What It Takes to Succeed: The Importance of Social Support for Academically Successful Middle School English Learners

Missing from educational studies on English learners (ELs) is an investigation of those students who succeed beyond minimum standards, defying the achievement gap. The research study presented in this article contributes to this area by examining the experiences and understandings of five middle school ELs who have demonstrated linguistic and academic success. These students are former ELs who once were in need of language support but have now exited from English as a Second Language (ESL) instructional services and are currently enrolled in advanced coursework. A basic qualitative approach was employed utilizing multiple student data sources including interviews and observations. In addition, two of each student's teachers were interviewed individually for the purposes of triangulation. This manuscript identifies areas of social support contributed to these students' success and discusses ways in which students understood and activated this support.