issn #2331-6845 from the president of georgia tesol by francisco j. (harvey) oaxaca oaxaca@fultonschools.org being learning leaders as language professionals, we understand the need for ongoing professional development. in fact, in the gatesol mission/purpose statement we indicate that providing opportunities for ongoing study and research along with encouraging professional development, participation, and leadership within georgia is something that we will do as an organization. since 1981, georgia tesol has been here working to provide what some would call a vital piece in the ongoing development of educators stating that “when educators learn, students learn more” (mizell, 19). even though our organization has grown and changed since its inception, our belief in our standard mission is still the same. one area in which we are dedicated is ensuring that our annual conference has quality presentations and speakers. each year our conference team dedicates countless hours to developing a conference that will meet the needs of the various groups within gatesol. additionally, we have begun to fund smaller learning opportunities for specific groups throughout the year. this past spring the iep interest section held their 2nd annual mini-conference, our adult education interest section held their first ‘hands-on’ workshop, and this summer, regions 8, 9, &12 held their first regional meeting. we aim to connect to our members throughout the year through our newsletters, online forums, facebook, twitter (@ga_tesol), and resources found on our website. as our world becomes more virtual, it is imperative that we as an organization move forward as well. it is exciting to see gatesol in action moving to an online journal. this is our organization’s cornerstone publication providing articles from current practitioners in the field with ongoing information about new research and current language learning practices. in order for language educators to remain at the “top of our game”, we must be learning leaders and this happens in part through ongoing professional development. leaders and educators who desire to research, study, learn, and apply new knowledge to better equip our students for the language demands they will face. with this new online journal, gatesol continues to be a learning leader as an organization. connect with gatesol and help ensure that we will be able to provide professional development in its various forms for our members for years to come. mizell, hayes. why professional development matters. oxford, oh: learning forward. 2010. www.learningforward.org 1 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 mailto:oaxaca@fultonschools.org http://www.learningforward.org/ issn #2331-6845 guided reading: a poem by tara ridgedell dekalb county school district tridgedell@gmail.com “i need help reading in english,” a student confided the smart esol teacher tried reading that’s guided the approach is great for students of all ages in no time at all they’ll understand pages and pages to employ this approach, there are just two things you’ll need on-level books and students eager to independently read! small groups work best for this type of instruction teacher to student, text to student, and peer to peer are the modes of knowledge construction in guided reading, students ask if words look and sound right and make sense background knowledge, context clues, self-assessment, and other strategies make reading comprehension commence teachers should guide students to draw upon existing schema for example, ask what students know about peru when reading a book about lima then, the teacher guides students through the first viewing of the text students then read independently and discuss any words or concepts that perplex next, students re-read the book on their own or with a buddy this time they’re sure to understand concepts originally muddy lastly, students respond to the text on their own this can be through writing, discussion, or a piece of art to be shown as you can see, the teacher serves as a guide by teaching these skills and strategies, independent readers will be filled with selfefficacious pride so, next time you’re unsure of how to help struggling readers try guided reading and you’ll have a group of reading leaders! 1 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 mailto:tridgedell@gmail.com as an esol teacher it is very important to introduce students to many different modes of literacy. these multiple literacies inform students by presenting the language in the many different forms that students will encounter throughout their school career and outside literacy activities. teachers can explicitly talk about and present these forms to students, or model different literacy forms for exposure. this poem demonstrates presenting content area material in poem format. when presented in this format, students are more likely to be engaged with the material than when listening to a short lecture or other common format. i used this poem to present a chapter in a graduate course. many different groups had presented their chapters before mine, and i knew that my presentation needed to be somewhat different to hold my classmates’ attention. i wrote this poem using dr. seuss poems as my inspiration. while it will certainly not be winning the pulitzer prize for distinguished poetry, the poem captured and held my classmates’ interest and they understood the material that i was presenting. in an esol classroom, i would give every student a copy of the poem and present the poem several times so that students have the opportunity to process both the language and the content. taking the time to compose this poem not only gave me the opportunity to process the material myself, but i also began to explore many different creative possibilities for presenting the material. it is very easy to get stuck in the routine of presenting main points in powerpoint or handouts, but taking time to engage in creative literacies breaks the routine and opens new possibilities. in my own personal experiences, it has been the poems, songs, and rhymes that have cemented important concepts in my mind. to this day, i still sing my multiplication tables in my 2 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 head and recall a rhyme when differentiating affect and effect. these seemingly cheesy literacies can make a big difference in students’ education. as an esol professional i must constantly push myself to try new things in the classroom and put the extra effort forward to lead students to mastery of both content areas and language. it is both fun and helpful for myself and my students to explore new literacies and engage in creative means of presentation. by modeling these new literacies and the creative process for students, they will feel more confident and empowered to use the language in new ways. 3 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 issn #2331-6845 reflection: why & where we teach by renea bartlett nido de aguilas international school santiago, chile reneabartlett@gmail.com teaching can take you places. i always knew this, and it’s one of the primary reasons that i became a teacher. for stints of a few months to a few years, i have taught in the united states, mexico, japan, and chile. in the beginning, it was about me. let’s be honest, there are very few people who wouldn’t be drawn to exotic destinations, meeting people from around the world, learning about new cultures and languages, and those long weeks of summer vacation. international teachers, particularly, often have a few shared character traits that i also find in myself: insatiable wanderlust, a love of change, a high degree of adaptability, and intellectual curiosity. these characteristics serve as a catalyst for change. most international teachers i know are constantly asking themselves: how long should i stay here? what’s next? where do i go next? would a position in thailand/brazil/austria be better? more interesting? more challenging? more…? i had this same conversation with several international teachers at a dinner party last night. it is a constant refrain. as such, it would be easy to talk about the 1 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 mailto:reneabartlett@gmail.com differences among teaching contexts. however, i am more interested in sharing what i see as similarities among what could be considered widely disparate settings. rather than focusing on what is different in terms of student dispositions, access to resources, and instructional environments, i want to reflect on how the dispositions an individual teacher espouses impact her teaching context. in my first teaching position, i was assigned a faculty mentor who had been at the school for, at the time, twenty-eight years. mrs. jones knew every child in the building by name, had taught many of their parents as elementary students, and every lesson i observed was highly engaging and effective. she had boundless energy, a constant smile, and a friendly greeting for every child as they walked in the school building each morning. despite serious budget difficulties in that district, lackluster administrative leadership, and near constant changes in standards and curriculum, mrs. jones taught me that the students do not know about those things. nor should they. what students do need is a teacher who is consistent in her interactions, and who is constantly growing in her practice as a professional educator. one of her mantras was, “you’re either green and growing, or dead on the vine.” fifteen years after hearing that axiom, i still use it to stimulate learning and change in my practice as a teacher whatever my teaching context. diaz-rico (2013) calls this “the edge,” and states that in nature this is “the growing tip of the root