey.”

Read out loud. Reading out loud can help build confidence in how your English sounds. So next time you are reading a website, book or something else that you enjoy, take a few minutes to read the material aloud. Before reading aloud, read the story silently first. The second time, if there is audio, you can listen to the speakers as you read alone silently. 【小题5】 Then, try listening to the speaker and reading out loud at the same time.