Benefiting the Educator and Student Alike: Effective Strategies for Supporting the Academic Language Development of English Learner (EL) Teacher Candidates

Abstract

While much attention has been given to supporting the needs of English Learners (ELs) in K-12 settings, little is known about the experiences of ELs who go on to enroll in teacher education programs. These teacher candidates often need extra attention and support in the area of academic language development in English in order to better support their own linguistically diverse K-12 students. This project highlights the experiences of two teacher educators who worked closely with their EL teacher candidates to provide them support in developing academic English and the requisite language skills needed to succeed as learners and teachers. The strategies explored include: focused feedback on writing and oral communication, explicit modeling, and revision and assessment.