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ED447724 2000-12-00 Programs That

Prepare Teachers To Work Effectively


with Students Learning English. ERIC
Digest.
ERIC Development Team
www.eric.ed.gov

Table of Contents
If you're viewing this document online, you can click any of the topics below to link directly to that section.

Programs That Prepare Teachers To Work Effectively with Students


Learning English. ERIC Digest............................................. 1
TRADITIONAL TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAMS.................. 2
PRESERVICE TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAMS...................4
INSERVICE TEACHER DEVELOPMENT.................................. 6
CONCLUSION.................................................................. 7
REFERENCES.................................................................. 7

ERIC Identifier: ED447724


Publication Date: 2000-12-00
Author: Gonzalez, Josue E. - Darling-Hammond, Linda
Source: ERIC Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics Washington DC.
Programs That Prepare Teachers To Work
Effectively with Students Learning English.
ERIC Digest.
THIS DIGEST WAS CREATED BY ERIC, THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES

ED447724 2000-12-00 Programs That Prepare Teachers To Work Effectively with Page 1 of 8
Students Learning English. ERIC Digest.
www.eric.ed.gov ERIC Custom Transformations Team

INFORMATION CENTER. FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT ERIC, CONTACT


ACCESS ERIC 1-800-LET-ERIC
Schools and teacher education programs have begun to rethink pre-service and
in-service professional development to take into account the need for teachers to work
effectively with students learning English. New approaches to teacher education are
based on the belief that English language learners' access to challenging content can
be enhanced through teaching strategies that provide multiple pathways to the
understanding of language and content. Because students must use language to
acquire academic content in mainstream classes, second language teaching must be
integrated with the social, cultural, and political contexts of language use.

This digest provides a summary of some of the problems associated with traditional
teacher education and describes pre-service and in-service programs that prepare
teachers to work effectively with English language learners.

TRADITIONAL TEACHER EDUCATION


PROGRAMS
A number of problems have traditionally plagued second language teacher education
programs, including those described below.

"Failure to see the interconnectedness between first and second languages and
cultures"

Schools and teacher education programs often focus on pushing students to work
rapidly and unrealistically to acquire fluent English without attention to continued first
language development. This approach minimizes the connections between first and
second language development and reduces the potential for advancement in both
languages. Inattention to the first language development of non-English speakers is
also detrimental to their academic achievement. Teacher preparation programs should
help future teachers to integrate second language development with first language
development and to recognize the uniqueness and value of specific languages and
cultures.

"Fragmentation and isolation of language teaching and learning"

In many schools and teacher education programs, English as a second language (ESL),
bilingual, foreign language, and language arts programs are the responsibility of
distinctly separate administrative departments. This fragmentation isolates teachers and
makes it difficult for them to communicate across programs and to benefit from

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Students Learning English. ERIC Digest.
ERIC Resource Center www.eric.ed.gov

communication across disciplines.

"View of language"

Teacher education programs often focus on the components of language, such as


phonology, morphology, syntax, and lexicon. This narrow view overlooks the social
nature of language as a tool for communication and a mechanism through which
content can be explored and examined. Language study is generally decontextualized
and unrelated to the lives of students, their school, or the community, and much of
language instruction is grammar driven.

"Paralyzing focus on methodology"

Historically, preparation programs for foreign language and ESL teachers have placed
emphasis on instructional methods rather than on the what, why, and who of second
language instruction. Tedick and Walker (1994) argue that this concentration on
methodology has made second language instruction teacher centered, because it
focuses on the ways in which the teacher best organizes, presents, and assesses
success with lessons. Such a narrow focus has insulated second language teachers
from the growing knowledge about language in the fields of adult education, literacy
development, and early childhood education. This knowledge supports a view of
language development as "an integrated, generative process in which the learner is an
active agent" (p. 306).

"Disjuncture between language and culture"

Prospective second language teachers need to have knowledge about language


development, but they also need a clear understanding of themselves and their
students as cultural beings. They should be aware of the variety of world views
espoused by participants in the target culture and the native culture, and of the need to
view both cultures from a number of perspectives. Such insights cannot be achieved by
simply adding more culture courses to the teacher education curriculum. Instead, just as
culture must be an integral part of second language pedagogy, it must also be an
integral part of teacher education programs, including attention to school culture and
classroom ecology (Tedick & Walker, 1994, p. 309).

