New Website!!

I'm really excited about the new website that we are working on for English language development!! Well, it's not so much of a new website, but it has been offline for about six months due to a technical change in the hosting company and I haven't had a chance to add anything to it!

Please visit ELDStrategies.com and let us know what you think of the format so far! I am slowly working on it, adding content, so please be patient because I am trying to figure out the technical part as I am also writing the content at the same time!

I plan on keeping this blog and trying to write a little more regularly, but there are also things that I can do over on the regular website that I can't do on the blog. For example, I would like to create some documents, powerpoints, and other resources for teachers that I would like to upload to the site and make them easily accessible to be downloaded. I can't do that here!

One of my major plans over on the main ELD Strategies site is to create a teacher forum where teachers can network and share resources with one another. I've got some really great ideas and I am working hard to put it all together because I know that there is such a need for an online community of teachers of English learners.

Just imagine one website that you can go to that has everything that you need to teach English learners! That's my major goal. I've just been playing around on this blog here, trying to learn about technology and social media, and now I am committed to moving forward and creating a website that will serve as a comprehensive resource for teachers.

I'm open to suggestions as to what you think should be included on the website. I have unlimited pages, so I can address many issues. Please feel free to leave a comment or email me at info(at)eldstrategies(dot)com if you would like to make a few suggestions about what you think would be on the ideal site for teachers of English learners. I want to make this site relevant and useful to teachers, so please don't hold back your suggestions!!

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Second Language Programs for English Learners

I just published an article that outlines the various program options available for second language learners. The article details the differences between English Mainstream programs, structured English immersion, and the various forms of bilingual education.

You can check out the article here:

Second Language Programs for English Learners

Book Giveaway!!

We're having a giveaway of Colin Baker's book "Foundations of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism" over on our multilingual blog. Even if you aren't a bilingual teacher, this book is an excellent resource for teachers or people who would like to learn more about second language education. You can find the details over on Multilingual Mania! If you would like to enter, leave a comment over there that you found us through the ELD Strategies blog!

Online Resources for Teachers of English Learners

Wested's "Schools Moving Up" will be having a live webinar or teleconference about English learners and Language Arts. The webinar will take place on August 20 from 10:30-12:00 Pacific Standard Time. If you miss the webinar, it will later be posted on the website. This is an excellent opportunity to develop research-based strategies on developing academic language in English learners! You can find more information here.

Heinemann is offering a free sample chapter of their newly released book, Comprehension and English Language Learners: 25 Oral Reading Strategies that Cross Proficiency Levels. You can read the chapter by clicking here. If you enjoy the book, you can also purchase it from the ELD Strategies store.

If you belong to www.goodreads.com, you can join our group "Educating English Learners". We will share books and open a discussion forum where we will talk about issues pertinent to the education of English learners. Join now and we will be posting recommended books soon!

We just recently started a yahoo listserve group for teachers of English learners. We would like to increase membership in the group and create an online space where teachers can dialogue with one another and share resources and materials. Please join now and spread the word!!

Soon we will create a facebook page. Stay tuned!! You can also check out our Multilingual Mania site if you are interested in bilingualism.


Purchase these ELD materials for English learners in order to fully develop their proficiency in English language development. This book is recommended for esl teachers, esol teachers, teachers who have been trained in the siop model of language development, and teachers who need assistance with second language acquisition.

Question of the Week

Once a week we will be taking a question of the week and expanding on the question. Now is your chance to ask any question that you have about second language acquisition, English learners, ELD, effective practices for English language development, etc! Feel free to leave your question in the comments section and at the end of the week we will choose one question to answer. The questions that you ask will really help us create posts that are interesting, relevant and pertinent to the needs of our readers.

Remember what you tell to your students--"No question is a stupid question!". We are here to help and assist teacher in any way, and we need you to tell us what it is that you need.

Preparing for the CTEL Test

Lately it appears that many school districts in California are becoming more adamant that teachers receive their certification to teach English learners. One way that teachers can receive their certification is to take classes at a university; many of the extended learning centers for the universities offer certification programs. In California, an additional way to receive your English learner certification is to take the CTEL (California Teachers of English Learners) test.

We've decided that over the next few weeks we will post about topics pertinent to information that might be found on the CTEL test in order to assist any teachers who might be prepping for the test. All the information will also be applicable to any teachers of English learners.

You might also want to take a look at our previous post of must-reads for receiving your English learner certification. Similar states have similar tests, so I am positive that the information found in these materials will be applicable to any state certification!
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May Updates

The funniest thing happened. We mailed off our Project GLAD giveaway book quite a bit of time ago, and the book was actually returned to us for some reason. It just ended up in our mailbox, interestingly enough and it doesn't even look like it has been mailed. We will be sending it out again this coming Tuesday.

We haven't been posting much here lately because we have been very busy with Project GLAD trainings and English Learner Professional Development Trainings (ELPD). We actually submitted a training curriculum to be approved by the state, and it was accepted. We're very happy about this.

Many people have been contacting us and asking us if we are Project GLAD key trainers. We most definitely are! We are located in Southern California, but have no problems with traveling to other locations. We work extensively with teachers in all academic programs, and we have a specific expertise in the area of bilingual education/dual language/Dual Immersion programs. We can also provide training on how Project GLAD can be used to meet the needs of second language learners who are in dual language contexts (i.e., English-only students learning Spanish, for example). If you would like more information or have any questions, please feel free to contact us at eldstrategies(at)yahoo(dot)com.

Stay tuned for some upcoming posts because we will begin to update the blog this weekend. We'll try to keep more regular with the posting. Have a nice holiday weeekend!!