Language Policy and the Preparedness of Mainstream Teachers for Serving ELs in K-12 Classrooms (original) (raw)
Related papers
Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk (JESPAR), 2005
After first verifying the hypothesis that federally supported Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration (CSRD) program schools have a disproportionately high English language learner (ELL) population, this report inquires into the responsiveness of CSRD to ELLs, focusing on the role of state education agencies (SEAs). In their roles as coordinators of CSRD implementation within each state, a role that has included soliciting and judging school CSRD applications, SEAs have had a central role in CSRD. By manually chronicling and analyzing every reference to "Limited-English-Proficiency" (LEP), "English Language Learner" (ELL), "English as a Second Language" (ESL), "English for Speakers of Other Languages" (ESOL), "language minority," "Spanish-speaking students," "Hispanic students," "bilingual education," "Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages" (TESOL), "Title VII," and "non-English-proficient" in seven states' CSRD applications and requests-for-proposals (RFPs), we examined whether those states remedied three important ELL-related CSRD oversights. 2 ♦ We checked to see if states recognized and moved to remedy the unnecessary dichotomization between the school reform movement and the movement to make schools ELL responsive. This included asking if states recognized and sought to remedy the fact that the "research base" supporting most CSRD models did not include testing the models with ELLs (risking a mismatch between school plans and ELL needs). ♦ We checked whether SEAs ever reversed the typical pattern of first designing a reform and then adapting it to ELLs to instead adapt a program for a broader audience that originated as an initiative for ELLs. For example, we checked for evidence that SEAs had tied CSRD to ideas and programs from Title VII, Migrant Education, or other programs initially designed for ELLs. ♦ Finally, we considered whether SEAs overtly addressed the current reality that ELLs fare as poorly in school as any identifiable population there and, relatedly, whether they indicated any capacity/willingness to learn from ELL education success stories that might emerge at schools undertaking comprehensive reform. B-2 ELLs, CSRD, and the Role of State Departments of Education ELLs, CSRD, and the Role of State Departments of Education B-3
2012
In this era of high stakes accountability, the relationship between English as a Second Language (ESL) specialists and mainstream teachers has become even more complex. For this study, four district level ESL administrators were interviewed using a semi-structured interview protocol about a) the roles and responsibilities of ESL teachers, b) the knowledge and skills mainstream teachers need to support ELLs, and c) the quality of university teacher preparation in light of public school realities. Findings indicate that ESL specialists play important instructional and non-instructional roles within schools that are not always valued by colleagues. Mainstream educators need greater preparation in understanding English proficiency levels, second language acquisition, cultural competence, and accountability for the success of ELLs. Recommendations focus on improving collaboration, accountability, cultural competency, and understanding of effective ESL program models.
2001
After first verifying the hypothesis that federally supported Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration (CSRD) program schools have a disproportionately high English language learner (ELL) population, this report inquires into the responsiveness of CSRD to ELLs, focusing on the role of state education agencies (SEAs). In their roles as coordinators of CSRD implementation within each state, a role that has included soliciting and judging school CSRD applications, SEAs have had a central role in CSRD. By manually chronicling and analyzing every reference to "Limited-English-Proficiency" (LEP), "English Language Learner" (ELL), "English as a Second Language" (ESL), "English for Speakers of Other Languages" (ESOL), "language minority," "Spanish-speaking students," "Hispanic students," "bilingual education," "Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages" (TESOL), "Title VII," and "non-English-proficient" in seven states' CSRD applications and requests-for-proposals (RFPs), we examined whether those states remedied three important ELL-related CSRD oversights. 2 ♦ We checked to see if states recognized and moved to remedy the unnecessary dichotomization between the school reform movement and the movement to make schools ELL responsive. This included asking if states recognized and sought to remedy the fact that the "research base" supporting most CSRD models did not include testing the models with ELLs (risking a mismatch between school plans and ELL needs). ♦ We checked whether SEAs ever reversed the typical pattern of first designing a reform and then adapting it to ELLs to instead adapt a program for a broader audience that originated as an initiative for ELLs. For example, we checked for evidence that SEAs had tied CSRD to ideas and programs from Title VII, Migrant Education, or other programs initially designed for ELLs. ♦ Finally, we considered whether SEAs overtly addressed the current reality that ELLs fare as poorly in school as any identifiable population there and, relatedly, whether they indicated any capacity/willingness to learn from ELL education success stories that might emerge at schools undertaking comprehensive reform. B-2 ELLs, CSRD, and the Role of State Departments of Education ELLs, CSRD, and the Role of State Departments of Education B-3
High School English Language Learner (ELL) Teachers and the Implementation of ELL Program Policy
2017
The work of English language learner (ELL) teachers is a central component of the education ELL students receive. Because of systemic barriers to equitable education, ELL students at the high school level have not historically met achievement benchmarks at the same rate as their non-ELL peers, as indicated by lower rates of graduation, post-secondary matriculation, and achievement in content area assessments (August, Shanahan & Escamilla, 2009; Callahan, Wilkinson & Muller, 2014). As federal, state, and district policy makers respond to these challenges, the need to better understand the work of ELL teachers-on the groundonly increases with the implications of policy reforms for ELL instruction. Because ELL teachers are often organized into departments at the high school level, there is a greater need to understand how the context of ELL departments shapes the work ELL teachers do, along with the influence of their own agency. Simultaneously, the complexity of ELL teachers' work calls Implications and Conclusion …………………………………………………………… References ……………………………………………………………………………… Appendix: Codebook …………………………………………………………………… Article 3 ………………………………………………………………………………...
