Preparing Teachers To Work With English Language Learners In Mainstream Classrooms

Co-published with TESOL Press There is a growing need for knowledge and practical ideas about the preparation of teachers for English language learners (ELLs), a growing segment of the K-12 population in the United States. This book is for teachers, administrators, and teacher educators looking for innovative ways to prepare teachers for ELLs and will position teachers to empower these students. This volume will appeal mostly to those preparing teachers in contexts that have not have historically had large numbers of ELLs, but have had a high rate of recent growth (e.g., Midwestern U.S.). This work is the combination of teacher preparation and ELL issues. This volume is unique in tackling pre-service and inservice teacher preparation. Additionally, the chapters collectively aim to go beyond merely equipping teachers to meet the needs of ELLs, but to reach a level of effectiveness with the outcome of equity. The book highlights the knowledge, skills, and beliefs of teachers about ELLs. Part I addresses teacher perceptions of, and beliefs about, ELLs and teacher preparation specifically addressing what they should know in terms of students’ perspectives. Chapters attend to the experiences and beliefs of immigrant teachers about their roles, the role of service learning in teacher preparation, and the potential of understanding home literacy practices to change teacher beliefs about ELLs. Part II focuses on skills necessary to teach ELLs—writing skills teachers can draw on to inform their teaching practices, technological skills teachers need to develop, and skills related to focusing on the Common Core State Standards for English language arts and mathematics. Each chapter explicitly addresses implications for teacher education or professional development.

Teacher educators today need knowledge and practical ideas about how to prepare all pre-service and in-service teachers (not just bilingual or ESL specialists) to teach the growing number of students in K-12 classrooms in the United States who speak native languages other than English. This book is at the forefront in focusing exclusively on the preparation of mainstream classroom teachers for this population of students. Part one provides the conceptual and contextual framework for the book, including a comprehensive discussion of relevant demographic trends and an analysis of national and state policies. Part two presents examples of initiatives in different institutional and geographic settings, highlighting three essential elements of teacher preparation: curriculum content, program design, and program coherence. Meeting a pressing need among teacher educators left to figure out, largely by trial and error, how best to prepare non-specialist classroom teachers to work with ELLs, this book both contributes to the research base and provides practical information to help readers envision possibilities they can apply in their own settings.

This book focuses on the ways in which English language arts (ELA) pre-service and in-service teachers have developed - or may develop - instructional effectiveness for working with English language learners (ELL) in the secondary English classroom.Chapter topics are grounded in both research and practice, addressing a range of timely topics including the current state of ELL education in the ELA classroom, and approaches to leveraging the talents and strengths of bilingual students in heterogeneous classrooms. Chapters also offer advice on best practices in teaching ELA to multilingual students and ways to infuse the secondary English teacher preparation curriculum with ELL pedagogy.Comprehensive in scope and content and examining topics relevant to all teachers of ELLs, teacher educators and researchers, this book appeals to an audience beyond ELA teachers and teacher educators.

This book addresses English language learning (ELL) pedagogical practices, and will be particularly useful for mainstream teachers who have limited experience working with EAL/D (English as an additional language/dialect) students. It begins by considering general ELL (ESL, EAL/D) theory, and later examines specific theories in the areas of oracy, reading and writing. Many examples in the book are illustrated with authentic and recent student work samples. This book also helps readers to plan an effective ELL program for the diverse needs of English language learners.

2013 Outstanding Book Award, American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) Preparing Every Teacher to Reach English Learners presents a practical, flexible model for infusing English learner (EL) instruction into teacher education courses. The editors outline the key steps involved in this approach—winning faculty support, assessing needs, and developing capacity—and share strategies for avoiding pitfalls. The central chapters feature sample courses illustrating how EL content can be incorporated into standard courses (human development, learning disabilities, and social foundations) and across subject areas and topics (math, science, social science, physical education, and classroom management). Most preservice teacher candidates report that they feel unprepared to work with English learners. This practical, flexible model for infusing EL content into teacher education will provide an invaluable resource in shaping the next generation of teachers.

This book prepares mainstream teachers to provide content instruction to English language learners.

This volume identifies resources, models, and specific practices for improving teacher preparation for work with second language learners. It shows how faculty positioned themselves to learn from resources, experts, preservice teachers, their own practice, and each other. The teacher education professionals leverage their experience to offer theoretical and practical insights regarding how other faculty could develop their own knowledge, improve their courses, and understand their influence on the preservice teachers they serve. The book addresses challenges others are likely to experience while improving teacher preparation, including preservice teacher resistance, the challenge of adding to already-packed courses, the difficulty of recruiting and retaining busy faculty members, and the question of how to best frame the larger issues. The authors also address options for integrating the work of improving teacher preparation for linguistic diversity into a variety of different teacher education program designs. Finally, the book demonstrates a data-driven approach that makes this work consistent with many institutions’ mandate to produce research and to collect evidence supporting accreditation.

"In this book, ESL and mainstream teachers from primary and secondary schools in Australia, Canada, the USA and the United Kingdom, describe how they go about 'mainstreaming'. Well-supplied with examples of teaching materials and pupils' work, their narratives are practical and detailed. At the same time they raise vital questions of school policy which the whole school community must address when launching initiatives of this kind." "The book will be of very practical use to ESL and mainstream teachers, as well as to principals, advisers and those at all levels of the education service who work in multilingual communities. It will also serve as a handbook for teacher-educators and student teachers of any subject who are preparing to work in linguistically diverse classrooms."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved