How Should Future Teachers Be Prepared to Work With English Language Learners?

Elise Kielek

What is working and what is not working in the world of ESL/bilingual teacher preparation

http://theoriesandmethods2.blogspot.com/

By the end of this

presentation, viewers

should be able to:

Understand some of the history and legislative issues altering the number of well prepared ESL/bilingual teachers

Consider case studies that demonstrate examples of good teacher preparation programs

See what is working within the successful teacher education programs and understand how to incorporate these successful aspects into his or her own educational future with ELLs

ELLs in the School System Today

“From 2003-2004, 5.5 million students in the American school system have Limited English Proficiency (LEP), and 80% of them speak Spanishas their first language.” (Batt, 2008)

The number of ELLs is growing quickly, thus demanding well prepared, highly staffed future ESL and bilingual programs.

So, are our teacher ed. programs up to par?

The History of Teacher Preparation

Issues that necessitated legislative reform

Shortage of teachers in the 80s led to the creation of programs that “short cut” teacher education

ie. Alternative routes to certification

These “short cuts” caused “fragmentation in licensure/curriculum, lack of coordination with classroom practice and public school norms, declining budget for teacher preparation, and limited capacity within state supported programs” (Hafner&Maxie, 2006)

So how do we fix this?

Senate Bill 2024

Passed in 1998 in California in an attempt to fix these issues with teacher prep.

Main goal = connect teacher preparedness with the content of student learning in a standardized manner

Unfortunately, this bill has been referred to as an “unfunded mandate”

In order for sustained collaboration between teacher ed. programs, there must be an increase in resources.(Hafner&Maxie, 2006)

http://newsone.com/the-education-zone/newsonestaff2/first-person-a-california-education-comes-second-to-profits-west/

Proposition 227

1998 California Legislation aka English for Children This legislation said

that students with a Native Language could learn English in 1 year in segregated settings and succeed academically soon after (Cline &Necochea, 2004)

Teachers should use English only.

We know these things do not work.

http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~soja/past.html

No Child Left Behind

NCLB has cut funding to several bilingual education programs, moving the country toward “monolingualism”—English Only. (Katz, 2004)

Meanwhile, we know that a child’s Native Language positively affects the development of their second language (English)

This act has:

Reduced the number of bilingual teacher positions

Reduced federal funding to those programs that need it the most

Left ELLsunprepared for their futures (Katz, 2004)

So, what teacher preparation programs are doing things right?

In San Antonio, TX…(Milk, 1990)

A teacher preparation program provides future ESL teachers with an immersion experience in Spanish, the bilingual students with a wider lexical range of Spanish in content areas, and simulated classroom experiences as instructional model

Encouraged confidence in use of Spanish in the classroom

Greater understanding language barriers of ELLs

Empathywith students

In Long Island, NY…(Honigsfeld& Cohan, 2006)

Intensive Teacher Institute: Teacher Preparation Program combined Japanese “Lesson Study” method with Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP)

Lesson Study emphasized group of teachers investigating lesson plans in a collaborative effort

SIOP emphasized adapting the mainstream curriculum to fit the ELL

Combining these two stressed collaboration, preparation, background knowledge, comprehensible input, strategies, and interaction

Gives future teachers the experience of collaborating to discover what methods work best in the classroom

• At Queens College in NY… (Dong, 2004)

Course entitled“Language, Literacy, and Culture in Education; teachers encouraged to empathize with ELLs and modify instruction to fit their needs

25 hours of field observation required in ESL/bilingual classrooms

Future teachers kept journalsthat demonstrated the growing empathy they felt with ELLs through communication break downs and identity issue

Learned about instructional modifications: Language/content objectives Anticipate ESL related difficulties Culturalbackground information Lighten the language load!

Learned through field experience, reflections, discussions, readings

A Few Things That Are Clear…

Empathy

Making a Place for Culture

Collaboration

Stress Primary Language Strategies (Cline &Necochea, 2004)

Lightening the Language Load! (Dong, 2004)

Visual Cues, physical movement, drawings, objects

Setting Language and Concept goals

Teacher preparation needs to prepare

future teachers for the following important

factors that will allow them to work

exceptionally well with ELL students

(both mainstream and ESL/bilingual

teachers can benefit!):

Empathy/Cultural Sensitivity

Gaining immersion experiences through teacher preparation aids in an emotional understanding of the ELL

Teacher education programs need to include an experience in which they find themselves struggling with a different language, different cultural identity, and different understanding from their peers

Journaling, reflecting, and understanding this process and applying it to the similar experiences of the ELLs is extremely important

Getting to know the ELL and their culture on a personal level is also important to lower the ELL’saffective filter

Collaboration/Primary Language Strategies

ESL, Foreign Language Teachers, Bilingual Educators need to work together, rather than function as separate entities within teacher preparation

These three language dependent departments, along with mainstream teachers should be working together to ensure the understanding of the ELL

Cutting out all Primary Language instruction will never benefit the ELL.

The failure to see the link and interdependence between a child’s first language and the learning of their second language is a major misconception of legislation and some school systems. (Tedick& Walker, 1994)

The Big Picture about

Teacher Preparation

Past legislation is not paving a good road for the creation of well prepared, experienced ESL and bilingual teachers

We need to focus on those programs that are doing things right

immersing future teachers into the culture of the students they will be teaching, encouraging empathy between teachers and ELLs, stressing the benefits of the Native Language, and creating collaboration between ESL, bilingual, and mainstream teachers

Sources Cited:

Batt, E. G. (2008). Teachers' perceptions of ELL education: Potential solutions to overcome the greatest challenges. Multicultural Education, 15(3), 39-43. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Cline, Z., &Necochea, J. (2004). Primary language support in an era of educational reform. Issues in Teacher Education, 13(2), 71-85. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Dong, Y. (2004). Preparing secondary subject area teachers to teach linguistically and culturally diverse students. Clearing House, 77(5), 202. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Hafner, A.L, &Maxie, A. (2006). Looking at answers about reform: Findings from the SB 2042 implementation study. Issues in Teacher Education, 15(1), 85-102.

Honigsfeld, A., & Cohan, A. (2006). Lesson study meets SIOP: Linking two successful professional development models. Online Submission, Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Katz, S. R. (2004). Does NCLB leave the U.S. behind in bilingual teacher education? English Education.36(2), 141-152. Retrieved from URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40173087

Milk, R. D. (1990) Preparing ESL and bilingual teachers for changing roles: Immersion for teachers of LEP children. TESOL Quarterly. 24(3), 407-426. Retrieved from URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3587227

Tedick, D. J., & Walker, C. L. (1994) Second language teacher education: The problems that plague us.The Modern Language Journal. 78(3), 300-312. Retrieved from URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/330109

Additional Sources

de Jong, E. J., & Harper, C. A. (2005). Preparing mainstream teachers for English language learners: Is being a good teacher good enough?. Teacher Education Quarterly, 32(2), 101-124. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Eubanks, P. (2002) Students who don't speak English: How art specialists adapt curriculum for ESOL students. Art Education. 55(2), 40-45. Retrieved from URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3193989

Freeman, D., & Richards, J. C. (1993) Conceptions of teaching and the education of second language teachers. TESOL Quarterly. 27(2), 193-216. Retrieved from URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3587143

Reigle, R. R. (2007). Washington state's English language learners instructors: The need for additional preparation. Online Submission, Retrieved from EBSCOhost.