Module 1 Discussion: The Stages of Language Progression

What really surprised me about the Stages of Language progression is that it takes 3-5 years  for a student to speak fluently in academics and 7-10 years to achieve fluency in a second language. This made me reflect in my former middle school students who had recently entered the country.  It is difficult enough to learn a new language never the less to learn new academic material in another language other than one's native language.  What about students whom enter the county in 11th or 12th grade?  What options do they have to prove academic achievement in such a short period of time in a new language? This just made me have a stronger admiration for the students whom come to this country and work extremely hard to achieve success in the later part of their education.