Addressing the Teaching of English Language Learners in the United States - A case Study of Teacher Educators’ Response

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by Ben

This article examines how teacher educators respond to the question of how teacher education programs should prepare prospective teachers to teach English language learners (ELLs) in the United States. It analyzes arguments for separate coursework versus infusing ELL content into existing disciplines such as English language arts. Findings highlight the link and occasional conflation between goals for diverse learners and for ELLs, the need for program coherence, and the benefits of a partnership approach.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages15

Reading Time38 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Conceptual Framework

A Teacher Learning Approach to Learning to Teach ELLs in Pre-service Teacher Education

Addressing the Teaching of English Language Learners in the United States: A case Study of Teacher Educators’ Response Heidi L. Hallman University of Kansas Hannah R. Meineke University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Abstract This article discusses teacher educators’ response to how teacher education programs should prepare prospective teachers to be teachers of English language learners. In the case study presented, the authors note that discussions have ensued about whether teaching English language learners (ELLs) should be addressed through separate coursework or whether content areas (e.g., English language arts) should infuse this content into already existing disciplines. Though content fields, such as English language arts, have been encouraged to address the teaching of English language learners, Lucas and Villegas (2011) assert that teacher education programs have yet to adequately address the needs of ELLs throughout the curriculum. Findings illuminate the connection—and sometimes conflation—of the aims of teaching diverse learners and teaching ELLs, the importance of teacher education coherence, and the value of a partnership approach to the teaching of ELLs. Keywords: Teaching English language learners (ELLs), teacher educators, teacher education and teaching English language learners Heidi L. Hallman is an associate professor of English education at the University of Kansas. Her research interests include studying “at risk” students’ literacy learning as well as how prospective English teachers are prepared to teach in diverse school contexts. Her book, Millennial Teachers: Learning to Teach in Uncertain Times, was published by Routledge in 2016. [Email:](Email: hhallman@ku.edu)[ ](Email: hhallman@ku.edu)[hhallman@ku.edu](Email: hhallman@ku.edu) Hannah R. Meineke is a doctoral candidate at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She has a background in teaching secondary English Language Arts and Spanish. Her research interests include pre-service teacher preparation for diverse populations, especially emergent bilinguals. [Email:](Email: hmeineke@uwm.edu)[ ](Email: hmeineke@uwm.edu)[hmeineke@uwm.edu](Email: hmeineke@uwm.edu) It is estimated by the year 2030, over 40% of the K-12 population in U.S. schools will be children whose first language is not English (U.S. Census Bureau, 2007) . As teacher education programs strive to decide how best to prepare new teachers for this reality, discussions have ensued about whether teaching English language learners (ELLs) should be addressed through separate coursework or whether content areas (e.g., English language arts) should infuse this content into already existing disciplines. Though content fields, such as English language arts, have been encouraged to address the teaching of English language learners, Lucas and Villegas (2011) assert that teacher education programs have yet to adequately address the needs ofELLs throughout the curriculum. de Oliveira and Shoffner (2009) posit that the teaching of ELLs as addressed with future contentarea teachers has generally resided under the umbrella of “teaching diverse students.” Yet, as classrooms in the United States become more culturally and linguistically diverse, perhaps it is unwise to characterize ELLs under such broad a category. Instead, the field must move toward a vision of both culturally and linguistically responsive teaching when working with ELLs. In this paper, we investigate how teacher educators respond to this issue. Through examining the results of a nationwide survey of English language arts teacher educators, as well as through the results of focus group interviews with a sub-section of these individuals, this article works to delineate how teacher educators in English language arts view the teaching of ELLs as part of their disciplinary field. Results of this study will help articulate how other content areas within teacher education might also seek to integrate the teaching ofELLs into

FAQs

Should ELL teaching be addressed through separate coursework or integrated into existing content areas?

The article describes an ongoing discussion between separate coursework and integration into content areas like English language arts, noting that teacher education programs have not yet adequately met ELL needs across the curriculum.

What issues do the study’s findings emphasize about ELL teaching aims?

Findings illuminate the connection—and sometimes conflation—of teaching diverse learners’ aims with the specific aims of teaching ELLs, stressing program coherence and the importance of structured collaboration.

How does the paper conceptualize effective preparation for ELL teaching?

It draws on a teacher learning framework that treats collaboration as more than simply working together, requiring shared curriculum design knowledge that may include English language arts expertise and systemic functional linguistics.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by Ben