Identifying Relevant Competencies for Secondary Teachers of English Learners

This article was downloaded by: [University of West Florida]On: 09 October 2014, At: 12:30Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registeredoffice: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

Bilingual Research Journal: The Journalof the National Association for BilingualEducationPublication details, including instructions for authors andsubscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ubrj20

Identifying Relevant Competencies forSecondary Teachers of English LearnersChristian Faltis a , M. Beatriz Arias b & Frank Ramírez-Marín ca University of California , Davisb Arizona State Universityc University of Veracruz , MexicoPublished online: 02 Dec 2010.

To cite this article: Christian Faltis , M. Beatriz Arias & Frank Ramírez-Marín (2010) IdentifyingRelevant Competencies for Secondary Teachers of English Learners, Bilingual ResearchJournal: The Journal of the National Association for Bilingual Education, 33:3, 307-328, DOI:10.1080/15235882.2010.529350

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15235882.2010.529350

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the“Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis,our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as tothe accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinionsand views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors,and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Contentshould not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sourcesof information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims,proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever orhowsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arisingout of the use of the Content.

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Anysubstantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing,systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms &Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ubrj20

http://www.tandfonline.com/action/showCitFormats?doi=10.1080/15235882.2010.529350

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15235882.2010.529350

http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

Bilingual Research Journal, 33: 307–328, 2010Copyright © the National Association for Bilingual EducationISSN: 1523-5882 print / 1523-5890 onlineDOI: 10.1080/15235882.2010.529350

Identifying Relevant Competencies for SecondaryTeachers of English Learners

Christian Faltis

University of California, Davis

M. Beatriz AriasArizona State University

Frank Ramírez-MarínUniversity of Veracruz, Mexico

This study examined the English Learner (EL) teacher knowledge base from three perspectives: (a)competencies the current literature recommends that all teachers need know and use for teachingEnglish learners in their content classes, (b) competencies the current literature recommends sec-ondary teachers of English learners need to know and use for teaching English learners acrossthe grades, and (c) views practicing secondary teachers of English learners hold about competen-cies they need to be successful with these students in academic subject-area classes. We identifiedthe points of commonality between what is considered critical for all teachers and what secondaryteachers need to know and be able to do, as well how they differ, and also what view practicing sec-ondary teachers express about knowledge and practices the literature claims they need to be effectivewith English learners. This research identified the relevant competencies for secondary teachers ofEnglish learners, “to get a better sense of where we are starting from” (Lucas & Grinberg, 2008,p. 628) with respect to the kinds of knowledge and practices that preservice and in-service teachersare being asked to learn, question, implement, and reflect upon.

Christian Faltis is the Dolly and David Fiddyment Chair in Teacher Education at the University of California, Davis,where he also directs the Teacher Education Program. He writes on bilingual education and second-language acquisitionin school, with an emphasis on secondary education.

M. Beatriz Arias is Associate Professor in the Department of English at Arizona State University. Her researchfocuses on policy and instruction for English learners. She teaches courses on Language Minority Education and Policy.Dr. Arias is directing a program that prepares secondary teachers to earn their ESL endorsement.

Frank Ramírez-Marín is a full-time English as a Foreign Language instructor and a researcher at the language centerof the Universidad Veracruzana (Veracruz, Mexico). He holds a MEd in Curriculum & Instruction from BloomsburgUniversity of Pennsylvania (2002) and a PhD in Language & Literacy from Arizona State University (2009).

Address correspondence to Christian Faltis, 26 Northwood Drive, Woodland, CA 95695. E-mail: [email protected]

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f W

est F

lori

da]

at 1

2:30

09

Oct

ober

201

4

308 FALTIS, ARIAS, AND RAMÍREZ-MARÍN

INTRODUCTION

The knowledge base on competencies deemed essential for teaching and meeting the particularlearning needs of English learners is relatively recent, and has, for the most part, been focusedon what all teachers need to know and be able to do (e.g., Genessee, Lindholm-Leary, Sanders,& Christian, 2006; Goldenberg, 2008; Téllez, & Waxman, 2006). The studies that inform thisknowledge base range from peer-reviewed empirical research to conceptual pieces that draw fromtheoretical work on second-language acquisition as it relates to social and academic languagein classroom and school contexts (Lucas & Grinberg, 2008). There is also a complementaryliterature that recommends pedagogical practices that facilitate learning in elementary and sec-ondary classrooms where English learners are mixed with English speakers (e.g., Adger, Snow,& Christian, 2002; Columbo & Furbush, 2009; Díaz-Rico, 2007; Echevarría, Vogt, & Short,2007; Edelsky, Smith, & Faltis, 2008; McIntrye, Kyle, Chen, Kraemer, & Parr, 2009; Olsen,2006; Yatvin, 2007). Both sets of literature make a case for general knowledge about dimen-sions of language and the social nature of learning, including language acquisition, the role ofengagement and continuous assessment, and the need for well-informed, reflective teachers at allgrade levels.

What is largely absent from the research literature on teacher education and particularly, thepreparation and professional development of teachers to work effectively with English learners,is a knowledge base of principles and practices geared specifically for secondary subject-areaclassroom teachers working in middle and high schools. Increasingly, secondary teachers haveEnglish learners in their classrooms, where access to learning and ultimately school achieve-ment, depends to a large extent on how well students understand, use, and affiliate with languagein academic settings.1 It is clear that adolescent English learners placed in academic subject-area classes taught in English need extra support to participate in and benefit from classroomlearning experiences in ways that promote membership into academic communities (Márquez-López, 2005). What is not so apparent, however, is a general consensus of what secondaryteachers need to know and be able to do to ensure that English learners have full access toacademic language and subject-area content in ways that enable them to succeed socially andacademically.

Formalized knowledge about teaching secondary English learners consists partially of “under-standings that are agreed upon within a community of scholars as worthwhile and justified”(Richardson, 2002, p. 89) or what Gage (1978) refers to as “knowledge that”: knowingthat certain theoretical, foundational, and pedagogical principles about teaching and learn-ing are essential for planning, implementing, assessing, and reflecting upon instruction. Itis this knowledge that base, coupled with deep pedagogical content knowledge (Shulman,1986), sometimes likened to “knowledge in practice” (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1999), thatprovide the networks of understandings secondary teachers draw from to plan and organizehigh-quality learning experiences for English learners, to engage English learners in exten-sive uses of oral and written English while they learn academic content, to inquire about andenact the curriculum in ways that make it accessible and relevant to English learners, to work

1By language in academic settings, we mean the rich repertoire of language skills that students need to understandand communicate in the academic disciplines, including social, academic, content, and pragmatic language proficiency.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f W

est F

lori

da]

at 1

2:30

09

Oct

ober

201

4

IDENTIFYING RELEVANT COMPETENCIES 309

collaboratively with other teachers, including ESL teachers, and to reflect on practices and howto improve them.

Much of what has been researched and written about this knowledge base and the practicalknowledge has been embedded in the literature on what all teachers need to know about teachingEnglish learners. Attention placed on what secondary teachers need to know and be able to dofor teaching English learners is relatively recent, and to the best of our knowledge, there has beenno attempt to distinguish the two sets of teacher competencies, or to verify that the competenciesrecommended for secondary teachers are in fact, what secondary teachers view as important anduseful for teaching English learners.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The purpose of this study is to identify teacher knowledge and practices of secondary teachers ofEnglish learners. We explore the knowledge base and abilities that research and teacher-educationliterature recommends for teachers in order to teach English learners effectively. While we areespecially interested in competencies of middle and high school teachers of English learners,we are fully aware that some of the recommendations are embedded within the literature thataddresses the needs of all teachers. Accordingly, we examine the teacher knowledge base fromthree perspectives: (a) competencies the current literature recommends that all teachers needknow and use for teaching English learners in their content classes, (b) competencies the currentliterature recommends secondary teachers of English learners need to know and use for teach-ing English learners across the grades, and (c) views practicing secondary teachers of Englishlearners hold about competencies they need to be successful with these students in academicsubject-area classes. We want to learn about the points of commonality between what is consid-ered critical for all teachers and what secondary teachers need to know and be able to do, as wellhow they differ, and also what view practicing secondary teachers express about knowledge andpractices the literature claims they need to be effective with English learners. The goal of thisresearch is to identify the relevant competencies for secondary teachers of English learners, “toget a better sense of where we are starting from” (Lucas & Grinberg, 2008, p. 628), with respectto the kinds of knowledge and practices that preservice and in-service teachers are being askedto learn, question, implement, and reflect upon.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The research questions that guide this study are as follows:

1. What competencies does the current literature indicate are relevant for the preparation ofall teachers of English learners?

2. What competencies does the current literature indicate are relevant for the preparation ofsecondary teachers who teach English learners?

3. How do practicing secondary teachers of English learners view these competencies?Do secondary teachers’ views about competencies differ with regard to what contentarea they teach and whether or not they have advanced preparation in teaching Englishlearners?

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f W

est F

lori

da]

at 1

2:30

09

Oct

ober

201

4


METHODS

This study relies on mixed methods to answer the research questions. For questions 1 and 2, weselected to review sets of research-informed publications and studies that make recommendationsfor teacher competencies in terms of what they need to know (including theoretical principals andpedagogical knowledge, as well as legal and historical foundations) and be able to do (includ-ing strategies specifically related to promoting language acquisition during content learning, forcommunicating with and engaging English learners, for assessing learning, for reducing culturalbarriers, and collaborating with other teachers) to be successful with English learners. We con-ducted a qualitative content analysis (Weber, 1990) of selected literature (since 2005) focusing oncompetencies needed by secondary teachers of English learners, and compared and contrastedthis with a content analysis of selected literature (since 2006) on competencies needed by allteachers of English learners.

Our goal in these analyses was to look for recurring themes within and across the two literaturesources following Erickson’s (1986) method of analytic induction and Weber’s (1990) approachto content analysis, comparing notes in search of themes common to the data set. Each of usreviewed all sets of readings, and for each text, we wrote out notes about foundational knowledge,attitudes and disposition, and teaching practices recommended for teaching English learners.Then, for the two literature sets (all teachers and secondary teachers) we organized the knowledgeand practices into themes, and rechecked the themes to support, enhance, and refute emerginganalyses. We then listed knowledge and practices under the themes and shared these among thethree of us as a reliability check to ensure analytical consistency of the themes.

We used the themes from the two content analyses to develop a corpus of pedagogical fac-tors that guided the construction of items for the Teacher Survey instrument. For each factor,we developed a number of items about which teachers presented their views or indicated theextent to which they engaged in a practice related to the factor. To summarize, we identified thecompetencies relevant for the preparation of secondary teachers of English learners through atwo-step analytical process: (a) a content analysis of recent literature on preparing all teachersfor English learners, (b) a content analysis of recent literature on competencies secondary teach-ers need to teach English learners. The analyses led to the emergence of themes, which werechecked and rechecked against the actual data. Lastly, the themes were synthesized and recastas factors, which we then used to develop a survey for practicing secondary teachers of Englishlearners to indicate their beliefs about the relevance of knowledge and the extent to which theyused practices associated with the identified factors.

THE IMPORTANCE OF BUILDING A CONSENSUS OF SECONDARYTEACHERS’ COMPETENCIES

In states such as California and Arizona, English learners represent about 25% of the each state’stotal school enrollment, and in some large urban districts, English learners comprise the major-ity of the student body. At the secondary level, there are hundreds of schools where more thanthree fourths of the students are English learners (García & Cuéllar, 2006), and it is predictedthat English learners at the secondary level, as the fastest-growing group of linguistic minoritystudents, will soon outnumber English learners in elementary schools (Ruíz-de-Velasco, Fix, &

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f W

est F

lori

da]

at 1

2:30

09

Oct

ober

201

4


Chu Clewell (2000). Both California and Arizona now require all new teachers to be preparedfor teaching English learners. Standard 13 in California requires teacher-education programs toprovide opportunities for preservice teachers to learn about second-language acquisition the-ory; instructional strategies for English-language development, including access to academiccontent, assessment, and the legal and policy rationales for teaching English learners. Similarly,in Arizona all teachers must complete a minimum of 60 seat hours of coursework in teachingand assessing English learners. The results of this study provide teacher-education programswith new scholarship on competencies deemed to be relevant for secondary teachers to promotethe educational success of English learners.

TEACHER KNOWLEDGE DATA: WHAT ALL TEACHERS OF ENGLISHLEARNERS NEED TO KNOW AND DO

We began with a wide search for published texts about teaching English learners. We were inter-ested in locating research-informed publications and studies published within the past 5 years.We searched using Google Web and Google Scholar using key words—teaching English learn-ers, secondary bilingual education, and teaching secondary English learners. We also checkedmajor university publishing houses for books specifically created for teachers of English learnersas well as the Amazon Web site. Once we had a list of materials, we divided the materials intotwo categories: (a) preparing all teachers, and (b) preparing secondary teachers of English learn-ers. Using our professional judgment along with criteria (published since 2005, research-based,teacher audience), we selected for review seven research-informed publications focusing on whatall teachers of English learners need to know and be able to do2 The publications are as follows,with complete citations in the References section:

• Ballantyne, K., Sanderman, A., & Levy, J. (2008)• Lucas, T., & Grinberg, J. (2008).• Lucas, T., Villegas, A. M., & Freedson-González, M. (2008)• Merino, B. (2007).• Niles, V., Alvarez, L., & Ríos, F. (2006)• Téllez, K., & Waxman, H. (2006).• Whelen Ariza, E. (2006).

