English as a Second Language (ESL)
English as a Second Language (ESL) programs are designed to assist students in communicating effectively in English, both in and out of school.
A number of resources and services are available to schools to help limited English proficient (LEP) students demonstrate their ability to understand, read and write English in order to function and be successful in school and in American society.
Standards & Assessment
Adoption of the WIDA ELD Standards
Section 3113 (b)(2) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), requires state agencies to establish standards and objectives for raising the level of English proficiency in the four recognized domains of speaking, listening, read, and writing, and that are aligned with achievement of the challenging state academic content and student academic achievement standards.
On March 19, 2008, the Board of Education, adopted the World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) ELP Standards. In 2012, WIDA released the Amplification of the WIDA English Language Development (ELD) Standards to support for college- and career-ready state content-area standards.
Implementation of the WIDA ELD Standards
VDOE offers the following professional development opportunities and technical assistance resources to assist educators in incorporating the ELD standards into lesson planning and classroom instruction:
- WIDA Academy: Creating Language-Focused College and Career Ready Units
- WIDA 101: Introduction to WIDA Standards and Assessments
- Technical Assistance on the VDOE website under the English as a Second Language (ESL) Instruction Web page include but are not limited to:
- Implementing the World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) English language development (ELD) standards
- WIDA English Language Development (ELD) PK-12 Standards
- WIDA ELP Standards Instructional Videos (Found in the Instruction section of this page)
- Lesson Planning with the ELD Standards (Found in the Instruction section of this page)
WIDA English Language Development (ELD) PK-12 Standards The World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) Consortium is a non-profit cooperative of states working together to meet the federal requirements for English-language learners (ELLs) with innovative standards and assessments.
Assessing Comprehension & Communication in English State-to-State for English Language Learners (ACCESS for ELL)
English language proficiency test developed to meet requirements of ESEA testing and reporting of English proficiency.
WIDA-ACCESS Placement Test (W-APT) Screener test – based on ACCESS for ELL – to help identify students in need of ESL program support and placement developed by the WIDA consortium.
Virginia Standards of Learning The standards describe the commonwealth's expectations for student learning and achievement in grades K-12 in English, mathematics, science, history/social science, technology, fine arts, foreign language, health and physical education and driver education.
Guidelines for Determining K-12 WIDA ELP Levels (PDF) – Superintendent's Memo #183-10, August 6, 2010
Clarification to Guidelines – Superintendent's Memo #183-10, August 6, 2010
TeacherDirect – Stay informed about new instructional resources, professional development and grant opportunities, and other information of interest to teachers and their students.
Doing What Works – an online library of resources sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education to help educators implement research-based instructional practices.
WIDA ELD Standards Instructional Videos
Virginia educators demonstrate activities for teaching the WIDA ELD standards. The Model Performance Indicators (MPIs) selected for these videos, though not comprehensive, represent key language functions repeated throughout the WIDA ELD Standards. These videos link to Flash files which require the Adobe Flash Player plug-in. Download the free player.
WIDA contact Virginia videos: Sonia James Upton, Ph.D., Consortium Policy Administration
- Standard 1
- Standard 2
- Standard 3
- Standard 4
- Standard 5
- Other Videos
Video WIDA ELP Standard Number 1 – Social and Instructional Language
Natalie Fullerton, a middle school ESOL teacher in Fairfax County, demonstrates teaching the "classify" language function through social and instructional language. Social and Instructional Language Handout: Vocabulary (PDF)
VideoWIDA ELP Standard Number 2 – The Language of Language Arts
Eric Blomquist, a middle school ESOL teacher in Fairfax County, demonstrates teaching the "sequencing" function through the language of language arts.
VideoWIDA ELP Standard Number 3 – The Language of Mathematics
Sharon Hoffert, a high school mathematics teacher in Chesterfield County, demonstrates teaching the "create and change" function through the language of mathematics. Mathematics Handout: Graph Translation (PDF)
VideoWIDA ELP Standard Number 4 – The Language of Science
Donna O'Neill, a middle school ESOL teacher in Fairfax County, demonstrates teaching the "record" function through the language of science. Science Handout: Compare Powders (PDF)
VideoWIDA ELP Standard Number 5 – The Language of Social Studies
Robin Liten-Tejada, ESOL/HILT secondary specialist in Arlington County, demonstrates teaching the "compare and contrast" function through the language of social studies. Social Studies Handout: The Three Branches of Government (PDF)
Video February 20, 2013 - Language Instruction Educational Programs (LIEPs): Lessons from the Research and Profiles of Promising Programs
Dr. Sara Waring, English Learner Specialist and Senior Analyst, edCount, LLC
Lesson Planning with the ELD Standards
These webinars were developed and recorded by WIDA in January 2014, in collaboration with VDOE. For additional information, visit WIDA.
WIDA Resources Webinar
The following two-part webinar provides an overview of the resources available on the WIDA website: