Wordsmyth http://www.wordsmyth.net/
Wordsmyth is an online American English dictionary with an integrated thesaurus. Users can type in a word (or in some cases, a two-word term such as "guide dog") and receive a definition, pronunciation key, related words, synonyms, cross-reference links to synonyms, usage examples, and derivatives of the word. This site will be most helpful to learners at intermediate level and above.

Resources in Development

Parenting for Academic Success: A Curriculum for Parents Learning English
In collaboration with the Center for Applied Linguistics and adult ELL consultant, Lynn Savage, the National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL) is developing a curriculum guide for parents who speak a language other than English and who have children in kindergarten through third grade. This project, funded by Verizon, will provide a research-based curriculum guide to help parents acquire English language skills so that they may better influence their child's English language and literacy development. Workshops will accompany the curriculum guide and will include a teacher's guide, lesson plans, teacher resource materials, and parent take-home activities. Information will be made available on the Hispanic Family Initiative page on the NCFL Web site http://www.famlit.org/ when the guide becomes available.

A Guide for Serving Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Seniors
M. Burt & L. Terrill. Senior Service America, Inc. and Center for Applied Linguistics. (in press, to be published in November 2004). This guide gives background information, instructional strategies, and practical tips for professionals who work with senior citizens from countries outside the United States and who are not native English speakers. The guide will be available at http://cal-org.wdi.net/store.

UPS Volunteer Academy
Supported by the UPS Foundation and developed by the National Center for Family Literacy, this initiative will offer programs the necessary tools to recruit and assess potential volunteers and incorporate them successfully into the family literacy environment. As part of this effort, a culturally sensitive instructional strategy will be designed for volunteers to use with parents. The strategy will assist parents in increasing their own English language skills as well as address parent support of their children's language and literacy development. A notice will appear on the NCFL Web site http://www.famlit.org/ when the guide becomes available.