Teacher Inquiry’s Role in Developing an Asset-Based, Language-Focused Approach to Effectively Teaching English Learners

• In Event: Poster Session 15
  In Poster Session: The Lives of Teachers: Poster Session

Abstract

This case study looks closely at a Spanish-bilingual teacher and her participation in a teacher inquiry group. The inquiry group gave her the space to “listen” to her EL students and she came to understand that her students knew more and could do more than she had initially thought. The teacher moved from viewing her students’ emerging English language skills as a deficit to an opportunity for both content and language learning. This study underscores the important role teacher inquiry can play in allowing teachers to consider how best to advance both students’ content knowledge as well as their language skills. It highlights the important role of teacher development in understanding the relationship between language and content learning for ELs.

Author

• Sarah Capitelli, University of San Francisco