Preparing Adult English Language Learners for State-Adopted Academic Content Standards

Three new e-trainings are on track to support your implementation of English language proficiency (ELP) standards—and academic content standards—for adult English Language Learners (ELLs). These ready-to-use e-learning courses will get you started in using ELP standards to support ELLs’ academic language development and engagement in content-area instructional activities.

We recommend working through these trainings as part of a professional learning community or staff meeting, though the course material is also designed for independent learners.

  • Module One: Introduction to the ELP Standards for Adult Education provides an understanding of why and how the standards were selected and how they are organized. It also explains what the new ELP standards entail and why and how they relate to state-adopted academic content standards. With the necessary support that ELP standards provide, adult education programs can now expand their capabilities to implement academic content standards for all our learners. Please read the LINCS Resource Profile for Tips for getting the most out of this module.
  • Module Two: Analyzing Student Tasks in Relation to Content Demands, Thinking Skills, and Language Use introduces the first two steps in a four-step task analysis process. The process is designed to identify what students need to know and be able to do in relation to three lenses: content knowledge, analytical skills and language use. Task analysis helps us to focus on all the various cognitive demands placed on adult English language learners as they tackle an instructional task or project. Please read the LINCS Resource Profile for Tips for getting the most out of this module.
  • Module Three: Digging Deeper into the English Language Proficiency Standards for Adult Education is the third and final training in a three-part series that introduces the ELP Standards for Adult Education and how to begin using them. Module Three engages users in the last two steps of the task analysis process that was introduced in Module Two. Steps three and four help us to better understand which of the core disciplinary practices and ELP standards are relevant to certain instructional tasks—and to instructional practices. This training answers the question: How does the task analysis process support educators’ understanding and integration of the ELP Standards during their planning and instruction? Please read the LINCS Resource Profile for Tips for getting the most out of this module.