Educating Emergent Bilinguals : Policies, Programs, and Practices for English Language Learners

"Perhaps once or twice a decade you read a book that is so lucid, convincing, and inspirational that you want to order copies for every teacher, administrator, and policymaker across the nation. Ofelia Garcia and Jo Anne Kleifgen have written such a book."ùFrom the Foreword by Jim Cummins, University of Toronto

"The best introduction to the education of English language learners available today."ùGuadalupe ValdTs, Stanford University

This comprehensive and insightful book shows how present educational policies and practices to educate language minority students in the United States ignore an essential characteristicùtheir emergent bilingualism. In one accessible guide, the authors compile the most up-to-date research findings to demonstrate how ignoring children's bilingualism perpetuates inequities in their schooling. What makes this book truly useful is that it offers a thorough description of alternative practices that would transform our schools and students' futures, such as building on students' home languages and literacy practices in schools, as well as incorporating curricular and pedagogical innovations, new approaches to parent and community engagement, and alternative assessment tools.

Providing critical research, rich theoretical perspective, and meaningful blueprints for effective pedagogy, Educating Emergent Bilinguals is essential reading for all teachers of language-minority students, as well as principals, superintendents, and policymakers.