TEACHER KNOWLEDGE DATA: WHAT SECONDARY TEACHERS OF ENGLISHLEARNERS NEED TO KNOW AND DO

We followed the same procedures to locate secondary-oriented publications. In particular, wewere interested in publications that addressed some aspect of teaching English learners at the

2The first two authors have extensive experience in bilingual teacher education, and have written widely over thepast 20 years on working with bilingual students. The third author has taught courses on teaching English learners for adecade.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f W

est F

lori

da]

at 1

2:30

09

Oct

ober

201

4


secondary level. We were also keen to focus on research-informed materials geared to teacheraudiences. We found that five publications met these criteria; complete citations are in thereference section:

• Bunch, G., Lotan, R., Valdés, G., & Cohen, E. (2005)• Faltis, C., & Coulter, C. (2007).• Freeman, Y., Freeman, D., & Mercuri, S. (2003)• Valdés, G., Bunch, G., Snow, C., & Lee, C. (2005)• Walqui, A. (2008).

RESULTS

For the first two research questions, we present the major categories that emerged from thecontent analyses for each set of literatures, point out their commonalities, and reanalyze thecategories into four major themes. We follow this with a brief discussion of the Teacher Surveyinstrument, a presentation of the Teacher Survey results, and an analysis of these results withrespect to teacher background information.

What the Literature Recommends for All Teachers of English Learners

The analysis of literature on what all teachers of English learners need to know and be able to dorevealed nine categories of teacher competencies, which are presented in Figure 1.

Understand BICS/CALP Distinction

As can be seen in the figure, the literature recommends that all teachers need to understandthe difference between basic interpersonal communication skills (BICS) and cognitive academiclanguage proficiency (CALP), a distinction first proposed by Cummins (1979).3 All teachers needto understand that it takes more time and effort to develop academic language proficiency, andthat English learners with communicative abilities still have difficulty accessing and participatingin experiences that demand the use of academic language to show conceptual understanding.

Understand Second-Language Acquisition (SLA)

In related fashion, all teachers need to understand how children and adolescents acquire pro-ficiency in a second language. Overwhelmingly, we found that the second-language theory ofchoice was Krashen’s Monitor Model (1982, 1985), with emphasis placed on knowing aboutthe roles of comprehensible input and having a low affective filter for promoting language

3A number of scholars have questioned the validity of the BICS/CALP distinction (e.g., Edelsky, 2006); morerecently, CALP has been recast as academic language, without the stigma of being more cognitively demanding thanBICS, and as working hand-in-hand with conversational language for making sense of tasks involving academic language.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f W

est F

lori

da]

at 1

2:30

09

Oct

ober

201

4


Understand BICS/CALP distinction

Understand second language acquisition,especially the role of comprehensible inputand promoting low affective filter.

Understand role of students’ L1 to promotelearning in English.

Coordinate English-language proficiencystandards with content/language artsstandards.

Use small-group work and heterogeneousgrouping of English learners and Englishspeakers.

Direct students’ attention to languageforms.

Conduct group study/teacher study of waysto advocate for and promote high-qualitylearning for English learners.

Engage with the community and students’families.

Use Multiple Assessments

FIGURE 1 Teacher competencies for all teachers of English learners.

acquisition. Krashen’s model is also extended to include a myriad of scaffolds for languagelearning combined with scaffolds for academic content learning.

The Role of L1

Across the literature, there was a discussion of the relationship between a student’s first lan-guage and learning a second language; research supported the value of having students use theirnative language to promote learning in English. The theoretical argument for this position stemsfrom Cummins’s linguistic interdependence hypothesis (Cummins, 1979), which states that thelevel of proficiency a learner attains in a second language at school is a function of the kindof language proficiency gained in the first language. Accordingly, to the extent that a learnergains conceptual understanding of school-related knowledge (e.g., literacy, mathematics, sci-ence, social studies) in the first language, s/he is in a favorable position to apply this knowledgeto experiences when these are presented in the new language being acquired. This recommenda-tion is especially important in light of the official sanctions on using languages other than Englishfor instructional purposes in California, Arizona, and Massachusetts.

Coordinate EL Proficiency Standards

An area of knowledge all teachers need to know and use mentioned in five of the seven litera-tures was how to coordinate English-language proficiency standards with language arts standards.Increasingly states have developed English-language oral and written language proficiency

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f W

est F

lori

da]

at 1

2:30

09

Oct

ober

201

4


standards for beginning, intermediate, and advanced English learners (see Abedi, 2007). Eventhough English learners are placed in all English classrooms, most are still in need of supportand development, especially with regard to academic language skills. Teachers need to knowhow to integrate the language art standards with English-language proficiency standards, asthese two sets of standards dovetail at the upper ends of proficiency. Moreover, teachers needto be able to integrate English-language proficiency standards with content areas standards aswell.

Use Small, Heterogeneous Groups

All teachers need to know how to organize and use heterogeneous small groups where Englishlearners and English speakers are mixed, taking into account the social, academic, and languageabilities that students bring to particular groups. Small-group work enables learners to experiencemultiple abilities to support collaborative learning and promote language development. A goodpart of what all teachers need to know about second-language acquisition and English-languageproficiency standards is embedded in discussions about how and why small-group work isimportant for English learners.

Direct Attention to Language Forms

An ever more indispensable knowledge area that all teachers need to know about and be able touse as support for language learning is how language works, particularly how the language formsof English work within the academic disciplines. Without exception, the literature recommendsthat teachers need to have a basic grasp of English morphology, syntactic structures and therelations between them (e.g., active and passive sentences), how texts are organized within theiracademic discipline, and how to explain language forms using comprehensible language withlots of examples where students compare and contrast language forms. This functional linguisticknowledge enables teachers to diagnose and scaffold discipline-specific language-learning needs(see Schleppegrell, 2004; Wong Fillmore & Snow, 2002).

Advocacy for ELs

All teachers of English learners need to become advocates for English learners and promotehigh-quality instruction. Part of being an advocate comes from developing the competenciesmentioned so far. In addition, all teachers of English learners need to see themselves as inquirersand work collaboratively as professionals to improve instruction for English learners (see Merino,2007; De Oliveira & Athanases, 2007).

Engage Student Families/Communities

One of the ways mentioned in the literature for all teachers to become better advocatesfor their students is to engage with the community and English learners’ families. A point ofcommonality across the literature was the endorsement of learning about the communities served

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f W

est F

lori

da]

at 1

2:30

09

Oct

ober

201

4


by the schools, and finding ways of incorporating community practices within the curriculum andschool as a way of creating a safe and caring learning environment.

