Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice

by Wayne E. Wright

Wayne Wright's foundational text artfully bridges a major gap in the literature by making cutting edge research and policy analysis accessible to teacher educators and leaders. This impressive work offers pragmatic insights for the daily challenges that educators face in meeting the language acquisition and academic needs of English language learners. The book successfully links macro debates to the actual decision making power that educators have within their local domains of authority. This is truly an outstanding and empowering foundational work that will be appreciated by students, practitioners, and scholars. Terrence G. Wiley, Arizona State University

From the broad socio-political perspectives to promising classroom practices, this book addresses all the key aspects of education needed to understand, plan, and carry out engaging learning for bilingual students. Reader-friendly, this book is a must for all educators. Maria Estela Brisk, Boston College

Wayne Wright's deep respect for educational practitioners and his passion for English language learners' right to a fair and full education are evident in every word he writes. Wright's book and companion website offer a vision and pathway toward fostering dynamic learning communities---across schools, teacher education programs, and communities---to improve education for ELLs. Nancy Hornberger, University of Pennsylvania

Genres: Education, Nonfiction, Teaching, School, Writing, Textbooks, Technology

352 pages, Paperback

First published March 15, 2010

Reviews

[Char · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was for class but it took away from my real reading time so at the very least it. gets to count towards my reading goal.

[Jordan Kooy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally, this book was assigned to me to read in a Bilingual and ESL foundations class. HOWEVER, I’m putting this on here because it not only informed me about important practices for teaching students from different backgrounds, cultures, and languages... but also made me more aware of the lack of proper instruction for ELL students and the unfairness in certain American education policies.
This book genuinely changed the way I love others, speak to people, and honestly taught me far more than I could have ever imagined.
It highlights the REAL things, the things we NEED to know if we want to look at the world as a whole community of people who deserve to be known and loved!
So, here it is on my goodreads haha because it was a good read, ya know?

[Christa Maurice · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really don't need to hear more about No Child Left Behind (especially since none of this is actually news.) Seriously lacking in techniques. Get a book on SIOP instead.

[Dianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good information for ANYONE working on an ESOL endorsement or with English Language Learners in any capacity. Well worth it!

[Shaeley Santiago · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book to introduce teachers of all levels to working with English Language Learners. Includes wealth of online resources via the companion website.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book to be informative and clear in reading it for my Foundations in ELL coursework. I do believe that it truly is foundational- it gives you solid background on a wide variety of topics. I liked how it was structured, and appreciated that there was a separate chapter for each of the English literacy skills. I also appreciate that it acknowledges the varying political and social climates around education in the U.S. and the history of pushback on ELL education for emergent bilingual students. I look forward to continuing my learning and feel like this was a good book 1 for me.

[Jazmyne · Rating 4 out of 5]

So much guidance from this book. I originally had it as a textbook for my ELL methods course, and now that one of my classes is ELL I thought I should re-read and take more thorough notes. Very helpful for any educator wanting to make their classroom a better learning environment for ELs (so basically ALL educators).

[Cassie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I skipped a couple chapters since they weren't required for my assignments in class, but overall a good textbook resource for future ESL instructors.

[Valerie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I had just read this book cover to cover last year when I was prepping for the ESL Praxis. This text is a good balance of theory and practical advice.

[Diana Valdivia-Rodriguez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book to read about the importance of bilingual education in US schools. There are many rules and policies that will apply to schools as future teachers of ELL students.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great up-to-date info about serve ELLs

[Nanette Fandino-Diaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent resource for any teacher. I have learned a lot about the theory of teaching English.

[Sarah Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a super useful textbook! I plan to continue to use it even though the course I bought it for is finished. I really liked its description of the WIDA "Can Do" descriptors, the many theories of thought, Krashen especially, and the various methods and strategies for teaching and assessment.

[Emilie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely just foundational. It was pretty basic and covered lots of topics briefly. I liked how it was organized. Each chapter had short sections. However, some of the information was kind of useless. It wasn't connected to the rest of the chapter. Or some information was introduced but kept really vague. I felt like I didn't learn much because of it. Helpful for foundation-building, but not something I would keep as a reference.

[Janine Darragh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this textbook enough that I plan to use it again next year. I am happy to see that the new edition just came out, as it should address the outdated pieces of this version, though I am a bit worried about the price. Overall, I think it is a good text for an Introduction to ENL/ESL course and will definitely be a good resource for students studying to take the Praxis exam.

[Simon · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is a textbook, not much else to say. What was interesting is that he spoke Khmer, not Spanish as most TESOL teachers do. I dug a little deeper and found out that he learned it on a Mormon mission. I learned Italian on my Mormon mission.

[Katrinadohn Dohn · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a professional book, this was a good one. Worth the time to read, even though it is text-bookish.

[QueenAmidala28 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strategies are great but he's a little misguided in his "history" content.

[Megan Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a good professional text for someone working on certification. Some of the information is no longer accurate but it should be corrected in the new edition.

[Diana Valdivia-Rodriguez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book to read about ELD strategies and advocacy in the classroom.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this for a graduate class. It was excellent for a textbook. Honestly, best structured education textbook I've had in a long time.

[Miriam · Rating 5 out of 5]

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