Young English-language learners
Resources for Teachers
Instruction
- Colorín Colorado
– A bilingual site for parents and teachers of English-language learners, produced by WETA public broadcasting station, includes teaching strategies, instructional activities and additional online resources. - English as a Second Language – Includes information on standards and assessments, instruction, professional organizations and parent resources.
- Handbook for Educators of Students Who are English Language Learners with Suspected Disabilities (PDF) – Developed by VDOE to provide additional support for educators of English language learners (ELLs) with suspected disabilities.
- WIDA Early English Language Development (E-ELD) Standards – Available for use by early childhood practitioners (working with children ages 2-1/2 to 5-1/2), such as child care, Head Start, preschool/prekindergarten educators and caregivers. Complements Virginia’s Foundation Blocks for Early Learning and aligns with WIDA's ELD Standards framework for K-12 and Head Start's Early Learning and Child Outcomes program.
Reports & Studies
- Dual Language Learners: Effective Instruction in Early Childhood – American Federation of Teachers article by Claude Goldenberg, Judy Hicks and Ira Lit summarizing research on effective early education for dual language learners including, where possible, the use of the children's primary language, the adoption of effective practices for building English language skills and the involvement of families in supporting children's learning.
- Dual Language Learners: Research Informing Policy – University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill’s Center for Early Care and Education Research-Dual Language Learners report which provides foundational information about children under the age of six who are dual language learners, suggestions for how to better coordinate policies and practices to bridge support to K-12 settings and research findings related to effective early childhood programs for those children.
- Education for English Language Learners: Promoting School Readiness and Early School Success – report yhatMigration Policy Institute profiles the population of young dual language learners, who represent nearly one-third of all children under age 6 in the U.S. The report outlines their school readiness and patterns of achievement. The report evaluates the research on early care and education approaches that have been shown to support higher levels of language and literacy development and achievement for this child population, most but not all of whom are children of immigrants.
- Impact: Feature Issue on Educating K-12 English Language Learners with Disabilities (PDF) – University of Minnesota’s Institute on Community Integration and Research & Training Center on Community Living, publication that includes articles on DLL and ESL students with disabilities.
- Multilingual Children: Beyond Myths and Toward Best Practices (PDF) – The report considers issues that range from the strengths of multilingual children (and the practices early childhood professionals can use to develop those strengths) to who is multilingual with thoughtful attention to supporting young children who may speak different dialects.
- PreK-3rd: Challenging Common Myths About Young Dual Language Learners: An Update to the Seminal 2008 Report – Brief, by Linda Espinosa from the Foundation for Child Development (FCD), discussing commonly held beliefs about the development and learning of young learners of English as a Second Language (ESL) children and provides recommendations to guide policies and practices.
- Same Different and Diverse: Understanding Children Who Are Dual Language Learners (PDF) – National Center on Cultural and Linguistic Responsiveness for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Head Start research article identifying important similarities between all children, key differences between DLLs and monolingual children and DLLs as a highly diverse group.
- Understanding Influences of Play on Second Language Learning – California State University-Long Beach study by Ruth Pike that analyces how non-native English speakers develop skills in English through structured play with both native speakers and other dual-language learners.
Assessments & Standards Resources, State & Federal Resources
- Title III: Language Instruction for Limited English Proficient & Immigrant Students includes Title III toolkit, teacher resources and Title III state data as well as information on assessing ELLs, equitable services to private school students, parental outreach and other education programs.
- US Department of Education English Language Learner Resources – Resources and information on the civil rights of ELLs and tools for evaluating services to ELLs.
- US Department of Education, Office of English Language Acquisition
- Virginia ELL Data – Virginia ELL enrollment and language data
- Young ELs – National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition website with links to reports, data sources, webinars, technical assistance centers and more.
Professional Groups & Organizations
- ASCD (formerly the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development)
- National Association of Bilingual Education
- Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages
- Virginia ESL Supervisors Association