Use Multiple Assessments

The final category of knowledge and practice mentioned in the literature on what all teachersneed to teach English learners effectively is English proficiency assessment, particularly how andwhy to use assessments to improve teaching. Part advocacy and part ability, all teachers need tounderstand the role of summative language proficiency assessment for providing English learnersthe services they are entitled to, and of formative assessment, using multiple measures, for pro-viding meaningful feedback on what students have learned and need work on (see Abedi, 2004;Abedi & Gándara, 2006). Teachers need to be able to notice inequities in traditional assessments,which often support deficit perspectives about English learners’ abilities to learn. Using multi-ple assessments is a way to challenge the use of single measures of language proficiency (DeOliveira & Athanases, 2007).

What the Literature Recommends for Secondary Teachers of English Learners

Obviously secondary teachers are included in the literature on what all teachers need to know;however, knowledge and practices specific to secondary teachers were rarely highlighted. Theliterature on secondary teachers of English learners, in contrast, focused attention on kinds ofknowledge and practices that subject-area teachers needed to know and be able to do. Our anal-ysis revealed that all of the categories found in the all-teacher literature showed up in a varietyof ways in the secondary-teacher literature. Nonetheless, there were six categories of knowl-edge and practices that appeared to be specific competencies for secondary teachers of Englishlearners. A summary of these competencies is presented in Figure 2.

Understand second-language acquisition asparticipation and identity.

Plan for and use theme-based content whereconcepts, genres, and specialized vocabularyare spiraled and used in multiple ways.

Build on students’ background knowledge andexperiences.

Know and advocate for legal rights of Englishlearners.

Adjust instruction for variation in schoolingexperiences of English learners.

Mix English learners with native Englishspeakers to ensure social and academicintegration.

FIGURE 2 Teacher competencies for secondary teachers of Englishlearners.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f W

est F

lori

da]

at 1

2:30

09

Oct

ober

201

4


SLA as Participation and Discourse Affliliation

Secondary teachers need to understand how adolescents become proficient in a second lan-guage while they are learning academic content. Second-language theory for secondary teachersmentions the role and importance of comprehensible language for promoting language acqui-sition, but focuses more on the sociocultural aspects of language acquisition with classroomcontexts. There is great concern that secondary teachers understand that at the middle and highschool level, learning a second language is tantamount to creating and developing Discourseaffiliations (Gee, 1992), connections that show the learner is using social and academic languagethe way members of that Discourse use it to express understanding and knowledge. The goalfor secondary teachers is to provide experiences for English learners to participate in social andacademic uses of both oral and written English, uses of language that are recognized, valued,and used as specific to the discipline as well as those that cut across academic disciplines (seeSchleppegrell, 2004; Schleppegrell & De Oliveira, 2006). Secondary teachers need to know howto scaffold language and learning experiences so that English learners have opportunities forprotracted interactions around and writing events with academic topics, which leads to the nextcategory.

Use Theme-Based Lessons

A common thread within the literature for secondary teachers of English learners is the pro-posal that secondary teachers need to be able to create and use theme-based curriculum plansthat present concepts, genres, and specialized vocabulary in multiple ways, in a spiral fashionso that learners hear and use language and content repeatedly within the context of a theme.Having the curriculum organized around content-based themes enables secondary teachers tosupport language acquisition in which oral and written language intends to develop students’identities within academic disciplines. This approach to curriculum development is most famil-iar to teachers who are comfortable with lesson planning that integrates across disciplines, usessmall groups, and promotes authentic literacy, but may be more difficult for teachers, who, forany number of reasons, rely on prefabricated, commercial curriculum materials. However, thereare many new sources of help for secondary teachers to turn curriculum materials toward the-matic approaches for organizing learning experiences (see especially Freeman et al., 2003 andFaltis & Coulter, 2007).

Build on Students’ Backgrounds

In order for English learners to gain access to and participate in thematic curricula and otheracademic experiences that use and promote academic language, secondary teachers need to learnabout and build on students’ background knowledge and experiences. Building on and buildingup student background knowledge is especially critical at the secondary level, where the variationwithin English learners ranges from little or no prior formal schooling experiences to formalschooling experiences that exceed those found in extant placements based on English-languageproficiency scores. English learners in subject-area classes learn more effectively and with moreenthusiasm when the academic content they are studying connects in a meaningful way to what

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f W

est F

lori

da]

at 1

2:30

09

Oct

ober

201

4


they already know and have some experience with. The challenge, then, for secondary teacherswho may teach up to 150 students a day is to tap into and build on their students’ backgroundknowledge to a point where students have enough information to begin to ask questions aboutthe new academic content they are learning (what do they know about the content?), and then,what are some of the things they want to learn about that content (Allen, 2000). Building onand building up students’ background knowledge and experiences requires secondary teachersto make connections with students’ homes and communities, which can be done throughout theschool year by having students ask parents and other community members for their views on andexperiences with topics being studied at school.

Advocacy for Legal Rights

According to the literature on secondary teachers of English learners, a requisite competencyhaving to do with equity is advocacy for the legal rights of English learners to have access toand participate in high-quality education; this is particularly important in states like Arizona,California, and Massachusetts, where bilingual instruction has been severely reduced to dual-language programs, students are segregated for long periods of the school day, and in mostclassrooms, English is the language of instruction. Nonetheless, there are many legal issues thatsecondary teachers need to know about to effectively advocate for English learners. For exam-ple, teachers need to know about Plyler v. Doe, the 1982 Supreme Court case that guarantees allstudents the right to attend public schools, regardless of the legal status of their parents. Otherlegal cases important for secondary teachers are Castañeda v. Pickard (1981) and Lau v. Nichols(1974), among others Secondary teachers also need to critically understand state laws regardingthe use of languages other than English in school, for noninstructional purposes, and the rights ofstudents’ parents, regardless of their proficiency in English, to have access to information aboutschool policies, daily routines, and safety measures. With this knowledge, teachers are equippedto advocate for English learners, to challenge policies and practices that harm rather than helpthese students.

Adjust Instruction for Variation in Student Experiences

A point of commonality across the literature is that all secondary teachers of English learnersneed to know about and be able to adjust instruction in strategic ways that ensure access to andparticipation in high-quality learning experiences and that pay attention to students’ prior formallearning experiences. Adjusting instruction to ensure access to and participation in academiclearning is the sine qua non of teaching English learners. Included in this area of knowledge andability is an understanding of how to scaffold learning instruction so that English learners canengage in complex learning, regardless of their prior formal schooling experiences. Scaffoldingranges from planning classroom experiences for English learners to using interaction strategiesthat pay attention to students’ understanding and facilitate oral and written language use. Secon-dary teachers need to create and carry out academic learning experiences in ways that help Englishlearners understand and use English extensively to express their meaning of key concepts andvocabulary specific to the discipline. All texts recommend instructional strategies for supportingand stretching students’ uses of oral and written language for both social and academic purposes.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f W

est F

lori

da]

at 1

2:30

09

Oct

ober

201

4


Mix ELs with English Speakers

The final area of knowledge and ability that secondary teachers of English learners need tobe familiar with is ways of mixing English learners with English speakers to ensure social andacademic integration. The literature is unanimous in recommending that English learners begiven multiple opportunities for listening to and exchanging ideas with English speakers, lestthey be segregated throughout the school day, forced to interact only with other students whoare also learning English. Mixing English learners with English speakers requires thoughtfulconsideration of the multiple abilities students bring to small-group work (see Cohen, 1986).Moreover, to ensure that English learners have support during small-group work, teachers needto structure the group work so that all students contribute to discussions involved in completingthe tasks at hand; for example, assign roles and incorporate jigsaw formats where students sharetheir understanding of new information. Small-group work creates safe learning environmentsfor English learners, places where they can feel comfortable taking risks using language andexchanging ideas in English with classroom peers. More importantly, students at the secondarylevel are increasingly segregated from English speakers (Faltis & Arias, 2007), and thereforeneed a wide range of opportunities to interact with English-speaking peers across all academicdisciplines.

