Abstract
The number of English language learners (ELL) students in the US is increasing dramatically. The growth is even more evident in rural areas of the United States such as North Carolina where teachers are facing classrooms with a majority of second language learners. The authors conducted a study interviewing 24 teachers at a rural elementary school in eastern North Carolina. Teachers were interviewed regarding their perceptions of their preparedness to teach English language learners in the mainstream classrooms. Findings revealed that teacher training programs have not prepared these individuals for the student population they face today regardless of the year in which they received their teaching licenses. All teachers showed a strong desire to learn more at this time in their careers, but emphasized their lack of prior training. The study found that even though teachers lacked confidence, they were effectively educating this growing population. The authors discuss the responsibility of Institutions of Higher Education (IHE) to provide formal education in teaching students from diverse language backgrounds.
Highlights
The role of teacher preparation programs has traditionally been to prepare future teachers with content knowledge, understanding of cognitive, psychological, and linguistic development, as well as the current and historic pedagogical theories and methodologies
These new faces of color showed up in the textbooks, in the storybooks and on the classroom bulletin boards, but have teacher preparation programs missed the mark by not preparing teachers to directly teach these students and instead just teach about these students? the purpose of this study was to assess teachers’ perceptions of their preparedness to teach English language learners (ELL) in the mainstream rural classrooms that have a large population of ELLs
The study attempts to determine teachers’ perceptions of the role institutions of higher education could play in addressing teacher quality as it relates to ESL education in the mainstream classroom with large enrollment of Ells
Summary
The number of English language learners (ELL) students in the US is increasing dramatically. The growth is even more evident in rural areas of the United States such as North Carolina where teachers are facing classrooms with a majority of second language learners. The authors conducted a study interviewing 24 teachers at a rural elementary school in eastern North Carolina. Teachers were interviewed regarding their perceptions of their preparedness to teach English language learners in the mainstream classrooms. Findings revealed that teacher training programs have not prepared these individuals for the student population they face today regardless of the year in which they received their teaching licenses. All teachers showed a strong desire to learn more at this time in their careers, but emphasized their lack of prior training. The study found that even though teachers lacked confidence, they were effectively educating this growing population. The authors discuss the responsibility of Institutions of Higher Education (IHE) to provide formal education in teaching students from diverse language backgrounds
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