U.S. Department of Education – OELA (Office of English Language Acquisition)
The mission of the Office of English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and Academic Achievement for Limited English Proficient Students (OELA) is to:
- Provide national leadership to help ensure that English language learners and immigrant students attain English proficiency and achieve academically and,
- Assist in building the nation’s capacity in critical foreign languages.
The National Association for Bilingual Education
The National Association for Bilingual Education is the only national professional organization devoted to representing Bilingual Learners and Bilingual Education professionals.
NABE has affiliates in 20 states which collectively represent more than 5,000 members that include Bilingual and English Language Learner (ELL) teachers, parents, paraprofessionals, administrators, professors, advocates, researchers, and policy makers. NABE also has 18 Special Interest Groups (SIG’s) about topics of interest related to bilingual education
NABE’s mission is to advocate for our nation’s Bilingual and English Language Learners and families and to cultivate a multilingual multicultural society by supporting and promoting policy, programs, pedagogy, research, and professional development that yield academic success, value native language, lead to English proficiency, and respect cultural and linguistic diversity.
World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment – (WIDA)
WIDA supports academic language development and academic achievement for linguistically diverse students through high quality standards, assessments, research, and professional development for educators. Everything we do at WIDA revolves around the significance of academic language and how to empower language learners to reach for success. The following are some of our guiding documents, academic references, and efforts to share this message with the educational community.
WIDA embraces inclusion and equity with its CAN DO philosophy. We focus our attention on expanding students’ academic language by building on the inherent resources of English language learners (ELLs) and accentuating the positive efforts of educators.
- WIDA Statement about its relationship with Textbook Publishers
The National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition – (NCELA)
The National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition collects, coordinates and conveys a broad range of research and resources in support of an inclusive approach to high quality education for ELLs. To fulfill its mission NCELA supports high quality networking among state-level administrators of Title III programs.
In addition to SEA coordinators, NCELA serves other stakeholders involved in ELL education, including teachers and other practitioners, parents, university faculty, administrators and federal policymakers.
U.S. Department of State – Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs – Office of English Language Programs
The Office of English Language Programs creates and implements English language programs in specific regions and countries of the world. All programs are administered through local American Embassies or Consulates. Programs are supported in part by Regional English Language Officers (RELOs) and Program Specialists. Together the Office of English Language Programs, Embassies, RELOs and Program Specialists plan, conduct, support, and promote English Language programs sponsored by American Embassies or Consulates or host country institutions such as Ministries of Education and universities. Activities include the development of English teaching curricula, textbooks, and teacher training workshops.
The Office of English Language Program staff in Washington, D.C. provides academic expertise, advisory and consultative assistance, and materials resources worldwide. They also organize several exchange programs that send American academics overseas at the request of American Embassies or Consulates to conduct activities related to training, methodology, curriculum development, needs analysis, textbook development, program evaluation, and English for Specific Purposes (ESP).
Center for Applied Linguistics – (CAL)
CAL carries out a wide range of activities to accomplish its mission of improving communication through better understanding of language and culture. The Center for Applied Linguistics
- Promotes and improves the teaching and learning of languages
- Identifies and solves problems related to language and culture
- Serves as a resource for information about language and culture
- Conducts research on issues related to language and culture
CAL also has a set of core values that guide all of our endeavors and help us focus our efforts more effectively. These values are outlined below and reflect CAL’s strong commitment to making a difference.
- Languages and cultures are important individual and societal assets.
- All languages, dialects, and cultures deserve to be respected and cultivated.
- Multilingualism is beneficial for individuals and society.
- Effective language education should be widely available.
- Accurate information should be the basis for policies and practices that involve language and culture.
- Language skills and cultural knowledge should be valued in work situations.
- Language and cultural differences should not be an obstacle to personal or group success or well-being.