Other Educational Administration and Supervision Commons^™

Voices From The Sunshine State: Program And Policy Advocates, Ryan W. Pontier, Rosa Castro Feinberg, Arlene Costello

Journal of English Learner Education

As educators, we are engrossed in a world that pushes us to critically examine what is. Particularly in language education, we explore the various theories and practices involved in learning new language(s)—or expanding our linguistic repertoire, depending on your paradigmatic stance. No matter our position—whether it refers to our jobs or to an ideological stance—we are advocates. We are thus challenged to understand our diverse roles as advocates, which, as Foley and Valenzuela (2004) demonstrate, come in many forms.

We expand Staehr Fenner’s (2014) definition of advocacy—working for students’ equitable and excellent education by taking appropriate actions on their …

Uncommon And Non-Traditional Urban Relationship Strategies: From Relationship Loss To Relationship Recovery, Lasonya L. Moore

Journal of English Learner Education

With increasing student diversity across our nation, there is a growing need to scale up educational innovations related to building holistic relationships. Many students in K-12 public schools enter educational settings with uncommon and nontraditional ways of building and developing longitudinal relationships that allow students to thrive and not just survive. Specifically, teachers/educators feel ill-equipped and ill-trained to adequately support the increasing number of English learners(ELs) and Exceptional education students (specifically Students of Color (SOC) with emotional and behavioral disorders) identified in inclusive classrooms. Thus, there remains an urgent need to share uncommon and non-traditional strategies to develop and build …

Analysis Of Elementary School English Teachers’ Perceptions Of And Design For Differentiated Reading Instruction, Chin-Wen Chien

Journal of English Learner Education

This study explored the influence of a course in an endorsement program on 22 elementary school Taiwanese English teachers’ perceptions of and designs for differentiated reading instruction. Based on the data analysis of the questionnaire, peer- and self-evaluation, and final projects, this study has two major findings. First, participants gained competence in research-based instructional strategies and approaches for differentiated reading instruction through the endorsement program. Tiered assignments were the most popular activities designed by the participants for differentiated reading instruction. Secondly, their self-efficacy gained in terms of improving their learners’ reading performance and solving their reading problems. This study suggested …

Multilingual And Multicultural Education: The Intersectionality Of Culture Mindset And Instructional Practices, Brendon Thiry, James P. Concannon

Journal of English Learner Education

The new mainstream classroom is both multilingual and multicultural. How prepared are teachers to work with English language learners and students with interrupted or informal education? This study aimed to determine if teacher growth mindset and cultural competency significantly predicted teacher’s use of responsive teaching practices with English language learners. Utilizing a multiple regression model, growth mindset and cultural competency did not predict teacher’s use of responsive teaching practices. However, by conducting an itemized analysis of the cultural competency survey, certain items stood out as potential predictors of responsive teaching practices. Results from this study suggest that the cultural competency …

Dual Language Effectiveness To Narrow Achievement Gaps: A Quantitative Correlational Study, Belinda Reyes Ed.D.

Journal of English Learner Education

An increase in the English learner (EL) population is evident in public schools throughout the United States. Academic achievement gaps between ELs and non-EL peers persist from early childhood through the post-secondary level (Florida Department of Education, 2019c). The gap in the literature is the lack of studies analyzing the language acquisition of ELs enrolled in dual language programs to narrow the achievement gap of ELs. Transformative Learning Theory and the Dynamic Systems Theory are the foundation of the theoretical framework. Key research questions seek data on the relationship between standardized assessments measuring language acquisition and academic performance of third-grade …

A Book Review On Learner Identity And Beliefs In Efl Writing, Hilal Peker Phd, Metin Torlak M.A.

Journal of English Learner Education

This review focuses on the book Learner Identity and Learner Beliefs in EFL Writing by Olga Majchrzak. The book is one of the edited books in the series of Second Language Learning and Teaching by Miroslav Pawlak from Springer International Publishing. The review addresses the issues that the book explores such as learner identity in foreign language writing, EFL student beliefs, and students’ attitudes about EFL writing as explored by the author. The book could be used by students and researchers focusing on writing and also by writing instructors who would like to have class discussions on how students’ identities …

The Power Of A Name: Nontraditional Names, Teacher Efficacy, And Expected Learning Outcomes, Lasonya L. Moore, Martha S Lue Stewart Dr., Dena D. Slanda, Anais Placencia, Meznari M. Moore

Journal of English Learner Education

Names serve as important identifiers and carry with them hopes for a generation as well as pride in one’s culture. A name is often an extension of one’s culture or language and represents their identity. With the increasing student diversity across our nation, many students in our K-12 public schools may have uncommon or nontraditional names. Public school teachers, who are predominantly White, may find these names unfamiliar, difficult to pronounce or difficult to spell. Despite a name’s unfamiliarity, classroom teachers must have the knowledge and disposition to create a space that signals to a student that their name is …

From Esl To Eal: Moving From A Deficit Framework To An Asset Framework, Karen Bordonaro

