In the context of language acquisition and the California English Language Development (ELD) Standards, language resources refer to the knowledge, skills, and tools that students use to communicate effectively in both social and academic contexts. These resources include:

• Vocabulary (both general academic and domain-specific),

• Grammar and sentence structure (e.g., verb tenses, noun phrases, cohesion),

• Discourse structures (how ideas are organized and connected across texts),

• Discourse patterns (The specific linguistic choices i.e. words, phrases, sentence structures that speakers or writers use to achieve certain communicative effects)

• Language functions (such as describing, persuading, explaining, or arguing),

• Communication strategies (like adjusting register for audience or using visual or contextual cues),

• and knowledge from students’ home languages and cultural backgrounds.

Language resources are not limited to English alone; the ELD Standards recognize that students’ home languages and cultures are valuable assets for learning. Students are encouraged to draw upon their full linguistic repertoire—including native language vocabulary, syntax, and conceptual understanding—to make meaning, develop English proficiency, and participate fully in academic life.

As students progress along the ELD proficiency continuum (Emerging → Expanding → Bridging), they learn to select and apply these resources with increasing accuracy and sophistication, adapting them to different tasks, audiences, purposes, and content areas.