Secondary Teachers’ Views on What They Need to Know and Be Able to Do

Based on the content analyses of the literature sets (Weber, 1990), we developed a survey toassess secondary teachers’ views about four main factors related to what these teachers need toknow and be able to do. The four factors that emerged from the analyses were: Language andLanguage Learning; Multiple Assessments and Language Standards; Students’ Backgrounds andCommunities; and the Social, Cultural, and Political Dimensions of Language. For each factor,we developed a set of statements based on what the literature indicated were critical competen-cies. (See the Appendix: Survey of Critical Competencies for Secondary Teachers of EnglishLearners.) Following Fowler (1995), we used a rating scale of Completely Agree to CompletelyDisagree, and asked 100 secondary teachers to rate each statement using the scale. We developedfive items for factors one and two and six items for factors three and four. We also asked teachersto provide information about their subject area, whether they were ESL endorsed, the number ofyears teaching, and second-language experience. Forty secondary teachers completed the survey;all of the teachers taught in the high school level.

Table 1 presents an overview of the 40 teachers who participated in the study.As can be seen in Table 1, three fourths (31) of the 40 teachers taught in English, social stud-

ies, reading, or language; a majority were not ESL endorsed, but most (85%) had some priorcoursework in teaching English learners.4 Six of the teachers indicated they had a minimal profi-ciency in a second language; 3 reported being at the intermediate level, and 7 indicated advanced

4In 2006 the State of Arizona required all teachers to have 15 seat hours of workshops on teaching English learners,covering the areas of Foundations, Second Language Acquisition Theory, EL Teaching Strategies, Assessment, andFamily Involvement. Nearly half of the 15 hours are devoted to EL teaching strategies. As of 2010, all teachers need tohave at least 90 seat hours or 6 college credit hours in the same areas.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f W

est F

lori

da]

at 1

2:30

09

Oct

ober

201

4


TABLE 1Secondary Teacher Participants’ Characteristics (N = 40)

Content Area BLE/ ESL Endorsed Years Teaching Speak an L2

• English/Social Studies(N = 24)

• Reading (N = 3)• Language (N = 4)• Math/Science (N = 6)• SPED (N = 1)• Business (N = 1)• Not indicated (N = 1)

• No (N = 37)• Yes (N = 3)• Not indicated(N = 1)

Coursework inTeaching ELs,Including SEI

• Yes (N = 34)• No (N = 6)

• From 1–6 years (N = 16)• More than 7 years (N = 21)• Not indicated (N = 3)

• Yes (N = 16)• No (N = 23)Minimal proficiency

(N = 6)Intermediate (N = 3)Advanced (N = 7)

English as L1

Yes (N = 37)

No (N = 3)

TABLE 2Secondary Teachers’ Responses to All Items Within the Language

and Language Learning Factor

Response Number Percent

Completely Agree 129 64.5%Somewhat Agree 53 26.5%Somewhat Disagree 8 4%Completely Disagree 8 4%No response 2 1%

TABLE 3Secondary Teachers’ Responses to All Items Within the Multiple

Assessments and Language Standards Factor


Completely Agree 92 46.2%Somewhat Agree 63 31.7%Somewhat Disagree 23 11.6%Completely Disagree 10 5%No response 11 5.5%

proficiency. The reader should note that the teachers who participated in the survey were pri-marily language arts or social studies teachers; there were fewer math and science teachers whocompleted the survey.

We now turn to the results of the Survey. The first set of results gives the overall responses tothe four factors. These results are presented in Tables 2–5.

As can been seen in the tables, there was high agreement from respondents about what allsecondary teachers should know and be able to do with English learners in their classroomson all four factors. We also analyzed responses to each item within the four factors, but due tospace constraints, we do not present these tables. The strongest agreement among respondentswas on item 2 of Section IIA—“All secondary teacher must understand the differences between

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f W

est F

lori

da]

at 1

2:30

09

Oct

ober

201

4


TABLE 4Secondary Teachers’ Responses to All Items Within the Students’

Backgrounds and Communities Factor


Completely Agree 129 53.8%Somewhat Agree 76 31.7%Somewhat Disagree 13 5.4%Completely Disagree 10 4.2%No response 12 4.2%

TABLE 5Secondary Teachers’ Responses to All Items Within the Social,

Cultural, and Political Dimensions of Language Factor


Completely Agree 112 47.3%Somewhat Agree 76 32.1%Somewhat Disagree 30 12.7%Completely Disagree 12 5.1%No response 7 3%

social and academic language.” Ninety-eight percent of respondents completely (68%) or some-what agreed (30%). Respondents also completely agreed (75%) and somewhat agreed (18%)that “All secondary teachers need to understand how learning strategies can help English learn-ers learn academic content.” Among the items that received less agreement were items related toSection IIB, Multiple Assessments and Language Standards. Thirty-one percent of respondentsstrongly disagreed (23%) or somewhat disagreed (8%) completely disagreed that “All secondaryteachers need to be able to diagnose and measure challenges and strengths of the school formeeting English learners’ needs.” Also, within this section, 28% strongly disagreed (18%) orsomewhat disagreed (10%) that “All secondary teachers need to know how to interpret thestate-mandated English proficiency exams used to determine a student’s oral and written levelof English.” Twenty-eight percent of respondents also indicated strong disagreement (20%) orsomewhat in disagreement (8%) with the statement that “All secondary teachers need to haveexperience learning a second language.”

