Source: Teaching Education, Volume 21, Issue 3, 2010, Pages 217 – 232.
The increase in the number of English language learners (ELLs) in US public schools has been well documented. This places increased pressure on teacher educators to prepare general education teachers to not only work with ELLs but to also utilize the knowledge of English language teachers (ELTs).
Many teacher education texts give various methods and strategies to modify instruction and scaffold content to engage ELLs. However, there is little discussion about building collaboratory relationships with ELTs to aid in better understandings of issues that individual learners face.
This article examines how linguistic differentiation is described, explained, and excluded within schools in terms of implicit or explicit deliberation about English language learners (ELLs) and English as a second language (ESL) programs.
The author argues that the participants' experiences resulted in the marginalization of ELTs and their students.
The author maintains though that this marginalized status can be improved through collaborative relationships between general education teachers and English language teachers.
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