Preparing Bilingual Teacher Candidates: A Linguistic Conundrum in a Changing Political Landscape
2010
In schools across the country, many students who consistently score below their white peers on state standardized tests are English language learners (ELLs). Under No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and the reauthorized ESEA under President Obama, all 50 states are and will be required to have English language proficiency (ELP) standards and state assessments aligned to those ELP standards. Every school's ELL population must show yearly growth in English language proficiency and must meet state standards on state exams in English. Education departments in colleges and universities must adequately prepare bilingual teacher candidates to meet the challenges of increased accountability for the ELLs they will educate. This paper will explore the linguistic conundrum bilingual teacher candidates must consider regarding teaching ELLs in English verses the native language as well as the dispositions bilingual teacher candidates need to exhibit in their work with ELLs. Background and issues The passage of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) in 2001 as a reauthorization of the Elementary Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which was originally passed in 1965, has changed the educational landscape in schools throughout the United States (US). In public schools and school districts across the country, many of the students who consistently score below their white peers on mandated, state, standardized tests in English are those students for whom English is a second language (ESL). Estimates by the US Department of Education (USDE) indicate that more than five million school-age children in the US (more than 10 percent of all K-12 students) are ELLs (Garcia, Jensen & Scribner, 2009). An English language learner (ELL) is a student who speaks another language other than English and who has been assessed with valid and reliable assessments and found to be limited English proficient (LEP). In other words, an ELL is a student who has not yet developed enough English to enable him or her to profit fully from classroom instruction in English. ELLs in the US speak 350 languages and 77 percent spoke Spanish as their native language in the 2000-2001 school year (Hopstock & Stephenson, 2003). In addition, it must be noted that many of the schools and districts with the highest populations of ELLs are located in poor, urban settings. In most states and in Illinois, the majority of ELLs who live in urban and suburban settings qualify for free and reduced lunch, a qualifying characteristic for low-income. ELLs in general are more likely than native English speakers to come from low-income families (Garcia & Cuellar, 2006). In 2000, 68 percent of ELLs in grades preK-5 and 60 percent in grades 6-12 lived in low-income families (below 185 percent of the federal poverty level), compared with 36 percent and 32 percent respectively, of English-proficient students in these age groups (Capps et al., 2005). Under NCLB and under the soon to be reauthorized ESEA, all 50 states are required to have English language proficiency standards and state assessments aligned to those
In this era of high stakes accountability, the relationship between English as a Second Language (ESL) specialists and mainstream teachers has become even more complex. For this study, four district level ESL administrators were interviewed using a semi-structured interview protocol about a) the roles and responsibilities of ESL teachers, b) the knowledge and skills mainstream teachers need to support ELLs, and c) the quality of university teacher preparation in light of public school realities. Findings indicate that ESL specialists play important instructional and non-instructional roles within schools that are not always valued by colleagues. Mainstream educators need greater preparation in understanding English proficiency levels, second language acquisition, cultural competence, and accountability for the success of ELLs. Recommendations focus on improving collaboration, accountability, cultural competency, and understanding of effective ESL program models.