Dreams of Bilingual Classroom Teachers and the Meaning-Making of Their Own Bilingual Experiences in Teaching English Language Learner Students

• In Event: Existence is Resistance: Educators and the Politics of Language, Immigration, and Deportation

Abstract

The current study explores the dreams, and visions of bilingual classroom teachers and their own meaning-making processes as bilingual teachers teaching in the U.S. public schools. Qualitative study methods were used in this study to answer research questions. Three Spanish/English bilingual elementary classroom teachers from Hispanic background filled out the questionnaires, participated in three steps in-depth interviews, and opened their classrooms to show their work with students. The data were analyzed by using thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). An analysis of the study indicates that the bilingual mainstream teachers make multiple and complex meanings from their own bilingual experiences and those experiences were explicitly manifested in the teaching of ELL students.

Author

• Ahyea Jo, Jacksonville University