Research Guides: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice: ESL Education

English as a Second Language | Inglés como segunda lengua

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Versión en español

People with dialogue bubbles greeting in different languages. English as a Second Language (ESL) and Teacher English as a Foreign Language (TESOL) refer to the instruction of English to non-native speakers. ESL and TESOL education focus on the acquisition of language through reading, speaking/listening, grammar, and writing lessons. ESL and TESOL differ from bilingual education, yet they may have similar components. In the case of ESL and TESOL, learners are from diverse language backgrounds, while bilingual education is centered on learners from the same language background.

Northern Essex Community College's ESL Program

NECC's ESL Program aims to improve student's language skills. The program has a Basic English as a Second Language (BESL) courses, which are divided into 3 levels. Courses in the BESL program are for students whose level is basic or at beginner's level. Each of the courses in the ESL program at NECC will assist students to succeed in the program or career of their choosing. For more information on how to enroll and the ESL test, click here.

ESL and the Library

The NECC Libraries have various resources to help our ESL faculty and students. Among the resources we have:

Print books
E-books from various services including ProQuest's Ebook Central and EBSCO's Community College Collection)
Audiobooks (for reading along)
Databases
Dictionaries
Interlibrary loans
Bilingual guides

The NECC librarians are always seeking ways to collaborate with the college community to ensure student success. It is because of these that our collections continue to grow and our online curated resources are reviewed every semester.

English as a Second Language - St. Mary Catholic Secondary School El Inglés Como Segunda Lengua (ESL, por sus siglas en inglés) o la Enseñanza del Inglés para Personas que Hablan Otras Lenguas (TESOL, por sus siglas en inglés) se refiere a la instrucción del inglés a personas cuya lengua materna no es inglés. Tanto ESL como TESOL se centran en la adquisición del lenguaje a través de la enseñanza de la gramática, lecto-escritura y componentes conversacionales. Se debe mencionar que la educación bilingue y la ESL/TESOL son diferentes, aunque poseen algunos componentes que converjen. En el caso de la educación ESL/TESOL los aprendices poseen diversos trasfondos lingüísticos y culturales. Por su parte, la educación bilingüe se caracteriza porque sus aprendices poseen el mismo trasfondo lingüístico-cultural.

Programa de ESL de Northern Essex Community College

El Programa de ESL de NECC tiene como meta mejorar las destrezas de lenguaje de sus estudiantes. El programa posee cursos básicos de acquisiquisión de lenguaje (BESL, por sus siglas en inglés), los cuales están divididos en tres niveles. Los cursos de BESL son ideales para estudiantes que se encuentran en el nivel básico o de principiante. Cada curso del programa de ESL en NECC se asegura que los estudiantes desarrollen las competencias necesarias para tener éxito en la disciplina o carrera de su preferencia. Para más información sobre cómo matricularse en el programa de ESL o tomar el examen de ESL haga un click aquí.

ESL y la Biblioteca

Las bibliotecas de NECC albergan varios recursos para asistir a la facultad que imparte los cursos de ESL y sus estudiantes. Entre los recursos que albergamos tenemos:

Libros impresos
E-Books de varios proveedores de servicio, incluyendo ProQuest Ebook Central y EBSCO Community College Collection
Audiolibros (para que puedas escucharlos junto al formato impreso)
Bases de datos
Diccionarios
Préstamo interbibliotecario
Guías bilingües

Las bibliotecarias de NECC siempre están identificando formas para colaborar y asistir a la comunidad de colegial. Nuestro fin es asegurar el éxito estudiantil. Es por ello que nuestras colecciones se encuentran en constante crecimiento y nuestros recursos electrónicos son revisados semestralmente.

Library Catalog

Library Resources

Book Bridges for ESL Students by Suzanne Elizabeth Reid
Call Number: PE1128.A2 R454 2002
ISBN: 0810842130
Publication Date: 2002-02-05
Available at NECC Lawrence.

Description: This easy-to-use handbook will help teachers whose classrooms include students whose first language is not English. The focus is on books written for children or teens, which can serve as a valuable teaching tool for language--attractive illustrations, simple plots, and easy vocabulary deal with familiar situations so that language is acquired easily and the students maintain a high degree of interest. Even picture books, traditionally designed for the very young, now appear with intelligent wit and sophisticated themes that make this literature both accessible for new learners of English and suitable for older students. The more advanced books for intermediate readers have exciting, uncomplicated plots that will motivate teens to develop reading fluency while providing vocabulary and subject matter for participation in class discussions. Book Bridges is a complete teaching resource, replete with activities, suggested materials for classroom use, and lesson plans. In addition, it will serve as a useful reader's advisory tool for public libraries serving teens learning English.
Easy Information Sources for ESL, Adult Learners, and New Readers by Rosemarie Riechel
Call Number: Z1033.H53 R535 2009
ISBN: 9781555706500
Publication Date: 2008-11-01
Available at NECC Lawrence.

Description: Librarians in every community find challenges in serving adult patrons who struggle to read. Adult book collections are too daunting...and many children's books are simply too childlike. This bibliography identifies and describes more than 250 nonfiction books from the children's department that will support and engage your adults with special needs. Organized into 15 popular subject areas, and based on recommendations from respected public library adult and children's librarians, school librarians, and children's authors, the books included in this annotated bibliography are based on specific criteria, including: Coverage of popular, but complex topics, using clear language, and highly readable presentations Accurate, well-researched texts Appealing, informative illustrations to enhance text A minimum of "childish" features The majority of works recommended are recent with publishing dates after 1998 and they can be recommended with confidence because they do not "talk down" to adult readers or embarrass those who may be new readers. This new work is both a handy "book finding" tool and a terrific resource helping your library fulfill an important community outreach mission.
Educating Emergent Bilinguals by Jo Anne Kleifgen; Ofelia Garcia
Call Number: LC3715 .G37 2010
ISBN: 0807751138
Publication Date: 2010-10-24
Available at NECC Haverhill.

Description: This comprehensive and insightful book shows how present educational policies and practices to educate language minority students in the United States ignore an essential characteristic, their emergent bilingualism. Expanding on a popular report supported by the Campaign for Educational Equity (Teachers College), this accessible guide compiles the most up-to-date research findings to demonstrate how ignoring children's bilingualism perpetuates inequities in their schooling. What makes this book truly useful is that it offers a thorough description of alternative practices that would transform our schools and students' futures, such as building on students' home languages and literacy practices in schools, curricular and pedagogical innovations, new approaches to parent and community engagement, and adoptive assessment tools. Providing critical research, rich theoretical perspective, and meaningful blueprints for effective pedagogy, Educating Emergent Bilinguals is essential reading for all teachers of language minority students, as well as principals, superintendents, and policymakers.
Great Debates by Meredith Westfall; John McCarthy
Call Number: PE1128 .W439 2004
ISBN: 9780472089550
Publication Date: 2004-03-19
Available at NECC Lawrence.

Description: This book provides vocabulary, conversation tips, language learning tips, and discussion activities to help students debate on a wide variety of fairly non-controversial topics, from dining in or eating out, using the phone or e-mail, type A or type B, fiction or non-fiction, love at first sight or love over time, to diet or exercise. Along with the discussion activities, the book contains some reading, writing, and vocabulary activities. Each of the 30 units includes: pre-debate discussion questions new vocabulary words a reading that outlines both sides of the debate comprehension questions discussion activities that include expressions used in debate-related speech acts and those pertaining to language learning writing assignments idiom and vocabulary review.
Medical English Clear and Simple: A Practice-Based Approach to English for ESL Healthcare Professionals by Melodie Hull
Call Number: PE1127.M4 H85 2010
ISBN: 9780803621657
Publication Date: 2010-01-11
Available at NECC Lawrence.

Description: Take a better approach to English for ESL health care students and practitioners. This workbook-based method uses a variety of interactive learning techniques to develop their mastery of medical English and their ability to use and understand it in the health care setting. It's perfect for both self-study and classroom instruction.
Teaching and Learning in Two Languages by Eugene E. Garcia; James A. Banks (Series edited by)
Call Number: LC3731 .G35 2005
ISBN: 0807745367
Publication Date: 2005-04-08
Available at NECC Haverhill and Lawrence

Description: This is the most comprehensive, up-to-date volume on the state of bilingual education in the United States and, in particular, on effective curriculum and instructional approaches. Eugene García, a renowned authority on bilingual education, depicts the vast scope and complexity of the problem of educating English language learners. He sets forth a conceptual framework to guide educational policy and practice that reflects democratic ideals and values. This authoritative reference: Provides a comprehensive review of theory, research, practice, and policy that accurately characterizes the education of bilingual students in U.S. schools. Presents an analysis of teachers, classrooms, schools, and communities that have successfully educated bilingual children by employing diverse instructional strategies. Addresses language, social, and cognitive issues as they intersect with various instructional practices. Identifies the characteristics of effective bilingual education programs, presenting examples of school programs that exemplify these characteristics.
A Writer's Reference with Writing in the Disciplines by Diana Hacker; Nancy Sommers
Call Number: Ref PE1408 .H2778 2011b
ISBN: 9780312601447
Publication Date: 2011-04-08
Available at NECC Haverhill and Lawrence [Does not circulate].

Description: To help your students write in composition and in other college courses, A Writer's Reference with Writing in the Disciplines includes a tabbed section with advice and model papers in nine academic disciplines: biology, business, criminology, education, engineering, history, music, nursing, and psychology.

Breaking Through by Margarita Calderon (Editor)
Call Number: LC3731 | .B657 2012eb
ISBN: 9781936765379
Publication Date: 2012-05-14
Available at NECC Online.

Description: Utilizing new research and field studies, this book provides a whole-school approach to helping English learners achieve academically while they learn English. Discover why ELs learn better when language, literacy, and subject matter are integrated, and learn how to prepare all teachers in a school to meet the needs of this growing student population.
The Cambridge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition by Julia Herschensohn; Martha Young-Scholten
Call Number: P118.2 .C356 2013
ISBN: 9781299399976
Publication Date: 2013-01-17
Available at NECC Online.

Description: What is language and how can we investigate its acquisition by children or adults? What perspectives exist from which to view acquisition? What internal constraints and external factors shape acquisition? What are the properties of interlanguage systems? This comprehensive 31-chapter handbook is an authoritative survey of second language acquisition (SLA). Its multi-perspective synopsis on recent developments in SLA research provides significant contributions by established experts and widely recognized younger talent. It covers cutting edge and emerging areas of enquiry not treated elsewhere in a single handbook, including third language acquisition, electronic communication, incomplete first language acquisition, alphabetic literacy and SLA, affect and the brain, discourse and identity. Written to be accessible to newcomers as well as experienced scholars of SLA, the Handbook is organised into six thematic sections, each with an editor-written introduction.
Critical ELT in Action by Graham V. Crookes
Call Number: PE1128 .A2 C76 2013eb
ISBN: 9781136918834
Publication Date: 2013-03-20
Available at NECC Online.

Description: Uniquely bridging theory and practice, this text introduces and overviews the various domains associated with the term critical pedagogy in the field of TESOL/ELT. Critical pedagogy addresses concepts, values, curriculum, instructional and associated practices involved in language teaching for social justice. Bringing critical pedagogy to classroom practitioners in a practical and comprehensible way, the text is designed to help teachers get started on critically grounded work in their own teaching. Features * Textbook extracts offer direct and quick illustration of what this perspective might look like in practice * Coverage of feminist and anti-racist pedagogies; sexual identity, oppression and pedagogy; peace and environmental education; and critical English as a foreign language--and their implications for second-language teaching * Historical background * Theoretical background on language and learning * Consideration of applicability of critical/radical educational concepts and traditions to non-Western cultural contexts * A focus on issues of compromise and resistance This original, timely, and informative text is ideal for any course on methods and approaches in TESOL.
Promoting Academic Achievement among English Learners by Rhoda P. Coleman; Claude Goldenberg
Call Number: LB1062.6 .G63 2010eb
ISBN: 9781452209586
Publication Date: 2010-01-01
Available at NECC Online.

