Few of the English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) participants in adult education classes move on to academic ESL programs that prepare them for content area study or general educational development (GED) or high school equivalency instruction. The ESL literacy curriculum is currently mismatched with GED and academic ESL curricula in purpose, content,…

Project-based learning is an instructional approach that contextualizes learning by presenting learners with problems to solve or products to develop. For example, learners may research adult education resources in their community and create a handbook to share with other language learners in their program, or they might interview local employers…

This digest focuses on the use of children's literature in adult English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction. Because high quality children's literature is characterized by an economy of words, stunning illustrations, captivating and quickly moving plots, and universal themes, carefully chosen books can offer educational benefits for adult ESL…

This digest discusses a project conducted in the Ysleta Independent School District in El Paso, Texas, that sought to integrate effective practices in literacy education, an empirically based cooperative learning model, and a classroom management model to help teachers develop the English and Spanish language proficiency of their students. The…

This digest focuses on reforming mathematics instruction for English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students who have had limited or interrupted schooling in their first language. These students--referred to as ESL literacy students--must learn in a linguistically and culturally unfamiliar environment, construct understanding without the background…

The Center for Research on Education, Diversity & Excellence (CREDE) has developed five standards for effective teaching and learning for all students, including those placed at risk for academic achievement. These standards emerge from principles of practice that have proven successful with majority and minority at-risk students in numerous…

This digest reports on a study that examined the impact of participation in a two-way immersion program on the language and achievement outcomes of former program participants and on their current schooling path and college plans. The study explored outcomes for three groups of students: (1) Hispanic students who began the two-way program as…

This digest discusses the contextual factors that affect students' learning of a second language. These individual, social, and societal factors can be considered from the perspective of the language, the learner, and the learning process. These perspectives are discussed as they relate to learning any second language, with a particular focus on…

For Mexican American students, grade-level reading and overall academic achievement decline, as measured by standardized tests, as they progress through the educational system. By grade seven, 65% of Mexican American students fail one or more grade levels below expected achievement. To reverse this trend of academic failure, teachers need to use…

The assessment and placement of language minority students remain among the most serious problems facing schools today. As of 1990, 14 percent of the school-aged population in the United States comes from language minority backgrounds. Significant numbers of these students are not being properly identified by educators. Assessment procedures in a…