Research & Resources

Archive Benchmarks 1.0

The Alberta K-12 ESL Proficiency Benchmarks will be phased out for the 2024/25 school year. Please see the information on the revised and updated Benchmarks 2.0.

Printable Benchmarks 1.0:

• ESL Benchmarks Kindergarten
• ESL Benchmarks Grades 1–3
• ESL Benchmarks Grades 4–6 
• ESL Benchmarks Grades 7–9 
• ESL Benchmarks Grades 10–12 

Benchmarks 1.0 Tracking Sheets:

• Kindergarten Tracking Sheets
• ESL Benchmarks Grades 1–3
• ESL Benchmarks Grades 4–6 
• ESL Benchmarks Grades 7–9 
• ESL Benchmarks Grades 10–12 

Research

• A Review of the Literature on English as a Second Language Issues (2008)
  This literature review, carried out by the University of Calgary, focuses on three areas: content and curriculum, how schools can identify English language learners with special education needs, and English language learners with limited first language literacy.

• ESL Literature Review Update (2009)
  In 2009, Alberta Education contracted Howard Research & Management Consulting Inc. to update the literature review associated with the 2004–2006 study into the factors that influence and predict academic success of ESL students. 

• Supporting ESL Students: Promising ESL Strategies in Alberta (2009)
  Promising ESL Strategies in Alberta is a compilation of best practices and strategies gleaned through the Alberta Initiative for School Improvement (AISI) projects focusing on:

  • projects involving ESL students
  • ESL strategies
  • projects involving ESL students and other English language students
  • projects that involve ESL students but apply to all students.

Information and Resources for Supporting English Language Learners

• What School Administrators Need to Know about English Language Learners and ESL Programming (2014)

  This four-page guide focuses on the following areas:  English language learners, programming and supports, language proficiency measurement, teaching strategies, classroom assessment, and supporting English language learners and their families.

• Making a Difference: Meeting Diverse Learning Needs with Differentiated Instruction (2010)
  This resource features 14 chapters with teaching strategies and considerations for supporting diverse learners.  Chapter 9 focuses specifically on English language learners.

• Teaching Refugees with Limited Formal Schooling (2011)
  Teaching Refugees with Limited Formal Schooling is a website developed by the Calgary Board of Education through a grant from Alberta Education to support educators in their work with students with refugee backgrounds. This website provides information, publications, educational materials and exemplars from the field that promote effective programming for students of this profile.

Early Childhood Information and Resources

• Early Childhood Services English as a Second Language (ESL) – Fact Sheet
  This two-page fact sheet highlights information on funding, determining English language proficiency and ESL programming for early childhood.

• Working with Young Children Who Are Learning English as a New Language (2009)
  This 34-page guide helps early childhood professionals better understand how young children learn a second (or third) language, the relationship between English language learning and home language and culture, and how school can develop effective programming that enhances English language learning.

Other Information to Support Schools Providing Services to English Language Learners

• Program of Studies – ESL Grades 10–12 (1997)
  Focusing on language proficiency, the ESL senior high school program of studies identifies the expectations for core and optional learning components and outlines what students are expected to know and be able to do.

• Guide to Education: ECS to Grade 12
  The Guide to Education provides information for administrators, counsellors, teachers and other parties engaged in the delivery of quality basic education. The guide contains key requirements and other information for the implementation of education programming and the operation of schools.

• Funding Manual
  The Funding Manual assists school jurisdictions, charter schools, accredited funded private schools and private ECS operators in understanding and accessing Alberta Education funding. The Funding Manual includes formulas, rates, criteria and reporting requirements.

• My Child’s Learning: A Parent Resource
  The online resource, My Child’s Learning / Apprentissage de mon enfant, provides parents with up-to-date information about what their child is learning, resources to help their child and how their child might be assessed for every subject and grade. Through this resource, parents of English language learners, who may themselves be learning English as a new language, can also access Parent Tip Sheets in PDF and audio format using simplified English and French that provide information on a variety of topics about schooling in Alberta.