This digest describes a research model that has shown how classroom practice can be developed, transformed, and enriched by drawing on existing "funds of knowledge" in minority students households. Funds of knowledge refers to those historically developed and accumulated strategies (e.g., skills, abilities, ideas, practices) or bodies of…

Adult education programs must increasingly serve non-native speakers of English, many of whom are neither literate in their native language nor in English. It is suggested that first language literacy promotes second language acquisition and that literacy skills in the native language are likely to transfer to the second language. This digest…

Although the teaching of English as a second language (ESL) is a relatively new profession, it is an old activity. Until World War II, ESL instruction in the United States was irregular. In 1940, the first ESL teachers enrolled in a University of Michigan training program based on structural or descriptive linguistics. The Army Language School…

Nowadays all schools must be prepared to meet the challenge of an increasingly diverse student population, including many students who are not proficient in English. The effectiveness of various program models for language minority students remains the subject of controversy, and there are several factors to consider when selecting a program…

Most teachers of English as a Second Language (ESL) face a number of challenges: large and heterogeneous classes, specialized student needs, and poor funding and employment continuity. Many work part time, often in more than one program and serving simultaneously as administrator and teacher. While most have college degrees, their training is…

Community colleges play a major role in improving the access of Hispanic students to higher education, with roughly 56% of all college-going Hispanics attending these institutions. Relatively few however, have attained a postsecondary degree of any kind. A study of 145 community colleges found that Hispanic student retention was influenced by such…