Peer Tutoring and Response Groups: Improving English Language Development among English Language Learners

Peer Tutoring and Response Groups is a program that targets English language development, reading achievement, and mathematics achievement for elementary school students, particularly those with limited English proficiency or at risk for emotional and behavioral difficulties. The program involves pairing students of varying abilities, such as bilingual students with English-only students, to work together on academic tasks in reading, language, writing, and math. Students are trained to interact as tutor and tutee or to work in small groups, and specific instruction on tutoring procedures or how to assume individual roles in a group is required before implementing the routine use of this practice. The program can be used by teachers during classroom instruction or as part of after-school programs.