Taken as a whole, these results can be interpreted in multiple ways. First, if the results repre-sent respondents’ opinions about the four factors, then by and large, the results corroborate whatthe research and pedagogical literature recommends about competencies secondary teachers needto be effective with English learners. There was strong to somewhat strong agreement across andwithin the four factors that we created from the literature analyses. Of particular interest were therespondents’ views on the need to understand differences between social and academic language.One of the most complex aspects of second-language learning at the secondary level is how stu-dents acquire academic language while learning academic content (Freeman & Freeman, 2008;Hyland, 2007; Schleppegrell, 2004). Most respondents felt that all teachers needed to understandand use learning strategies to help English learners acquire academic language. An equally high

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f W

est F

lori

da]

at 1

2:30

09

Oct

ober

201

4


concern was that all teachers need to understand the language demands of academic content tobe better prepared to meet English learners’ needs. New research on academic language suggeststhat teachers need to have a much greater understanding of how the various genres of academiccontent interact with the language of texts and classroom discourse, one that takes them beyondan emphasis on vocabulary development and a focus on grammar. As Valdés (2004, p. 90) pointsout, “We must also engage in a broader dialogue with the voices of the research communities thatcan guide us beyond our sometimes narrow focus on the acquisition of grammar and lexis andcontextualized and decontextualized language.” In the support of this stance, the respondents inthis study revealed that they want to learn much more about academic language, what it is and isnot, and how to help English learners acquire it (see Bartolomé, 1998 for a study on how teacherslearned new ways of helping English learners acquire academic language).

While respondents favored knowing about the social, cultural, and political dimensions oflanguage in general, there was some disagreement about the need to have experienced learn-ing a second language for teaching English learners. This finding is difficult to interpret inlight of teachers’ concerns for knowing more about academic language. We did analyses foreach of factors using independent variables of year teaching, subject-matter, Bilingual/ESLendorsement, and second-language proficiency. There were no differences in the overallresponses for Section IID within any of these variables, meaning it did not appear to matterif the respondent was a new teacher versus a veteran teacher, endorsed versus not endorsed, orproficient in a second language versus not proficient. The literature we reviewed and analyzedwas nearly unanimous on recommending that teachers have experience learning a second lan-guage to be able to better understand the challenges English learners face in learning academiclanguage while learning subject-matter content.

It is also possible that because the results of the Teacher Survey were so skewed towardagreement—completely agree or somewhat agree—that respondents did not read and respondto each item carefully and honestly. This is always an issue with survey questionnaires (Fowler,1995). It may be that respondents answered in ways they thought we would like them to respondinstead of how they actually opined. When we distributed the Teacher Survey, we asked respon-dents to read each item carefully and to respond honestly, with the expectation that responsesrepresented their opinions on the items within the four factors. Accordingly, the results support agrowing consensus that the four factors we derived from the research and pedagogical literaturerepresent critical competencies for secondary teachers of English learners.

It is also possible that teachers completing the survey may have been also responding to theirbeliefs about the English learners standards promoted by the Arizona Department of Education,which are reflected to some extent in factors used on the survey. Some of the disagreementsmay also reflect resistance to adding even more areas of expertise to an already heavy workload.Additional research, particularly on what teachers believe they can actually do to support Englishlearners in their classrooms and schools will go a long way in clarifying these results.

DISCUSSION AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS

There is much work to be done in the area of teacher preparation, particularly at the secondarylevel, where teacher knowledge about how to best address the needs of English learners isinchoate. This study is the first of its kind to identify what the research literature recommends

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f W

est F

lori

da]

at 1

2:30

09

Oct

ober

201

4


that secondary teachers of English learners need to understand and be able to do while they teachin their content-area classes. What is clear to us from the study is that teaching English learnersrequires more than just good teaching, as De Jong and Harper (2005) have argued eloquently.In addition to pedagogical content knowledge, secondary teachers who have English learners intheir classes also need to know about the demands English learners face with social and academiclanguage and be able to find ways to ensure that students use language in multiple ways; to under-stand how their students acquire oral and written English when they already know and use theirprimary language; to give value to their primary language for learning new material in English;to assess their learning using multiple formative measures that take language proficiency intoaccount; to draw on and incorporate students’ background knowledge and community life; andto advocate for dual-language learners when policies and practices that offer these students lessthan an academically challenging secondary school experience. In effect, we argue that teachersneed to be aware that they are developing a rich repertoire of language skills and proficiencieswith their students.

Each of the 22 items of our Teacher Survey represents an area of knowledge, and many ofthem have important implications for practice, adding to an already deep pedagogical contentknowledge base that secondary teachers need to have to be effective teachers in their subjectmatter areas. Follow-up research is needed to delve further into the kinds of knowledge andpractices secondary teachers enact when teaching English learners social and academic languageneeded for successful content learning. A promising research approach is to engage teachers infocus-group discussions (Fern, 2001; Krueger, 1994; Morgan, 1988) about the factors we iden-tified. Focus groups enable participants to have some control of the topics of conversation bycommenting on their own and the ideas of others to unpack how their understandings about com-petencies are formed and maintained. Groups of secondary teachers could be asked to participatein focus-group discussions about academic language, for example, and the challenges they facein teaching English learners about genres, the ways language is constructed within genres, andhow to participate in the discourses involved in those genres. Likewise, teachers could share theirembodied understandings of practice (Dall’Alba, 2009); that is, how their prior understandingsof language acquisition and their students’ experiences contribute to learning new pedagogicalpractices in the contexts of their classroom environments, and what it means to know about thecommunities in which their English learners live and what they understand about their students’quotidian school experiences. This kind of teacher knowledge and the developing practices couldadd to the field of teacher education, bringing a new richness to the discussion of what kinds ofenacted understandings of practices teachers have and need to develop. We also find that hereis a need for research at the secondary level to uncover how teachers teach against the grain ofscripted, reductionist curriculum, and English-only policies (see Constantino & Faltis, 1998).While much of what we learned in this study abstains from critiques of restrictive language poli-cies for English learners, many of the teachers we know and work with teach against the grain,working under the radar of accountability to engage students in problem posing and problemsolving beyond what is covered in the status quo. These teachers’ stances and practices must alsoform part of what secondary teachers need to know and be able to do to help English learnersstretch their own knowledge to understand as well as challenge what is being taught in school.

This research study also points to a dire need for classroom research on what middle and highschool teachers actually do to engage English learners in discussions and text about academiccontent. It seems to us that while there is some consensus about what secondary teachers need

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f W

est F

lori

da]

at 1

2:30

09

Oct

ober

201

4


to understand and be able to do in their classroom, the research on what teachers use to promotesocial and academic learning is sparse at best, compared to research at the elementary level ofschooling. Furthermore, the importance of issues of culture and identity are closely related to lan-guage learning and language acquisition. Although this topic was outside the range of this survey,the authors acknowledge its importance and note that most of the research on teacher preparationfocuses heavily on language, to the exclusion of cultural factors. Research on secondary teachersof bilingual and English learners continues to lag behind that conducted in elementary settings(see Faltis, 1999). The voices of teachers need be included in efforts to build a deeper understand-ing of what secondary teachers consider to be essential for helping English learners be successfulin school. In terms of developing a strong policy for teacher preparation, the results of this studysuggest that we are beginning to have a better understanding of the challenges secondary teachersface in teaching academic content and language to English learners, but we have much to learnabout what specific kinds of knowledge and practices secondary teachers new to working withEnglish learners develop over time. To continue learning, there needs to be a wider conversationthat also engages teacher educators, teachers, researchers, and other relevant stakeholders, suchas representatives from state and national organizations with an interest in bilingual educationand teaching English to speakers of other languages.

