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Being an urban secondary teacher of English Language Learners (ELLs) for roughly the last ten years in Connecticut has enlightened me on the lack of research and resources available to teach literacy to secondary students, especially for those whose first language is one other than English. Thus, as a doctoral student, I knew what I wanted to conduct further research on for my dissertation in order to add to its knowledge base - the literacy of ELLs.
Following is a brief review of my doctoral dissertation study, Best Practices for Teaching English Language Learners Found in Teacher Preparation Programs in Connecticut and Beginning Teachers' Level of Preparation and Proficiency in These Practices, highlighting the segments pertaining to teachers' perceptions on their level of preparation and proficiency in the teaching of secondary literacy to ELLs when compared to the teaching of elementary literacy to ELLs. An up-to-date national review on adolescent literacy, teacher preparation in research-based best literacy strategies for ELL, and current suggestions made by prominent organizations are discussed. Additionally, recommendations and implications based on the findings derived from this study are provided. It should be noted, however, that for the purposes of this article, several other related and significant findings from this study are not thoroughly discussed in this review.
Current National Stance on Adolescent Literacy
Typically, adolescent literacy encompasses the literacy skills of fourth grade through twelfth grade students. In order to understand where adolescent ELLs fare in regard to literacy, it is required to be aware of where adolescent non-ELLs stand in terms of literacy.
Recently, although still limited, there has been an increase in research on adolescent literacy. Much of this increase is in response to the federal mandates set forth by No Child Left Behind (NCLB), President Bush's 2002 reauthorization of the Elementary and secondary Education Act. In conjunction with increased research, NCLB lead to the creation of two federal attempts to improve the literacy achievement of adolescents: (a) the Striving Readers Initiative, and (b) the Adolescent Literacy Research Network.
Important, yet dismal data reflecting the literacy skills of our nation's adolescents has been found. For example, Table 1 depicts the 2002 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) data.
The above data is significant in that under NCLB states...