The English Language Learning Professional Development Network

Executive Director Jeff Burkhart informed me of this cool new resource, the English Language Learner University. Developed by the U.S. Department of Education, it offers free on-line courses to help you become a more effective, better informed tutor or teacher. The courses dive into topics in second language acquisition, teaching English to emergent readers, assessment, principles of language teaching and the role of culture in teaching.

At left is a screen capture from a course I signed up for. All you need to do is create a user name and password, then a simple click registers you. Particularly interesting was a course that has not yet started titled "Teaching Adult ELLs [English Language Learners] Who Are Emergent Readers." As with other on-line courses, you can participate in text chat with instructors. There is also a message board for students to share questions and answers with each other. Why not give it a try? Click here to visit the site: http://www.ell-u.org/