The Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) has synthesized key data on English learners (ELs) into two-page sheets on a variety of subjects. This fact sheet provides the following data on ELs in the United States over the 2017-2018 school year: (1) Percentage of Students Enrolled in K-12 Who Are English Learners; (2) English Language…

This document includes two technical appendices that accompany the full report, "English as a Second Language in California's Community Colleges." The two appendixes include: (1) Key terms, data and methods; and (2) Figures and tables. [These appendices were written with research support from Sergio Sanchez and Stephanie Pulles. For the…

As the United States becomes increasingly more diverse, there will be more demand for a workforce that can navigate languages and cultures. English Language Learners (ELLs) are uniquely positioned to meet this demand and are eager to do so, but colleges and universities will need to prepare them adequately for the tasks ahead and find innovative…

Any curriculum consists of several components: goals, disposition, duration, needs analysis, learners and teachers, exercises and activities, resources, ways of learning, skills to be acquired, lexis, language structure, and ability assessment. Before setting up a program or course of study, these components should be determined and described in…

Gifted students share a number of common characteristics, including verbal proficiency, awareness and power of observation, curiosity and inquisitiveness, independence, friendliness, lack of discipline, competitiveness, self-criticism and criticism of others, opinionatedness, and dislike for routine and drill. These characteristics present a…

Claims traditional study abroad programs are impractical for today's student; suggests creating more short-term academic programs abroad in 1980s. Suggests factors to consider: reasons for particular groups' interest in short-term programs, home institutions that are more receptive to shorter programs, ways to gain colleges' acceptance of…

This is a research brief of a longer report, also published as "Bilingual Education and English as a Second Language Summary Report, 2009-2010". Twenty-nine percent of students enrolled in Austin Independent School District were English language learners in 2009-2010. The majority of them (62%) continued to make progress in English…

A study conducted in the intensive English language program at Indiana University investigated: (1) the effects of students' language learning background (formal learning of English, exposure to and use of English in class, and extracurricular exposure to and use of English) on their performance on the Test of English as a Foreign Language…

A national survey investigated the extent and design of programs in which content instruction is combined with instruction in English as a Second Language (content-ESL). Findings are summarized here. Is was found that about 15 percent of all public schools, and all states, have such programs, with heaviest concentration in the south and southwest…

This fact sheet on English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction provides brief explanations of the following: the meaning of the terms ESL and ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages); student motivation for taking ESL classes; how long it takes to learn English; ESL adult enrollment rates; ESL program design options; general methods and…

The development of a program and curriculum for instruction in technical English for Saudi Arabian petrochemical plant operator trainees studying in the United States for two years was undertaken by the University of South Alabama's English Language Center. The program was designed to accommodate (1) the degree of skills and prior learning of the…

Discusses five issues related to community college English-as-a-second-language (ESL) programs: the diversity of the ESL student population and the difficulty of measuring student outcomes, the organizational structure of ESL programs, employment and training issues for ESL instructors, the newly defined "Generation 1.5" population, and financial…

A course in English as a second language for international graduate student instructors at the University of California at Berkeley is described. In its first offerings, the course served students from three Asian countries and a variety of disciplines. It consisted of work in language, culture, and instructional techniques integrated into all…

An overview is provided of the history of English as a second language (ESL) instruction, including a discussion of second language acquisition and the characteristics of ESL instructors and students. The first sections provide an overview of the major language learning methodologies that have been most often associated with the adult as a…

The foreign language faculty at College of Saint Scholastica Minnesota) developed and implemented 10-day Spanish and French immersion programs based on Peace Corps methodology as a means of affording students time for intensive study of those languages, improving students' fluency, and instituting a change in teaching methodology. The first…