Guides to Resources

• National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition (NCELA) http://www.ncela.gwo.edu

  NCELA is funded by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of English Language Acquisition. They have developed a nice set of resource guides with articles and Internet resources on topics of interest to English language learners. Topics include: assessment, adult English language learners, literacy, immigration, and teacher education to name a few (http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/resabout/). They also have a section with demographics and statistics related to ESL: http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/stats/. For teachers there are links to lesson plans, sources for professional development, profiles of effective programs for language learners, and resources to promote cultural understanding.

• National Institute for Literacy, Special Collections, ESL http://www.literacynet.org/esl

  The National Institute for Literacy has a "special collection" site to 'English as a Second Language' resources. The special collection promotes the development of high-quality ESL programs, and provides guidelines for planning and supporting these programs. There are sections for instructors, administrators and adult learners. The "Teaching and Tutors" section has materials for use in the classroom, and guides for beginning ESL instructors. The "Students and Learners" section includes information on citizenship and immigration, an introduction to culture in the United States, links to online activities for language practice, and a directory of schools and ESL programs across the US. For managers and administrators there are guides to developing ESL programs, and examples of benchmarks and other planning tools.

• Center for Adult English Language Acquisition (CAELA) http://www.cal.org/caela/
  

  CAELA's website is funded by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Vocational and Adult Education. Their mission is "helping states build their capacity to promote English language learning and academic achievement." They have developed a collection of tools for adult ESL instructors on a variety of topics including citizenship, cultural understanding, ESL methods, and second language acquisition. Guides for program development and bibliographies of ESL resources are also available.

• Office of English Language Acquisition, U.S. Department of Education http://www.ed.gov/oela

  The Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) is responsible for administering grant programs, recommending policies and promoting best practices to meet the needs of English language learners. Information about services, special programs, and resources for educators, parents and students are available on this website.