This study is an action research project that analyzed the ways in which ESL students improve their language learning processes by using as a teaching tool a media literacy video and Civics Education for social skills; it was presented to two groups of 12 students who were attending an ESL/Civics Education Intermediate-Advanced class in an ABE program in the Southwest of the U.S. This study took into consideration the valuable opinions of two observers who were monitoring their respective classes. They were professionals in the area of linguistics, with more than a decade of experience in the field of ESL and Civics Education. The main purpose of this study was to analyze the ways in which the participating ESL teachers' teaching experience and the students' language learning processes would be expanded in order to determine the effectiveness of learning and teaching via an innovative guided media literacy video tool, designed specifically for ESL/Civics classes. This media literacy tool is called a video lesson plan. It focused on the learning of specific second language acquisition processes and vocabulary which students may encounter in their daily lives. For example, a parent-teacher conference was used as an illustration of these processes. Analysis interwove the relationships and interactions of the video effects on the ESL students learning processes, and the social justice aspect in the adult learning processes. Students learned how to interact, what to say, and how to manage their anger while they participated in a parent-teacher conference. They learned appropriate phrases and were encouraged to them to use them right away. The observers confirmed the importance of using methods like these in teaching adult ESL students because they are visually based and worked very well for students who were shown to be visual learners. An unexpected result of the study was the depth of the learners' awareness of their metacognitive processes in learning English as a second language. Interviews with focus groups were used to collect students' perceptions of their own English language learning processes. In the focus group interviews, students provided detailed descriptions of the effects of different aspects of the video on their language learning both in response to the material as well as their ability to concentrate on and assimilate the new knowledge. At the same time, recommendations for improvements of the teaching tool regarding sound, voice recording, and pace of the presentation were provided from the participants and were incorporated into the updated version of the video itself. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]