Students whose primary language(s) or language(s) of the home, is other than English and who may therefore require additional services in order to develop their individual potential within British Columbia’s school system. Some students speak variations of English that differ significantly from the English used in the broader Canadian society and in school; they may require ELL support.
Some are Canadian-born, but enter school having had varying degrees of exposure to the language and cultural norms of the majority of English-speaking Canadians.
Some have immigrated to BC with their families after having received some formal education in their home countries.
Some arrive in Canada as refugees. These students may have received little or no schooling in their home country. They have experienced the traumatic conditions caused by political, social, and economic upheaval. They have often left their country involuntarily, perhaps leaving key family members behind.
Some speak a dialect of English sufficiently different from the English taught at school that it hinders their learning in school.
(English as a Second Language Learners: A Guide for ESL Specialists, 1999)