The 6 Principles for Exemplary Teaching of English Learners®

by TESOL International Association Writing Team, TESOL Press (Editor)

The 6 Principles® are universal guidelines drawn from decades of research in language pedagogy and language acquisition theory that should undergird any program of English language instruction. These foundational principles are for all educators in any classroom where students are learning English as a new language or learning content through that new language. They are applicable across different educational settings, such as classrooms with children, dual language learners, emerging bilinguals, and multilingual students. What's inside? • Essential information on language development and second language acquisition • Detailed explanations of each of the 6 Principles • Practical applications of the 6 Principles for your K–12 classroom • Vignettes and examples from different contexts • Ideas for building strong communities of practice • A 6 Principles Self-Assessment • Suggested applications for the 6 Principles beyond the classroom. Plus, gain access to informational videos and additional online resources for educators and educational personnel.

Genres: Education, Nonfiction

142 pages, Paperback

Published March 5, 2018

Reviews

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 6 Principles for Exemplary Teaching of English Learners is a valuable resource for new ENL specialists, general education teachers, and school leaders looking to expand their knowledge on best practices for supporting English language learners in school. The authors outline six key principles to follow when educating English language learners. These principles are also supported with real-life anecdotes from teachers and administrators around the United States, clearly illustrating how to effectively implement these ideas in the classroom. Most importantly, the authors argue for a shared culture of responsibility, where these principles are not just incorporated by the ENL specialist, but by all school professionals who work with English language learners.

As a high school teacher working towards a TESOL certification, I found this book to be an excellent resource that summarized the ideas I've been learning throughout my graduate program. However, I did find that the authors made assumptions about the openness of school staff towards embracing a shared culture of responsibility for English language learners and about the resources available in schools. While the suggestions in the book demonstrated effective methods for providing equitable access for English language learners in a supportive setting, some of these strategies could only be replicated in ideal environments, and not in districts who still see the education of English language learners as the responsibility of the ENL teacher.

Overall, this book is an excellent resource on how to best support English language learners both inside and outside of the classroom. It's an ideal text for a professional learning book club, since it's content is relevant to all staff and the values highlighted in the text can make an immediate, positive impact in our school communities.

[Leejun Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good Book Review by Leejun Taylor

The 6 Principles for Exemplary Teaching of English Learners is a valuable resource for ENL teachers. It provides evidence based practices for K-12 and to university level ELLs. According to TESOL experts, one of the biggest challenges for educators is keeping abreast of current research. Empirical studies can inform and improve our practice. This easy to read and user friendly book is an excellent tool for ENL teachers, and the book focuses on the six core principles which can be served as a checklist for our ENL educators.

Chapter 3 goes into the specifics of the 6 Principles for exemplary teaching of English learners with recommended Classroom Practices” (p. 36). From design high quality lesson with clear and attainable language and content objectives to provide and enhance input through varied approaches, techniques, and modalities. From Teachers engage learners in use of practice of authentic language to promote students’ self-regulated learning.

The major strength of the book is to address the inclusion of the entire school community: administrators, ENL teachers, content teachers, librarians, guidance counselors and other groups of educators to effectively working collaboratively with the ELLs and their families to create a shared responsibility and opportunity. The 6 Principles serve as a practical way to refresh, involve experienced in-service teachers to be more effective, and collaborative in ENL education for our students. The book is designed to generate thoughtful discussion and reflection among educators who serve English learners. It is a guidance book ENL teachers should have on their bookshelves.

[Joan Krege · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a graduate student preparing for my TESOL certification, I read this book and led a book discussion as part of a class assignment. I was glad I selected this book to read and see it as a valuable resource. The authors, the TESOL Writing Team, are known for their leadership in the education of English learners, and they created these six principles using years of research and their extensive knowledge of second language acquisition. Many of the key ideas outlined in this book have been addressed in my graduate courses, but compiling these core principles in this lightweight, paperback resource makes them even more useful. The authors go into the six principles in detail and give anecdotal stories and examples that make them more concrete. They emphasize the importance of a shared culture of responsibility and help readers identify ways that they can become leaders in their school communities and consider additional roles as teachers of English learners. This book outlines specific ways that teachers can develop leadership roles and provide professional development and instructional assistance for their colleagues. However, one oversight of the book is that the authors assume that all schools are ready to embrace this shared responsibility when in reality, many schools still see the English learner as the responsibility of the ENL teacher. With that said, I would recommend this book to my colleagues and the students in my TESOL graduate program.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good resource for TESOL. Easy to read, easy format to find info, good list of sources in the back of the book. Further solidified my thinking that good teaching is good teaching, no matter who the kids are or what the subject is.

[Shaeley Santiago · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detailed info about TESOL's 6 principles #TESOL6Ps This book is great as a reference or resource. Its organization is such that some chapters are likely more applicable to your situation than others. I found it to contain a lot of information, so I've discovered nuggets by re-reading certain sections. Not exactly a book to read from cover to cover, in my opinion.

[LPR · Rating 3 out of 5]

Succinct and practical.

[rosemary paulson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Textbook I read for class- very structured and easy to follow. Outlines 6 principles for teaching emergent bilinguals and breaks each down thoroughly.