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Preparing to teach both content and language: Four ESOL teacher candidates' experiences
Author(s) -
Tigert Johanna M.,
Peercy Megan Madigan
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
tesol journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.468
H-Index - 14
eISSN - 1949-3533
pISSN - 1056-7941
DOI - 10.1002/tesj.358
Subject(s) - coursework , practicum , internship , teacher education , pedagogy , content (measure theory) , language assessment , language education , sheltered instruction , mathematics education , psychology , comprehension approach , medical education , medicine , mathematics , mathematical analysis
The emphasis on English language learner ( ELL ) education in the United States has shifted heavily toward integrated content and language instruction. Now, English for speakers of other languages ( ESOL ) teachers are expected to teach language through content areas, such as math, in an effort to meet the needs of ELL s. However, ESOL teacher education programs have thus far focused mainly on developing teacher candidates' ( TC s') knowledge of language pedagogy, and have devoted scant attention to preparing TC s for teaching in content areas. This study focuses on the experiences of four ESOL TC s during their ME d TESOL program. The authors examined how prepared the TC s felt to teach in the content areas and what experiences best equipped them to integrate content and language. Overall, the TC s felt that their university coursework did not sufficiently prepare them to teach in the content areas. Instead, the path to integrating content and language was complex, aided primarily by hands‐on experiences and mentor support during the internship, coupled with TC s' prior knowledge gained from undergraduate content area studies. The findings point to the need to offer more content‐focused teacher preparation for ESOL teacher candidates, during both their coursework and practicum.