Helpful Resources for Teachers of English Language Learners

Activities for ESL Students: Quizzes, tests, exercises and puzzles to help students learn English as a Second Language (ESL). This project of The Internet TESL Journal (iteslj.org) has thousands of contributions by many teachers and includes quizzes, podcasts, and recommended links to other helpful sites.
 http://a4esl.org/

Annenberg Media: This site offers a rich array of free online workshops and courses, many of them video based, for teaching in the content areas.
www.learner.org

Colorín Colorado:  Colorín Colorado is an excellent resource for teachers and parents of ELLs. Here you will find articles, webcasts, podcasts, videos, reports, and a host of other resources and ideas to support ELLs at school and at home.
http://www.colorincolorado.org/

Dave’s ESL Café Idea Cookbook: This page includes many practical suggestions to help support English language acquisition.
http://www.eslcafe.com/ideas/

Education Planet: This site links to over 100,000 lesson plans and teacher resources.   http://www.educationplanet.com/

Edutopia: Through the Edutopia.org Web site, Edutopia magazine, and Edutopia video, the George Lucas Educational Foundation spreads the word about ideal, interactive learning environments and enables teachers and schools to adapt these successes locally. Edutopia.org contains a deep archive of continually updated best practices, from classroom tips to recommendations for districtwide change. http://www.edutopia.org/

eThemes: eThemes is an extensive database of content-rich, age-appropriate resources organized around specific themes. These resources are created for educators to use in their classrooms. Themes is a service of the eMINTS National Center. eThemes resources are created and maintained by University of Missouri-Columbia College of Education staff and graduate students from the School of Information Science and Learning Technologies.
http://www.emints.org/ethemes/index.shtml

Everything ESL: This site, created by ESL teacher Judi Haynes,  is predominantly for teachers of K-5, but there are some resources for middle school teachers.
http://www.everythingESL.net/

I Teach I Learn: This Texas-based site offers a wealth of educational resources regarding cultural and linguistic diversity, second language acquisition, literacy assessment, bilingual education, classroom management, critical literacy, and the work of Jim Cummins.
http://www.iteachilearn.com/

Jim Cummins’ Second Language Learning and Literacy Development: Dr. James Cummins is a leader in second language learning and literacy development research. This site offers a wide range of writings and useful resources.
http://www.iteachilearn.com/cummins/index.htm

Merriam-Webster’s Learner’s Dictionary: This site includes an English language learner’s word of the day, audio pronunciation exercises, and language help resources.
http://www.learnersdictionary.com/

National Education Association Resources for Teachers of ELLs: Here are links to articles, videos, and organizations that will help teachers of ELLs.
http://www.nea.org/neatodayextra/ell.html

Peace Corps Lesson Plans: Find a wealth of lessons and activities based on Peace Corps stories that will help students understand peoples and cultures the world over. http://www.peacecorps.gov/wws/educators/lessonplans/

Project More Resources for Content-Area Teachers of ELLs: This valuable site offers dozens of links to ideas and techniques for testing ELLs, resources for instructing ELLs in Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies courses, information on identifying and serving ELLs with special needs, terms and concepts commonly used in ESL, issues and best practices for instructing ELLs, and resources on understanding and instructing newcomers.
 http://education.uncc.edu/more/StartResources/OnlineRes.htm

Read Write Think: This site, maintained by the International Reading Association (IRA) and the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) includes high-quality lesson plans and links to resources for all grade levels.
http://www.readwritethink.org/

Resources for Teaching about the Americas: This site includes lesson plans on varying aspects of Latin American cultures.
http://retanet.unm.edu/index.pl?section=1996LPs

Scholastic Student Activities: Select by content area and by grade level to find a wide range of activities, many of which are helpful for English language learners.
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/learn.jsp

Scholastic Unit on Immigration: Through these activities, students can learn through oral histories of recent and historic immigrants. Several graphing activities encourage students to explore immigrant history that exists in their own classroom and practice data analysis and research skills. http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/immigration/tguide/index.htm

Schools Moving Up: This WestEd initiative helps schools and districts address the immense challenge of raising student achievement in low-performing schools. The site offers a wealth of practical ideas and models for school improvement including profiles of previously low-performing schools across the country that have improved student achievement. It also includes a robust database of resources, proven services, tips, and powerful tools that educators can use in their work with low-performing schools.
http://www.schoolsmovingup.net/cs/wested/print/htdocs/home.htm