REFERENCES

Abedi, J. (2004). Psychrometric issues in the ELL assess and special education eligibility. Teachers College Record,108(11), 2282–2303.

Abedi, J. (Ed.) (2007). English language proficiency assessment in the nation: Current status and future practice. Davis,CA: University of California.

Abedi, J., & Gándara, P. (2006). Performance of English language learners as a subgroup in large-scale assessment:Interaction of research and policy. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice, 25(4), 36–46.

Adger, C., Snow, C., & Christian, D. (Eds.) (2002). What teachers need to know about language. Alexandria, VA: Centerfor Applied Linguistics.

Allen, J. (2000). Yellow brick roads: Shard and guided paths to independent reading 4–12. Portland, ME: StenhousePublishers.

Ballantyne, K., Sanderman, A., & Levy, J. (2008). Educating English language learners: Building teacher capacity.Washington, DC: National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition.

Bartolomé, L. (1998). The misteaching of academic discourse: The politics of language in the classroom. Boulder, CO:Westview Press.

Bunch, G., Lotan, R., Valdés, G., & Cohen, E. (2005). Keeping content at the heart of content-based instruction: Accessand support for transitional English learners. In J. Crandall & D. Kaufman (Eds.), Content-based instruction inprimary and secondary school settings (pp. 11–25). Alexandria, VA: Teachers of Speakers of Other Languages.

Castañeda v. Pickard, 648 F.2d 989 (5th Circuit) (1981).Cochran-Smith, M., & Lytle, S. (1999). Relationships of knowledge and practice: Teacher learning in communities.

Review of Research in Education, 24, 249–305.Cohen, E. (1986). Designing groupwork: Strategies for the heterogeneous classroom. New York, NY: Teachers College

Press.Colombo, M., & Furbush, D. (2009). Teaching English language learners: Content and language in middle and

secondary mainstream classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Constantino, R., & Faltis, C. (1998). Teaching against the grain in bilingual education: Resistance in the underlife. In

Y. Zou and H. Trueba (Eds.), Ethnic identity and power: Cultural contexts of political action in school and society(pp. 113–131). Albany, NY: SUNY Press.

Cummins, J. (1979). Linguistic interdependence and the educational development of bilingual children. Review ofEducational Research, 49(2), 222–251.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f W

est F

lori

da]

at 1

2:30

09

Oct

ober

201

4


Dall’Alba, G. (2009). Learning to be professionals. New York, NY: Springer.De Jong, E., & Harper, C. (2005). Preparing mainstream teachers for English-language learners: Is being a good teacher

good enough? Teacher Education Quarterly, 32(2), 101–124.De Oliveira, L., & Athananses, D. (2007). Graduates’ reports of advocating for English language learners. Journal of

Teacher Education, 58(3), 202–215.Díaz-Rico, L. (2007). Strategies for teaching English learners (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.Echevarría, J., Vogt, M. E., & Short, D. (2007). Making content comprehensible for English language learners: The SIOP

model. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.Edelsky, C. (2006). With literacy and justice for all: Rethinking the social in language and education, 3rd edition.

Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Edelsky, C., Smith, K., & Faltis, C. (2008). Side by side learning: Exemplary literacy practices for English language

learners and English speakers in the mainstream classroom. New York, NY: Scholastic.Erickson, F. (1986). Qualitative methods in research on teaching. In M. C. Wittrock (Ed.), Handbook of research on

teaching, 3rd edition (pp. 119–161). New York, NY: MacMillan.Faltis, C. (1999). Introduction: Creating a new history. In C. Faltis & P. Wolfe (Eds.), So much to say: Adolescents,

bilingualism and ESL in the secondary school (pp. 1–9). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.Faltis, C., & Arias, B. (2007). Coming out of the ESL ghetto: Promising practices for Latino immigrant students and

English learners in hypersegregated secondary schools. Journal of Border Educational Research, 6(2), 19–35.Faltis, C., & Coulter, C. (2007). Teaching English learners and immigrant students in secondary schools. Upper Saddle

River, NJ: Merrrill/Pearson.Fern, E. (2001). Advanced focus group research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Fowler, F. (1995). Improving survey questions: Design and evaluation. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Freeman, Y., & Freeman, D. (2008). Academic language for English language learners and struggling readers.

Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.Freeman, Y., Freeman, D., & Mercuri, S. (2003). Closing the achievement gap: How to reach limited-formal-school and

long-term English learners. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.Gage, N. (1978). The scientific basis of the art of teaching. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.García, E., & Cuéllar, D. (2006). Who are these linguistically and culturally diverse students? Teachers College Record,

108(11), 2220–2246.Gee, J. (1992). The social mind: Language, ideology, and social practices. New York, NY: Gergin & Garvey.Genessee, F., Lindholm-Leary, K., Sanders, B., & Christian, D. (2006). Educating English language learners: A synthesis

of research evidence. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.Goldenberg, C. (2008). Teaching English learners: What the research says—and does not—say. American Educator,

32(2), 8–23, 42–44.Hyland, K. (2007). English for academic purposes. New York, NY: Routledge.Krashen, S. (1982). Principles and practice in second language acquisition. Oxford, UK: Pergamon.Krashen, S. (1985). The input hypothesis: Issue and implications. New York, NY: Longman.Krueger, R. (1994). Focus groups: A practical guide for applied research (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Lau v. Nichols, 414 U.S. 563. U.S. Supreme Court (1974).Lucas, T., & Grinberg, J. (2008). Responding to the linguistic reality of mainstream classrooms: Preparing all teachers

to teach English language learners. In M. Cochran-Smith, S. Feiman-Nemser, & D. J. McIntyre (Eds.), Handbook ofresearch on teacher education (3rd ed.) (pp. 606–636). New York, NY: Routledge.

Lucas, T., Villegas, A. M., & Freedson-González, M. (2008). Linguistically responsive teacher education. Journal ofTeacher Education, 59(4), 361–373.

Márquez-López, T. (2005). California’s standards movement: How English learners have been left out of the equation forsuccess. In P. Pedraza & M. Rivera (Eds.), Latino education: An agenda for community action research (pp. 205–230).Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

McIntyre, E., Kyle, D., Chen, C-T., Kraemer, J., & Parr, J. (2009). Six principles for teaching English learners in allclassrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Merino, B. (2007). Identifying critical competencies for teachers of English learners. UCLMRI Newsletter, 16(4), 1–8.Morgan, D. (1988). Focus groups as qualitative research, Vol. 16: Qualitative research methods. Newbury Park, CA:

Sage.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f W

est F

lori

da]

at 1

2:30

09

Oct

ober

201

4


Niles, V., Álvarez, L., & Ríos, F. (2006). Preparing teachers for work with second language learners. In R. Jiménez and V.Pang (Eds.), Race, ethnicity and multicultural education series, Vol. 2: Language, literacy and schooling (pp. 39–54).Westport, CT: Praeger Publishing Group.