PRESERVICE TEACHER EDUCATION

ED447724 2000-12-00 Programs That Prepare Teachers To Work Effectively with Page 3 of 8
Students Learning English. ERIC Digest.
www.eric.ed.gov ERIC Custom Transformations Team

PROGRAMS
Two pre-service programs designed specifically to prepare teachers to work effectively
with immigrant students are the Second Languages and Cultures Education Program at
the University of Minnesota and the Cross-Cultural Language and Academic
Development Program at San Diego State University.

"Second Languages and Cultures (SLC) Education Program, University of Minnesota"

This post-baccalaureate program encompasses both foreign language and ESL teacher
preparation. The combination seeks to lessen fragmentation in the field of language
learning and isolation of language teachers.

The SLC program is based on the philosophical tenets that "teachers and students both
act as knowers and learners in an active, experiential, and integrative process; that
teaching is context sensitive; and that reflection is a cornerstone in teacher
development" (Tedick & Walker, 1995, p. 503). Students begin their field experiences in
classrooms while continuing to take courses on campus. Students explore issues and
questions in 10 areas: language and culture; the language learner; integration of
curriculum, instruction, and learner characteristics; theory and research bases for
second language teaching and learning; school culture and second languages; personal
development as a teacher; assessment; language and cultural diversity; research; and
intensive classroom experience at both the elementary and secondary levels.

Students in the SLC program are organized into cohort groups, referred to as "a
community of developing teachers," where they work together and share experiences.
These cohort groups are further divided into "base groups" and "feedback session
groups." A graduate assistant usually facilitates the base group and keeps close contact
with teaching candidates through conferences, journals, and on-site visits and
observations. Through base groups, students are able to share their experiences with
one another and get feedback on their work. In the feedback sessions, developing
teachers view micro-teaching videos (focused on one element of their own or others'
classroom practice) and more globally oriented videos of their actual teaching in the
schools. In addition, students participate in work days set aside for group projects.
Graduates continue to be members of cohort groups for their first year of teaching,
participate together in monthly seminars at the university, and engage in action
research projects leading to their Master's degree in education.

"The Cross-Cultural Language and Academic Development Program (CLAD), San


Diego State University"

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Students Learning English. ERIC Digest.
ERIC Resource Center www.eric.ed.gov

This pre-service teacher education program seeks to prepare teachers to work with
English language learners where bilingual programs are not available or to work in the
English component of a bilingual program. Pedagogical strategies include Specially
Designed Academic Instruction in English (SDAIE), also called sheltered instruction.
Instruction in a subject area is delivered in English by a content-area-certified teacher
using techniques designed to provide English learners access to the curriculum. This is
increasingly important at the secondary school level, where students may otherwise be
denied access to core academic instruction.

Content courses in mathematics, social studies, science, reading, and language arts
include attention to culture and pedagogical methods for new English language
learners. Other requirements include a course on the psychological foundations of
education, with an emphasis on culture, language, and language acquisition, and
student teaching experiences and seminars. Students are placed in a school for at least
one semester with a master teacher who has obtained a Language Development
Specialist certificate or credential and has a significant number of new English learners
in class.

The CLAD program aims to develop future teachers' knowledge in the following areas:

* Cultural awareness. This component focuses on issues of cultural diversity;


assimilation; and relationships among cultural diversity, educational equity, academic
achievement, and socioeconomic status.

* Theoretical knowledge. Students learn about language phonology, morphology and


syntax, first and second language acquisition, the structure and role of language in
social settings, philosophy and theory of bilingual and bicultural education, techniques
and materials in ESL instruction, and the effects of attitudes and motivation in learning.

* Content knowledge. Students complete an undergraduate major in an academic


content area before being admitted to the pre-service program.

* Knowledge of pedagogical methods. This includes learning about Total Physical


Response, the Natural Approach, content-based instruction, cooperative learning, and
whole language teaching strategies.

ED447724 2000-12-00 Programs That Prepare Teachers To Work Effectively with Page 5 of 8
Students Learning English. ERIC Digest.
www.eric.ed.gov ERIC Custom Transformations Team

* Fieldwork. This includes practice teaching, classroom observations, and community


ethnographies.

