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.
About ELLs
What's Different About Teaching Reading to Students Learning English?
What's Different About Teaching Reading to Students Learning English? by Dorothy Kaufmann provides teacher trainers with a research-based curriculum to guide the professional development of classroom and ESL teachers who teach reading in classes where some or all of the students are English language learners. The curriculum is available for purchase from the Center for Applied Linguistics store.
AFT Position on English Language Learners: Where We Stand*
This document outlines the AFT position on the education of English language learners.
American Federation of Teachers: English Language Learners
The AFT seeks to promote educational excellence and equity for English language learners (ELLs) to ensure they meet the same challenging standards required of all students.
This site by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) offers lots of information about ELL instruction. Although designed to promote instructional materials sold by ASCD, the site has a wide range of resources for ELL teachers, mainstream teachers, and content-area teachers.
Bank Street Literacy Guide: English Language Learners
This section provides guidance to volunteer tutors working with children who are learning English, and for whom English is not their first language.
Best Evidence Encyclopedia: ELLs
The English-language Learners section of the Best Evidence Encyclopedia summarizes the impact of a few online reading programs for English-language learners and other language minority students in the elementary grades.
Center for Applied Linguistics
CAL provides language education products and services to educators, service providers, and businesses.
Center for Research on Education, Diversity, and Excellence
CREDE is a federally funded research and development program focused on improving the education of students whose ability to reach their potential is challenged by language or cultural barriers, race, geographic location, or poverty. The site provides access to publications, research, and toolkits for administrators, teachers, and parents.
The ELL Outlook is a bimonthly e-newsletter dedicated to providing the latest research, news, program models, and interviews with ELL researchers, educators, and policymakers.
ESL/Bilingual Resource Guide for Mainstream Teachers
For a quick guide to working with ELL students, check out this resource from the Portland Public Schools (OR). You'll find useful, practical information in an accessible format that you'll return to again and again, including an excellent language acquisition chart and a glossary of ELL terms.
This comprehensive site includes content-based lesson plans, activities, recommendations on classroom materials, and discussion boards for working with minority students.
Everything ESL: Challenges for ELLs in Content Area Learning
This article provides an overview of the challenges ELLs face in their content-area classes, such as math, science, and social studies. Understanding these challenges will help both ELL and content-area teachers adapt instruction for ELL students.
This site has short, helpful tips for the educator in a hurry. It offers an overview of a variety of techniques to improve the ELL student's learning experience.
Everything ESL: Understanding Second Language Terminology
Here are some essential terms that you need to know in order to understand basic second language acquisition theory.
The free hELLo Newsletter, produced by the Big Deal Book, is available by email subscription and online. It specifically targets K-12 and Adult ELL educators, program directors, and media specialists by providing access to imaginative and interactive Web environments and free materials.
Help! They Don't Speak English Starter Kit
"Help! They Don't Speak English!," is an ESL resource developed by a team of teachers. The handbook is available for free and can be downloaded from this site in PDF format.
International Reading Association: ELL Resources
The International Reading Association suggests resources for educators to meet the needs of English-language Learners (ELLs), including recommended reading, lesson plans, and literacy links.
Learning the Language is a blog sponsored by Education Week and written by Mary Ann Zehr. The blog tackles difficult policy questions surrounding English-language learning, explores learning innovations, and shares stories about different cultural groups.
LearningStore is a service shared by Colorín Colorado and our sister sites (Reading Rockets, LD OnLine, and AdLit.org) to provide you the best educational materials, vetted by experts. ELL resources include books, software, interactive learning tools, and DVDs.
Minnesota Department of Education: ELL Companion Manual
This manual is designed to provide assessment and eligibility determination guidelines to special education professionals.
Minnesota Department of Education: ELL Guidelines for Parent Involvement
This section of the ELL Guidelines focuses on parent involvement, with resources such as tips for working successfully with interpreters.
