Sometimes, picking out the students who are English learners is not as easy as one would expect. Some of you may have noticed that the long-term ELs in your classes blend in with the general population seamlessly, except when it comes to formal writing. If you've experienced this, then you're not alone. Here is what the most recent research says:

Although most students easily acquire conversational speaking skills, they often lack the sophisticated vernacular that is necessary to be successful in an academic setting (Bailey, 2007). This problem is even more pronounced among ELs, who on the norm, are able to progress from beginning to intermediate levels more rapidly, but struggle to reach full language proficiency (Goldenberg, 2008).

Anybody who has gone through a credentialing program knows of the plethora of  professional literature for teachers. For many educators, much of the challenge is the simple act of determining which of these many texts to use. During my first year teaching, I was overwhelmed with the amount of available professional books. For those of you who have had similar experiences, I would like to share with you a few of the texts that have made it to the top of my list.