This report reveals the problems with claims made by Arizona state public education officials that English Language Learners (ELLs) are thriving under English-only instruction. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) and the state's accountability system, Arizona LEARNS, require all students, including ELLs, to participate in statewide…

The rapid increase of culturally diverse populations with special needs in the United States has important implications for delivering grade-level, standards-based instruction to English language learners with Individualized Education Programs (ELL/IEP students). One of the major challenges in both special education and bilingual education is the…

This paper describes and analyzes the Donors' Education Collaborative's (DEC) initiative to create sustainable systemic reform of New York City public education through projects that combined policy change strategies with efforts to develop permanent, broad-based constituencies advocating for and monitoring such reform. Based largely on field…

One of our greatest educational challenges continues to be improving the education of English language learners (ELLs). Because many new teachers are underprepared and many veteran teachers wholly unprepared for teaching ELLs, school districts nationwide have initiated professional development programs for inservice teachers. In this article, the…

This study analyzed a public school prekindergarten Montessori bilingual program, investigating second grade reading achievement scores on Spanish and English norm-referenced tests and comparing students who had participated in the Montessori program with those who had participated in a prekindergarten traditional bilingual program. Participants…

This technical report presents concrete ways of meeting recommended practice by providing an overview of principles and practices in the area of second language acquisition. It discusses some of the major theories in the area of second language acquisition, as well as the developmental process of first and second language acquisition in the…

This guide is a set of materials developed for use in adult education settings such as English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) classes, community-based organizations, and parent groups for the purpose of helping immigrant parents see themselves as active participants in their children's learning. These materials are intended to meet the following…

Lifeprints is a four-level program that helps adult English- as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students gain the English language skills they need to participate effectively at work and in their communities. This multimedia kit contains the first level in the series. Level one is divided into six units: "Welcome to English Class"; "Personal Information";…

A discussion of the role of the Japanese language in the English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) classroom in Japan presents several arguments in favor of using Japanese, followed by some notes of caution and a call to teachers to reflect on their classroom language use. Arguments for using students' native language (L1) include these: in mixed level…

This fact sheet explains that family literacy programs have been recognized as a way to help children succeed in school while adults develop literacy skills. The Even Start Family Literacy Program is the major family literacy initiative of the U.S. Department of Education. It uses an educational model with four components: adult education and…

Voters in California will vote June 2, 1998 to decide the fate of Proposition 227, a measure proposed by businessman Ron Unz that would substantially change the way that students who are not proficient in English are taught. If approved by the voters, Proposition 227, the Unz Initiative, would essentially eliminate bilingual education programs in…

The book and accompanying CD-ROM is designed to assist teachers who want to develop their own materials on the World Wide Web, are interested in integrating interesting Web sites and ideas into their curriculum, or are interested in students' perspectives of the Web. It is also for anyone who wishes to refresh a language or get a feel for a new…

Using a Vygotskian perspective, the researchers investigated the interaction of secondary school language learners engaged in a dictogloss task that called for collaborative reconstruction of a text. The investigation focused on the students' behaviors that were detrimental to effective interaction and made it less likely that students would be…

This guide describes the measures California state officials use to evaluate schools and school districts, explaining what they are and what they indicate. Results of standard tests and the Academic Performance Index (API) indicate substantial gaps between the achievement of various groups of students in California. African American, Latino, and…

Today, English language learners (ELLs) represent an increasing proportion of U.S. middle and high school enrollment. As a result, mainstream content-area teachers are more likely than ever to have ELLs in their classrooms. At the same time, education policymakers and researchers are increasingly calling for improved academic literacy development…