This book discusses how to approach critical literacy in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts. It responds to the concerns of educators who get enthusiastic about teaching critical literacy, but become perplexed when they start reading about its theories. This causes some to avoid it altogether and leads others to argue for practicing it…

Beth attends a New York City K-8, dual-language (Spanish/English) public school where 96% of the students qualify as low-income, based on participation in the federally funded lunch program. Early in Beth's 1st-grade year, she was classified as a struggling reader, based on district-wide assessments that identified academic deficits in such skill…

This publication seeks to offer educators and policy-makers guidance on strategies that have been effective in instructing English language learners (ELLs). The authors begin by outlining key contextual factors that decision-makers should take into account when making instructional choices for English language learners, then follow with a brief…

This comprehensive resource explores how adolescence and academic achievement are defined within today's political context, examines the in-school potential of teens' out-of-school immersion in digital technologies and popular culture, and shows teachers how to embed comprehension strategies into classroom instruction. The book contains innovative…

This paper discusses the use of American Sign Language (ASL) in an English-as-a-Second-Language approach to teaching reading and writing skills to deaf students. The paper poses and answers the following theoretical and practical questions: (1) What is the nature of first language reading? (2) What is the nature of second language reading? (3)…

This volume brings together a broad range of academics, school-based educators, and policymakers to address research, policy, and practice issues related to improving the education of English language learners in U.S. schools today. It emphasizes throughout that instructional improvements cannot be achieved via curriculum alone--teachers are key…

The fundamental principles underlying the "No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001" focus on high standards of learning and instruction with the goal of increasing academic achievement--reading and math in particular--within all identified subgroups in the K-12 population. One of these subgroups is the growing population of English…

This collection of papers presents the current state of research on effective instructional programs for Hispanic American students. The 10 chapters are: (1) "Effective Programs for Latino Students in Elementary and Middle Schools" (Olatokunbo S. Fashola, Robert E. Slavin, Margarita Calderon, and Richard Duran); (2) "Effective…

A growing number of American students are nonnative English speakers. These students are vulnerable to early school exit and schools are facing more and more such students each year. Presently, about 56% of all public school teachers in the United States have at least one English language learner (ELL) student in their class, but less than 20% of…