Glossary

All A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Other

Language learning disability (LLD): A language learning disability is a disorder that may affect the comprehension and use of spoken or written language as well as nonverbal language, such as eye contact and tone of speech, in both adults and children.
Language majority: Language majority refers to a person or language community that is associated with the dominant language of the country.
Language minority (LM): Language minority refers to a person from a home where a language other than the dominant, or societal, language is spoken. So, that person may (1) be fully bilingual, (2) speak only the home language, (3) speak only English, or (4) speak mostly the home language but have limited English proficiency.
Language Proficiency: To be proficient in a second language means to effectively communicate or understand thoughts or ideas through the language's grammatical system and its vocabulary, using its sounds or written symbols. Language proficiency is composed of oral (listening and speaking) and written (reading and writing) components as well as academic and non-academic language (Hargett, 1998).
Lau Remedies: Lau Remedies are policy guidelines for the education of English language learners, based on the ruling in the Lau vs. Nichols suit, mandating school districts' compliance with the civil rights requirements of Title VI (Lyons, 1992).
Lau v. Nichols: 'Lau vs. Nichols' is a lawsuit filed by Chinese parents in San Francisco in 1974, which led to a landmark Supreme Court ruling that identical education does not constitute equal education under the Civil Rights Act. School districts must take "affirmative steps" to overcome educational barriers faced by non-English speakers (Lyons, 1992).
learning disability (LD): A disorder that affects people's ability to either interpret what they see and hear or to link information from different parts of the brain. It may also be referred to as a learning disorder or a learning difference.
least restrictive environment (LRE): A learning plan that provides the most possible time in the regular classroom setting.
LEP: See Limited English Proficient.
Limited English Proficient (LEP): Limited English proficient is the term used by the federal government, most states, and local school districts to identify those students who have insufficient English to succeed in English-only classrooms. Increasingly, English language learner (ELL) or English learner (EL) are used in place of LEP.
Linguistically and Culturally Diverse (LCD): The term 'linguistically and culturally diverse' is commonly used to identify communities where English is not the primary language of communication, although some individuals within the community may be bilingual or monolingual English speakers.
listening comprehension: Understanding speech. Listening comprehension, as with reading comprehension, can be described in "levels" – lower levels of listening comprehension would include understanding only the facts explicitly stated in a spoken passage that has very simple syntax and uncomplicated vocabulary. Advanced levels of listening comprehension would include implicit understanding and drawing inferences from spoken passages that feature more complicated syntax and more advanced vocabulary.
literacy: Reading, writing, and the creative and analytical acts involved in producing and comprehending texts.
Literacy Coach: A reading coach or a literacy coach is a reading specialist who focuses on providing professional development for teachers by providing them with the additional support needed to implement various instructional programs and practices. They provide essential leadership for the school’s entire literacy program by helping create and supervise a long-term staff development process that supports both the development and implementation of the literacy program over months and years.

For more information visit the International Reading Association website.
local education agency (LEA): A public board of education or other public authority within a state that maintains administrative control of public elementary or secondary schools in a city, county, township, school district or other political subdivision of a state.

These terms and definitions were collected from the following sources: Dr. Jean Lokerson, ERIC Digest; Southwest Educational Laboratory (SEDL); Dr. Linda Wilmshurst and Dr. Alan Brue, A Parent's Guide to Special Education, American Management Association, 2005; The Partnership for Reading; Learning Disabilities Council; Dr. Don Deshler, University of Kansas.

*Source: Common Core State Standards. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010.