Effective High School ESL Programs: A Synthesis and Meta-analysis

Abstract

Over the past decade there has been increased pressure in the public discourse for accountability in educational outcomes. There has been a growing sense that ESL students are not being well served by the delivery of supports meant to facilitate their development of English language acquisition and enable them to participate with their classmates in the mainstream. In short, educational outcomes measured by way of dropout, failure, and low achievement on standardized tests all suggest that for some reason ESL learners do not benefit from ESL programming. This article begins with a synthesis and meta-analysis of 12 major studies of effective ESL programs conducted over the past 14 years, providing a backdrop for our reflections on our program development and successful outcomes for ESL learners, documented and published previously. By identifying major themes that pervade these studies across time and relating them to our work, we pinpoint the gaps in program design and implementation that should lead to instructional and policy reform. These reforms must be guided and directed by further research efforts in the Canadian context, implemented and supported at the jurisdictional and ministerial levels.