The name ESL Imprinted derives from the fact that we strive, with our books and techniques, to “imprint English” on the brains of English language learners. We do this imprinting by means of stories, phonics, and much exposure to the sound, sight, and use of English.
ESL Imprinted offers materials promoting English as a second language, with an emphasis on literacy as an aid to language acquisition. We provide books and materials carefully designed to maximize ease of learning, with a judicious use of pictures, spoken word, written word, and sentences of gradually increasing difficulty; all come together to provide scaffolding that helps to imprint English on the learner's brain. We help students learn basic language that serves as "adhesive" for more language to stick to, thus providing tools for independent learning.
We also provide trainings for teachers — both online and in-person — in the fields of literacy instruction, beginner instruction, and the teaching of pronunciation to all levels, as well as tutorials in the best ways to use our books.
ESL Imprinted grew out of the difficulty experienced by the founder, Libbie Hicks Martinez, in finding teaching materials for her very lowest beginners, who began to arrive in increasing numbers, mixed into classes of “regular” beginners. The available regular-beginner books were too hard, while the low-beginner books were too easy and slow moving. From this need was born ESL imprinted and its first book, Run to the Bus, And ESL Primer For Adults, which serves as a stepping stone for bringing the lowest beginners up to a level at which they can learn independently along their peers.
The solution I came up with was to write RUN TO THE BUS: AN ADULT ESL PRIMER, which served as a stepping stone for bringing them up to the “regular beginner level” of their peers.This solution was necessary because of the limitations of the books available where I was teaching.
With an M.A. in foreign language education and applied linguistics from the University of Texas at Austin, Libbie Hicks Martinez has over forty years experience teaching intensive English to adults.
Preceded by nearly a decade of elementary teaching, plus three years as an instructor at UT Austin, first in intensive English and subsequently in curriculum and instruction supervising student teachers, Ms. Hicks has worked for 35 years as an instructional specialist at ELS Language Center, Houston.Though she teaches all levels, many of her students come to her with little to no background in English, inspiring her special interest in “blank-slate beginners.”