Ellii & the English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS) for Adult Education

Introduction

Ellii is a comprehensive digital and printable instructional platform designed specifically for adult English language learners. With content spanning pre-literacy to advanced academic levels, Ellii provides teachers with flexible, research-informed materials that align closely with the English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS) for Adult Education.

Because the ELPS emphasize real-world communication, evidence-based learning, academic readiness, and equitable access for diverse adult learners, Ellii’s content library, rooted in authentic texts, functional language, scaffolded lessons, and multimodal resources, supports instructors in meeting each of the ELPS’ guiding principles and instructional expectations.

The following overview demonstrates how Ellii aligns with the Guiding Principles of the ELPS and the 10 English Language Proficiency Standards, offering clear evidence that Ellii is appropriate, rigorous, and standards-aligned for adult education programs.

Guiding principles of the ELPS & how they relate to Ellii

"Adult ELLs have the potential to meet state-adopted challenging academic standards."

Ellii provides rich, authentic content that supports learners’ ability to engage with increasingly complex texts and academic language. Sections such as That’s News to Me and Real-World Reading expose learners to real-life informational text types, while both printable and digital lessons offer meaningful opportunities for learners to practice reading, listening, speaking, and writing. Teachers can extend learning through interactive tools such as Ellii Polls, Ellii Dilemmas, and other discussion-based activities that promote higher-order thinking.
 

"Adult ELLs represent a diverse population of learners."

Ellii is intentionally designed to serve the full range of adult learner needs. Content spans pre-literacy through advanced levels and includes instruction across all four domains: reading, listening, speaking, and writing.

Teachers may choose integrated-skill lessons or target micro-skills such as grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary building. Courses and lessons are culturally responsive, age-appropriate, and adaptable for learners of varying proficiencies, educational backgrounds, and goals.
 

"Adult ELLs’ funds of knowledge are a resource for their learning."

Ellii lessons begin with preview tasks that activate learners’ prior knowledge and lived experiences. Picture dictionaries, vocabulary previews, warm-up discussions, and visual prompts encourage students to draw from their backgrounds, making learning more meaningful and relevant.

"Social language has an important role in ELLs’ English language acquisition process."

Ellii offers extensive materials for teaching practical, everyday communication. Popular sections and courses include:

• Everyday Dialogues & Functional English (speaking & listening)
• Conversation Phrases Course
• Phrasal Verbs for Pre-Employment & Employment

These are just a few examples of Ellii resources that promote confidence and fluency in social interactions while supporting learners’ progression toward academic and workplace communication.

"Three key instructional advances form the basis of state-adopted content standards for English language arts in AE that ELLs must access:

(1) regular practice with complex text and its academic language;
(2) reading, writing, and speaking grounded in evidence from text (both literary and informational); and
(3) building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction."

Reading is central to Ellii’s lesson design. The platform offers:

• Hundreds of biography lessons
• Content-focused lessons in a variety of academic subject areas, including history, science, civics, langage arts, social-emotional learning, and more
• Resources and flashcards that focus on Academic Vocabulary and Sentence Stems 
• Fictional texts for early readers (e.g., Grammar Stories, Phonics Stories, Word Bank Readers, First Five Stories)
• Weekly updated text-based lessons in sections such as That’s News to Me and Discussion Starters 

Reading-focused lessons require students to cite textual evidence, analyze information, and participate in academic discussions, supporting the ELPS emphasis on rigorous, evidence-based communication.

"Adult ELLs must be able to successfully engage with a wide variety of informational texts."

Ellii includes specialized sections and assessments that expose learners to the full spectrum of real-world informational text types. Example sections include:

• Real-World Reading (forms, notices, charts, graphs, bills, menus, schedules)
• CASAS Test Prep for NRS-aligned assessment preparation 

Teachers (and students) consistently note that learners find Ellii’s materials more engaging and relevant than traditional course books, which increases persistence and comprehension.

See Testimonials for evidence about student engagement, ease of onboarding, and more! 
 

"Scaffolding is an essential tool to facilitate ELLs’ acquisition of language and content."

Ellii materials are intentionally scaffolded by level and skill. Lower-level lessons provide extensive support such as:

• Picture dictionaries
• Real-life photos
• Simplified instructions
• Larger fonts
• Step-by-step tasks

Further Reading: Instructional Scaffolding: How Ellii Supports Student Learning

See First Five (Pre Beg), Word Bank (Low Beg), Word Bank Readers (High Beg)

Higher-level lessons follow the Gradual Release of Responsibility (GRR) model, often including:

• Warm-up / discussion tasks
• Pre-reading vocabulary activities
• Supported readings with audio
• Vocabulary review
• Comprehension questions
• Group activities
• Critical thinking and discussion tasks
• Assessments

See: Famous People, Discussion Starters

"ELLs with disabilities have specific instructional needs."

