Hello everyone,

The following post is from David Rosen, Moderator of the Special Topics
Discussion List.

**********


Dear Colleague,

I am very pleased to announce a special discussion on "What Works for 
Adult ESL Students" with the principal authors of the study, Heide  
Spruck Wrigley and Larry Condelli.  The discussion will begin April  
9th and continue through April 15th. Below you will find brief  
biographies of the authors, and (links to) some short and longer  
pieces about the research.  This is one of the major studies of adult 
ESL/ESOL in our field, and a wonderful opportunity to discuss the  
study and its findings with the authors.  I hope you will take time  
before the discussion to read the study and to formulate your  
questions for the authors.  You may send your questions beginning now 
although they will be held until April 9th when the discussion begins.

Information on Subscribing

If you are not subscribed to the National Institute for Literacy's  
Special Topics discussion list, where this discussion will be held,  
you can subscribe at any time, by going to

http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/specialtopics 

Follow the simple instructions, select the "subscribe" button, and  
you will then be sent an email requesting confirmation of your  
subscription. You must immediately reply to that email in order to be 
subscribed. You can unsubscribe when the discussion ends, or stay  
subscribed and wait for the next discussion. On the Special Topics  
discussion list you will receive no email messages between
discussions.

If you are subscribed, please pass this information on to colleagues  
who you think might be interested in the discussion



Biographies of the Guest Researchers

Dr. Heide Spruck Wrigley is Senior Researcher for Language, Literacy  
and Learning with LiteracyWork Associates, a small independent firm  
conducting research and professional development work in the United  
States and in Canada. She has been key in every federally funded  
national research study on adult ESL and acted as the subject matter  
expert in the What Works for Adult ESL Students study. She has  
written a number of books and articles related to adult ESL Literacy, 
including "Bringing Literacy to Life" a handbook for practitioners,
"Communicating in the Real World", a textbook on workplace ESL, and
most recently the "Language of Opportunity" a report for the Center 
on Law and Social Policy; and "Capturing What Counts"  a chapter in
"Adult Biliteracy: Socio-cultural and Programmatic Responses" (Erlbaum
2007).

Dr.  Wrigley currently is a non-resident fellow with the Migration  
Policy Institute in Washington, D.C. where she focuses on immigrant  
integration and policy issues related to adult ESL, employment and  
family literacy. She has served on a number of advisory boards and  
expert panels, including the National Academy of Sciences, the  
National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy, and  
(currently) the National Institute for Literacy and the National  
Center for Educational Statistics.

In an effort to make research accessible to practitioners, Dr.  
Wrigley is involved in a number of professional development efforts  
across the U.S. These include a four year ongoing staff development  
effort in Socorro, Texas to help teachers integrate family literacy,  
EL Civics, and technology. She also heads up several professional  
development Institutes (including a virtual course) for both new  
teachers and master teachers throughout Texas, focused on teaching  
English as a Second Language to adults. She has delivered numerous  
talks and key notes at conferences both within the U.S. and  
internationally. Dr. Wrigley holds a PhD in Education with a focus on 
Language, Literacy, and Learning and an MA in Applied Linguistics.



Dr. Larry Condelli is a managing director of the Adult Education and  
Literacy Program in the Education and Human Development Division at  
the American Institutes for Research. His work includes research on  
adult ESL students, accountability, and conducting professional  
development and technical assistance for adult educators. He recently 
directed the What Works Study for Adult ESL Literacy Students, the  
first large-scale empirical study of the effectiveness of  
instructional practices for adult ESL students, and is currently  
directing a study of the impact of explicit literacy instruction on  
low-literate adult ESOL learners for the U.S. Department of  
Education.  He is also the project director for the National  
Reporting System and was instrumental in developing this national  
accountability system for federally funded adult education and  
literacy program. Dr. Condelli's other projects include development  
of a performance-based reading assessment for low-literate adults for 
the National Assessment of Adult Literacy, funded by the National  
Center for Educational Statistics. He is a staff development and data 
consultant for the states of Alabama, California, Georgia and Utah  
and provides training and technical assistance to adult education  
staff in several states. Dr. Condelli holds a Ph.D. in Psychology  
from the University of California.



Readings to prepare for the Discussion

Below are links to readings (1 and 2) and attached documents  (3 and  
4) that will help you to prepare for the discussion. (Note, some  
people may not be able to open 3 and 4.  If you have difficulty, and  
would like me to email these to you, let me know.  
( djrosen1 at comcast.net )

1. A short NCSALL Focus on Basics article on What Works for Adult ESL 

Students
http://www.ncsall.net/?id=189 

2. Instruction, Language and Literacy: What Works Study for Adult ESL 

Literacy Students
http://lotos.library.uu.nl/publish/articles/000176/bookpart.pdf 

3. A long, but not too theoretical paper on the What Works ESL study  
presented in England (See first attachment below.)

4. A paper on the What Works for Adult ESL Students study presented  
in Tilburg, Netherlands
(See second attachment below.)

I look forward to your joining this discussion.

David J. Rosen
National Institute for Literacy Special Topics List Moderator
djrosen1 at comcast.net 

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