Olsen, L. (2006). Ensuring academic success for English learners. UCLMRI Newsletter, 15(4), 1–7.Richardson, V. (2002). Teacher knowledge about language. In C. Adger, C. Snow, & D. Christian. (Eds.). What teachers

need to know about language (pp. 85–101). Alexandria, VA: Center for Applied Linguistics.Ruíz-de-Velasco, J., Fix, M., & Chu Clewell, B. (2000). Overlooked & underserved: Immigrant students in U.S.

secondary schools (pp. 9–33). Washington, DC: The Urban Institute.Schleppegrell, M. (2004). The language of schooling: A functional linguistics perspective. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence

Erlbaum Associates.Schleppegrell, M., & De Oliveira, L. (2006). An integrated language and content approach for history teachers. Journal

of English for Academic Purposes, 5(4), 254–268.Shulman, L. (1986). Those who understand: Knowledge growth in teaching. Educational Researcher, 15(2), 4–14.Téllez, K., & Waxman, H. (Eds.) (2006). Preparing quality educators for English language learners. Mahwah, NJ:

Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Valdés, G. (2004). Between support and marginalization: The development of academic language in linguistic minority

children. Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 7, 102–132.Valdés, G., Bunch, G., Snow, C., & Lee, C. (2005). Enhancing the development of students’ language(s). In L. Darling-

Hammond, J. Branford, P. LePage, K. Hammerness, and H. Duffy (Eds.), Preparing teachers for a changing world:What teachers should learn and be able to do (pp. 136–128). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Walqui, A. (2008). The development of teacher expertise to work with adolescent English learners: A model and a fewpriorities. In L. S. Verplaestse & N. Migliacci (Eds.), Inclusive pedagogy for English language learners: A handbookof research-informed practices (pp. 103–126). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Weber, R. P. (1990). Basic content analysis (2nd ed.). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.Whelen Ariza, E. (2006). Not for ESOL teachers: What every classroom teacher needs to know about linguistically,

culturally, and ethnically diverse students. Boston, MA: Pearson.Wong Fillmore, L., & Snow, C. (2002). What teachers need to know about language. In C. Adger, C. Snow, & D.

Christian (Eds.), What teachers need to know about language (pp. 7–53). Alexandria, VA: Center for AppliedLinguistics.

Yatvin, J. (2007). English-only teachers in mixed-language classrooms: A survival guide. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

APPENDIX

CRITICAL COMPETENCIES FOR SECONDARY TEACHERS OFENGLISH LEARNERS SURVEY SPRING 2009

SECTION I. DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION AND TEACHING EXPERIENCE

1. What subject area(s) do you teach? (If more than one, please list your primary area first)____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. What is your current teaching assignment? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________School ______________________________ Grade/Subject(s) ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. How many years have you been teaching (including this year)?__________________________________________________________________________

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f W

est F

lori

da]

at 1

2:30

09

Oct

ober

201

4


4. What is your gender?� Male � Female

5. What is your age group?� 25 or younger � 26–30 � 31–35 � 36–40� 41–45 � 46–50 � 51–55 � 56–Older

6. Is English your native language?� Yes � No

7. Do you speak a second language?� Yes � No

If your answer is “Yes,” please estimate your highest ability level attained: (beginner, intermedi-ate, advanced) _____________________________________________________________8. Have you received instruction on teaching English language learners (ELLs)?

� Yes � NoIf your answer was “Yes” please indicate the type of instruction in the space provided below____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________9. Do you hold a BLE/ESL endorsement?

� Yes � No

SECTION IIA. LANGUAGE & LANGUAGE LEARNING

PLEASE READ EACH STATEMENT AND PLACE A CHECK IN THE BOX THAT BEST MATCHES

YOUR OPINION

Completely Somewhat Somewhat CompletelyTo Be Effective with English Learners Agree Agree Disagree Disagree

All secondary teachers must be able to articulatethe factors that are likely to support languageacquisition for English learners.

All secondary teachers must understand differencesbetween social and academic language.

All secondary teachers need to know the legalrationale for teaching English learners.

All secondary teachers need to understand thelanguage demands of academic content in orderto help English learners meet those demands.

All secondary teachers need to understand howlearning strategies can help English learners tolearn academic content.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f W

est F

lori

da]

at 1

2:30

09

Oct

ober

201

4


SECTION IIB. MULTIPLE ASSESSMENTS & LANGUAGE STANDARDS


YOUR OPINION


All secondary teachers must be able to useEnglish-language proficiency standards forplanning and monitoring content instruction.

All secondary teachers need to understand oral andwritten language assessment.

All secondary teachers need to be able to diagnoseand measure challenges and strengths of theschool for meeting English learners’ needs.

All secondary teachers need to know how tointerpret the state-mandated English-proficiencyexams used to determine a student’s oral andwritten level of English.

All secondary teachers need to be able to adjustcontent instruction based on assessment ofindividual and group language-learning needs.

SECTION IIC. STUDENTS’ BACKGROUNDS & COMMUNITIES


YOUR OPINION


All secondary teachers must know about theirEnglish learners’ prior schooling experiences.

All secondary teachers must understand howEnglish learners’ prior knowledge contributes tonew learning.

All secondary teachers must know how to developcurriculum that incorporates English learners’backgrounds and communities.

All secondary teachers need to know about thecommunities in which their English learners live.

All secondary teachers need to understand thatEnglish Language Learners have the ability tolearn complex content knowledge.

All secondary teachers must know about theirEnglish learners’ native-language literacyabilities.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f W

est F

lori

da]

at 1

2:30

09

Oct

ober

201

4


SECTION IID. THE SOCIAL, CULTURAL, AND POLITICALDIMENSIONS OF LANGUAGE


YOUR OPINION


All secondary teachers of English need to haveexperience learning a second language.

All secondary teachers need to understand howEnglish learners’ first-language experiencescontribute to learning English.

All secondary teachers need to be aware oflanguage policies that contribute to how Englishis taught and learned in school.

All secondary teachers need to encourage Englishlearners to continue using their native languageat home.

All secondary teachers need to be aware ofdifferences between standard and nonstandardvarieties of language.

All secondary teachers need to understand thatfamilies of English language learners aresupportive of their education.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f W

est F

lori

da]

at 1

2:30

09

Oct

ober

201

4

Documents

Identifying Relevant Competencies for Secondary Teachers of English Learners