Six years ago, I began an ESL (English as a Second Language) class of about 25 adults. Most of my new students were illiterate, none spoke English, and I didn't speak their languages. My first thought was, “What am I going to do? How can I make it possible for my students to learn English when we can’t communicate even the simplest concepts?” I searched high and low for a step-by-step guide, without success. So, in my basement, with wooden blocks and paint, I began to develop the system that is now English on a Roll®. My students took to the cubes like ducks to water, and from the start helped each other build sentences and phrases.

Although originally developed as a tool for ESL, all kinds of English programs have been quick to adopt it. English On A Roll® is now being used in ESL/ESOL, Basic Literacy, Special Education, and beginning reader classes in public and private schools as well as community based literacy programs and home schooling.