where growth is possible. if possible, this is where the expert educator works, at the edge where learning takes place, a social and cultural border that functions as a horizon of opportunity” (p. 292). moving from country to country, the contexts may be widely disparate but i try to be consistent in my approach to education in each new setting. this consistency includes my 2 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 philosophy of teaching and learning, learned practices to put to use, and a reflective mindset. these dispositions are essential because they determine the learning environment that i create in that context. regardless of the larger setting, teachers can, and should, be very intentional in the creation of the classroom environment. as an english as an additional language teacher (eal), i share three essential beliefs with buhrow and garcia (2006) in creating a favorable learning environment: students should be able to study topics that are interesting and comprehensible; students should be highly engaged, such that they forget about the stresses of language production; and the teacher should not push for output before the student is ready. we can create an environment like this whether in a small pull-out classroom in chile of eight students or in a class of forty in japan. granted, the curriculum can be limiting or the resources sparse depending on the school. yet, if we keep our attention on the important task of teaching students the strategies they need to make connections between what they know and what they are expected to learn (alvermann, phelps, and ridgeway, 2007), students are more engaged in the process. it is encouraging to see this structure of support for student learning wherever it occurs. in the years since my first teaching position with mrs. jones, i have learned that there is no end point for someone who strives to be an expert teacher. to use diaz-rico’s analogy of the root, the edge is always pushing deeper. that is true of roots of everywhere, no matter the location of the soil called home. 3 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 references alvermann, d., phelps s., and ridgeway, v. (2007). content area reading and literacy: succeeding in today’s diverse classrooms. boston, ma: pearson education, inc. burrow, b. and garcia, a. (2006). ladybugs, tornadoes, and swirling galaxies: english language learners discover their world through inquiry. portland, me: stenhouse publishers. diaz-rico, l. (2013). strategies for teaching english learners. boston, ma: pearson education, inc. 4 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 issn #2331-6845 welcome from the senior editor by gertrude tinker sachs georgia state university gatesolinaction2020@gmail.com the pen is mightier than the sword – countering deficit perspectives in theory and practice during our presentation at the annual gatesol conference this past october, our webmaster, elizabeth (beth) wallace and i spoke on the theme of countering deficits in our work as bi/multilingual educators. we chose the title, “the pen is mightier than the sword countering deficit perspectives in theory and practice,” and i recycle that title for this editorial because i wanted to reiterate its importance and centrality to our work as critical educators and because our three papers for this edition directly address the countering of deficit perspectives. bravo to our writers for being bold and audacious in describing the ways they counter deficit perspectives in their teaching and research projects! 1 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 in the abstract for our conference session, we had proposed the following: . . . when everywhere in the news it is reported that in general children of color and english language learners are less than, not as good as, need this/need that, and are impoverished, what is your response? in this session we will talk and write about responses to deficit perspectives and how those responses can be published in gatesol in action along with tips on writing for publication that gives voice to informed, research-based, and theoretical perspectives and practices . . . during our two sessions we used the following example of deficit and countering the repression and destruction of language and culture in schools and the need for the conspicuous promotion of pride in being bi/multilingual particularly for black and brown children – to spur discussion. our attendees were wonderfully engaged and excited to talk as we elicited from them the many strategies and activities that teachers could and do employ. after talking, we allowed them time to write. it is such a precious art, the capacity to write and portray our thoughts. recognizing that time is also such a rare commodity for teaches to reflect on their work, we allowed at least fifteen to twenty minutes during our allotted sessions for attendees to craft an opening response to the theme. we targeted pk-12 teachers for our session in particular because we are eager to tap into the rich reservoir of teacher knowledge, skills and experiences to report to a wider audience precisely 2 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 those activities that they are doing at the ground level to counter deficit perspectives. we do not expect this task to be accomplished by those solely in the universities sometimes referred to as “the ivory tower.” therefore, we pushed for attendees to be engaged in writing during our session. after attendees had crafted their initial ideas, they shared a few pieces of their writing and then we went on to talk about the challenges of writing as pk-12 educators. we also considered the necessity of writing as pk-12 educators because indeed, sometimes, the pen is mightier than the sword to uplift ourselves out of some of the prevailing negativity that surrounds the educational endeavor! but, fellow educators, we need to write! as part of our work to encourage writing about important topics and themes, in our session we used an exemplar article written by ana maria villegas and tamara lucas in educational leadership (2007). the university professors discussed in very clear and comprehensible terms in a few pages how we need to see students from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds as capable learners. they elaborate on the qualities that teachers need to exhibit and the strategies teachers need to embrace to affirm those language learners particularly those historically marginalized. 3 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 in our own papers for this edition, aubrey southall, a former pk-12 social studies teacher and current doctoral student, describes how she used historically-based children’s literature in the high school esol social studies classroom. southall describes some of the strategies that she used and provides us with a listing of some of the texts. maria montalvo balbed and bernadette mccormack musetti help us to understand the often unspoken aspects of “capital” through analyses of the lives of four immigrant women from the dominican republic. we learn from their lived experiences how to counter some of the prevailing deficit perspectives that abound in the community and in educational settings. writers, pedro portes, rolf straubhaar and paula mellom describe work that is being done at the center for latino achievement and success in education at the university of georgia. the authors describe their research project and the practices that teachers can adopt to provide the support that is needed to bridge the divide in u.s. schools that serves to hamper the success of language learners. all the writers in this edition emphasize the need for the preparation of all educators to work with culturally and linguistically diverse students. failure to do so will only serve to increase the educational gap. at gatesol in action, we encourage all educators to use the pen (aka keyboard) to tell the stories of 4 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 successful teaching and research that serve to promote pride in bi/multilingualism and draw on the deep funds of knowledge that reside within the our learners’ language and culture. pick up the pen and let us know about the good work you are doing! gertrude tinker sachs, senior editor reference villegas, a. m. & lucas, t. (march, 2007). the culturally responsive teacher. educational leadership, 28-33. retrieved from: http://worldview2.web.unc.edu/files/2014/02/required-reading1-theculturally-responsive-teacher.pdf 5 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 http://worldview2.web.unc.edu/files/2014/02/required-reading1-the-culturally-responsive-teacher.pdf http://worldview2.web.unc.edu/files/2014/02/required-reading1-the-culturally-responsive-teacher.pdf 1 gatesol in action, fall 2018 issn #2331-6845 anti-immigration sentiments and the true benefits of inclusivity by andrea jeddi georgia state university adean5@student.gsu.edu the summer of 2018 has been marked by heavy-handed anti-immigration legislation and executive orders that will inevitably affect english language learners (ells) in significant ways. the author examines explanations for the rising wave of anti-immigrant sentiments and discusses research that affirms the true benefits of inclusivity. keywords: legislation, inclusivity, anti-immigration, intersectionality, equity literacy, trump when i was recently asked to report on legislation affecting english language learners (ells) in georgia, i found that reports on this topic are generally timelines, beginning with the civil rights act, the equal education opportunity act, and the bilingual education act. such reports outline court rulings that demonstrate an evolving, even if recursive, understanding of the rights of ells to an equitable