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COPYRIGHT 2004 International Reading Association Inc.
Students who speak a language other than English at home and whose proficiency in English is limited are the fastest growing group of K-12 students in the United States. Whereas the total U.S. school population grew by 6% between 1979 and 1999, the English-language learner (ELL) population increased by 138% (National Center for Education Statistics, 2003). Most ELLs spend the entire instructional day in mainstream classrooms in which the majority of students speak English as their native language and where instruction occurs in English. Teachers in mainstream classrooms must therefore be prepared to teach students who come from different linguistic, cultural, and educational backgrounds.
Unfortunately, well-intentioned efforts to include diverse learners in general education reforms are often based on misconceptions about effective instruction for ELLs. In this article, we examine the problematic nature of four popular misconceptions and discuss the implications for ELLs in mainstream classrooms. The misconceptions stem from two basic assumptions that guide much current teacher preparation for diversity. The first assumption is that the needs of ELLs do not differ significantly from those of other diverse learners; the second is that the discipline of English as a second language (ESL) is primarily a menu of pedagogical adaptations appropriate for a variety of diverse learners.
The tendency to view instruction for ELLs as equivalent to that for any other (diverse) native-English-speaking student derives from equating the process of learning a first language (L1) with that of learning a second language (L2). In our experience, this comparison is often reinforced through professional development workshops for mainstream teachers. Such workshops typically start by emphasizing those principles and characteristics of L1 and L2 acquisition that can be understood easily by teachers and readily translated into classroom practice. The following vignette, describing a typical ESL in-service workshop for middle and high school teachers, illustrates this point.
An ESL specialist was invited to provide a series of workshops to secondary teachers from a large, linguistically and culturally diverse school district. The purpose of the professional development was to support the teachers in addressing linguistic diversity in their mainstream content classes. The first workshop focused on principles of second-language acquisition, issues of cultural adjustment, and implications for teaching ELLs. The consultant discussed ways to adapt teaching techniques to provide comprehensible input for ELLs and to develop contextual support for instruction. She also demonstrated cooperative learning techniques as examples of ways to facilitate ELLs' class participation and second-language development. The teachers responded positively and noted that most of these techniques would be useful with all learners in their classrooms.
This vignette describes a typical introductory ESL workshop for educators outside the ESL/bilingual profession in that the theoretical foundation is simplified and emphasizes the overlap between first-and second-language learning. Complex learner variables, if addressed at all, are condensed to bulleted lists. Classroom implications are those that are easy to integrate with teachers' existing knowledge base and classroom practices (e.g., activating prior knowledge and using cooperative group learning). Participants leave the workshop with a sense of relief--teaching ELLs appears to be a matter of "just good teaching." Unfortunately, they also walk away with two misconceptions that may limit their ability to provide an effective learning environment for ELLs: (1) that learning a second language simply requires exposure to and interaction in the L2 and (2) that all ELLs will learn English in the same way. These two misconceptions are discussed in more detail below.
Misconception 1: Exposure and interaction will result in English-language learning
Drawing on their understanding of how young children acquire their first language, many teachers assume that exposure to language and opportunities for interaction with English speakers are the essential (necessary and sufficient) conditions for learning ESL. If ELLs are exposed to comprehensible English and provided with meaningful opportunities to interact in English, they are expected to develop English-language skills naturally and fully, just as native speakers are expected to develop their mother tongue.
There are indeed important similarities between the processes of learning a first and a second language. Acquisition of L1 and L2 appears to be developmental in nature and involves constructive and social processes in which input and interaction are central components (Krashen, 1985; Long, 1985; Snow, 1977; Vygotsky, 1978). Classroom practices that facilitate rich language input and encourage meaningful student interaction (e.g., discovery learning, process writing, and cooperative grouping) are recommended for both native speakers and L2 learners of English (Peregoy & Boyle, 2001). However, there are also important differences between first- and second-language acquisition that limit the effects of input and interaction on L2 learning, particularly for older learners.
First, mere exposure to the target language is largely insufficient to develop grade-level L2 proficiency, especially for older students who must negotiate the abstract concepts and complex language of secondary school classrooms and textbooks (Lightbown & Spada, 1990; Spada & Lightbown, 1993; Swain, 1995). To develop the advanced language skills necessary to communicate for academic purposes, ELLs often require conscious attention to the grammatical, morphological, and phonological aspects of the English language (VanPatten, 1993). ELLs do need exposure to academic language that is comprehensible, but they must also be assisted with noticing the relationships between the forms and functions of the target language (VanPatten, 1990). Teachers need to understand that older learners have more advanced cognitive skills (e.g., memory and analytic reasoning) and can therefore draw upon a more sophisticated linguistic and conceptual base than young children. They can be active participants in the L2 learning process. Failure to take advantage of the linguistic and cognitive strengths of older learners can restrict these students' L2 development.
Second, the assumption that ELLs' interactions with native English speakers will provide sufficient input and practice is equally problematic. Interaction between ELLs...
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