Washington – With 105 languages in Federal Way schools, interpreters stay busy
By
21 July, 2009

The English Language Learner (ELL) program has become a huge part of the Federal Way School District.
In 1984, ELL students accounted for 0.62 percent of the school district’s population. Twenty years later, that number had jumped to 10.29 percent. Now there are more than 2,700 students in the program — along with more than 30 ELL specialists.
There are 105 different languages spoken throughout the school district and more than 80 languages served in the ELL program. Some students speak another language at home, but are proficient in English and therefore bypass the ELL program.
To serve those 80 languages, the district employs 64 interpreters. There is one Arabic, two Chinese, one Farsi, two Azari, one Haitian Creole, seven Korean, 17 Russian-Ukrainian, one Romanian, one Samoan, 27 Spanish, two Tagalog, one Turkish and one Vietnamese.
More information at: http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/south_king/fwm/news/51040392.html