Mainstream teachers' expectations and perspectives of their role in educating English language learners

Mainstream teachers' expectations and perspectives of their role in educating English language learners

Many mainstream teachers face the formidable challenge of concurrently teaching the English language learners (ELLs) in their classroom content in addition to language.
This situation creates extra work for these teachers to plan curriculum and implement teaching practices to meet the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse learners. The purpose of this mixed-methods sequential explanatory study is to develop a thorough understanding of how teachers at one international school in Tokyo, Japan perceive their role in teaching ELLs and why they have this perception. Constructivist learning theory forms a theoretical framework to ground this study. Through an analysis of survey results, a focus group meeting, and individual interviews with mainstream teachers from
elementary and middle school/high school, this study examines mainstream teachers’ expectations and perspectives regarding educating ELLs. This study’s findings advocate
for professional development to support professional learning communities in order to modify curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Conclusions and recommendations of this study also contribute to social change by creating better opportunities for English
language learners (ELLs) to reach high academic standards.