MTEL English as a Second Language (ESL) 54 Teacher Certification Test Prep Study Guide (XAM MTEL, 1) First Edition, New edition

I took and passed the MTEL in 2014 on my first attempt. I was a career-changer, and had no prior experience teaching in public schools (I had taught ESL at private institutions). I understand some of the criticisms, as the MTEL (at least in 2014) had a lot of questions relating to the regulatory environment in public schools. I don't remember a lot of questions about WIDA standards, but the test may have changed since I took it. Regardless, there WERE questions about the various theorists, and that's where this book was helpful. It distills a lot of information into digestible pieces. It's not always edited perfectly, but you can certainly get the gist. The way that I looked at this purchase (in light of the negative reviews) was that I wanted to do as much as I could to prepare. It would have been unfortunate to fail the test by two or three questions, that I may have been able to answer had I read the information in this book. For me, the expense was worth it. I feel like this book helped me, and I recommend it to others who are studying for the test. It is NOT going to address all aspects of the test, but it *can* be used successfully as one of many resources to prepare for the exam.

If you are studying for the ESL MTEL, DO NOT purchase this review book. It makes the material more confusing and neglects to explain vocabulary terms the test taker needs to know. Some sections go on and on for pages with review information and other sections get a few sentences. There was an entire page in the book that had no periods after the ends of sentences. I was reading a book on how to teach English Language Learner's English... but the book had no periods. I am two weeks away from the test and I am frustrated that I wasted my time and money on this book. Find another!

I waited to write this review until after I took the test to see what happened. I have to agree with the very negative reviewer that the book is sloppily put-together and poorly written, but, hey, to write a guide for such a specific purpose probably doesn't allow for a lot of editing.I used no other prep materials than this book, and I passed the test. I think it must be a good summary of the relevant material, but it was not a lot of fun slogging through it. I'm glad I had it, though!The practice test was infuriatingly bad. Skip it, and read the guide to learn the jargon and the main schools of thought on second language acquisition.Good luck!

I just took the ESL MTEL today and I can tell you that the questions on the test have nothing to do with the contents of this book. What you need to study is the WIDA standards. They have a free PDF on their site that outlines the language proficiency standards MA is now using. The majority of questions on the test ask you to apply knowledge of WIDA to classroom scenarios. Google it.I wasted hours studying this book and the quizlet flash cards I found online and it was totally useless. There was literally one question out of 100 that asked about the theorists, who are heavily mentioned in this book.You could light $40 bucks on fire or you could buy this book. Same thing.

are you kidding me. poorly edited and written (although the intro was a good piece of writing -- for whatever that's worth). in their defense, the subject matter is brutal and boring beyond belief yet they repeat a lot of things as if they have to fill up pages.

The organization of the book is nice but the practice test in the back, and the additional book that I purchased are not what the MTEL exam is like. The questions in the practice test are MUCH EASIER than the actual test. NO good.

It arrived rather quickly and the set up of the chapters is easy to follow. I am currently reading it to pass the exam. I will update you with my score.

This book was useless. I studied from it before taking the the MTEL, and when I took the MTEL I felt totally unprepared. This book does not give any practical teaching information, and 90% of the test was on that. This book is not worth the cost.