Celebrating Adult Multilingual Learners of English (MLEs)
Adult Literacy and Family Education Week (14-20 September 2025) is a national collaboration between families, educators, legislators, and community partners to promote adult literacy.
See below for resources and opportunities to take action for AEFL 2025!
Supporting Adult English Learners: From Advocacy to Resources
AEFL Week 2025 Webinar
17 September 2025 2:00 p.m. ET
Gain an understanding of the landscape and importance of adult education for millions of English learners in the US, along with classroom ready resources, including California's Sacramento County Office of Education's USA Learns platform.
Presenters: Jeff Hutcheson and Domminick McParland
Impact of Adult Education
Carly Bruntmyer, ESL Instructor, Casper College
What we do in adult education makes a difference.
We have a former student from Cuba who has gone through both ESL and ABE to get her equivalency in English. She finished pre-med work and has recieved her bachelor's--now on to medical school! This is all since 2018, and she has worked HARD to get where she is today. She'll make a great doctor.
We have a student who came to us from Kenya without any English or tech skills. She can now communicate beautifully in English and can use a computer and smart phone. She always tells people about our center and the impact it's had on her life, and we appreciate her commitment and trust in us to help her.
It makes our hearts so full to see how offering this education for free is a doorway to bigger and better things.
Many will never need our services, but those who do are just as important, and we have to be there to meet them where they are in life.
Talk to Your Members of Congress About AEFL Week
Exercise your right to petition the U.S. Government and let your voice be heard today!
This week, we encourage you to write to your Congressional representatives to:
Learn more about contacting Congress by visiting the TESOL Advocacy Action Center.
Explore TESOL Press Resources
Check out the TESOL Press Bookstore section on Adult Learners for titles about teaching adult MLEs!
Download Government & Community Resources
Use these resources and toolkits to learn more about adult multilingual learners and their unique needs.
- TESOL's Community and Family Toolkit - TESOL International Association
- TESOL English Learners and Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA): What Educators Need to Know - TESOL International Association
- TESOL's Adult Education Interest Section - TESOL International Association
- Adult Literacy & Learning Impact Network (ALL-IN), implementing the National Action Plan for Literacy. TESOL is a coordinating council member.
- Adult Education & Family Literacy Act - U.S. Department of Education
TESOL Talks: A Talk With Christine Piven and Federico Salas-Isnardi About Their Work for Adult MLEs
Join last year's conversation as TESOL Director Advocacy and Public Policy Jeff Hutcheson speaks with Christine Piven, executive director of the City of Philadelphia’s Office of Children and Families, and Federico Salas-Isnardi, director of the Mayor’s Office for Adult Literacy in Houston, about their efforts in Houston and Philadelphia to serve the adult population for literacy and English language.
17 September 2023