Ellii complies with accessibility best practices and provides multiple formats (printable PDFs, digital lessons, audio support, Immersive Reader compatibility, videos, and mobile-friendly layouts). Contact us for our most recent Accessibility Report VPAT.

"Multimedia technology aligned to the ELP Standards for AE should be integrated into instruction."

Ellii integrates multimedia throughout the platform:

• Downloadable/streamable audio for every reading
• Digital lessons with built-in audio and Microsoft Immersive Reader
• A robust Media Gallery including flashcards, real photographs, AP News videos, and industry-leading grammar explainer videos
• Mobile-friendly interfaces for learners using phones or tablets
• Digital literacy supports such as Ellii Polls, Ellii Dilemmas, and Student Picks (a feature that gives students agency in what they learn)

These tools support multimodal learning, engagement, and accessibility.

"Academic language instruction should be incorporated into all content lessons, including mathematics and science."

Ellii provides rich academic content across STEM and subject-matter areas. These collections help learners build domain-specific vocabulary and conceptual understanding:

• Academic Subjects
• Science Matters
• STEM
• Numeracy

Ellii & the 10 English Language Proficiency Standards

Ellii’s content library includes a wide variety of lesson sections and courses that support learners across the 10 ELPS. Each lesson section is tagged with the relevant standards, enabling instructors to easily identify which skills and competencies the content supports.

Some sections focus on micro-skills such as pronunciation, while others offer fully integrated instruction across reading, listening, speaking, writing, vocabulary, and grammar.

Click the View more area of any section to see the ELPS (when you have these turned on in your account settings). Hover over the ELPs standard to read what it stands for.
 

Examples of section-to-standard alignment

Real-World Reading

• Focus: reading for life and work
• Tagged with: ELPS 1, 3, 8 
• Features: authentic texts, forms, documents, charts, and workplace materials

After clicking into any lesson, you will be taken to the Lesson Page where you will see an overview area, which includes a description of the lesson, as well as the proficiency level, focus area, vocabulary/grammar targets, and ELPS correlations.

Basic Grammar Sentences

• Focus: everyday grammar  in context
• Tagged with: ELPS 2, 8, 9, 10
• Features: controlled practice, pair work, information gaps

Word Bank

• Focus: vocabulary development
• Tagged with: ELPS 10
• Features: vocabulary building and review with visual support

Pronunciation

• Focus: segmental pronunciation, minimal pairs, vocabulary development
• Tagged with: ELPS 10
• Features: vocabulary review, listening, and speaking practice (with videos)

Discussion Starters, Famous People, Places & Things

• Focus: topic-based reading and discussion
• Tagged with: ELPS 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
• Features Integrated-skill lessons tagged with multiple ELPS, supporting academic discussion, evidence-based speaking, reading comprehension, vocabulary development, and writing, includes photos and videos

This spreadsheet provides a detailed mapping of every lesson section to the relevant ELP Standards for admin purposes. These standards are also visible inside Ellii on the description pages for both lesson sections and individual lessons. Ellii continues to expand its content library monthly.

Language proficiency levels & equivalencies

Ellii’s curriculum is designed around clearly defined ESL levels, ensuring appropriate challenge and scaffolding for adult learners. Teachers may select materials based on:

• Ellii Levels (generic ESL): Pre Beg, Low Beg, High Beg, Low Int, High Int, Advanced 
• NRS Levels: 1–5
• CEFR Levels: A0–C2
• ELD Levels: 1–6  (Suggested setting for those working with the ELPS)
• Canadian Language Benchmarks: CLB 1-12

Our Equivalency Scale is available in the footer of the site and is updated regularly.

Teachers can also turn the ELPS correlations on in their Account settings (top right corner).

This flexibility allows districts to integrate Ellii seamlessly into existing frameworks aligned with state or federal reporting requirements.

Conclusion

Ellii strongly aligns with the English Language Proficiency Standards for Adult Education through its emphasis on authentic communication, scaffolded instruction, academic language development, multimedia integration, and support for diverse learner needs. The platform’s flexible, standards-tagged content empowers teachers to deliver rigorous, engaging instruction that advances adult learners toward academic, workplace, and real-world success.

Supporting Documentation

• Testimonials
• Scope & Sequence
• US Standards & Correlations
• WIDA Correlation
• Efficacy Study
• How We Use AI
• Equivalency Scale