education. for instance, the castañeda v. pickard (1981) ruling includes mandates for how to achieve equity in education for all ells: court-ordered ell taskforces to determine effective, research-based teaching models, cost studies to determine appropriate funding levels to meet ell learning needs, and evaluation measures to determine the efficacy of such mailto:adean5@student.gsu.edu 2 gatesol in action, fall 2018 decisions. these foundational rulings remain critical in working towards educational equity even if questions they posed still linger today: educational researchers and policy makers continue to seek ways to assist english language learners without segregating them, for example (moon, 2018). official reports, however, do not usually include explanations of how antiimmigration federal and state laws indirectly affect ell students’ educational outcomes. laws such as arizona’s sb 1070 (2010), targeted at immigrant families, had required immigrants to register with law enforcement and made the harboring of undocumented immigrants illegal. despite being struck down by the supreme court in 2012 and never fully implemented, detrimental effects of the anti-immigrant sentiment that the controversy fanned affected latinx health, safety, sense of well-being, and educational outcomes for years later (flores, 2017; orozco & lopez, 2015; santos, menjivar, & godfrey, 2013; toomey et al., 2014). in fact, much legal debate that goes on at the state and national levels affects students’ lives much more deeply than their access scores or the method of instruction chosen for them will. those of us who teach already know this; we grow to love many of our students as if our own children. we take ownership of both their success and their failure, feeling pride in their achievements and providing solutions and encouragement through their frustration because we understand that struggle attends learning and growth. through interactions marked by vulnerability and risk-taking, we get to know our students as children and adolescents who have the same innocent wonderment, expressive fears, animated disappointment, and excitable natures as the children in our own families. we love them, we care about them, and we want them to 3 gatesol in action, fall 2018 be happy, healthy, and successful in life. in short, our shared experiences with our students forge bonds built around the dynamics of struggle. the summer of 2018, however, marked by a deluge of executive orders and federal supreme court (scotus) decisions made with the express goal of unmaking decades of hard-won social justice work, has brought a new kind of struggle for our students. in june, the world watched in horror as more than 2,000 adolescents and young children were taken from their parents at the borders they had crossed to escape abject poverty and violence in mexico and central america. images of children in cages, branded into our hearts and minds, led even people associated with hardened, unwelcoming views about otherness to openly express disquietude. in july, scotus set down a decision to uphold presidential proclamation no. 9645, a travel ban from six muslim majority countries, thereby enacting president trump’s explicitly stated desire for “a total and complete shutdown of muslims entering the united states,” according to his own website (sotomayor, 2018). writing the dissenting opinion for herself and justice ginsburg, justice sotomayor contends that the court’s decision disregards the establishment clause, which forbids the united states government from exhibiting disfavor or hostility towards any religion. justice sotomayor catalogs numerous antimuslim sentiments that president trump has openly expressed, noting that because this animosity towards muslims began well before the 2016 election, president trump’s claim of (nondisclosed) national security concerns is not credible. justice sotomayor reminds us that the scotus decision belies a national identity that places the first amendment as its centerpiece. we enjoy thinking of our nation as one built by immigrants, finding great strength in diversity, and we hold our personal liberties as an 4 gatesol in action, fall 2018 exemplar to the rest of the world to aspire towards (sotomayor, 2018). the truth is, we do not yet know all ways that the supreme court decision and the trump administration’s anti-immigrant policies will affect our students, but history has shown that they will not go unscathed. these decisions have and will continue to hit our society hard (e.g., sadowski-smith & li, 2016; sanchez, 2017), but they will be particularly damaging to ell students and their families, even those far removed from border cities and airports. these decisions will inevitably make both teaching work and equity work challenging. linguicism, immigration status, race, gender, and socioeconomic status have always intersected to complexify the ways in which hostility is raised and leveled against many of our ells. yet institutions that have, at least for the past three decades, sought to protect the civil and educational rights of ells now try to legitimize sentiments that challenge basic human rights. this fear and distrust of outsiders is not driven by immigration data—border crossings dropped 80% from 2000-2017 as part of a trend that began under the bush administration (lee, 2017)—nor is it fueled by real threats of islamic terrorism (horgan & shortland, 2018). researchers have offered several explanations for the rising anti-immigration wave. mutz (2018) reports results from a pew research poll suggesting that white privilege—perhaps the only vestibule of power available to poor, uneducated white americans—may lie beneath uncomfortable feelings towards outsiders that have fueled trump’s anti-immigration agenda. massey, durand, and pren (2016) explain that our perception of warmth and competence of out-group members drives our behavior towards them. the social structure hypothesis (fiske et al., 2002) holds that individuals 5 gatesol in action, fall 2018 are apt to consider people possessing power and wealth to have competence, while “attributions of warmth help maintain the status quo” (p. 881) by positioning those we view as our competition as cold or unfeeling. thus, when a public narrative posing immigrants as invaders and criminals (e.g., “illegal”)—as a well-established method of instilling fear of others—joins with politically-crafted narratives that exploit social stereotypes of poor migrants as incompetent and here to take our jobs, it results in hostility towards them and to the ill-informed policies we see today. regardless of the causes, social science research supports more fluidity between borders, acknowledging that solutions to labor supply and demand are found between borders. there are real economic benefits to diverse inclusion in the form of increased revenue, born through increases in innovation, retention, morale, and client engagement (kaplan & donovan, 2013), and an increasing body of research suggests that the power of diverse groups to solve problems and make innovative decisions is so powerful that the diversity of group participants outweighs even the iq of group members when it comes to solving a complex problem (johnson, 2018). perhaps americans will grow to welcome guest workers, residents, and new citizens of diverse backgrounds only as they gain awareness of and appreciation for the benefits of diverse skills, experiences, language resources, and worldviews that migrants—in reality— provide. as ell instructors, we are in a unique position to demonstrate the insights that our students offer in group dynamics while also affirming, valuing and appreciating them. gorski (2018) outlines 12 strategies for enacting what he terms “equity literacy” (p. 19). among these strategies, the “most fundamental of them all” involves a commitment to making “equity, not culture, or cultural diversity or cultural competence 6 gatesol in action, fall 2018 the center of our conversation” (p. 17). this includes understanding of implicit biases and a recognition of how implicit bias affects our students. a commitment to equity means redressing of inequities, through the creation of a “bias-free and equitable learning environment for all students” (p. 20). if we are to advocate for our ells, we must reject deficit views that pervade our schools and classrooms, fueled by larger political conversations, instead seeking ways to facilitate the extraordinary contributions of thought, experience, and skills that they and their families offer. by andrea jeddi georgia state university adean5@student.gsu.edu issn #2331-6845 from self-doubt to self-acceptance: an esl learner’s journey by jing li jli51@tamu.edu college of education and human development texas a&m university, college station, texas this article is a narrative inquiry into how an esl learner transits from self-doubt to self-acceptance after having come to the united states and becomes more open to communications with others. three aspects are found to be critical for the learner to reach self-acceptance: sharing language experiences through storytelling; finding one’s own expertise in collaborative learning; awakening to one’s own membership in diverse settings. the last section provides teachers with practical ideas regarding how to foster esl students’ self-acceptance and empower them to be actively engaged in conversations with others in english. keywords: self-acceptance; esl learners; storytelling; expertise; collaborative learning; diversity three years ago, a chinese girl flew to the united states to pursue a graduate degree. she sat in the back of the university classroom, writing heavy notes on materials but not speaking much. she ordered the food in restaurants by simply pointing to the dish name on the menu