Teachers who work with English as a Second Language learners will find ESL/ESOL/ELL/EFL reading/writing skill-building children's books, stories, activities, ideas, strategies to help PreK-3, 4-8, and 9-12 students learn to read.
Adult
California's Commitment to Adult English Learners: Caught Between Funding and Need
by Public Policy Institute of California / Arturo Gonzalez
Gonzalez, A. California's Commitment to Adult English Learners: Caught Between Funding and Need. (2007). San Francisco, CA: Public Policy Institute of California.
Topics Covered:
Access, Equity, and Adequacy;
Literacy and Reading / Writing Instruction;
Literacy and Reading / Writing Instruction;
Adult;
Tags:
Bilingual Instruction;
Language of Instruction;
Language Proficiency;
Latino ELL Students;
Motivation;
Reading;
Target Population: High school, post-secondary (non-collegiate)
Research Questions the Report Poses:
- What is the policy background for the provision of ESL courses in California? What distinguishes adult schools from other providers?
- How has the ESL target population changed throughout the state since 1980? What is the level of predicted enrollment and what demographic changes affect enrollment in ESL courses?
- What are the trends in the provision of ESL courses by adult schools and community colleges statewide and in the different regions of the state? Does the adult school funding formula limit adult school enrollment? To what extent do adult school districts exceed their level of funding?
- What do adult schools that exceed their funding limit forgo in terms of quality of adult education classes and future growth of adult education programs? How much does the redistribution of unused funding alleviate the challenges facing high-demand regions? How would adult education providers benefit from increased funding?
Summary: 75% of adults enrolled in ESL programs in the state of California participate in these programs through adult schools. The issue that this report talks about is the conundrum facing adult schools. These schools have two choices: leave some seeking ESL programs without service and stay under the enrollment growth-cap linked to state funds or take in all individuals seeking to be enrolled in an ESL program, go over the cap, and pay the difference between allotted state funds and actual capital spent out of the school's own budget. The article cites a $15.7 million gap between money spent by adult schools on ESL programs and money awarded to these schools by the state of California.
Findings:
- There is a $15.7 million gap between money spent by adult schools on ESL programs and money awarded to these schools by the state of California
- Though the adult ELL demographic is growing within the state, it is growing at different rates in different parts of the state.
- Close to 60 percent of adult schools in California exceed their funding limit.
- Among adult schools that do over-enroll students, nearly 80 percent exceed their funding limit by over 2.5 percent.
Policy Recommendations:
- Increase overall funding to adult ESL programs
- Create more mechanisms for distributing funds for ESL programs to areas and schools that have more of a demand from adult ESL students
- Increase the enrollment cap so that schools do not have to pay out of their own pocket to have adult ESL programs
To order a hard copy of the report, contact:
Public Policy Institute of California
500 Washington Street
Suite 800
San Francisco, California 94111
Telephone: (415) 291-4400
Fax: (415) 291-4401
Contexts for Engagement and Motivation in Reading
by Guthrie, John T.
Guthrie, J.T. (2001). Contexts for engagement and motivation in reading. Reading Online, 4(8). International Reading Association: Washington DC.
Topics Covered:
Literacy and Reading / Writing Instruction;
Literacy and Reading / Writing Instruction;
Early (Pre-K);
Literacy and Reading / Writing Instruction;
Early Elementary (K-3);
Literacy and Reading / Writing Instruction;
Upper Elementary (4-6);
Literacy and Reading / Writing Instruction;
Adolescent (7-12);
Literacy and Reading / Writing Instruction;
Adult;
Tags:
Books and Other Reading Materials;
Comprehension;
Motivation;
Reading;
Struggling Readers;
Transfer of Literacy Skills;
Vocabulary;
Target Population: Preschool, Elementary, Middle, High School
Research Questions the Report Poses: How do engaged and motivated reading contribute to successful reading skills and achievement?
Summary: Engaged reading is a merger of motivation and thoughtfulness. Engaged readers seek to understand; they enjoy learning and they believe in their reading abilities. They are mastery oriented, intrinsically motivated, and have self-efficacy. Teachers create contexts for engagement when they provide prominent knowledge goals, real-world connections to reading, meaningful choices about what, when, and how to read, and interesting texts that are familiar, vivid, important, and relevant.
Findings:
The following all help to contribute to an environment that will foster motivated and engaged reading:
- Identify a knowledge goal and announce it
- Provide a brief real-world experience related to the goal
- Make trade books and multiple other resources available
- Give students some choice about the subtopics and texts for learning
- Teach cognitive strategies that empower students to succeed in reading these texts
- Assure social collaboration for learning
- Align evaluation of student work with the instructional context (e.g., grade students for progress toward the knowledge goal)
Policy Recommendations:
None, this article makes no policy recommendations but instead describes the characteristics of an engaging and motivated reading environment.
