Exploring Teaching Approaches and Sociocultural Dynamics in the Middle and High School English Second Language Teaching Environment from the Perspective of the Multicultural Educator

Abstract

The act of teaching in the middle and high school involves highly complex sociocultural dynamics in challenging environments. English second language specialists are the type of educators that closely work with the most at risk students in that context. This study explored middle and high school multicultural ESL instructors’ literacy delivery approaches, the understanding they have of difficulties in their field of action, and their particular awareness, interpretation of otherness and attitudes regarding the specific characteristics of their working milieu. This qualitative study utilized participant observation and Developmental Research Sequence (Spradley, 1980) as the systematic approach to gather and to analyze data. The study was conducted in an inner city public school district in the south of Louisiana where seven multicultural ESL specialists were located; participants included were originally from the United States (two), Latvia, the Philippines, Jordan, Romania, and Japan (one each). The findings of this study shed light over the fate of most Latino teenagers in public middle and high schools, the appropriateness of the State’s response to the literacy and human needs of all students at risk of failure in the middle and high school, and the level of appreciation education has in the country as perceived by the multicultural educators participating in the study. The results of the study also indicated a possible relationship among literacy, shame, and students’ behavior.