ESL Mobile Learning Technology Innovations from the Gates Foundation

Among the 20+ million U.S. adults that don’t speak English well, fewer than 10% enroll in ESL courses.  Much of the gap can be explained by lack of sufficient funding – from federal and state governments, and elsewhere.  This article identifies ways to determine which of those adults have the greatest need for ESL and will benefit the most from it.  Since ESL increases lifetime earning by an average of 22%, the potential tangible and intangible benefits from ESL are enormous.

Technology, particularly online learning, can provide much of the solution.  Since 75%+ of U.S. adults who don’t speak English at all have access to a mobile phone of their own or in their household, phones provide a huge potential for delivering online ESL learning.

Read more.

See how FIELD helps immigrants learn English so they can succeed in the work world and in life.