Reading Rockets offers a wealth of reading strategies, lessons, and activities designed to help young children learn how to read and read better. Our reading resources assist parents, teachers, and other educators in working with struggling readers who require additional help in reading fundamentals and comprehension skills development.
English Language Learners and Academic Language
This free webcast is available online anytime.
It is made possible by AFT Teachers, a division of the American Federation of Teachers, as part of a Colorín Colorado partnership between AFT and Reading Rockets.
Featuring Dr. Robin Scarcella, providing an overview to academic language instruction for English language learners, as well as teaching strategies, activity ideas, and recommended resources.
To get started:
Or click below for the following:
For technical questions, please see the About Webcasts page.
Program description
Featuring Dr. Robin Scarcella, providing an overview to academic language instruction for English language learners, as well as teaching strategies, activity ideas, and recommended resources.
Program note: The video segment included in this webcast, "Beyond Survival English," is an excerpt from Becoming Bilingual, 30-minute PBS program hosted by Rita Moreno.
The full program can be seen on Colorín Colorado or purchased from our Learning Store.
Presenter
Dr. Robin Scarcella is Professor at the University of California at Irvine, where she also serves as the Director of the Program in Academic English and ESL. She has written over sixty scholarly publications on ESL teaching and L2 acquisition, edited numerous volumes, and written many methodology books and textbooks. Her articles have appeared in such journals as the TESOL Quarterly, Language Learning, Brain and Language and Second Language Research. She has presented at conferences in the United States, Canada, Central America, South America, Europe and the Middle East. In the last four years, she has provided teacher professional development workshops to over 10,000 elementary and secondary teachers. Her most recent volume is Accelerating Academic English. She received her doctoral degree in Linguistics at the University of Southern California and her masters in Second Language Acquisition-Education from Stanford University.
Recommended readings
Articles and books by our presenter
- Scarcella, R. (2003). Academic English: A Conceptual Framework. The University of California Linguistic Minority Research Institute. Technical Report 2003-1.
Other readings
- Aukerman, M. (2007). A culpable CALP: Rethinking the conversational/academic language proficiency distinction in early literacy instruction. The Reading Teacher, 60, 626-635.
- Brown, C. L. (2007). Supporting English language learners in content-reading. Reading Improvement, 44, 32-39.
- Cruz, M. (2004). Can English language learners acquire academic English? English Journal, 93, 14-31.
- Institute of Education Sciences. (2007). IES Practice Guide: Effective literacy and English language instruction for English learners in the elementary grades. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education.
- Rubinstein-Ávila, E. (2006). Connecting with Latino learners. Educational Leadership, 63, 38-43.
- Zwiers, J. (2005). The Third Language of Academic English. Educational Leadership, 62, 60-63.
- Zwiers, J. (2008). Building Academic Language: Essential Practices for Content Classrooms, Grades 5-12. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Discussion questions
- Describe how academic English differs from the English we use in everyday life. What are some misconceptions people might have about academic language development?
- Does your school have an effective, comprehensive academic language curriculum in place? If not, how could you work with colleagues within your school to develop one?
- According to Dr. Scarcella, how might academic language instruction be designed to address the needs of both newcomer ELLs and long-term ELLs?
- Based on what you heard today, can you describe skills other than vocabulary knowledge that are essential to academic language proficiency?
- What types of professional development activities do you think would be helpful to teachers who want to learn more about effective academic English instruction?
The Reading Rockets Professional Development Webcast Series is a production of WETA. The Reading Rockets project is funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs.
This program was produced by WETA/Reading Rockets, which is solely responsible for its content. The views expressed in the program are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of WETA/Reading Rockets, our funders, or our partners.
* To view this file, you'll need a copy of Acrobat Reader. Most computers already have it installed, or you can download it now.
"As an ESL educator in Puerto Rico, I confront huge challenges in the classroom year after year. The Reading Rockets articles have been very useful and have influenced my teaching practices."
~ Lydia C.
Kids Who Struggle |
Teaching Reading |
Books & Authors |
Articles from A-Z
Our Shows on PBS |
Podcasts & Video |
Webcasts |
Blogs about Reading |
Reading Research
Reading Store |
Free Reading Guides |
Reading Resources |
Today's Reading News
For Teachers |
For Other Professionals |
For Families
En español |
Newsletters |
Calendar
Home Page |
About Reading Rockets |
Contact Us |
Link to Reading Rockets
Privacy Policy |
Terms & Conditions |
Site Map
Reading Rockets is a national multimedia project that offers research-based and best-practice information on teaching kids to read and helping those who struggle. It is an educational service of public television station WETA in Washington, D.C.
Visit WETA's educational web sites:
© Copyright 2008. All rights reserved. Reading Rockets is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs. Reading Rockets® is a registered trademark of WETA.
Stay informed! Subscribe to our e-mail newsletters.