Date of Award
1-1-2009
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Organizational Unit
Morgridge College of Education, Educational Leadership and Policy Studies
First Advisor
Kent Seidel, Ph.D.
Second Advisor
Virginia Maloney
Third Advisor
Maria Salazar
Fourth Advisor
Frédérique Chevillot
Keywords
ELL, English language learners, Mainstream students
Abstract
Public school classrooms in the United States are composed of an increasingly diverse population of learners. The number of students with limited proficiency in English has grown exponentially across the United States, yet their level of academic achievement lags significantly behind that of their language-majority peers.
The purpose of this study was to examine the attitudes, opinions and practices of middle school language arts/reading teachers regarding the inclusion of ELL students and the support they receive in their classrooms. The researcher administered a survey to 171 language arts/reading middle school teachers and interviewed six teachers from fourteen schools in a school district in the Southwest United States.
Respondents welcomed the cultural diversity that ELL students bring to the classroom, but encouraged linguistic assimilation as a condition of student success. A significant percentage of teachers indicated some ELL training but felt inadequately prepared to the challenges of teaching ELL students. Native language resources and instructional materials were limited and not used. Teachers were willing to give students more time to complete their coursework, but not necessarily lessen the amount of student work.
Based on these findings and their relationship to the literature of the field, the author recommended that further research be conducted regarding the relationship between teachers' language attitude and student outcomes, and geographical areas and grade levels. Additional recommendations were made regarding specialized certification for teachers of ELL students, professional development programs, educational policy and state legislative action.
Publication Statement
Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
Rights Holder
Elmer Celso Manzanares
Provenance
Received from ProQuest
File Format
application/pdf
Language
en
File Size
137 p.
Recommended Citation
Manzanares, Elmer Celso, "English Teachers and English Language Learners in Middle School Classrooms: Perspectives and Practices" (2009). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 867.
https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/867
Copyright date
2009
Discipline
Educational Administration