The biggest challenge of looking for research sources for TESOL is the wide variety of terms and acronyms used. There is TESOL, ESOL, ESL, ELL, EFL (and possibly others), plus the phrase that each one represents. Scholars may use any of those acronyms/phrases! Here is a list of those acronyms/phrases written out with the word OR between each. You can copy this list and paste it into a database search box to get started!
TESOL OR ESOL OR "English for speakers of other languages" OR ESL OR "English as a second language" OR ELL OR "English language learner*" OR EFL OR "English as a foreign language"
It will look something like this:
Then you can use the other search boxes to add more words that related to your specific topic.
We have several databases for finding scholarly articles related to teaching English as a second language, with each focused on different aspects. Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts is focused on linguistics and while it has lots of articles on topics related to learning languages, it has fewer articles that are explicitly about teaching languages (English or otherwise). Education Source is more likely to have articles focused on techniques for teaching or classroom challenges. Because our main Psychology database, PsycInfo, covers cognition, it is a good place to go for articles specific to language development and language and the brain. ComDisDome would be a place to search for topics related to teaching students who have a communication disorder.
Covers all aspects of the study of language including phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics. Documents indexed include journal articles, book reviews, books, book chapters, dissertations and working papers.
Education Source contains the largest and most complete collection of full-text education journals providing scholarly research and information to meet the needs of education students, professionals, and policy makers. It covers all levels of education — from early childhood to higher education — as well as all educational specialties.
Produced by the American Psychological Association, this resource contains peer-reviewed literature in behavioral science and mental health.
Search for publications in the field of communication disorders.
The libraries also have a large collection of books/e-books on TSOL topics, many of which are specifically aimed at teachers. You can find them via our library search tool (search box on the library home page).
PreK-12 English Language Proficiency Standards
Standards for Adult Education ESL Programs by 