This case study compares teaching behaviors that influence reading achievement of Spanish speaking English language learners (ELL). The academic achievement concerns of English language learners in reading have been a concern and focus at the school, district, regional, state and national level and there have been many reports documenting difficulties facing these students. This report compares the achievement of English language learners and the perceptions of the presence of teaching behaviors between two schools. One group of ELL's is instructed in a classroom using only the English language for instruction, the other group is instructed in a classroom using both English and Spanish language for instruction. The teaching behaviors of the two teachers in this case study are analyzed using the North Carolina Teacher Performance Appraisal Instrument and the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol. This report is divided into five sections. The first section discusses the state of Hispanic students in public schools and their achievement. The second section highlights educational paradigm shifts, the models of second culture acquisition and research on the academic achievement of ELL's in English only and two way immersion classrooms. The third section explains the methodological triangulation used in this case study which includes the collection of statistical test data, observations, self reporting surveys and interviews. The fourth section explains the findings of the research and the last sections states conclusions and implications for rural schools who serve small numbers of ELL's.