Encouraging Mainstream Teachers to take a Collaborative Role in ELL Education

Abstract

English as a New Language (ENL) teachers work tirelessly to service their English Language Learners (ELLs) throughout their academic careers in public schools. Not only are ENL teachers responsible for assisting ELLs to achieve proficiency in English language acquisition, they are also making content area curriculum accessible for students who are learning English. Research has uncovered that these tasks prove to be challenging for ENL teachers without the support and collaboration with their mainstream colleagues. It has identified multiple barriers to collaboration including time, pedagogical beliefs, undefined roles, and lack of preservice preparedness. Researchers revealed that these barriers can be mitigated when educators are provided with the time, space, and opportunities to work together to attend to the needs of the ELLs they work with. To address these problems and elicit collaboration in rural districts, a professional development session was proposed with the intent to inform educators on the benefits of collaboration in addition to providing them with a useful digital tool – Individualized Language Plans (ILPs), as one method of collaboration. When collaborating with their ENL colleagues, it is possible for mainstream educators to support the ELLs they work with, ensuring academic success.