The impact of gender, primary language, and birth country on language acquisition for Korean, Mandarin, and Spanish speaking students

This study focused on English Language Learners in California and the instructional as well as learning strategies utilized to address the needs of these students. The purpose of this study was to examine differences in the language groups of Korean, Mandarin Chinese, and Spanish when considering any effect gender, primary language, and place of birth have on English language acquisition. The three languages were chosen because of their significant representation in California. The continued increase of immigrants to the United States and the rising identification of English Language Learners in the educational system suggest that the educational system is in need of instructing non-English speaking populations to learn English in a manner that meets their needs. Research suggests factors in English language acquisition such as gender, first language, birth country, culture, and academic achievement motivation are contributing factors for the English Language Learner population. Current English Language Development curriculum is not designed to address all of these factors. This study is significant because it examines the impact of each of these factors and explores the needs of English language learners to acquire proficient academic English in order to be college and career ready.