INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW ENGLISH
LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY STANDARDS
The language proficiency standards center
on the language needed and used by English
language learners to succeed in school
The 2006 PreK-12 English
Language Proficiency
Standards have built from
TESOL’s 1997 Pre-K-12
ESL Standards.
TESOL’s 2006 PreK-12 English Language
Proficiency Standards
TESOL’s
1997
ESL Standards
National and
State
Academic
Content
Standards
1997 ESL Goals
Goal 1: To use English to
communicate in social settings
Goal 3: To use English in
socially and culturally
appropriate ways
Goal 2: To use English to
achieve academically in all
content areas
2006 English Language Proficiency Standards
Standard 1: English language learners
communicate for social, intercultural, and
instructional purposes within the school setting.
Standard 2: English language learners
communicate information, ideas, and concepts
necessary for academic success in the area of
language arts.
Standard 3: English language learners
communicate information, ideas, and concepts
necessary for academic success in the area of
mathematics.
Standard 4: English language learners
communicate information, ideas, and concepts
necessary for academic success in the area of
science.
Standard 5: English language learners
communicate information, ideas, and concepts
necessary for academic success in the area of
social studies.
English Language Proficiency
Standard 1:
English language learners
communicate in English for SOCIAL,
INTERCULTURAL, AND
INSTRUCTIONAL purposes within
the school setting.
English Language Proficiency
Standard 2:
English language learners
communicate information, ideas,
and concepts necessary for
academic success in the content
area of LANGUAGE ARTS.
English Language Proficiency
Standard 3:
English language learners
communicate information, ideas,
and concepts necessary for
academic success in the content
area of MATHEMATICS.
English Language Proficiency
Standard 4:
English language learners
communicate information, ideas,
and concepts necessary for
academic success in the content
area of SCIENCE.
English Language Proficiency
Standard 5:
English language learners
communicate information, ideas,
and concepts necessary for
academic success in the content
area of SOCIAL STUDIES
We refer to the English language proficiency
standards as
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Social, intercultural, and instruction
language
The language of language arts
The language of math
The language of science
The language of social studies
Organization of the Standards
The standards and their components
are presented in the form of a
matrix.
 It is hoped that educators across
every content area will use the
models presented when working
with ELLs.

The Components of the Standards
Four Language Domains
Five Grade Level Clusters
Levels of English Language
Proficiency

Four Language Domains

Listening—process, understand, interpret, and evaluate
spoken language in a variety of situations

Speaking—engage in oral communication in a variety
of situations for an array of purposes and audiences

Reading—process, interpret and evaluate written
language, symbols and text with understanding and fluency

Writing—engage in written communication in a variety of
forms for an array of purposes and audiences
Five Grade Level Clusters
PreK-K
1-3
4-5
6-8
9-12
Levels of English Language Proficiency
5
4
3
2
1
STARTING
EMERGING
DEVELOPING
EXPANDING
BRIDGING
English Language Proficiency Standards:
Listening
Speaking
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
Level 5
Starting
Emerging
Developing
Expanding
Bridging
Sample Performance Indicator (SPI)
A strand of SPIs
Reading
Writing
Grade Level Cluster
The Rationale for Developing
English Language Proficiency
Standards for English Language
Learners
1. The standards-based
educational movement
is stronger today than
ever before.
2. Theory and research
support sustained contentdriven instruction and
assessment for English
language learners.
3. Across the states, the
English language
learner school
population is becoming
more visible and viable.
4. Federal mandates
(namely, the No Child Left
Behind Act) have
impacted all sectors of the
educational community.
5. As a professional
organization, TESOL
assumes leadership in
providing up-to-date
resources to the field.