ESL students in urban school boards are primarily Canadian born children of immigrant parents or students arriving from outside Canada. However, in many parts of Canada, aboriginal students are the main group requiring ESL services. Depending on their family circumstances, ESL students may demonstrate a wide range of English abilities as well as educational backgrounds. The following paragraphs describe the three primary groups of Calgary ESL learners in terms of background and educational needs.

Refugee children with both limited English skills and limited academic background

Many refugee children, due to family dislocation, poverty and warfare in their home countries, arrive in Canada with little or only sporadic education in their lives. Since many of these children escaped from their home countries in difficult circumstances, they may not have had the time or opportunity to learn the English language prior to their departure.

Immigrant children with strong academic background and limited English

Many immigrant children who migrated to Canada with their parents under the Independent Immigrant and Family Class categories may arrive with their full complement of education, albeit in another language. Depending on their levels of pre-migration preparation, they may demonstrate a wide range of English abilities. They generally have goals for higher education and only require time to acquire English skills and complete their academic requirements.

Canadian born children with limited English

Some children of immigrant parents are born in Canada and yet do not have English skills, due to limited exposure to English at home. These children may exhibit a lack of language fluency as early as in their kindergarten years. Though these students may be able to pick up "playground" English easily, they need specialized ESL support to be linguistically proficient.