English Language Learners, Teacher Preparation for Diversity

In the United States, K–12 classrooms are becoming more diverse as the population of English [Page 790]language learners (ELLs) continues to grow exponentially and spread to new regions across the country. Students classified as ELLs speak languages other than English at home and are still working to gain the English language proficiency needed to successfully access instructional content at school. If the current demographic shifts continue, all teachers across the United States will likely encounter ELLs at some point in their careers. Recognizing the increasing linguistic diversity in U.S. schools, most states require that all certified classroom teachers have specific preparation to teach ELLs. In the wake of these new state accreditation policies, many teacher education programs (which had previously focused on preparing teachers to ...