Teacher Tube: The goal of Teacher Tube is to provide an online community for sharing instructional videos. Teacher Tube seeks to fill a need for a more educationally focused, safe venue for teachers, schools, and home learners. It is a site to provide anytime, anywhere professional development with teachers teaching teachers, and a place where teachers can post videos designed for students to view in order to learn a concept or skill.
http://www.teachertube.com/

Thinkfinity: Supported by the Verizon Foundation, Thinkfinity delivers free, top-quality online educational resources to strengthen problem-solving, creativity, and critical thinking skills for success in the 21st century. Resources include thousands of lesson plans, educational games, content materials, and stimulating opportunities for professional development.
http://www.thinkfinity.org/

Web English Teacher Resources for Teachers of ELLs: Here are links to dozens of helpful resources and websites for teachers of ELLs.

http://www.webenglishteacher.com/esl.html

Publicationsback to top

Active Learning and the Limited English Proficient Student: This online article offers recommendations for engaging ELL students in active learning.
http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/pubs/directions/02.htm

Approaches to Writing Instruction for Adolescent English Language Learners: This is a review of the current state of the field of second language writing instruction and includes an extended discussion of the key learner, pedagogical, assessment, and structural issues that affect writing instruction. Implications for the classroom are explored.
http://www.alliance.brown.edu/pubs/writ_instrct/apprchwrtng.pdf

Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD): Here are all the publications available from ASCD about teaching ELLs.  Several excellent reports are available for free download, other articles require ASCD membership.
http://www.ascd.org/portal/site/ascd/menuitem.d7a8c5475d8271903ca2c310e3108a0c/

Bilingual Research Journal Online: Research articles and essays on bilingual education.
http://brj.asu.edu/index.html#research

Diversity Kit: This publication brings together current research on human development and cultural diversity. It explores issues of diversity in education that are essential for schools and teachers who are committed to quality education for all students. The first section, Human Development, outlines research and theory on human development and diversity. Drawing upon several disciplines—biology and neuroscience, cognitive psychology, cultural anthropology, sociolinguistics, and sociology—the human development section provides educators with insight about ways to think about human development with culture and language in mind. The second section, Culture, challenges mistaken perceptions and assumptions about culture. The goal of this section is for educators to gain an appreciation for variations within cultural groups and knowledge of individuals within their cultural contexts. These topics lead to a discussion on how culturally informed supports for learning at home, in the community, and in school can influence student success. The third section, Language, highlights the fact that language and culture are deeply intertwined.
http://www.alliance.brown.edu/pubs/diversity_kit/

Double The Work: This major national report identifies six challenges to improving the literacy of ELL students and recommends an array of strategies for surmounting the challenges.
http://www.all4ed.org/files/DoubleWork.pdf

Edutopia Free Online Publications: Browse and download dozens of articles about teaching ELL students.
http://www.edutopia.org/search/node/English+Language+Learners

Free Publications from the Northwest Regional Education Lab: Browse this page for downloadable reports about a variety of topics including teaching English language learners.
http://www.nwrel.org/free/all.asp
(Site includes the following excellent book: Strategies and Resources for Mainstream Teachers of ELLs: http://www.nwrel.org/request/2003may/ell.pdf)

Help Kit for ELL Coaches: This HELP KIT will provide information, resources, and case studies on coaching in the English language learner (ELL) context that will be helpful to those who are facilitating professional learning for their colleagues. It will explore various formats of coaching (Collaborative Resource Management, Content Presentations, Focused Classroom Visits, Coplanning, Study Groups, Demonstration Lessons, Peer Coaching and Coteaching), and provide helpful guidelines for effectively implementing the strategies. This manual will be of particular interest to educators of ELLs and teacher leaders in professional development capacities
http://escort.org/?q=node/323
International Reading Association Free Publications: Here are suggested resources to help you meet the needs of ELL students. Find even more by visiting advanced search and selecting the “language learners” topic. http://www.reading.org/resources/issues/focus_ell.html
Literacy Instruction in the Content Areas: This report from the Alliance for Excellent Education discusses the challenge to connect the teaching of reading and writing to the rest of the secondary school improvement agenda, treating literacy instruction as a key part of the broader effort to ensure that all students develop the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in life after high school.
http://www.all4ed.org/files/LitCon.pdf

National Council of Teachers of English Free Publications: Browse and download a wide range of publications for teachers of ELL students.
http://www.ncte.org/collections/secell

