This study examines the motivations of refugee-background adults in participating in English language classes in the United States. Five focus group discussions were held with refugee-background adults with no or very limited English proficiency who were enrolled in an English language program in an urban area in the Northeastern region of the…

Adult literacy and English as an Additional Language (EAL) programs are often challenged to find suitable and authentic reading texts and instructional materials for their students. Newsela PRO, an entirely online resource, provides high-interest fiction, timely news articles, and other nonfiction texts in both English and Spanish that focus on…

Using a personal narrative approach, I examine my experiences with teaching English to adults from a Balkan country. As I focus on understanding my teaching experiences, I frame my analysis through adult education theory to understand my role as an adult educator. The significance of this narrative comes from its focus on practice as I highlight…

There are few places more open and inclusive than an adult English language class. Or, are there? Although adult educators teaching in these multi-cultural and linguistically heterogeneous environments use practices designed to embrace their students' diverse ethnic and linguistic identities, they less frequently incorporate practices to be…

This qualitative study examined the impact of a six-step framework for work-specific vocabulary instruction in adult English language learners (ELLs). Guided by research in English as a second language (ESL) methodology and the transactional theory, the researchers sought to unveil how these processes supported the acquisition and application of…

Since its inception at the turn of the last century, adult education English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction in the United States has been entwined with immigration processes and ideas of the nation. In spite of current uncertainty about the overhauling of federal immigration policy, increasingly anti-immigrant laws in states such as…

Methods for teaching non-English speaking adults include using adult-oriented methods, introducing vocabulary in context, using graphic arts, encouraging discussion, using comparison and analogy, providing a relaxed atmosphere, letting students talk about themselves, using complete sentences, being a good role model, and letting students help each…

In a Cleveland (Ohio) program, writing instruction for adults who speak nonstandard English is based on respect for students' spoken language as a dialect. Adapting foreign language instructional techniques such as translation, teachers avoided formal grammar terms and used extensive oral practice. (SK)