Learning to speak, read, and write in the English language is the most important integration challenge that faces the more than one million immigrants who arrive in the United States each year. Immigrants need English language skills to function effectively in three core roles – as leaders and caretakers of their families, as members of their communities, and as workers. These roles loosely correspond to the types of ESL and literacy programs that have been developed over the past 25 years, and which now comprise the “potluck” array of instruction programs offered in adult education classrooms around the country today. 

Life Skills ESL programs with three to six hours of instruction per week help immigrants acquire rudimentary skills for their family and community roles. Most of the classes are for beginning language learners who stay on average for about 120 hours. A range of other ESL programs further supports the language and literacy skills needed for these functions. These include specific programs addressing family, health, and financial literacy, as well as programs focused on passing the English and civics requirements of the US naturalization exam. Programs geared to the English skills required for employment, including for particular jobs or occupations (most often called Vocational ESL or VESL programs) represent a growing field, though they are relatively few in number (see Employment and Workforce page).

The overarching challenge in this field is how to greatly expand quality, low-cost opportunities for immigrants to learn English. Key issues include identifying the program models that offer maximum results and returns on investment, and deciding how much can be achieved via traditional program models and how much must be accomplished through any time/anywhere learning and self-study by immigrants. Based on the answers to these questions, we must then determine what investments – in teacher training, curriculum (including distance learning), study aids, evaluation, and the like – must be made and by whom, in order to rearrange the haphazardly organized array of current offerings into a coherent, high quality system?

Adult English Language Instruction in the United States: Determining Need and Investing Wisely
By Margie McHugh, Julia Gelatt, and Michael Fix
July 2007

Improving Immigrant Workers’ Economic Prospects: A Review of the Literature
By Amy Beeler and Julie Murray
Securing the Future: US Immigrant Integration Policy, A Reader
February 2007

The number of individuals who report that they do not speak English well or at all grew from almost 14 million in the 1990 Census to over 21 million in the 2000 Census. 

Fifty percent of limited-English-proficient (LEP) adults report having nine or fewer years of education, and 64 percent have less than a high school degree. Only 18 percent have any post-secondary education.

Conference proceedings on Research, Practice, and Policy for Low-educated Second Language and Literacy Acquisition (LESLLA) for Adults will be published soon. The conference, held in November 2006, gathered renowned researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to discuss the latest research and to develop an international agenda on issues pertaining to the adult, low-educated, second language literacy learner. (The agenda they developed is available here.)

LESLLA is a new international organization that focuses specifically on the education and training of adults who have no or little literacy in the native language. For papers on this topic and more information, see http://www.leslla.org/about.htm

TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages) will be holding its annual convention on March 21–24, 2007 in Seattle, Washington. Issues related to adult immigrant education, training and citizenship will be discussed in workshops, on panels, and in small group discussions. For details see http://www.tesol.org/s_tesol/index.asp.

The Center for Adult English Language Acquisition (CAELA) is funded by the Department of Education to help states build their capacity to provide services to adult second language learners. CAELA will be publishing a guide called CAELA Guide for Adult ESL Trainers in February 2007. It will contain training materials for local program staff, covering such topics as Information for Trainers, Workshop Modules, Study Guides for Study Circles and Mentoring, and Resources for Training. Draft versions of the Training Tips are available on-line: http://www.cal.org/caela/scb/guide.html.

Passing the Torch: Strategies for Innovation in Community College ESL, Executive Summary
By Forrest P. Chisman and JoAnn Crandall
Center for the Advancement of Adult Literacy (CAAL)

Four Lay-of-the-Land Papers on the Federal Role in Adult Literacy
Commissioned for the First Meeting of the National Commission on Adult Literacy
National Commission on Adult Literacy, November 14, 2006

Supporting Adult English Language Learners’ Transitions to Postsecondary Education
Julie Mathews-Aydinli
Center for Adult English Language Acquisition (CAELA), September 2006

Understanding Adult ESL Content Standards
By Sarah Young, Center for Adult English Language Acquisition, and Cristine Smith, National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy
Center for Adult English Language Acquisition (CAELA), September 2006

Promoting Success of Multilevel ESL Classes: What Teachers and Administrators Can Do
By Julie Mathews-Aydinli and Regina Van Horne
Center for Adult English Language Acquisition (CAELA), April 2006

English Literacy and Civics Education
Center for Adult English Language Acquisition (CAELA), February 2006

Educational Functioning Level Table (ESL) Effective July 1, 2006
US Department of Education, Office of Adult and Vocational Education, 2006

Research on Low-Educated Second Language and Literacy Acquisition
By I. Van de Craats, J. Kurvers, and M. Young-Scholten
In Low-Educated Second Language and Literacy Acquisition: Proceedings of the Inaugural Symposium - Tilburg 05, 2006

The Portland Adult ESL “Lab School”
By Steve Reder
National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy, November 2005

Supporting English Language Acquisition: Opportunities for Foundations to Strengthen the Social and Economic Well-being of Immigrant Families
By Tia Elena Martinez and Ted Wang
The Annie E. Casey Foundation and Grantmakers Concerned With Immigrants And
Refugees, 2005

Teaching Adults to Read: A Summary of Scientifically Based Research Principals
By Mary E. Curtis and John R. Kruidenier
National Institute for Literacy, 2005

Working in the Light of Evidence, As Well as Commitment: A Literature Review of the Best Available Evidence about Effective Adult Literacy, Numeracy and Language Teaching.
By J. Benseman, A. Sutton, and J. Lander
The University of Auckland and UniServices Ltd., 2005

Adult ESL and the Community College
By J. Crandall and K. Sheppard
Working Paper 7, CAAL Community College Series, Council for Advancement of Adult Literacy, 2004

Connecting the Local and the Global:  A Pedagogy of Not-Literacy 
By E. Auerbach
In J. Anderson, M. Kendrick, T. Rogers, and S. Smythe, eds., Portraits of Literacy Across Families, Communities, and Schools: Intersections and Tensions (363-379), 2004

Real World Research: Combining Qualitative and Quantitative Research for Adult ESL
By Larry Condelli, American Institutes for Research, and Heide Spruck Wrigley, Literacywork International, San Mateo, CA, 2004

Adult English Language Instruction in the 21st Century
National Center for ESL Literacy Education (NCLE), 2003

Reading and Adult English Language Learners: A Review of the Research
By Miriam Burt, Joy Kreeft Peyton, and Rebecca Adams
Center for Applied Linguistics, 2003

What Works Study for Adult ESL Literacy Students: Final Report
By L. Condelli, H. Wrigley, K. Yoon, S. Cronen, and M. Seburn
2003

English Literacy and Language Minorities in the United States
By E. Greenberg, R.F. Macías, D. Rhodes, and T. Chan
Statistical Analysis Report No. NCES 2001464, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001

Learning from Uprooted Families
By G. Weinstein-Shr
In Immigrant Learners and Their Families: Literacy to Connect the Generations
Center for Applied Linguistics and Delta Systems, 1995

ESL and the American Dream: Report on an Investigation of English as a Second Language Service for Adults
By F. Chisman, H. Wrigley, and D. Ewen
Southport Institute for Policy Analysis, 1993

Key Website for Resources on Adult ESL
Center for Adult English Language Acquisition