The National Center for Research on the Educational Achievement and Teaching of English Language Learners (CREATE) is a research program designed to improve educational outcomes for ELLs by using a combination of strategies focused on readers in Grades 4-8 and teacher professional development. The CREATE Web site includes webcast seminars hosted by CREATE researchers, and listings of CREATE conferences and presentations around the country.
National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition (NCELA)
NCELA collects, analyzes, synthesizes, and disseminates information about language instruction, educational programs for English language learners, and related programs.
National Institute for Early Education Research: ELLs
The National Institute for Early Education Research has a research topic called English Language Learners that focuses on diversity issues and English-language learning in preschool.
NCTE: English Language Learner Instruction
Here educators can find information and downloadable resources related to K-12 ELL instruction published by the National Council of English Teachers.
This section of the National Institute for Early Education Research website offers many research articles on early education and ELL students. The site also has reviews of preschool programs that have demonstrated success with ELL students.
Northwest Regional Comprehensive Center
The Northwest Regional Comprehensive Center provides training, technical assistance, and research to support states and school districts in the administration and implementation of Title III programs under the No Child Left Behind Act. Here you'll find direct links to materials NWREL has created for teachers, staff, and families; State guidance and regulations; and National clearinghouses for the most up-to-date, useful information to help you serve English Language Learners in your schools and communities.
Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA)
The OELA was formed to help ensure that children who are limited English proficient attain English proficiency, develop high levels of academic attainment in English, and meet the same challenging State academic content and student academic achievement standards that all children are expected to meet.
Pennsylvania English Language Learners
With sections for parents, educators, and students, this site offers a variety of information about English language learners and ways to help them succeed. The site is also available in Spanish.
The goal of the PROMISE Initiative, in response to the vast needs represented by English Learners in the six southern California counties, is to marshal the expertise and resources of the six counties by developing a powerful infrastructure for conducting research and development, building capacity, and providing high quality sustained support to schools, teachers, and providers.
Resources for Dual Language Learners
This website from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services offers articles, tip sheets and other resources you can use to meet the needs of diverse populations and promote dual language learning, including information about Head Start and ELLs.
Article by David and Yvonne Freeman, "How to Make Your ELL Students Feel at Home." Describes benefits of promoting use of a child's first language.
Schools Moving Up: ELL Webcasts
Schools Moving Up has an archived collection of educational Webcasts and resource materials on topics such as formative assessment, closing the learning gap in California schools, and quality teaching for English-language learners.
Schools Moving Up: ELL Webinars
WestEd's Schools Moving Up webinar series is available for viewing in the program archives, where you can watch and listen to full web presentations by leaders in the field of school improvement. Each archive includes questions, discussions, and accompanying resources from the live webinar. Topics range from RTI and assessment to the The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and recent research in the field of ELL education.
Strategies and Resources for Mainstream Teachers of English Language Learners
This downloadable booklet is one in a series of "hot topics" reports produced by the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. These reports briefly address current educational concerns and issues as indicated by requests for information that come to NWREL. Each booklet contains a discussion of research and literature pertinent to the issue, a sampling of how Northwest schools and programs are addressing the issue, selected resources, and contact information.
Teaching Diverse Learners is a resource dedicated to enhancing the capacity of teachers to work effectively and equitably with English language learners (ELLs). This site provides access to information — publications, educational materials, and the work of experts in the field — that promotes high achievement for ELLs.
The New York Immigration Coalition: English Language Literacy
The NYIC is in the forefront of efforts to expand English and literacy classes for immigrants in New York. Their website offers updated press releases, action alerts, and multilingual resources for families.
U.S. Department of Education: ELL Literacy and Language Development
One-page informational sheet, "English Language Learners: Literacy and Language Development" that includes information on the research-supported importance of developing ELLs' oral language skills.
Understanding the "Silent Period" with English Language Learners
This article describes some strategies used by two kindergarten teachers to communicate verbally and nonverbally.
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Thanks for your commitment to the Hispanic learner.
~ Cathy
