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Preparing Teachers for Success with English Language Learners: Challenges and Opportunities for University Tesol Educators

This study investigates the role that a socioculturally grounded university English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program played in shaping teachers' work with English Language Learners (ELLs). Subjects were a group of teachers at “Wheatland Elementary School,” a newly designated ESOL site for a school district in Kansas. From an analysis of teachers' comments on course evaluations, written class assignments, formal observations of their post-coursework instruction, and a questionnaire administered at the onset and conclusion of an 18 credit-hour program, we examined changes in teachers' (a) attitudes toward ELLs, (b) beliefs about how children acquire second languages, and (c) knowledge of pedagogical practices that promote successful language and content learning. Our findings suggest that well-planned university programs influence even very experienced teachers and those who may be ambivalent toward ESOL endorsement mandates, and policies that limit the requirements for those seeking state ESOL endorsement may be ill advised.