Meeting the Language Needs of Today’s Adult English Language Learner: Companion Learning Resource

This Companion Learning Resource, Meeting the Language Needs of Today’s Adult English Language Learner, presents numerous examples of instructional models, strategies, tools, and tasks for increasing the rigor of adult English language instruction.

Author(s)
Patsy Egan Vinogradov
Author(s) Organizational Affiliation
ATLAS, Hamline University
Lancaster Lebanon IU 13
American Institutes for Research
Publication Year
2016
Resource Type
Instructional Material
Number of Pages
32
Product Type
Abstract

This Companion Learning Resource provides a synthesis of the main ideas in several seminal resources from the adult English language learner (ELL) resource collection. It also extends and expands upon these resources by offering many practical ideas and techniques that practitioners can use and adapt in order to increase rigor in adult ELA classes. 

Highlights of key concepts and practical strategies include:

  • The need for instruction and accompanying professional development that support the language demands of rigorous college- and career-focused content 
  • Engaging learners in increasingly complex texts, especially informational texts, while building students’ content knowledge
  • Expanding project-based learning into academic subjects 
  • Enhancing the rigor of reading instruction for adult English language learners 

Although this Companion Learning Resource can be used as a stand-alone document, it also complements the other resources in the suite of materials, “Meeting the Language Needs of Today’s Adult English Language Learner.”  Other resources in this suite are the Issue Brief, and the Professional Development Modules.

What the experts say

This practice-oriented Companion Learning Resource helps adult ELL instructors to better understand and meet the language demands of rigorous college- and career-focused content. A variety of instructional strategies and supports are included, such as nurturing academic conversations in the classroom, engaging learners with increasingly complex texts while building content knowledge, expanding project-based learning into academic subjects, and building teachers’ knowledge and skills around reading instruction.

Formatted as a digital magazine, this clickable PDF contains embedded resources and links to websites, encouraging users to delve deeply into the areas of greatest relevance. Through the resource, practitioners are able to link to concrete examples taken from each of the seminal resources and, where relevant, additional examples drawn from other relevant contexts (e.g., K–12 education).

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