Abstract:

With rapid globalization and the status of English as an international language, the demand for English proficiency has risen. The United States, with its increasing linguistically and culturally diverse (LCD) student population, must prepare teachers to meet the unique needs of these students. Research has suggested that teachers with adequate preparation for LCD students are more likely to engage in appropriate instruction and facilitate students’ learning. This study investigated pre-service teachers’ attitudes toward English Language Learners (ELL) in the United States.

This study set out to find out how preservice teachers perceive the adequacy of their professional education as related to ELL. The study investigated preservice teachers’ overall perceptions toward their professional education training for ELL. Further, the study examined whether a difference exists between Bilingual Generalist (BIL) major and Generalist Early Childhood (GEN) major preservice teachers in their overall perceptions toward their training. A theory-based survey was administered to 129 subjects for quantitative data collection; subsequently, semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with 12 participants. The quantitative data was analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistics; the qualitative data was analyzed with theory-based themes.

Results of the study showed that the more ELL related courses taken by the participants, the more likely they were to feel prepared to teach ELL students; the participants agreed that their professional education courses have made them more aware of the needs of linguistically and culturally diverse students; that their professional education training has prepared them to teach students whose language, cultures, and background differ from their own; that they expect to teach children from different backgrounds; and that they would like to receive more training in evaluating ELL students’ educational achievement. However, examining the differences between participants with different majors, the researcher found that BIL and GEN major participants indeed had different views toward their overall training for ELL students. Implications of the results for teacher preparation programs are discussed.

Keywords:

pre-service teacher perception, professional education training, english language.