and saying “this” or “that”. she did not 1 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 mailto:jli51@tamu.edu quite get what the bus driver said about where she should get off for her destination, but dared not to ask for clarification in front of the passengers. the girl, who had been learning english for 13 years in china, felt helpless and difficult to navigate her studies and daily life after she landed on the united states. she kept asking herself: what was the point of having invested efforts in learning english for so many years – only to find that she had so little expertise in the language now? what she had learned in china was not what was frequently used in the united states. whenever she started communicating with others in a variety of english that they were unfamiliar with, she was harassed by the awareness of how incapable she was as a speaker of english. this girl was me, the “me” at the beginning of an esl learner’s journey in the united states. sharing language experiences through storytelling having become so afraid of being judged as an incompetent speaker of english, i put on a mask of understanding with ease what others had said. when the whole class laughed about the professor’s joke, i also wore a smile, even though i did not quite get it. after the bank representative explained the procedures of applying for a debit card, i directly said, “okay, thanks a lot,” though i was still not exactly sure about how to do certain steps. although my 2 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 self-image was presented as a capable english speaker at those moments, i knew from the inner side that i was struggling with using this language. at the very beginning, i only talked with chinese friends who were also international students about my “mask of understanding” and how uncomfortable i felt about it. surprisingly, my friends resonated with me and shared similar experiences. this led me to realize that my struggle with english was not an indicator of me personally being an incapable language learner, but was a result shaped by what i had previously learned regarding english and the way how i had learned it in my mother country. this realization granted me the strength to present my stories in front of my peers who spoke english as their first language, most of them having been teachers of different subjects in u.s. public schools. to my surprise, my peers not only showed their understanding with caring attitudes, but also established connections between their own lives and my stories. some of them talked about how my experiences guided them to see their own esl students differently. others expressed how the stories brought them back to their previous lives in foreign countries. the storytelling exposed my language experiences and struggles to others around me. the non-judgmental and thoughtful feedback from my audience 3 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 empowered me to accept what i was as a second language user. it was because of the self-acceptance that i started living in harmony with my previous english learning experiences. instead of questioning whether my english learning in the past had been a big waste of time or not, i gradually became more focused on how to better live in the present moment. finding my expertise in collaborative learning at the very beginning, i stepped into my graduate classroom in the u.s.as a “tourist” (freiberg, 1996, p. 32). the main focus was on learning from my professors and peers. i became a knowledge receiver who was occupied with taking in what had been told, without realizing what i could contribute to others’ knowing with my own knowledge and skills. it was not until i reached out to a peer who was teaching english in a local high school to be my partner for a research project that i gradually moved out of the “tourist” mode. without any hesitation, my peer agreed to work with me. i was at first very nervous since i was afraid that my language inefficiency would become a barrier between us. however, at the first meeting, my partner emphasized that she valued my expertise in research methodology and was looking forward to what would develop from our collaboration, which laid a solid foundation for me to bravely speak my mind. 4 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 my peer’s belief that i could contribute to our collaborative work greatly relieved my self-doubt and helped me become a “citizen” (freiberg, 1996, p. 36) who could take the responsibility and make his or her own contribution to the learning community. in this way, i was able to find myself as an equal collaborative learner with my own expertise, instead of a passive learner simply taking in information. in the collaboration, my peer and i did run into misunderstandings or misinterpretations sometimes. nevertheless, i started seeing them as natural happenings in the process of communication and actively looking for ways of clarification. i became more focused on how to achieve a better understanding between us. the research project we have been working on will now turn into a book chapter publication next year. awakening to my membership in the diversity before i came to the united states, i was mainly exposed to two types of english: american english represented by the voice of america and british english by the british broadcasting corporation. although i learned later from a linguistics class that there exists a wide variety of englishes, i assumed that those different types of english were mainly created and used by people from different regions within the countries where english was one of their official languages. 5 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 i kept comparing my own english with the two types of “standard english” to which i had been exposed for a long time and which led me to miss the forest of diversity around me. in my social studies class, the professor guided students to discuss the diversity of english from a global perspective. it was not until then that i came to realize not only did people within the united states develop their own regional english, but people from other countries were also using english in their own ways. when i saw people from countries where english was not one of their official languages confidently communicate with others by using their own versions of english, i was awakened to the fact that i have also been part of this language diversity. this awareness not only dragged me out of the continuous negative selfevaluation, but also shifted my attention from grammar and accent to the meaning that i truly wanted to express. the self-acceptance was enhanced when i realized that my english has been an enrichment of the diversity. three years later, i asked professors questions that occurred to me in class. i collaborated with my peers on research projects. i negotiated with the dealer for a lower price to get a second-hand car. i am not saying that i no longer have any language problems. grammatical mistakes are still sometimes embedded in my sentences. the fluency of my english does regress if i do not speak english for 6 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 three days. body language is still a good alternative for me to express myself when i do not know how to say what i want to say. i still consider myself an english language learner and i will always be. however, this consideration will no longer mute me because my self-acceptance has encouraged me to be focused on expressing what i am, instead of questioning what i am, which in turn makes me more open to communication with others and thus brings more language learning opportunities. significance for esl teachers when english language learners start doubting themselves as capable beings because of their second language use, it might be helpful if teachers could guide them to reach self-acceptance. the self-acceptance here does not mean that students are satisfied with their current language level and stop investing efforts in learning english. it means that students are equipped with different lenses to see themselves, which might empower them to be truly open to communications with others in english, instead of isolating themselves. the three turning points in my journey have guided me to be in harmony with myself and move forward. how could they apply to your students who are english language learners? how could you set up the turning points in their 7 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 journeys? you might want to consider these three ways to address such questions with your students. invite students to share their language experiences so that they might gradually become comfortable with their identities as second language learners. it could start within the community of english language learners so that they might find more resonance and a sense of belonging. learners’ language experiences should always be responded to with a caring attitude, which could help them tell their stories without feeling vulnerable and being judged. in this way, students could potentially see “other alternatives that may be more appropriate or fulfilling” (carson & langer, 2006, p.31) regarding themselves. employ collaborative projects to help language learners find their own voice. students within a group could be given a few minutes to talk about their team members’ expertise at first and how they think that expertise could contribute to the projects. learners are thus guided to see themselves as the ones being able to make the projects better. this collaborative process might not only increase one’s self-worth, but also lead to language learning through negotiation of meaning, comprehensible input and opportunities for learners to produce language (martin-beltrán, chen, guzman, & merills, 2016). 