Content standards for teaching adult English language learners.

As immigration to the United States of America continues to grow, the adult English as a Second Language (ESL) field has increasingly turned to standardsbased instruction to meet the needs of adult English-language learners and the instructors who serve them, many of whom are new to ESL themselves. The movement for developing and implementing adult ESL content standards is gaining momentum in the United States as more emphasis is placed on learner outcomes, accountability and professionalism in the field. This article describes the development of content standards for adult Englishlanguage learners in the United States, the questions teachers need to consider in aligning their instruction and assessment with content standards, and considerations of the benefits and challenges of implementing state content standards within a national context.