English Learners in the Transition from High School to College: Research and Policy

Linda Harklau (University of Georgia)

An increasing number of college-aspirant youth in U.S. public high schools come from multilingual (im)migrant backgrounds, including some who are still developing English proficiency. What does it take to get these youth into and through college? Drawing on recent research including her own work with college-bound immigrant youth, Harklau explores factors that facilitate and hinder English learners’ linguistic and academic attainment in high school, and their experiences with college access. She shows that while applied linguists and TESOL educators have traditionally focused on classroom language instruction, attention has been shifting to the important influence of school, community, and societal contexts. Harklau identifies recent developments in language education policies at the high school and college level that are changing the nature of instruction for adolescent and young adult English learners, and considers implications for the professional roles of TESOL educators.

Linda Harklau is a Professor in the Department of Language and Literacy Education and affiliated faculty in the Linguistics Department at the University of Georgia (USA). Her research focuses on factors affecting language learning and academic achievement of multilingual youth in U.S high schools and their transition to college. Her work has appeared in prominent journals, and she has co-edited three volumes on multilingual youth and college transitions: Generation 1.5 Meets College Composition (Lawrence Erlbaum, 1999), Generation 1.5 in College Composition (2009), and Language Minority Students Go to College (Routledge, 2012). A past recipient of the TESOL Distinguished Research Award and Immediate Past-President of the American Association for Applied Linguistics, her current research looks at Georgia’s implementation of college completion initiatives and its effects on programs and policies for English learners in state higher education.