8 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 expose students to the diversity of english from a global perspective. teachers not only show students how english varies across regions within the united states, but also introduce them different versions of english from countries where english was not used as an official language. if possible, teachers could invite people of similar background as english learners to tell stories about what their lives are like in the u.s. and how they are using english to communicate with others. therefore, the learners might see a positive potential for their future, which helps relieve their burden of feeling not proficient in english (llurda, 2009). as a result, they might become more comfortable with their own versions of english. 9 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 references carson, s. h., & langer, e. j. (2006). mindfulness and self-acceptance. journal of rationalemotive and cognitive-behavior therapy, 24(1), 29-43. freiberg, h. j. (1996). from tourists to citizens in the classroom. educational leadership, 54, 32-37. llurda, e. (2009). attitudes towards english as an international language: the pervasiveness of native models among l2 users and teachers. in f. sharifian (ed.), english as an international language: perspectives and pedagogical issues (pp. 119-134). bristol, uk: multilingual matters. martin-beltrán, m., chen, p., guzman, n., & merills, k. a. (2016). how adolescents use social discourse to open space for language learning during peer interactions. in m. sato & s. ballinger (eds.), peer interaction and second language learning: pedagogical potential and research agenda (pp. 319348). amsterdam, netherlands: john benjamins. 10 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 issn #2331-6845 empowering english language learners through social-action projects by melanie carter georgia state university mlcarter@student.gsu.edu introduction no child left behind (nclb) school reforms in 2002 dealt teachers of english for speakers of other languages (esol) a heavy burden. policies mandated that esol students in elementary and middle grades were to take content-area criterion-referenced competency tests (crct) after only one year of being enrolled in the u.s. public education system. schools were held accountable for the test scores of these language learners. insufficient test scores on a large scale has led to loss of funding and even school closure. recently, new policies such as race to the top have supplanted nclb in georgia. however, these new policies continue to emphasize annual testing and student accountably for the general population and english language learners (ells) alike. additionally, race to the top policies now tie individual teacher salaries to student performance on standardized tests. public education policies such as these run contrary to contemporary second language acquisition research which state that ells need up to seven years to develop english language proficiency in academic content areas (cummins, 2008). this schism between policy and reality has caused many teachers of culturally and linguistically 1 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 mailto:mlcarter@student.gsu.edu diverse students to go into “test panic” and revert to rote teaching strategies that emphasize “teaching to the test” in order to increase the test scores of students. these strategies are in direct contrast to proven student-centered educational theories which emphasize communicative competence, task-based learning, critical thinking skills, authentic inquiry-based project learning, empowering and liberatory education (dewy, 1916; ellis, 2003; freire, 1978; hymes, 1972; shor, 1992). “teaching to the test” strategies are theoretically based in the banking concept of education. in this model, students are viewed as an empty account waiting to be filled with knowledge by the instructor. friere (1970) explains that this type of learning "transforms students into receiving objects. it attempts to control thinking and action, leads men and women to adjust to the world, and inhibits their creative power" (p. 77). it is critical that esol teachers avoid these teaching tactics and maintain a high degree of professionalism even during times of the predominance of high-stakes testing accountability. instead, curriculum for language learners must be grounded in researched-based second language acquisition pedagogies. this includes a focus on authentic learning that is acquired through communicative, project-based education. this type of learning should allow students to acquire language and content-area knowledge and apply the knowledge to new real-world contexts to create measurable outcomes. esol professionals should consider themselves curriculum designers and engineers and use creativity and innovation to create learning environments where this type of learning can take root. it is equally as important, for esol professionals to ensure ells, a marginalized section of society, are provided with critical skills that serve to empower students (ajayi, 2009). empowering ells and providing opportunities for students to critically engage with the world will ensure students mature to fully functioning, democratic participants in society 2 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 (cummins, 1996). in order allow these qualities to grow and flourish in our esol learning communities and classrooms, teachers must go beyond “teaching to the test” with the aim of creating fully functioning students, capable of interacting productively in the world. incorporating social action projects into the esol classroom is a way of addressing this need by empowering students as critical participants in society through communicative, project-based learning. social action projects provide ells with language, literacy, and content-area skills while emphasizing collaboration and critical thinking. through designing their own student led projects, ells learn that they have the ability to affect social change. initially, students identify a social issue that is impacting themselves or their communities. next, students investigate the problem through current and historical research of the issue and through accessing their own expertise on the issue. finally, students, as a group, create a project of their own which aims to provide solutions the problem and raise awareness. social action projects are rooted in critical pedagogy. critical pedagogy aims to create a transformative effect within students to cut the bonds of oppressive traditional education and empower students to engage in unfettered thinking and learning, in order to become agents of change. freire (1970) describes critical education as “‘the practice of freedom’ the means by which men and women deal critically and creatively with reality and discover how to participate in the transformation of their world” (p.34). giroux (2010) goes on to say that through critical pedagogy, “students develop consciousness of freedom…connect knowledge to power and the ability to take constructive action.” constructive action is the key to empowering students to become active change-makers in society, and it is the pivotal component of the action project. 3 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 social action projects inspire students to act consciously to make changes for the betterment of their communities and the world through critical consciousness. students are empowered to create innovative strategies to attack complex, societal issues. students identify problems in society, create real-world methods of alleviating these problems, and finally implement these solution methods. action is the key to the social action project. students’ main goal within the project is to use the knowledge they learn to take action within their immediate communities and to encourage others to take action, as well, to expand the sphere of influence of the project. this type of education empowers students to take learning into their own hands and use the knowledge they gain to create a better world for humanity and future generations. classroom social action project during my student-teaching experience in a 4th grade esol class, my students and i conducted a social-action project. the esol reading/english language arts class consisted of seven students: six mexican american students and one student originally from ghana. the class’s language proficiency level was fairly homogenous, as all students scored with in a level iv, according to world-class instructional design and assessment (wida) tests conducted the previous school year. all of the students were classified as economically disadvantaged by county guidelines. the project involved the three major steps (1) identifying a social issue, (2) investigating the issue, and (3) creating an action project to alleviate the problem and inspire others to get involved. in the project, students explored real-world issues while developing cross-curriculum language and content-area skills. the leadership roles of the teacher and student alternated during the duration of the unit. the shifting roles of power were used to ensure equity between all participants (friere, 1979; shor, 1992). this allowed students to openly express their ideas 4 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 through collaborative inquiry, in an environment where their thoughts would be acknowledged and respected by the group. literacy practices, and their connections to solving real world problems, were a focal point of the project. students used a variety of literacy practices throughout the three stages of the project to identify social problems, conduct research, and create their final project. using an interdisciplinary