Best Practices in Meeting the Literacy and Postsecondary Needs of Adolescent Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education

Adolescent students with limited or interrupted formal education (SLIFE) are a unique subgroup of English learners (ELs) who arrive with rich cultural heritage and an abundance of assets that include real-world life experiences and skills. Their needs are challenging and complex as a result of limited or interrupted formal schooling opportunities in their native countries. Adolescent SLIFE are vulnerable and more likely to drop out of school as they are frequently misunderstood and lack access to high-quality, equitable educational opportunities. In the United States, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 mandates schools to provide free education to ELs until age 21. For the most part, adolescent SLIFE are placed in general education English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) classes designed for ELs with formal educational experiences. Consequently, their literacy and language needs are not being met. This chapter will provide an insight of best practices for teaching adolescent SLIFE before they age out from public education, focusing on their personal background, histories, literacy, and language needs. Research findings indicate that high school ESOL teachers lack literacy training to support SLIFE. As such, in-service teachers who serve this population need specialized professional development focused on early reading instruction to meet the literacy needs of SLIFE. Additionally, teacher preparation programs must also consider preparing pre-service teachers to successfully support SLIFE. We also propose in this chapter that effective school programs must incorporate emergent literacy instruction and competency-based training as frameworks for the development of a meaningful curriculum.