Preparing English Language Learners for the Mainstream: Academic Language and Literacy Practices in Two Junior High School ESL Classrooms

Abstract

The growing numbers of English language learners (ELLs) in U.S. K–12 public schools have raised many questions about how to best educate these students. Much of the research on teaching ELLs has discussed the kinds of practices that should be used to increase ELLs' school achievement, but few studies have documented the actual practices that English as a second language (ESL) teachers use to scaffold their students into achieving in mainstream classrooms. This study adds to the literature on the practices of ESL teachers by examining the teaching practices of 2 junior high school ESL teachers as they prepared their intermediate and advanced ELLs to spend their entire school day in mainstream classes. Findings indicate that both teachers engaged in a complex array of practices that helped develop academic language and literacy skills that students needed for participation in mainstream classrooms by (a) attending to mainstream content in their classrooms, (b) teaching students academic language, (c) providing support in students' first language, (d) teaching students explicit reading strategies, and (e) using culturally responsive teaching methods. Implications for practice, future research, and policy include using measures that help teachers approach their instruction with a holistic understanding of students' mainstream academic language and literacy needs.