Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees - GCIR

Illinois' English education system is broken. ESL enrollments are falling, funding is shrinking, and students are not gaining the English skills they need to fully contribute to our economy and society. ICIRR's new report, Empty Promises: The Unmet Need for English Instruction Across Illinois, documents these failures, but also points to successful community initiatives that are helping immigrant learners move forward. Our state needs a new vision and new investment in English to build the coherent effective adult education system that will prepare our state for the 21st century economy.

The report was underwritten through the generous support of the Joyce Foundation.

This funders' guide provides a road map for building and strengthening immigrant civic integration infrastructure in local communities to assist the more than 8.5 million lawful permanent residents presently eligible to become citizens, the 2.8 million who will soon gain eligibility, and the estimated 12 million undocumented newcomers who may be able to apply for legal status and citizenship should Congress adopt federal immigration reform in the future. The guide delineates steps to identify community needs, resources, and opportunities; describes high-quality, ESL programs and strategies for improving instruction; offers an overview of the citizenship application process and recommends strategies for supporting naturalization-related efforts; and demonstrates how collaboration among funders can increase the availability of quality ESL instruction, legal services, and naturalization assistance.

Dual-language programs for children aged three to eight may be better than English-only programs for the cognitive, academic, social, and cultural development of children who speak a language other than English at home.

Dual-language programs for children age three to eight may be better than English-only programs for the cognitive, academic, social, and cultural development of children who speak a language other than English at home.

English language ability is correlated with a worker's wages, and limited English proficient (LEP) workers who improve their communications abilities by acquiring better English skills are shown to have greater economic mobility.  These notes, from a presentation in Denver, provide an overview of recent research on the economics of language and looks at the potential implications for LEP workers.

This report examines the discrepancy between California's goal of providing free English classes and the reality that the current funding system for providing classes is about 30 years out of date. During those 30 years, the state's immigrant population has exploded. The gap between goal and reality has created an excessive financial burden on some local school districts--which provide most of the state's English as a Second Language (ESL) classes--and may be forcing other districts to turn away immigrants who want to learn English.

This piece offers an in-depth look at pressing language barriers facing the estimated 2.23 million adults in this country who are Limited English Proficient (LEP)—and how best to solve them. It provides background information about issues concerning English speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), identifies promising program practices, and highlights policy priorities for increasing adult English learners’ access to high-quality ESOL courses.