Teaching Digital Literacies explores different approaches to teaching digital literacies in the second language classroom. The authors provide a comprehensive overview of literacy and the new technologies in an easy to follow guide that language teachers will find very practical for their own contexts. Topics covered include different and multiple forms on literacy including web 1.0 and web 2.0, blogging and Twitter, multimodal literacy, social networking, mobility and digital literacy, as well as assessment of digital literacies. Teaching Digital Literacies is a valuable addition to the literature in our profession.

Standards for ESL/EFL Teachers of Adults offers performance indicators, vignettes, and evaluation tools for instructors. These clearly organized components will help instructors identify the qualities and practices to pursue in their teaching. The standards in this book address planning, instructing, and assessing as the basis for effective teaching. These three core standards lead to five additional standards that focus on both the instructor and the instruction: identity and context, language proficiency, learning, content, and commitment and professionalism. Collectively, these eight standards represent the foundation of what professional teachers of adult ESL and EFL learners should know and be able to do. The eight standards are organized in a useful and concrete format. Each is introduced with a brief description followed by theoretical justification, numbered performance indicators, vignettes of real-life settings using the performance indicators, and a forum for further thought and discussion. The standards can be applied to most settings with adult ESL or EFL learners and can benefit educators and administrators in teacher-training programs, in educational programs, and in achieving professional development both personally and institution-wide.

There are many reasons to be curious about the way people learn, and the past several decades have seen an explosion of research that has important implications for individual learning, schooling, workforce training, and policy. In 2000, How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School: Expanded Edition was published and its influence has been wide and deep. The report summarized insights on the nature of learning in school-aged children; described principles for the design of effective learning environments; and provided examples of how that could be implemented in the classroom. Since then, researchers have continued to investigate the nature of learning and have generated new findings related to the neurological processes involved in learning, individual and cultural variability related to learning, and educational technologies. In addition to expanding scientific understanding of the mechanisms of learning and how the brain adapts throughout the lifespan, there have been important discoveries about influences on learning, particularly sociocultural factors and the structure of learning environments. How People Learn II: Learners, Contexts, and Cultures provides a much-needed update incorporating insights gained from this research over the past decade. The book expands on the foundation laid out in the 2000 report and takes an in-depth look at the constellation of influences that affect individual learning. How People Learn II will become an indispensable resource to understand learning throughout the lifespan for educators of students and adults.

The guide outlines performance standards for each of three broad goals of English-as-a-Second-Language teaching in elementary and secondary education. The three goals include: use of English to communicate in social settings; use of English to achieve academically in all content areas; and use of English in socially and culturally appropriate ways. Within each of these three goals, three more specific performance standards are enumerated. An introductory section explains the rationale, origins, and use of these standards. Subsequent sections, one for each grade group (pre-K-3, 4-8, 9-12), detail appropriate descriptors and progress indicators for each standard for students at that level. In addition, a brief vignette illustrates their use in the classroom, and some further discussion follows. A glossary is included and supporting documentation is appended. Contains 57 references. (MSE)

Teaching Adult ESL is the first comprehensive yet practical overview of adult ESL teaching methodology for teachers and teachers in preparation.

A high level of literacy in both print and digital media is required for negotiating most aspects of 21st-century life, including supporting a family, education, health, civic participation, and competitiveness in the global economy. Yet, more than 90 million U.S. adults lack adequate literacy. Furthermore, only 38 percent of U.S. 12th graders are at or above proficient in reading. Improving Adult Literacy Instruction synthesizes the research on literacy and learning to improve literacy instruction in the United States and to recommend a more systemic approach to research, practice, and policy. The book focuses on individuals ages 16 and older who are not in K-12 education. It identifies factors that affect literacy development in adolescence and adulthood in general, and examines their implications for strengthening literacy instruction for this population. It also discusses technologies for learning that can assist with multiple aspects of teaching, assessment,and accommodations for learning. There is inadequate knowledge about effective instructional practices and a need for better assessment and ongoing monitoring of adult students' proficiencies, weaknesses, instructional environments, and progress, which might guide instructional planning. Improving Adult Literacy Instruction recommends a program of research and innovation to validate, identify the boundaries of, and extend current knowledge to improve instruction for adults and adolescents outside school. The book is a valuable resource for curriculum developers, federal agencies such as the Department of Education, administrators, educators, and funding agencies.

In the United States, the nomenclature of adult education includes adult literacy, adult secondary education, and English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) services provided to undereducated and limited English proficient adults. Those receiving adult education services have diverse reasons for seeking additional education. With the passage of the WIA, the assessment of adult education students became mandatory-regardless of their reasons for seeking services. The law does allow the states and local programs flexibility in selecting the most appropriate assessment for the student. The purpose of the NRC's workshop was to explore issues related to efforts to measure learning gains in adult basic education programs, with a focus on performance-based assessments.