Supporting Positive Emotional Experiences for English Language Learners

• In Event: Young English Language Learners

Abstract

This qualitative case study focuses on how a preschool teacher supports emotions necessary for English language learners’ engagement with instruction in a public elementary school. The primary data consist of participant observations and interviews. The findings focus on two areas of divergence from the literature: 1) the teacher’s knowledge about how the children learn as a foundation for demonstration teaching and 2) her knowledge about individual children as a base for calibrating questions. The findings suggest that teachers’ awareness of the role of emotion in the learning process and deliberate and informed decisions to support of ELLs’ positive emotional experiences are a critical “pedagogical tool” that could help teachers increase their students’ engagement with instruction intellectually and emotionally.

Author

• Mi-Hwa Park, Murray State University