Abandoning an English-Mostly Approach to Preparing Bilingual Education Teachers: ¿En dónde están los libros?

• In Event: 16.060 - Roundtable Session 3
  In Roundtable Session: 16.060-18 - Bilingual Teachers: Preparation and Perspectives

Abstract

This conceptual analysis addresses a pressing yet ignored issue in bilingual education, the appropriation of academic Spanish by bilingual education teachers. It is axiomatic that bilingual children need access to native language instruction to meet their full academic potential. Even with this belief in place, there are indications that prospective and certified bilingual education teachers sometimes struggle to deliver such instruction. In this paper, we identify a key factor driving this problem, the lack of publications in academic Spanish about bilingual education. Using Gee’s theory of Discourse, we maintain that this linguistic vacío must be addressed by bilingual education professors, if we are to move forward in achieving equal educational opportunity for Spanish-English emergent bilingual children and youth.

Author

• Michael D. Guerrero, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley