Educating English Language Learners: A Synthesis of Research Evidence

The book provides the first and only review of scientific research on the learning outcomes of students with limited or no proficiency in English in U.S. schools. Research on students in kindergarten to grade 12 is reviewed. The primary chapters of the book focus on these students' acquisition of oral language skills in English, their development of literacy (reading & writing) skills in English, instructional issues in teaching literacy, and achievement in academic domains (i.e., mathematics, science, and reading). The reviews and analyses of the research are relatively technical with a focus on research quality, design characteristics, and statistical analyses. The book provides a unique set of summary tables that give details about each study, including full references, characteristics of the students in the research, assessment tools and procedures, and results. A concluding chapter summarizes the major issues discussed and makes recommendations about particular areas that need further research.

Fred Genesee is Professor in the Department of Psychology, McGill University, Toronto Kathryn Lindholm-Leary is Professor of Child and Adolescent Development at San Jose State University William M. Saunders, Ph.D., is a Senior Research Fellow at CSU, Long Beach, at UCLA, and at LessonLab. He currently directs LessonLab's school-based programs for improving teaching, learning, and schooling Donna Christian is President of the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL) in Washington, DC