Over the past decade there has been increased pressure in the public discourse for accountability in educational outcomes. There has been a growing sense that ESL students are not being well served by the delivery of supports meant to facilitate their development of English language acquisition and enable them to participate with their classmates in the mainstream. In short, educational outcomes measured by way of dropout, failure, and low achievement on standardized tests all suggest that for some reason ESL learners do not benefit from ESL programming. This article begins with a synthesis and meta-analysis of 12 major studies of effective ESL programs conducted over the past 14 years, providing a backdrop for our reflections on our program development and successful outcomes for ESL learners, documented and published previously. By identifying major themes that pervade these studies across time and relating them to our work, we pinpoint the gaps in program design and implementation that should lead to instructional and policy reform. These reforms must be guided and directed by further research efforts in the Canadian context, implemented and supported at the jurisdictional and ministerial levels.

This study provides longitudinal insights into a pattern of drop-out that the authors had previously identified, by tracking educational outcomes among ESL youth for a single, large urban school. Over a span of eight years, distinct changes in the educational climate and, in particular, in the structure and funding of ESL programming have led to two distinct cohorts of ESL students: pre- and post-budget cuts. While the results show the general drop-out rate for ESL students remains unchanged at 74%, a comparison of the two cohorts suggests that accelerated integration into academic mainstream courses has had a detrimental impact on the educational success of intermediate level ESL students. Further, a new set of issues emerges related to the quality of success for ESL learners and the identification of ESL learners.

This article reports on the preliminary findings of a two-staged empirical study aimed at gaining insights into the variables salient in the early language and literacy development of young English language learners (ELL

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This article advances a framework for early language and literacy development among young English language learners (ELLs). A dual-language book project undertaken in partnership with a local elementary school provides a context within which to address children's need to negotiate language, culture, and identity as they transition and make meaning from their home language (L1) to English and the language of school (L2) and back. Using objects of cultural and personal relevance that the children brought from home, stories of ‘Family Treasures’ were generated from the original telling in the L1 into English in small-group contexts, transcribed, illustrated, and uploaded to a Web site for permanent sharing, rereading, and exchange. These booklets also provided an opportunity for identity formation, pride of family and culture, and the acquisition of rudimentary technology skills, which all work to motivate and engage young learners in the development of early literacy.