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The effects of ESL : a case study of mainstream teachers’ perceptions of ESL students and the ESL program at a junior high school

University of British Columbia

This research documents one junior high school's mainstream teachers' perceptions of the ESL students in their classrooms and the ESL program that services these students. Using qualitative methods appropriate for descriptive case study research, the open-ended questionnaire and the semi-structured interview (Johnson, 1992), the study sought to discover the emic perspective of mainstream teachers who taught ESL students on a daily basis. It was found that a variety of "effects" surrounded the ESL phenomenon at the research site both at the classroom and programmatic levels. At the classroom level the diverse cultural backgrounds and attitudes of ESL students were seen to have both beneficial and challenging effects on mainstream teachers and classrooms. Conversely, mainstream classrooms had effects on ESL students which were manifested in both desirable and undesirable ways. At the programmatic level, it was found that the model of ESL service delivery, wherein mainstream teachers were responsible for a substantial percentage of the ESL students' education, effected perceptions of particular responsibilities and needs among mainstream teachers, most notably more communication with ESL "experts". Respondents in the study also suggested ways ESL service could be delivered more effectively, given the cognitive and affective needs of ESL learners and the communication and ESL expertise needs of mainstream teachers. The study has a number of implications at both practical and theoretical levels. In practice, a number of useful functions for the ESL classroom have been suggested, specifically as a place for the fostering of self esteem, social networks, social and cultural skills and academic remediation. The ESL program is also implied to be in need of more funding, and a recommendation is further made for increased ESL training in pre-service teachers. The study concludes by reiterating a call for more ethnographic research describing different facets and perspectives of the ESL students' experiences in mainstream classrooms.

Thesis/Dissertation

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2009-06-12

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/9053

Language and Literacy Education

University of British Columbia

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