approach to learning, social studies curriculum was tied into the project. step 1: identifying a problem the project idea originated in reaction to the escalation of school violence and social violence taking place nationally and locally. students began the project with a roundtable discussion where they were asked to identify a social problem. this type of discussion ensures every participant has an equal opportunity to communicate with one another. for ells, this is an important confidence-building practice that emphasizes listening and speaking skills. this style of discussion encourages students to actively engage with classmates. students must be active listeners while interacting with one another in the exchange of ideas. higher order thinking skills are also needed to participate in these discussions as students are encouraged communicate their personal beliefs and understandings as opposed to simply recalling facts. therefore wait-time is an important aspect of a roundtable discussion. i regarded my role in the group as a facilitator, as opposed to teacher, questioning students about the problems they faced in their own lives and drawing out their own expertise on the topic. i often would draw out deeper answers from students by asking leading questions or challenging their current assumptions. through this form of discussion, the students identified violence as a major problem in their communities. students identified many examples of violence, such as the sandy hook school shooting, bullying in school, police brutality, deportation, and anti-immigrant prejudices. 5 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 this phase of the social-action project gave students a safe space to openly discuss their feelings surrounding these issues. students often internalize fear associated with issues that they feel they have no power over, which can lead to a host of future emotional problems impacting school performance (bower, 1992). in order to promote favorable educational outcomes for ells, teachers must address the socio-emotional needs of students within the academic context (genesee, 1994). the roundtable discussion draws students’ emotions out into the open to be acknowledged and even shared by the group. students openly express their feelings of fear, anxiety, and helplessness surrounding these issues. our discussions bolstered a sense of community, comfort, and safety, where students were able to identify with one another. breaking through the isolation opened opportunities for growth and transformation. step 2: investigating the problem during this stage of the project, students worked together to become experts on the violence in communities. students collaboratively worked in small groups to develop research questions and then sought to find answers to those questions. students were encouraged to take ownership of their own learning throughout this process. at this time, i introduced fourth grade civil rights social studies curriculum to the class. i provided students with texts that discussed how past community violence was dealt with in innovative ways. students studied literature in the form of books, articles, and websites regarding martin luther king jr., rosa parks, gandhi and other non-violent visionaries. integrating our social action project with the fourth grade civil rights curriculum brought the idea of real world social-action movements to life. as the students began to assess the contemporary world within a historical context, the curriculum became less static and more relevant to the students’ lives. 6 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 during this period of investigation, students conducted online research, outlined texts, took notes, held student-directed literature circles, watched film clips documenting non-violent movements of the past, and acted out non-violent protests through dramatic play. several students conducted personal interviews with family members. a broad range of common core reading, ela, and social studies standards were explored during this time. this varied approach to investigating the issue motivated students to practice reading writing, speaking, and listening in diverse ways, appealing to the varied learning styles and multiple intelligences. step 3: creating a solution project and inspiring others this stage of the project required students to create a solution project and inspire others to get involved in the project. non-violence was identified as the solution to the problem of violence by students. in another round-table discussion, students discussed the class’s vision of non-violence and what their schools and communities would be like if they truly reflected this ideal. recalling the quote by gandhi, “be the change you want to see in the word,” students decided that they wanted to make personal non-violent commitments to inspire change in their families, classrooms, and communities. for their action project, students made a banner to display their personal commitments for non-violence to inspire others. students made thirty day commitments to nonviolent actions such as “not eating animals [that had been violently killed],” “using only kind words,” “playing only non-violent video games,” and “no more gossiping,” after the students finished the banner, they presented it to neighboring classrooms. students first gave a brief history of nonviolent movements involving gandhi and mlk. students then explained their own non-violent movement and gave examples of the non-violence commitments they made. students encouraged the other classes to join the movement and take action themselves. united by a common goal, my students eagerly rallied their peers. the other 7 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 classes, inspired by the presentation, felt moved to make their own commitments. students added commitments to our banner one after the other, until the banner was completely full. then a classroom down the hall made their own banner, which they presented to other classes. more and more students in my school made commitments to non-violence. by the end of the week, the halls of the school were filled with commitments of non-violence. the class further extended the non-violence social-action project to a broader sphere of influence by reaching out to members of the community at morehouse college in atlanta, ga. at the time, the college was preparing for an up and coming event that celebrated non-violence which involved a weeklong event of seminars, discussions, and ceremonies honoring peacebuilding global activists. morehouse college and sri sri ravi shankar, a peace-building morehouse honoree, were in the midst of creating a national initiative to promote non-violence. working with volunteers on the project, i proposed extending the non-violence initiative by promoting non-violence social-action projects in classrooms around the country. my students shared their non-violence project with morehouse organizers. soon volunteers from morehouse and from sri sri ravi shankar’s non-profit organization took up the cause whole heartedly. a task force of volunteers was organized that would work specifically on “schools outreach”. we began sending out emails to schools and reaching out to colleagues to get teachers and students around the country involved in non-violence social-action projects. as of today, over a dozen schools from brooklyn to san francisco have taken up the initiative to create and implement student led non-violence social actions projects. conclusion for students from my classroom, seeing the far reaching effects of their actions proved to be a truly empowering experience. this action project gave ells the understanding that they can 8 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 truly have a positive effect on social problems by working together to create change and inspiring those within their sphere of influence to take part in these changes as well. embedded within this project were common core standards from content areas. these standards were explored in an authentic manner which provided for a greater transferability of these skills and knowledge to real world aspects of students’ lives. through this project ells acquired language skills by engaging in the process of democratic collaboration and problem solving. students discovered the symbiotic relationship between communication, actions, and the world, thus acknowledging each individual’s ability to act and create change in the world. social-action project-based learning provides a viable method of empowering ells while engaging with content-area discourse. the learner-centered approach to social action projects allow students to take ownership of their learning. students are the instrumental, creative force behind every step of the project, from brainstorming to final project implementation. collaboration of class members allows students to exercise communication skills and gain confidence through interdependent relationships with peers. social action projects address genuine issues that are relevant to students’ lives inspiring and motivating students beyond the classroom. next steps for educators who are interested in conducting social action projects within their own classrooms, i have including a list of critical pedagogical resources below. these resources include content-area curriculum guides, lesson plans, and extension activities that emphasize empowering students through social and community involvement. however, i must emphasize that these should be used only as guides. there is no better resource than your own students. 