Journal of English Learner Education

This article describes a self-directed autoethnographic research study of how the author moved from a deficit to an asset perspective in working with non-native speakers of English. Reframing this perspective took place by investigating how the author’s lived experiences as an ESL instructor intersected with the learning theories of language learner autonomy, plurilingualism, and internationalization at home to create positive flashpoints. These flashpoints included offering choices, marking learner success, and embedding cultural information into domestic settings. By engaging in these reflections, a widened perspective of moving from English as a second language to English as an additional language was reached. …

Collaborating With K-12 Partners: Improving Preservice Teachers’ Self-Efficacy In Teaching Rural English Learners Science Through A Guided Experiential Learning Opportunity, Dana Manning, Erin Pearce

Journal of English Learner Education

With changing demographics in the United States, educator preparations programs (EPPs) must consider incorporating more experiential learning opportunities for preservice teachers to grow in their self-efficacy when working in diverse classrooms. At a rural university in the southern United States, researchers designed an instructional unit that transcended three educator preparation courses to provide an opportunity for students to design and deliver a 5E science lesson to English learners from a rural school district. The results from this study indicate that preservice teachers’ self-efficacy in teaching English learners increased as evidenced by the Teacher Sense of Self- Efficacy Scale, adapted for …

Embracing The New Normal: Infusing Academic Language And Technology To Empower Ells, Scott B. Freiberger

Journal of English Learner Education

This au courant, research-based article offers specific program ideas for teachers during this unprecedented time when supporting our ELLs is especially needed.

Supporting Social And Emotional Learning In The Efl/Esl Classroom: How The New Science Of Child Development Can Inform Second Language Acquisition Theory And Practice, Matthew Nall

Journal of English Learner Education

Research in the field of Second Language Acquisition (SLA) generally falls within two categories: the cognitive/psycholinguistic camp, and the sociocultural camp (Fazel, 2014). These distinct approaches to empirical research in SLA have diverse epistemologies, methods, and implications for the second language classroom. Scholars within the sociocultural camp have made significant contributions to the field concerning social and emotional learning in the second language classroom. Concerning this, the current paper reviews recent developments in the field of developmental psychology and examines ways in which the new science of child development can inform SLA theory and practice in regard to social and …

Sel For Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Students, Sophie Cuocci, Rebeca Arndt

Journal of English Learner Education

There is abundant research about the benefits of SEL programs on social and emotional core competencies (e.g., increase in self-esteem, improvement of academic performance); however, general SEL programs are not necessarily designed with the English learners’ (ELs) needs in mind. Aiming at exploring valid and reliable SEL programs that meet the needs of the ELs, the article first examines the theoretical groundwork on which SEL is built upon. Next, this paper will first discuss Piaget’s, Vygotsky’s, and Dörnyei’s theories surrounding the cognitive, emotional, and sociocultural aspects involved in the learning process and language learning. It will then consider the needs …

Social Emotional Learning And Hope Theory Connections: Perceptions Of Teachers And School Counselors In Training, Donita Grissom Ph.D., Viki Kelchner

Journal of English Learner Education

This qualitative survey study explored the interrelationship between hope as defined by Hope Theory (HT) and social emotional learning (SEL). Participants (N=161) were teachers and counselors in training (TCT) learning to work with English learners (ELs) in K-12 settings. Participants' perspectives of hope, strategies and future plans to integrate hope into the classroom were explored. Findings indicated that TCT in training have some knowledge of hope. Participants’ knowledge was limited in applications of hope in the classroom. There is a need for increased training of SEL and HT to prepare TCT to work with ELs and all students …

Social-Emotional Learning In Tesol: What, Why, And How, Luis Javier Pentón Herrera

Journal of English Learner Education

In this article, I advocate for the adoption of SEL in Teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) as a promising pedagogy for ESOL educators and ELs. For this, I divide the remainder of the manuscript into four sections in addition to the introduction. In the first section—What is SEL? —I provide a brief theoretical description of SEL as it remains a fairly new concept in the ESOL field. In the second section—Why SEL in TESOL? —I elucidate my position of why we (ESOL educators) should embrace SEL pedagogies in our learning spaces using personal vignettes as support. The …

The Case For Grammar: What Preservice Teachers Need To Know About Metalinguistic Awareness, Aimee Schoonmaker, Kerry L. Purmensky

Journal of English Learner Education

The present study focused on preservice teachers’ grammar knowledge and its importance for their future students’ understanding and use of language, particularly English Learners. This quasi-experimental one-group pretest-posttest study investigated the grammar knowledge of preservice teachers who were enrolled in an undergraduate applied linguistics course at an urban university in the southern United States. The results confirmed prior research which found that preservice teachers are not knowledgeable enough about English grammar when explaining sentence level errors. This study demonstrated that preservice teachers’ basic understanding of English grammar can be increased in a short time, particularly in the recognition of simple …

Ell Families: Myths, Truths And Strategies For Engagement, Stephanie Knight, Marjaneh Gilpatrick

Journal of English Learner Education

This article is the first in our new category, Teaching Tips. These are practitioner articles designed to enhance existing in-service teacher's classroom strategies with ELs.

Parental involvement may be the strongest predictor of a child receiving a solid education. This means it is vital that teachers and administrators understand the students’ families’ culture and the way they view education. We also must be proactive with them so that we can empower them with literacy strategies to ensure academic success. Also, many English Language Learner (ELL) families are not familiar with the school system in the United States and may …