Exploring In-Service Teachers’ Self-Efficacy Beliefs and Practices for Developing Emergent Bilinguals’ Academic Language

• In Event: Empowering Bilingual Education: Cultivating Teacher Identity and Linguistic Diversity

Abstract

To promote emergent bilinguals’ academic literacy, TESOL teacher education programs should enhance teachers’ self-efficacy and academic language practices that increase emergent bilinguals’ access to content area learning. This mixed-methods study examined 49 in-service teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs and practices related to academic language instruction. Despite qualitatively showing teachers’ varied conceptualizations of academic language, quantitative results show significant increases in teachers’ overall self-efficacy. Teachers’ academic language practices were non-statistically significant, but qualitative findings exhibited their growing awareness of the multidimensional nature of academic language and developing use of differentiated language supports to develop emergent bilinguals’ academic literacy. This investigation adds to our understandings the incremental changes in teachers’ self-efficacy and academic language practices for emergent bilinguals.

Authors

• Alain Bengochea, University of Nevada - Las Vegas

• Gloria A. Carcoba Falomir, University of Nevada - Las Vegas

• Tracy Spies, University of Nevada - Las Vegas

• Suheyla Sarisahin, University of Nevada - Las Vegas