Bilingual teacher candidates and their professors: Efforts to pass a Spanish proficiency certification exam

Abstract

ABSTRACT Heritage Spanish speakers (HSSs) in the U.S. who seek certification as bilingual teachers must show Spanish language proficiency. The state of Texas requires candidates to pass the Bilingual Target Language Proficiency Test (BTLPT) a test seen as a gatekeeping mechanism (Clark & Flores, 2002) in a field that presents chronic shortage of certified teachers (Arroyo-Romano, 2016). This case study of a bilingual education preparation program (BEPP) in Texas reveals the efforts by both professors to help and students to pass the BTLPT. Findings report on faculty and candidate narrative accounts of pedagogical practices. Recommendations emerged from faculty and students’ suggestions for improving test-preparation and Spanish development of HSSs teacher candidates. The authors respond to Guerrero’s (2013) recommendation for “more concrete measures to help pre-service bilingual teachers improve their language skills” (p. 2) and accepts Zúñiga’s (2021) invitation for teacher educators to find venues to share how we “go about supporting bilingual TCs [teacher candidates] in their professional development” (p. 228). The study offers directions for action within BEPPs, universities with HSSs students, and the PK-20 school system. Heritage Spanish speakers (HSSs) in the U.S. who seek certification as bilingual teachers must show Spanish language proficiency. The state of Texas requires candidates to pass the Bilingual Target Language Proficiency Test (BTLPT) a test seen as a gatekeeping mechanism (Clark & Flores, 2002) in a field that presents chronic shortage of certified teachers (Arroyo-Romano, 2016). This case study of a bilingual education preparation program (BEPP) in Texas reveals the efforts by both professors to help and students to pass the BTLPT. Findings report on faculty and candidate narrative accounts of pedagogical practices. Recommendations emerged from faculty and students’ suggestions for improving test-preparation and Spanish development of HSSs teacher candidates. The authors respond to Guerrero’s (2013) recommendation for “more concrete measures to help pre-service bilingual teachers improve their language skills” (p. 2) and accepts Zúñiga’s (2021) invitation for teacher educators to find venues to share how we “go about supporting bilingual TCs [teacher candidates] in their professional development” (p. 228). The study offers directions for action within BEPPs, universities with HSSs students, and the PK-20 school system. Heritage Spanish speakers (HSSs) in the U.S. who seek certification as bilingual teachers must show Spanish language proficiency. The state of Texas requires candidates to pass the Bilingual Target Language Proficiency Test (BTLPT) a test seen as a gatekeeping mechanism (Clark & Flores, 2002) in a field that presents chronic shortage of certified teachers (Arroyo-Romano, 2016). This case study of a bilingual education preparation program (BEPP) in Texas reveals the efforts by both professors to help and students to pass the BTLPT. Findings report on faculty and candidate narrative accounts of pedagogical practices. Recommendations emerged from faculty and students’ suggestions for improving test-preparation and Spanish development of HSSs teacher candidates. The authors respond to Guerrero’s (2013) recommendation for “more concrete measures to help pre-service bilingual teachers improve their language skills” (p. 2) and accepts Zúñiga’s (2021) invitation for teacher educators to find venues to share how we “go about supporting bilingual TCs [teacher candidates] in their professional development” (p. 228). The study offers directions for action within BEPPs, universities with HSSs students, and the PK-20 school system.