English Language Development: Guidelines for Instruction
The authors reviewed and synthesized several bodies of research and provide 14 guidelines for educators to help English learners make greater strides in learning English, specifically in English Language development (ELD) instruction. “ELD instruction is designed specifically to advance English learners’ knowledge and use of English in increasingly sophisticated ways. In the context of the larger effort to help English learners succeed in school, ELD instruction is designed to help them learn and acquire English to a level of proficiency (e.g., advanced) that maximizes their capacity to engage successfully in academic studies taught in English” (p. 14). In the article, the authors first describe the research base for ELD instruction and why it is so small. Then they report research that is related to their 14 guidelines. The guidelines are grouped into four categories: global policy, organizational, curricular focus, and instructional.
The authors in this article promote the idea of ELD instruction for English learners (ELs). The authors make a distinction between ELD instruction and sheltered instruction: “while the primary goal of sheltered instruction is academic success in the content areas, the primary goal of ELD instruction is learning English” (p. 14). Although there is debate in the field about whether ELD instruction is helpful and/or necessary, the authors take the stance that ELD instruction is necessary. Because this article is written for a general audience, the summary of research on ELD instruction is short and may not provide the reader with the full picture of the issues with ELD instruction. However, guidelines provided are well-researched and allow readers to determine which guidelines they would (and can) implement in their contexts. Given that the authors summarize the research for each of the 14 guidelines, the article is a bit lengthy, but there is a user-friendly text box that lists the 14 guidelines and a short statement on the research behind it.