9 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 truly empowering projects create a space for students to investigate what inspires them, and allows them the opportunity to create original action-projects focused around these interests. • zinn education project http://zinnedproject.org/teaching-materials/ • education for liberation network www.edliberation.org/resources/edsearch_form • highlander research and education center http://highlandercenter.org/about-us/mission/ • project south http://www.projectsouth.org/movement-building-projects/trainings-and-tools/toolkits/ • teachers for social justice http://www.teachersforjustice.org/search/label/all%20curriculum 10 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 http://zinnedproject.org/teaching-materials/ http://www.edliberation.org/resources/edsearch_form http://highlandercenter.org/about-us/mission/ http://www.projectsouth.org/movement-building-projects/trainings-and-tools/toolkits/ http://www.teachersforjustice.org/search/label/all%20curriculum references ajayi, l. (2009). english as a second language learners’ exploration of multimodal texts in a junior high school. journal of adolescent & adult literacy 52(7), 585-595 bower, g. h. (1992). how might emotions affect learning. the handbook of emotion and memory: research and theory, 3-31. cummins, j. (2008). bics and calp: empirical and theoretical status of the distinction. encyclopedia of language and education, 2, 71-83. cummins, j. (1996). negotiating identities: education for empowerment in a diverse society (pp. 1-368). ontario, ca: california association for bilingual education. dewy, j. (1916). democracy and education. an introduction to the philosophy of education (1966 ed.). ellis, r. (2003). task-based language learning and teaching. oxford university press. freire, p. (1970). pedagogy of the oppressed. new york: continuum. genesee, f. (ed.). (1994). educating second language children: the whole child, the whole curriculum, the whole community. cambridge university press. giroux, h.a., 2010. lessons from paulo freire. the chronicle review, 17 october. hymes, d. (1972). on communicative competence. sociolinguistics, 269293. shor, i. (1992). empowering education: critical teaching for social change. university of chicago press, book orders, 5801 south ellis avenue, chicago, il 60637-1496 11 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 issn #2331-6845 welcome from the senior editor by gertude ticker sachs georgia state university gatesolinaction2020@gmail.com the challenges and the opportunities in our professional lives the work of being editor on a state journal is no simple task and it is one that i take very seriously. it is an awesome responsibility filled with challenges and opportunities and in preparation for this first edition, i thought it was very important to gain insights from several vantage points to get current and fresh perspectives and ascertain the issues that consume our everyday professional lives. the vibrancy and currency of a journal depends on being familiar and knowledgeable about the practices, policies, and issues that concern learners, their families, communities and their teachers. as such, in this journal we must touch all bases and be open to everything that impacts the lives of language learners. this editorial commentary is an open welcome and invitation to everyone to send us your thoughts, your writings and your musings on what matters most to you in language learning and teaching. one of the persons i spoke with to get a handle on what she was doing, seeing and envisioning for language learners in the state of georgia was cori alston. cori is the program manager for esol/title 111 at the ga department of education (gadoe). the interview was conducted a year ago in an alcove at the gadoe and in the background immediately behind us 1 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 was the state’s golden doom, enduring symbol of the state’s governing body. i took a picture of the doom after the interview and include it as part of my commentary. in my hour-long interview with cori, i sensed a deep and genuine concern for those who are language learners. ms. alston said that while she had witnessed improvements in the performance of p-12 language learners there was still much work to be done particularly in the content areas in the general education classrooms. she felt that there was “an untapped potential” in our learners that was not being fully harnessed or realized because “we were not reaching them.” ms. alston’s comments were encouraging and hopeful. she stressed the need for teachers to view her as “a supporter” and not as an “enforcer” as people tend to view “those who work for the state.” here is an opportunity to write and tell what collaborations exist between educators and those in the gadoe. the ga golden dome in this commentary serves as a symbol of posterity and perseverance in our work with language learners. in my own work with pre-service teachers and in preparing them for the forthcoming implementation of edtpa and the new rigors of certification, i see an opportunity for teacher educator professors to move out of their comfort zones and into spaces where opportunities reside. is there an opportunity for new learning or the unlearning of old habits? gatesol in action provides a forum for us to articulate our constructive research engagements and ponderings about edtpa. we invite you to explore this opportunity with us. 2 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 when i visited my pre-service students’ middle and high school classes last fall, i could see the size of classroom challenges and the profound need to differentiate in our instructional practices when so many of our learners in one class have varied proficiency levels and different linguistic and cultural heritages. indeed the personal histories of our learners, those who come from war-torn and ravaged countries to those who come from highly privileged english language learning backgrounds, compel us to differentiate and we have so many of their resources to draw upon to do this. what does differentiation look like when one has a class of 15 – 20 language learners in the middle or high school and when some of them are in their late teens and early twenties? indeed, while there are many challenges there are also many opportunities for both educators and learners. how much do we draw upon those opportunities in our rush to “cover” the curriculum? we encourage you dear teachers, our frontline educators, to tell us your approaches and let us know how you are faring in the work you do. gatesol in action is a voice for you! in my work with in-service teachers in the homes of refugee mothers and their families i can also see the challenges for many of our college and community educators who bear the brunt of elevating the language learning potential of these learners. my in-service teachers work hard to make language learning tasks meaningful and applicable to the personal needs and goals of our refugee mothers. however, there is so much more that can be done. if anyone is conducting research with adults in our communities, please consider gatesol in action as a potential home for your writing. we need to celebrate the resources this group brings to our community through our writing. please share this important and often unacknowledged work with us. in my talk at the georgia tesol conference this past fall, i stated that “despite living in a world of criticism, cutbacks and increased accountability,” that we needed to “maintain our 3 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 professionalism by forming communities of teachers who engage in researching and writing for the betterment of our profession.” i had wanted to challenge yet inspire attendees to take action and i reiterate those words here to close out in this my first gatesol in action welcome and commentary. we must harness all our energies for the collective good not ill and i encourage all educators of all levels to use our gatesol in action as a place for turning our challenges into opportunities by developing and enacting an agenda of hope for our profession. embrace this opportunity! share your research, lessons, and learning with us; be a writer for gatesol in action for your professional organization, gatesol! gertrude tinker sachs, senior editor 4 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 issn #2331-6845 empowering esol social studies students with historically based children’s literature by aubrey brammar southall georgia state university (ph.d. candidate) atlanta, georgia aubrey.southall@gmail.com in this self-reflective essay, an experienced secondary social studies educator advocates for the use of historically based children’s literature in the high school esol social studies classroom. the teacher, who is certified to teach social studies and esol, explains the activities and lists the books she uses with her high school united states history students to make her classroom more culturally and linguistically relevant to her students. keywords: social studies, esol, children’s literature, historical text, culturally relevant introduction to esol united states history the english language learner (ell) population in the united states is increasingly growing in diversity and in numbers (suárez-orozco, suárezorozco & todorova, 2008). as an english to speakers of other languages teacher (esol) social studies teacher, i am constantly looking for ways to help students understand new concepts, especially ones that relate to united states 1 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 mailto:aubrey.southall@gmail.com history. each year there is a new set of students, new languages, and new stories to pair with the state standards and the state united states history exam. difficult concepts such as the half-way covenant and the federalist papers are introduced early in the curriculum. while ideas like