Massachusetts Definition of English as a Second Language (ESL)

The goal of English as a second language (ESL) instruction in Massachusetts public schools is to advance English Learners' (ELs) language development towards English language proficiency and promote their academic achievement. English language proficiency includes knowledge and ability to use social and academic language across modes of communication (listening, reading, viewing, writing, speaking, and representing, WIDA 2020). To support this goal, ESL instruction provides systematic, explicit, and sustained language instruction, and prepares students for grade level content by focusing on academic language while also attending to social instructional language. Effective ESL instruction supports student success in school, including mastering WIDA English Language Development Standards as demonstrated by improvement in ACCESS for ELLs scores, meeting established language proficiency benchmarks, and acceleration of academic achievement. It also supports long-term goals such as college and career readiness. ESL instruction is a required component of all English Learner Education programs in Massachusetts (Sheltered English Immersion, Transitional Bilingual Education, and One- and Two-Way Immersion). In practice this means:

1. The ESL curriculum is aligned to the WIDA English Language Development Standards Framework and to the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks.

2. ESL is its own subject matter. 603 CMR 7.00 outlines the subject matter knowledge required of licensed ESL educators.

3. ESL instruction is based on the research, theory, and pedagogy of second language acquisition within the context of the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks.

4. ESL is language driven. It draws from general education content as the vehicle for language development within a sociocultural context. Instruction is carefully planned- integrating language with standards-based analytical practices. Language functions and forms targeted during ESL instruction are taught within rich, contextualized, and meaningful circumstances (WestEd, 2015).

5. ESL is taught by ESL-licensed educators. Although ESL educators must be knowledgeable about the academic language across disciplines, they are not expected to be multi-disciplinarians (Valdés, Kibler, & Walqui, 2014b). They are not expected to teach the full range of content area standards and corresponding content-specific academic language practices, just as SEI educators are not expected to teach the full range of English language development subject matter. Therefore, the ESL educators focus on promoting social, instructional, and academic language, as well as common academic habits of thinking (i.e., use evidence to support claims, question evidence) and analytical practices that support students across all content areas.

6. The language development of English Learners is the responsibility of all teachers who serve them, including ESL and other academic teachers. Collaboration between ESL and content area teachers is essential for promoting EL success in all language programs. ESL teachers, in collaboration with other content teachers, should continue to develop awareness of the language ELs need to be able to process and produce English to reach high levels of performance in all academic classes to be successful in school and beyond.

7. Gaining proficiency in the academic language of American schools requires more than linguistic knowledge. Teachers of ELs must also consider cultural knowledge and ways of being, interacting, negotiating, speaking, listening, reading, and writing as connected to cultural and social roles.

8. Considerations must be made for special populations (e.g., newcomers, students with limited or interrupted formal education, students with disabilities, long-term ELs, gifted and talented ELs). For example, "for students at the earliest levels of English language proficiency, curricula must clearly be different. They should…move students as quickly as possible forward and toward the analytical tasks that are inside of our standards and outlined in the frameworks…" (Valdés, Kibler, & Walqui, 2014a, p. 16). For students who are just beginning to learn a language, everyday language becomes the basis for academic language. However, while attending to everyday language, educators must simultaneously guide students toward the skills, knowledge, and analytical practices embedded in the Curriculum Frameworks. Regardless of students' language proficiency levels or educational needs, language forms and functions should still be taught in a contextualized, rich, and meaningful manner.

9. ESL instruction incorporates multiple forms of assessment to gather evidence of students' progress toward standards that focus on speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Any other content (science, math, social studies, etc.) that becomes part of a language assessment is incidental—a context for language instruction and development. ESL assessments are not meant to assess students' content area-specific knowledge or skills. For example, assessments designed by an ESL educator to measure the academic language of the content areas should not be used to assess content area learning.

Last Updated: February 23, 2024