This book is based on the writer's personal experience and passionate involvement in the field of English language education over the past 26 years. It is not meant to be a research document but a practical resource to help educators who are not specialists in the field of English as a Second Language (ESL) understand the needs of English language learners. She wishes also to help administrators and board members implement programs to help English language learners reach the learning level of their native English-speaking classmates. Throughout the book she has provided scenarios of actual classrooms and real students both in her own school and in the schools of her colleagues throughout the United States.

Information about instructing English language learners has become vital over the past few years as school districts wrestle with the guidelines mandated by No Child Left Behind (NCLB). NCLB contains signifi cant changes regarding federal policies that directly affect mainstream classroom teachers and individual school districts in the following areas:

• All English language learners must be tested at least once a year using an English profi ciency test. They are no longer exempt from statewide accountability.

• Students who have been in U.S. schools for three consecutive years and have been tested in their native language must be tested in English for reading and language arts. They are required to meet the same standards as their native English-speaking peers and demonstrate adequate yearly progress (AYP).

• Standards for English language profi ciency need to be tied to core curriculum content standards.

• In the past, English profi ciency tests for ELLs assessed basic communication skills such as listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Now subject-area academic skills must also be tested.