Description: The growing numbers of English language learners (ELLs) in our schools pose increasing challenges and opportunities for U.S. educators and policy makers. A generation or two ago, the achievement of children who came to school knowing little or no English was not a prominent national issue. Today it is. This comprehensive resource explores the research on promoting academic success among ELLs. It provides educators with a firm basis for making decisions related to adopting or developing effective policies and programmes for ELLs. Promoting Academic Achievement Among English Learners provides illustrative scenarios throughout to accompany research-based discussions about: - What we know about using ELLs' home language in their academic programme and findings about bilingual education - ELLs learning to speak English and simultaneously learning academic content, a vital aspect of their educational agenda - School- and district-level factors that affect ELLs' achievement - Sociocultural factors, including the influence of parents and families - A broad framework for improving the academic achievement of students who come to school not speaking English well or not speaking English at all.
The Routledge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition by Susan M. Gass (Editor); Alison Mackey (Editor)
Call Number: P118.2 .R68 2012
ISBN: 9780203808184
Publication Date: 2013-06-17
Available at NECC Online.

Description: The Routledge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition brings together fifty leading international figures in the field to produce a state-of-the-art overview of Second Language Acquisition. The Handbook covers a wide range of topics related to Second Language Acquisition: language in context, linguistic, psycholinguistic, and neurolinguistic theories and perspectives, skill learning, individual differences, L2 learning settings, and language assessment. All chapters introduce the reader to the topic, outline the core issues, then explore the pedagogical application of research in the area and possible future development. The Routledge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition is an essential resource for all those studying and researching Second Language Acquisition.
Spanish as a Heritage Language in the United States by Sara M. Beaudrie (Editor); Marta Fairclough (Editor); Guadalupe Valdés (Afterword by)
Call Number: PC4068 .U5 S63 2012eb
ISBN: 9781589019393
Publication Date: 2012-11-13
Available at NECC Online.

Description: There is growing interest in heritage language learners -- individuals who have a personal or familial connection to a nonmajority language. Spanish learners represent the largest segment of this population in the United States. In this comprehensive volume, experts offer an interdisciplinary overview of research on Spanish as a heritage language in the United States. They also address the central role of education within the field. Contributors offer a wealth of resources for teachers while proposing future directions for scholarship.

ERIC – Educational Resource Information Center This link opens in a new window
Provides bibliographic citations from over 600 education journals from 1966 to the present. Many are available in full-text.
Information Science This link opens in a new window
Covering all aspects of managing and maintaining information and technology, including usability, cataloging, circulation, business information, and more.
Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts This link opens in a new window
Indexes hundreds of journals, books, research reports and proceedings on various subjects having to do with librarianship.
Project Muse This link opens in a new window
Full-text journal articles focused on the humanities and social sciences.
Social Sciences Full Text This link opens in a new window
Social Sciences Full Text provides journal articles covering a wide array of subjects in the social sciences, including addiction studies, ethics, public welfare, urban studies and more.

American Association of Applied Linguistics
The AAAL "is a professional organization of scholars who are interested in and actively contribute to the multi-disciplinary field of applied linguistics. AAAL members promote principled approaches to language-related concerns, including language education, acquisition and loss, bilingualism, discourse analysis, literacy, rhetoric and stylistics, language for special purposes, psycholinguistics, second and foreign language pedagogy, language assessment, and language policy and planning."
Center for Adult English Language Acquisition
The Center for Adult English Language Acquisition (CAELA) is a network that works in cooperation with the Office of Vocational and Adult Education from the U.S. Department of Education.
Center for Applied Linguistics
"The he Center for Applied Linguistics is a nonprofit organization promoting access, equity and
mutual understanding
for linguistically and culturally diverse people around the world."
Massachusetts DOE English Learner Education
Information about the ELE, ESL, and the English Learners with Disabilities programs from the Massachusetts Department of Education.
Office of English Language Acquisition of the U.S. Department of Education
"The U.S. Department of Education's Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) provides national leadership to help ensure that English Learners and immigrant students attain English proficiency and achieve academic success. In addition to preserving heritage languages and cultures, OELA is committed to prompting opportunities for biliteracy or multiliteracy skills for all students."
TESOL International Association
The Teaching English Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) International Association website. The website includes information about the organization as well as some of their publications.