Franklin Elementary School

 

In education, English Language Development (ELD) refers to improving the English skills of students, especially those who are learning English as a second language. A strong ELD program will empower students, helping them to communicate in English more effectively in both written and oral forms, as well as improving their comprehension and listening abilities. Improving a student's English will make him or her a much more powerful academic, and will also help the student succeed in English speaking nations, in which English skills are expected for most well paying jobs and in many social situations.

Instructors who work with English Language Learners (ELLs) implement an ELD program for their students, commonly working with other teachers and experts to structure a strong curriculum. In classrooms with students at mixed levels of English ability, a common situation, an ELD curriculum must support the ELLs while also helping other students, and this can be a difficult balance to strike. Most school districts set ELD goals which clearly outline the skills that they expect students to have as they move through school, to ensure that students will be able to keep up and receive a high quality education.

A strong ELD curriculum integrates a number of subjects, and starts at a very young age. The classroom needs to be organized effectively to help students learn, and teachers keep learning material varied and interesting so that students are interested in learning more. Often, an ELD program is structured in units, which help students to learn blocks of material and then put their new English skills to use. While improving English skills in school, students must also learn other subjects, and a good ELD program teaches students math, science, and history while also improving their English.