Background: Reading is valued as a critical aspect of literacy, but there is a concern about the regression in reading comprehension that remains a global issue. Consequently, most countries around the world are worried about learners' poor reading skills. Objectives: The study investigated the reading comprehension challenges of Grade 8 English…

Several decades of research have established that time spent reading has a positive impact on the cognitive development and academic success of school-aged children and adolescents. Yet, reading among adolescents has been in decline in recent years while engagement with audiobooks has increased. Professionals in librarianship, children's…

This research explored the knowledge of information literacy of pre-service English teachers in Puerto Rico in terms of its definition, implementation, and application in teaching English as a second language, as well as their awareness about how important it is for them and for their professional life. It also explored teaching strategies and…

English Language Learner (ELL) students are sometimes a small constituency. Many resources already in the library can be used to enhance their language acquisition, confidence, and cultural fluency--resources such as graphic novels, hi-lo books, and makerspace materials. This article discusses enhancing language acquisition, confidence, and…

The 2021 edition of the Annual Condition of Education Report (COE) marks the 32nd edition of the report. For over 30 years, the Department has published the COE in order to provide education stakeholders critical data about the status of Iowa's education system. The 2021 COE covers a wide variety of content including information about Iowa's…

For over 30 years, the Department has published the Annual Condition of Education (COE) report in order to provide education stakeholders quality information about the status of Iowa's education system. The 2020 COE covers a wide variety of content from information about Iowa's students, schools, educators, administrators, performance and school…

Data and information are critical tools of school improvement. They are the foundation for making informed education decisions for our schools, districts and the state. The 2019 edition of the Annual Condition of Education Report (COE) marks the 30th edition of the Iowa Department of Education report. Much has changed in the past 30 years since…

Data and information are important components of school improvement. They show how schools are changing and how students are progressing. Providing and interpreting data is one of the critical functions of the Iowa Department of Education. The annual Condition of Education report provides valuable data about students, educators and school…

The author relates how his school has a very active English Language Learner (ELL) program. ELL students typically have varying levels of social and academic language, but almost always have some English proficiency. Recently, his school established a Newcomer Program that drastically changed the school system. They acquired students lacking any…

Like middle school students, adults would never want to go into a new school not being able to speak the language. Most teachers aren't signing up to teach in Mexico or China unless they know how to speak with their fellow educators and their students. But English Language Learners (ELL) don't have the choices that teachers do. They have been…

America has always been a nation of immigrants, and many school libraries serve students whose first language is not English. In AASL's 2009 "School Libraries Count! Survey," 14% of the 5,824 respondents reported a student population with 25% or more English language learners. Yet 91% reported that less than 5% of their collections are…

The topic of this paper is literacy education and reading engagement in multilingual classes. What facilitates reading engagement in the language of instruction in multilingual classes? In this paper, we analyze reading engagement in a literature-based literacy program in Norway (2007-2011). The design was a research and development project in…

A name is one of the first things one learns about people. Many times the first word a young child learns is his or her name. Furthermore, names often serve as an indicator of a person's cultural identity. Unfortunately, for many English Language Learners (ELLs) and other students who immigrate to America, a name can be an embarrassment rather…

The author examines the rise in popularity of graphic novels, the sales of which have steadily increased as their influence expands into adolescent culture. This article also includes an overview of current research results supporting the use of graphic novels within the classroom and school library; graphic novels support English-language…

Compiling a personal professional library should be a priority for each teacher. The author canvassed the Executive Board of the National Network for Early Language Learning (NNELL) to elicit its members' "must haves" among foreign language texts. In this article, the author presents a list of publications which form a foundation of resources…