Abstract
The number of English Language Learners (ELLs) has increased consistently in American schools in recent years- this group has the highest percentage of increase among all ethnic groups in schools. This rise of the ELL school enrollment has brought increased demands for teacher preparation. Yet, most teacher education programs still follow a traditional norm in teacher preparation- targeting instruction for mainstream classrooms. As a result, once placed in classrooms, preservice teachers lack strategies for working with ELLs. Additionally, the ELLs face academic challenges due to limited English proficiency for meeting the learning demand of schools. Data shows that the ELLs lag considerably behind mainstream students. Therefore, it is crucially important to improve the ELLs’ academic success through teacher preparation by providing pre-eservice teachers with needed knowledge and skills so that they can work with ELLs effectively and improve the ELLs’ learning outcomes. This renewed focus will contribute to closing achievement gaps and keeping the promise of the democratic society for educational equality. This study discusses a program that prepares pre-service teachers in this respect and it also provides strategies in the light of the study findings.
Recommended Citation
Li, Nan and Peters, Angela
(2018)
"Promise of a democratic society: Preparing pre-service teachers for under-served ELLs,"
Teacher Education Journal of South Carolina: Vol. 11:
No.
2, Article 5.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.coastal.edu/tejsc/vol11/iss2/5