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Ester Education Quarterly, A. Harper TeacherJ. de Jong & Candace Spring 2005
Preparing Mainstream Teachers for English-Language Learners:
Is Being a Good Teacher Good Enough?
By Ester J. de Jong & Candace A. Harper Introduction
More and more teachers find themselves teaching students from increasingly diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. In a recent report (National Center for Education Statistics, 2002), 42% of the teachers surveyed indicated that they had English Language Learners (ELLs) in their classroom, but only 12.5% of these teachers had received more than eight hours of professional development specifically related to ELLs (NCES, 2002). The significant achievement gap between language minority and language majority students (Moss & Puma, 1995), along with an educational climate that encourages inclusionary practices rather than separate, specialized programs, make it imperative that teacher preparation programs examine the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that mainstream teachers need to develop in order to work effectively with both ELLs and fluent Ester J. de Jong and English speakers (Echevarria, Vogt, & Short, 2004). Candace A. Harper are The purpose of this article is to present a frameprofessors in the School work that identifies areas of expertise necessary for of Teaching and mainstream teachers to be prepared to teach in classLearning of the College rooms with native and non-native English speakers. of Education at the Currently, explicit attention to the linguistic and University of Florida, cultural needs of ELLs is lacking in most teacher Gainesville, Florida. 101
Preparing Mainstream Teachers for English-Language Learners preparation programs. A recent AACTE survey of 417 institutes of higher education found that fewer than one in six required any preparation for mainstream elementary or secondary teachers regarding the education of ELLs (Menken & Antunez, 2001). This finding suggests a tacit assumption that the
Preparing Mainstream Teachers for English-Language Learners:
Is Being a Good Teacher Good Enough?
By Ester J. de Jong & Candace A. Harper Introduction
More and more teachers find themselves teaching students from increasingly diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. In a recent report (National Center for Education Statistics, 2002), 42% of the teachers surveyed indicated that they had English Language Learners (ELLs) in their classroom, but only 12.5% of these teachers had received more than eight hours of professional development specifically related to ELLs (NCES, 2002). The significant achievement gap between language minority and language majority students (Moss & Puma, 1995), along with an educational climate that encourages inclusionary practices rather than separate, specialized programs, make it imperative that teacher preparation programs examine the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that mainstream teachers need to develop in order to work effectively with both ELLs and fluent Ester J. de Jong and English speakers (Echevarria, Vogt, & Short, 2004). Candace A. Harper are The purpose of this article is to present a frameprofessors in the School work that identifies areas of expertise necessary for of Teaching and mainstream teachers to be prepared to teach in classLearning of the College rooms with native and non-native English speakers. of Education at the Currently, explicit attention to the linguistic and University of Florida, cultural needs of ELLs is lacking in most teacher Gainesville, Florida. 101
Preparing Mainstream Teachers for English-Language Learners preparation programs. A recent AACTE survey of 417 institutes of higher education found that fewer than one in six required any preparation for mainstream elementary or secondary teachers regarding the education of ELLs (Menken & Antunez, 2001). This finding suggests a tacit assumption that the