How do you get through to an unresponsive student?

I'm currently working as an ELL Resource teacher.  I have a first grade student that gives no reaction or response. He is an only child and his parents are very involved with him.  When a simple question is asked he gives no answer or hint that he understands.  He scored well on PALS this fall but his classroom teacher said it took a looong time and he spoke very very softly.  Last January the WIDA Access was administered and he scored an average of 3.7.  Again, it took a long time to administer that assessment too.  He understands what is being said to him.  His work is very neat but he takes a long time to complete one small assignment.  I started to pull him from the classroom and work with him one on one to see if he opens up a little more for me.  Does anyone have any helpful tips for working with type of student?   

Knowing Your Students Cultural Background

As an educator it is always beneficial to have some background on your students to understand them better.  Knowing students cultural background and areas in language that may be difficult in advance can help you prepare lessons and activities for your ELL students.  Michael Swan & Bernard Smith have written a book entitled  Learner English  A teacher's guide to interference and other problems.  It is a wonderful resource for cultural insight and common language errors.  This book is available on-line.  It provides background on 23 different languages and information on phonology, the influence on pronunciation, orthography, grammar and culture.  A wonderful resource!

Is the student having difficulty because they are an English Language Learner or because they have an a learning disability?

All students develop and learn at different paces and have different learning styles.  ELLs come from different educational cultures and are trying to adjust to a new social culture an learning environment, and as teachers we try to aid them in the adjustment. Although research shows it can take 7-10 years for an ELL student to become proficient in English, some students seem to progress slower then others.  Students that have been in an ELL program from kindergarten through fifth grade it seems should be at the high end of the Developing Level or Expanding Level, but when accessed are still in the Beginning Level or low Developing Level.  I have seen students referred to ELL because they do speak another language and are struggling in reading and content areas. The student may speak another language but their dominant language may actually be English.  Is this students struggle do to language or a learning disability?  Teachers need to carefully access their students so we can determine what is holding them back.