INSERVICE TEACHER DEVELOPMENT


"The International High School, New York City"
This school serves recent immigrants to the United States and accepts only students
who have been in the country for 4 years or less and who score in the lowest 21% on
the English Language Battery Exam. The school is small, with approximately 460
students from over 50 countries, speaking over 35 languages. The program emphasizes
interdisciplinary team teaching, small-group student collaboration, and English and
native language learning through study of academic content. Four fundamental building
blocks make up the school's philosophy: (1) a linguistic methodology that assumes that
language skills are best learned through the use of content material in context; (2) a
commitment to both English and native language development; (3) heterogeneous
small-group student collaboration on experiential, activity-based projects; and (4)
small-group faculty collaboration on both instructional planning and school-wide
governance.

The last building block--institutionalized collaboration among teachers and


administrators--led to the faculty's willingness to take collective responsibility for their
own professional development. Staff committees oversee a process of planning
school-wide colloquia, seminars, and peer review. Teachers write their own
self-evaluations periodically, which are added to peer and administrator assessments.

Exchanges such as faculty presentations, summer staff development institutes, and


informal visits among classrooms have benefited from the varied experience of the
faculty. Teachers with backgrounds in ESL, bilingual education, and other content areas
complement each others' strengths. The school has an explicit policy to document its
practices and approaches in writing. Proposals, handbooks, curriculum guides, and a
school journal provide other means of sharing ideas about teaching and learning among
the staff.

The staff development process follows a few rules of thumb to guide teachers in their
instructional planning and delivery.

* Start at the beginning. This suggests that assignments not assume student familiarity
with matters that would be obvious to U.S. students, such as how to use a book to find
information.

Page 6 of 8 ED447724 2000-12-00 Programs That Prepare Teachers To Work Effectively with
Students Learning English. ERIC Digest.
ERIC Resource Center www.eric.ed.gov

* Break down the task. This implies that longer (e.g., 2- or 3-week) projects be broken
down into smaller segments, each of which is demonstrated with an example before
students themselves carry out the task.

* Use models. This includes modeling examples of finished assignments as well as the
process that leads to the finished product.

CONCLUSION
The programs described in this digest illustrate several principles for the professional
development of teachers working with English language learners. They need occasions
to connect theory and practice in tightly integrated ways; support in learning how to
understand what students bring to the classroom; concrete strategies that shape
collaborative learning environments and build on students' language, culture, and
experience; ongoing opportunities for collaboration and collective problem solving; and
experiences that allow them to learn and work professionally in the same ways that they
hope to teach. Building teacher preparation programs and school learning communities
that provide these kinds of opportunities for language teachers is one of the most
important investments that society can make in the education of immigrant youth.
REFERENCES
Tedick, D.J., & Walker, C.L. (1994). Second language teacher education: The problems
that plague us. "Modern Language Journal, 78," 300-311.
Tedick, D.J., & Walker, C.L. (1995). From theory to practice: How do we prepare
teachers for second language classrooms? "Foreign Language Annals, 28," 499-517.

-----

For a more detailed discussion of the issues and a more in-depth description of these
and other pre-service and in-service programs, see New Concepts and New
Challenges: Professional Development for Teachers of Immigrant Youth, by Josue M.
Gonzalez and Linda Darling-Hammond. The book (ISBN 1887744045) is available from
Delta Systems Co., Inc., 1400 Miller Pkwy, McHenry IL 60050-7030, 1-800-323-8270,
www.delta-systems.com.

This digest was prepared with funding from the U.S. Dept. of Education, Office of
Educational Research and Improvement, National Library of Education, under contract
no. ED-99-CO-0008. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the positions or
policies of ED, OERI, or NLE.

ED447724 2000-12-00 Programs That Prepare Teachers To Work Effectively with Page 7 of 8
Students Learning English. ERIC Digest.
www.eric.ed.gov ERIC Custom Transformations Team

Title: Programs That Prepare Teachers To Work Effectively with Students Learning
English. ERIC Digest.
Document Type: Information Analyses---ERIC Information Analysis Products (IAPs)
(071); Information Analyses---ERIC Digests (Selected) in Full Text (073);
Available From: ERIC Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics, 4646 40th Street
NW, Washington, DC 20016. For full text: http://www.cal.org/ericcll/DIGEST.
Descriptors: Cultural Awareness, Elementary Secondary Education, English (Second
Language), Faculty Development, Higher Education, Inservice Teacher Education,
Language Minorities, Preservice Teacher Education, Program Descriptions, Second
Language Instruction, Second Language Learning, Teaching Methods
Identifiers: ERIC Digests
###

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