“One out of every four students we have in schools today speaks another first language. It’s helpful to have bilingual teachers to be able to communicate with parents. In some cases, the students may speak English, but the parents may or may not. And it’s crucial to communicate with the parents.”
-Steve Byrne

English Language Development (ELD)

• This website offers a summary of ELD and the different strategies that are used to help promote the understanding of the English language for children who do not speak English as their primary language. Descriptions of how ELD is taught and what main skill areas it focuses on can also be found on the site. There is a blog that can be accessed that provides different tips for integrating these strategies in the classroom.

The Status of Bilingual Education in America

• This website lists the statuses of states that have a significant number of bilingual education students. It also discusses state funding and efforts to continue the bilingual education approach or to move to another approach.

Ten Things the mainstream teacher can do for ELL students

• 1. Enunciate clearly, but do not raise your voice. Add gestures, point directly to objects, or draw pictures when appropriate.
  
  2. Write clearly, legibly, and in print - many ELL students have difficulty reading cursive.
  
  3. Develop and maintain routines. Use clear and considerate signals for classroom instructions.
  
  4. Repeat information and review frequently. If a student does not understand, try rephrasing or paraphrasing in shorter sentences and simpler syntax. Check often for understanding, but do not ask "Do you understand?" Instead, have students demonstrate their learning in order to show comprehension.
  
  5. Try to avoid idioms and slang words.
  
  6. Present information in the context of known information.
  
  7. Announce the lesson's objectives and activities, and list instructions step-by-step.
  
  8. Present information in a variety of ways.
  
  9. Provide frequent summations of the salient points of a lesson, and always emphasize key vocabulary words.
  
  10. Recognize student success overtly and frequently. But, also be aware that in some cultures overt, individual praise is considered inappropriate and can therefore be embarrassing or confusing to the student.

Video: Bilingualism in Early Childhood Education

• This is the first of a series of three videos where an episode of Carpe Diem explores Bilingualism in Early Childhood Education. It explores the life of a family where two children are learning second languages. You will also hear from Dr. Fernando Naidich, a bilingual and mulicultural educator at Montclair State University. Dr. Naiditch offers his expert opinion as to why it is vitally important to be bilingual in today's diverse enviornment.

CSEFEL

• The Center for Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning have coordinated efforts to extend the impact of their work on young children’s social/emotional development and challenging behavior. They offer free resources and information, many available in both English and Spanish, that can be used with children at home or in the classroom. The Center websites feature newsletters, training modules, research syntheses, and information on training opportunities. They have also scheduled Internet chats on issues of interest in early learning, such as how culture influences expectations and interpretatoins of children's behavior.

Mastering ESL and Bilingual Methods: Differentiated Instruction for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) Students

• This book review is about the book, Mastering ESL and Bilingual Methods: Differentiated Instruction for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) Students, by Socorro Herrera and Kevin Murry. It is a research-based book that promotes the academic achievement of culturally and linguistically diverse children. This book features standards of best practice in each chapter, theoretical and practical pedagogical plans throughout the text, a case study on individual instruction for a CLD student, instructional issues, self-assessment rubrics and assessment tips and strategies.

Encyclopedia of Bilingual Education

• This book, written by Josue M. Gonzalez, contains information describing educational practices used for bilingual education in the United States. It discusses the goals of bilingual education and what can/needs to be done in order to ensure that these children receive the proper resources to succeed. This site, education review, consists of numerous book reviews and is very useful to teachers and parents researching educational books.

Dual Language Development & Disorders: A Handbook on Bilingualism and Second Language Learning

• The authors, Fred Genesse, Johanne Paradis and Martha Crago provide information regarding both normal as well as impaired second language learning. The ldual anguage development of ESL children is very different from that of children who only speak one language. Dual language learners are divided into two types: bilingual children and children who learn a second language after they have made noticeable progress in the first language. This assists in gaining a stronger understanding of the development and acquisition of the English language for these children.