Education for Adult English Language Learners in the United States: Trends, Research, and Promising Practices

Center for Applied Linguistics
Washington, DC

@2008 by the Center for Applied Linguistics

 

All rights reserved. No part of this paper may be reproduced, in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher. All inquiries should be addressed to permissions@cal.org or Permissions, Center for Applied Linguistics, 4646 40th Street NW, Washington, DC 20016-1859.

Printed in the United States of America

Authors: Kirsten Schaetzel and Sarah Young
With contributions from: Miriam Burt and Joy Kreeft Peyton
Copyediting: Vickie Lewelling
Web design: Lynda Terrill

The preparation of this paper was supported with funding from the U.S. Department of Education (ED), Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE), under Contract No. ED-07-CO-0084. The opinions expressed in this paper do not necessarily reflect the positions or policies of ED.

Center for Applied Linguistics. (2008). Education for adult English language learners in the United States: Trends, research, and promising practices. Washington, DC.

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Acknowledgments

 

This paper has benefited from the perspectives of a number of knowledgeable practitioners and researchers. It is through their comments and suggestions that we were able to bring together the many relevant aspects of the delivery of instruction for adults learning English in the United States. We are grateful to the following people for their contributions.

The staff of the Center for Adult English Language Acquisition (CAELA) Network project at CAL developed the paper. Kirsten Schaetzel and Sarah Young served as primary authors, pulling together the major research and promising practices in the field. Miriam Burt and Joy Kreeft Peyton helped to define and shape the paper, and Sharon McKay and Lynda Terrill provided valuable content expertise. Lynda Terrill designed the document for publication on the Web.

JoAnn Crandall, University of Maryland Baltimore County, and Heide Spruck Wrigley, Literacywork International, provided substantive and valuable comments on a draft of the paper. We are grateful for their participation and expertise.

Staff of the United States Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education, including Christopher Coro, Lynn Spencer, and Tanya Shuy, offered their insights and comments on a variety of aspects of the paper.

We appreciate the efforts of all of these individuals.

Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL), Washington, DC.

 

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Table of Contents

Executive Summary

I.   Overview

II. The Foreign-Born Population in the United States     

    
III. Participation of Foreign-Born Adults in Adult Education  Programs and Outcomes

IV.  Program Design and Instructional Practice         

V.  Professional Development and Teacher Quality           

VI. Assessment and Accountability

VII  Future Directions for Lifelong Learning 

VIII. Conclusion                  

References

Appendix: NRS ESL Educational Functioning Levels