The Name Jar Project: Supporting Preservice Teachers in Working with English Language Learners

Theodora Kapoyannis

doi:10.20360/langandlit29510

Abstract

Classrooms are becoming more linguistically and culturally diverse and many educators are feeling unprepared to meet the varied needs of English language learners (ELLs). Through a larger design-based research doctoral study, I collaborated with 11 preservice teachers and 28 ELLs in Grades 2 and 3 to design and implement a literacy intervention that focused on cultivating literacy engagement to foster English language development. This paper documents the positive impact the implementation of the literacy intervention, also known as the Name Jar Project, had on supporting the preservice teachers’ emerging practice. Analysis of focus group data, preservice teachers’ written reflections, and field notes revealed that (a) the preservice teachers, through their informal learning experiences, were able to empathize with the ELLs’ strengths and challenges of learning English; (b) the service learning model provided a safe learning environment for preservice teachers to gain practical experience working with ELLs; and (c) through the research design, preservice teachers connected practice and theory to inform their future teaching experiences.

Highlights

Kindergarten to Grade 12 (K–12) classrooms are becoming more linguistically and culturally diverse with an increasing number of students who speak a language other than English at home (Samson & Collins, 2012; Statistics Canada, 2017)
Three major themes emerged in response to the research questions: (a) the preservice teachers were able to empathize with the strengths and challenges of learning English through their informal learning experiences, (b) implementing the intervention through the service learning model provided a safe learning environment for preservice teachers to gain practical experience working with English language learners (ELLs), and (c) implementation of the intervention provided the preservice teachers with opportunities to connect practice and theory and to inform their future teaching experiences
Finding 2: Implementing the intervention through the service learning model provided a safe learning environment for preservice teachers to gain practical experience working with ELLs

Summary

Introduction

Kindergarten to Grade 12 (K–12) classrooms are becoming more linguistically and culturally diverse with an increasing number of students who speak a language other than English at home (Samson & Collins, 2012; Statistics Canada, 2017). Academic language becomes gradually more difficult for ELLs as they try to keep up with the conceptual and linguistic demands of the curriculum (LinanThompson & Vaughn, 2007; Roessingh, 2018) In this regard, as ELLs move on to higher grades, they are required to read and understand increasingly difficult texts in the curricular content areas. As ELLs move on to higher grades, they are required to read and understand increasingly difficult texts in the curricular content areas This complexity reflects academic language with a high vocabulary load, including many low-frequency and technical words that are seldom used in typical conversation (Cummins, 2011a; Roessingh, 2018). Many inservice and preservice teachers feel challenged in being responsive to the linguistic and cultural diversity in their classrooms

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Conclusion