Sometimes EL teachers will sometimes use acronyms, or words that stand for something else. Here are a few of the more common ones you may hear.
EL English learner
ELD English language development
ELL English language learner
ELP English language proficiency
ESL English as a second language
ESOL English as a second or other language
EXCEL EXCEL (Excellence for English Learners) is a locally-based program for recently arrived high schoolers at a beginning proficiency level.
FEP fluent English proficient, a status meaning that students have tested as proficient and are no longer monitored
L1 first language
L2 second language
LEP limited English proficient, commonly used in federal documents
M1 first year monitoring, after a student reaches proficiency on the WIDA ACCESS test. Monitoring is required for at least 2 years.
M2 second year monitoring, after a student reaches proficiency
SLIFE SLIFE (students with limited or interrupted formal education) is a designation for those in grades 3 and higher who are functioning at least 2 grades below their current grade level in both reading and math.
STEP STEP (Studying Toward English Proficiency) is a locally-based program for recently arrived students in grades 1-5, housed at the Integrated Arts Academy at H.O. Wheeler Elementary. It is specifically intended for students who have been in the country for less than a year (18 months for students considered to be SLIFE).
TESL teaching of English as a second language
TESOL teaching of English to speakers of other languages
WIDA consortium of 38 states created to meet federal testing guidelines, based in Wisconsin; former acronym of member states, but now just the name of the group.
WIDA ACCESS for ELLs high-stakes K-12 assessment to monitor student progress in language acquisition. Vermont also uses scores from this assessment to determine eligibility. ACCESS is an acronym meaning Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State-to-State. It is administered in Vermont annually each spring.
WIDA MODEL assessment to identification/placement of students in an EL program. MODEL stands for Measure of Developing English Language. This assessment is given upon entrance to the district if students have not attended school elsewhere in the United States.