Literacy Instruction for English Language Learners: A Teacher's Guide to Research-Based Practices

• learn more about the ELL students in their classroom
• support the emergence and early development of English literacy skills in nonnative speakers
• help English learners reach their full potential as readers and writers
• promote biliteracy in English and students’ home languages
• guide ELL students as they develop academic language and literacy in English
• connect reading and writing strongly to promote growth in each
• assess the literacy skills of English language learners and use that information to plan responsive instruction.

• Research findings quickly summarize the latest and most important ideas for teaching.
• Quotes from researchers provide direct support for effective teaching.
• Classroom Suggestions offer practical ways to put research into practice.
• Additional Resources point toward rich information sources for teaching literacy to English learners.
• Research Questions provide paths for investigation in any classroom.

Fred Genesee is coauthor of the Heinemann titles Dual Language Instruction from A to Z and Literacy Instruction for English Language Learners. He is a professor in the Psychology Department at McGill University and the author of numerous articles and books on second language teaching and learning. His research focuses on the academic achievement, language, and literacy development of minority and majority language students in alternative forms of bilingual education. Fred served on the National Literacy Panel for Language Minority Children and Youth, which issued the report Developing Literacy in Second-Language Learners in 2006 and on the Center for Research on Education, Excellence, and Diversity report Educating English Language Learners: A Synthesis of Research Evidence (2006).