Introduction

America is a nation of immigrants. In the 1990s, the U.S. immigrant population grew rapidly, and in many states, the foreign-born population more than doubled between 1990 and 2000 (Capps, Fix, & Passel, 2002). Consequently, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of adult learners enrolled in English as a Second Language (ESL) classes. Data from the U.S. Department of Education, Division of Adult Education and Literacy (DAEL) indicate that 1.1 million ESL students were enrolled in federally funded programs in 2002, and almost 1.2 million in 2003. Of these 1.2 million adult learners, almost 50 percent were of Hispanic or Asian origin. Other learners were Africans, Eastern Europeans, and Pacific Islanders (U.S. Department of Education, 2004).

States with the largest ESL enrollments include Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Texas, and Washington (U.S. Department of Education, 2004). These states have developed infrastructures and systems to serve English language learners (ELL). However, programs in states with smaller English language learner populations such as Alabama, Delaware, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, and North Dakota may not be as well equipped to serve the population. This is particularly true for many faith- and community-based providers in rural areas, as well as for smaller publicly funded projects. Many of the local providers in these new growth states lack experienced staff trained to work with adult English language learners, and their resources and infrastructure are limited.

The Practitioner Toolkit: Working with Adult English Language Learners is designed to give support to adult education and family literacy instructors who are new to serving adult English language learners and their families in rural, urban, and faith- and community-based programs. The Toolkit is designed to have a positive impact on the teaching and learning in these programs.

The results of two surveys helped shape the content of the Toolkit. The first survey, conducted in January 2003, was designed to determine challenges faced by educators and community leaders serving a sudden influx of Hispanic families. In order to expand the information to include a spectrum of those who work with English language learners, an electronic survey was conducted in December 2003 (National Center for Family Literacy, 2004).

In addition to the two surveys, a focus group was convened in January 2004, in Washington, DC, to obtain perspectives from practitioners across the country regarding the challenges that they experience in serving adult English language learners and to garner recommendations for the Toolkit. Participants represented adult education and family literacy practitioners from various backgrounds: a) practitioners experienced in serving English language learners and their families and those new to the field; b) practitioners from rural programs and those from urban centers; and c) practitioners from faith-based programs and those from state-funded programs (National Center for Family Literacy and Center for Applied Linguistics, 2004). Their recommendations are reflected in the Toolkit.