Seven Free NABE NEWS Magazines: Peruse  these magazines for ideas about reducing dropout rates, promoting biliteracy through content themes, funding ELL programs, how to separate language difference from disability, the impact of cultural relocation on children of immigrants, and key concepts for reading proficiency.
http://www.nabe.org/publications/magazine.html

Triadic Scaffolds: Tools for Teaching English Language Learners with Computers: In this examination of computer-supported classroom discourse, specific forms of instructional conversation employed by a veteran teacher of beginning-level English language learners (ELLs) are examined. The focal teacher orchestrates instructional conversations around computers with children whose immediate needs are to learn the English language, specifically the "language of school" and the concomitant social complexities implied in order to participate in mainstream instructional activity.
http://llt.msu.edu/vol9num1/pdf/meskill.pdf

WestEd Free Online Publications: Search by topic, select English Learners, and you will find a number of publications of interest to teachers of ELL students.
http://www.wested.org/cs/we/query/q/1222

National Organizationsback to top

Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL): CAL uses the findings of linguistics research and related sciences to identify and address language-related problems.   This site offers strategies, activities, instructional materials, and research articles/reports.
http://www.cal.org/

Center for Research on Education, Diversity & Excellence (CREDE): CREDE is a research and development organization focused on improving the education of students whose ability to reach their potential is challenged by language or cultural barriers, race, and geographic location.  This site is a good source of research articles and practical strategies using multicultural resources.
http://www.crede.org/

International Reading Association (IRA): For 50 years, the International Reading Association has been a professional home for those who help others learn to read. Today, their network and resources reach hundreds of thousands of teachers, researchers, students, administrators, tutors, parents, and others—in every part of the world.
http://www.reading.org

Knowledge Loom: The Knowledge Loom is a place for educators worldwide to review research that identifies promising practices, view stories about the practices in real schools/districts, learn to replicate the success of these practices, add your own stories and knowledge to the collections, and discover supporting organizations and resources, including annotated Web links.
http://knowledgeloom.org/

National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE): NABE is dedicated to promoting educational excellence and equity for English language learners and represents the professional educators who serve them. NABE professional conferences offer a wealth of current information.
http://www.nabe.org/

National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE): NCTE recognizes bilingual and bicultural education as basic components of the ELA field. Teachers of English in bilingual settings should have professional preparation, if not certification, in the field. NCTE encourages teachers of English to cooperate with colleagues in bilingual education programs. It encourages teachers with only a few non-English-speaking students to become familiar with bilingual education aims and methods and to draw upon ESL literature for help in meeting the needs of those students. NCTE assumes the responsibility, on both the national and the affiliate levels, of working with other organizations involved with bilingual education and especially with teaching English to speakers of other languages.
http://www.ncte.org/

National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition (NCELA): NCELA collects, analyzes, and synthesizes information about language instruction, educational programs for ELLs, and related programs. 
http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/
(Note NCELA’s searchable database of the latest national reports and research studies: http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/rcd/search/ )

Northeast and Islands Regional Laboratory at Brown University (LAB): The LAB develops educational products and services for school administrators, policymakers, teachers, and parents.  This is a particularly rich site for teacher resources.
http://www.lab.brown.edu/ae_ells.php

Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL): NWREL provides research-based products, technical assistance, and training to improve educational systems and learning. NWREL works directly with educators in the field to develop and test research-based publications and strategies that improve learners' results.
http://www.nwrel.org/index.php

Office of English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and Academic Achievement for Limited English Proficient Students (OELA):  This site offers descriptive information about federal services, special programs, initiatives, activities, and resources. OELA administers programs and activities under Title III and Title V of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oela/index.html

Teaching Diverse Learners (TDL):  This site from the Education Alliance at Brown University is a resource dedicated to enhancing the capacity of teachers to work effectively and equitably with English language learners (ELLs). This site provides access to information – publications, educational materials, and the work of experts in the field – that promotes high achievement for ELLs.
http://www.lab.brown.edu/tdl/

Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL): TESOL is an international professional organization for those concerned with the teaching of English as a second or foreign language. TESOL members receive the bimonthly newspaper TESOL Matters, as well as the scholarly research journal TESOL Quarterly and/or the practitioner's magazine, TESOL Journal. Each journal is published four times per year.
www.tesol.org/

WestEd: A nonprofit research, development, and service agency, WestEd enhances and increases education and human development within schools, families, and communities. Offerings on this site include research, resources, and professional development opportunities.