Teaching Vocabulary to English Language Learners

Building on Michael Graves’s bestseller, The Vocabulary Book, this new resource offers a comprehensive plan for vocabulary instruction that K–12 teachers can use with English language learners. It is broad enough to include instruction for students who are just beginning to build their English vocabularies, as well as for students whose English vocabularies are approaching those of native speakers. The authors describe a four-pronged program that follows these key components: providing rich and varied language experiences; teaching individual words; teaching word learning strategies; and fostering word consciousness. This user-friendly book integrates up-to-date research on best practices into each chapter and includes vignettes, classroom activities, sample lessons, a list of children’s literature, and more.

Michael F. Graves is Professor Emeritus of Literacy Education at the University of Minnesota. His books include Teaching Individual Words: Once Size Does Not Fit All and The Vocabulary Book. Diane August is a Managing Director affiliated with the American Institutes for Research in Washington, DC. Jeannette Mancilla-Martinez is Assistant Professor of Language, Literacy, and Technology at the University of California, Irvine.