Acquisition of academic and social English: Case studies of two ESL students in content-area classes and ESL in a high school

This dissertation documents the experiences of two learners of English as a second language (ESL) in a high school context where they took regular content-area classes and learned ESL in a separate class. It consists of case studies of one female ESL learner from Korea, whose English language proficiency was at the beginning level, and one male ESL learner from Spain, whose English language proficiency was at the beginning/intermediate level. They were placed in different content-area classes, which varied in the degree of difficulty relative to their previous knowledge of content in their native language, the aid they received through visuals, their interactions with their teachers, and their interactions with their peers. Both students were required to take the ESL class.;Data were collected through interviews of the two students and their content-area and ESL teachers, as well as through participant observation, and shadowing. Data were analyzed on a continuing basis and the analyses were employed for subsequent interviews. Member checking of the data and the emergent categories or themes were used continuously and checked by the participants.;The major questions investigated are: (1) What type of ESL program or approach does this particular high school offer to meet the needs of ESL learners? (2) What factors facilitate or hinder their acquisition of academic and social language in English? and (3) What are their teachers' perceptions and concerns? Answers to these questions lead to recommendations with respect to the education of ESL learners in mainstream content-area classes and an independent ESL class.