Integrating Language and Content: How Three Biology Teachers Work with Non-English Speaking Students

Abstract

Facing the rapidly increasing non-native English speaking students in public schools, all teachers are challenged by an urgent need for developing ways to make their instruction responsive to these students' needs. This article reports on a year long study on three biology teachers' language integrated biology teaching to non-native English speaking students. Using extensive classroom observations and interviews the study provides portraits of these three teachers' working with multilingual, multicultural, and multilevel students. The findings suggest that subject matter area teachers should and can extend their teaching competencies to be sensitive to these students' language and cultural needs and to integrate their instruction for the second language development with their curricular objectives.