social mobility and individualism are also taught in united states history courses, they are often paired with figures like benjamin franklin as the example (georgia standards, 2012). my job is to find an empowering way to teach students united states history and english simultaneously. the esol united states history classroom reveals many triumphs and challenges. ells come with a variety of valuable experiences and content to share with their peers. students have the opportunity to share their perspectives and rich culture with their classmates even when confronted with an unfamiliar curriculum that often devalues their background (fernández-armesto, 2014). students’ language, culture, and experiences should be included in the curriculum (cummins, 2001). from my own experience, many of my ells have never studied united states history prior to entering my high school classroom. often times before entering eleventh grade united states history, american born students have studied united states history up to seven different times (georgia standards, 2012). students in georgia study united states history concepts in each year of elementary 2 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 school and the content is also embedded in their state history course in eighth grade (georgia standards, 2012). the united states history lessons start in kindergarten with national holidays, american symbols, and good citizenship. presidents, wars, laws, and founding documents are recurring themes throughout social studies courses. newly arrived high school ell students enrolling in united states history can become overwhelmed due to the unfamiliarity of the content. additionally, ells are quickly trying to grasp concepts familiar to american born students in the classroom. students who have been through american schools can often recall founding fathers, presidential names, national holidays and major wars. however, united states history is regarded as one of the hardest courses for recent immigrants to achieve success (dunne & martell, 2013). the high number of intangible key terms such as mercantilism, sectionalism, infrastructure, and referendum paired with over 200 people and places make united states history difficult for all students. the course is especially challenging for students exposed to united states history curriculum for the first time. 3 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 my classroom experience as a high school esol social studies teacher, i encourage my students to think critically on their own background and reflect on the culture of american society (cummins, 2001), in order to build a solid foundation for the high school united states history content. i have found that when my students understand the historical underpinnings of the united states and can compare those to their home countries, they are able to better understand content knowledge. additionally, in my own classroom my students are much more engaged whenever they are sharing information about their home country. furthermore, my students have been able to participate more actively in class discussions whenever they are able to relate united states history topics back to their home countries. the reflection on their background has also increased student-reported parent involvement project research. in table one, i have provided an outline of a children’s book project i created for my eleventh grade push-in and sheltered united states history classes. 4 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 table 1 home country comparisons children’s book outline topic home country history united states history 1.colonial era • was your home country ever a colony? 2. slavery • did your home country ever use slavery? 3.constitution (law document) • what set of laws does your home country have? 4.creation of public schools • does your home country have public schools? if so, when were they created? 5.industrial revolution • did your home country have an industrial revolution? or was your home country impacted by an industrial revolution? 6.women’s voting • do women get to vote in your home country? if so, when did they get the opportunity to do so? 7. temperance • has your home country ever had laws banning alcohol? 5 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 as a monolingual esol teacher, my first instinct to help teach my students social studies content is to care for them. the classroom environment can benefit by adding themes of care into the fast paced high school curriculum (noddings, 2005). i have never been in their shoes, and i cannot imagine what it is like to move to a new country in high school without knowing the language. “caring involves stepping out of one’s own personal frame of reference into the other’s” (noddings, 2013, p. 23). through caring, i began to search for a way to make my students’ transition to american high school more enjoyable and impactful. i helped start ell bingo night at the high school where i teach. the rationale for the event was to bring the families of the ell students together to meet other families, teachers, and administrators in a fun atmosphere. additionally, bingo can be played with limited english proficiency. the ell students are also translators for their parents and siblings. ell bingo night has helped the parents of my students know that our school is a safe place for them and their child. additionally, i believe it has increased parent attendance at conferences and school events. historically based children’s books i have incorporated historically based children’s books into my curriculum to give students the ability to take ownership of their learning. the way my students enjoyed using visual text and stories during classroom time 6 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 made children’s books a natural progression. many of these stories are written on a lower lexile level and are accompanied with visuals. “teachers must learn how to recognize, honor, and incorporate the personal abilities of students into their teaching strategies” (gay, 2010, p. 1). the pictures allow students to make meaning of what is taking place. additionally, stories help to break down barriers and create understanding and feelings of “kindredness” (gay, 2010, p. 3). furthermore, the use of children’s literature allows me to bring the students’ home culture into my classroom. “culturally relevant teaching is a pedagogy that empowers students intellectually, socially, emotionally, and politically by using cultural referents to impart knowledge, skills and attitudes” (ladson-billings, 2009, p. 20). once i began instructing with culturally relevant children’s books, i could see an excitement in my students. my students asked more questions, participated more in class discussions, and worked more independently. the use of historically based children’s books has helped to make my classroom more culturally and linguistically relevant. “culturally relevant teaching uses student culture in order to maintain it and to transcend the negative effects of the dominant culture” (ladsonbillings, 2009, p. 19). children’s books allow me to bring in a variety of perspectives into my curriculum and stray from the white view of united states history. “there was 7 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 never a time when most americans, or most people in what is now the united states, were white english protestants” (fernández-armesto, 2014, p. 5). neito (1999) states students will feel more empowered in classrooms when they are able to see themselves in the content of the course. furthermore, historically based children’s books can be used for students at a variety of reading levels by differentiating activities based on the students’ l2, second language, level. according to one student’s experience, "i think it is really helpful for us because we learn new words and we learn about those people who fought for their freedom and rights” (personal communication, october 1, 2014). the use of historically based children’s books has helped my students take ownership and autonomy in the classroom. my students have become more independent learners and are able to lead group activities without constant prompting from me. while the idea of incorporating children’s books may seem elementary, the use of high content and low reading level books has allowed my students to develop a stronger sense of the curriculum and gain necessary reading skills. furthermore, reading is an essential skill needed for all students to gain high school social studies concepts. reading and writing skills acquired initially through the native language provide a foundation upon which the english language development can be built (cummins, 2006). the reading text 8 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 must be of the appropriate lexile level in order to engage the student in new concept matters. often times, esol students are overwhelmed by the information in the textbook, as they learn to write and read in english. intimidation in the classroom plays a key role in the esol dropout rate. “among eighth graders who reported in the 2000 u.s. census that they spoke english with difficulty, only 49 percent went on to earn a diploma four years later” (alliance for excellent education, 2012). ells need a curriculum that allows them to share their valuable experiences and study culturally relevant content. i use historically based children’s books in a variety of ways in my classroom. i use the books throughout units and themes on united states history. some students prefer for me to read to the entire class as they sit in their seats and examine the pictures, while most of my students enjoy reading the book themselves or in a small group. the use of historical children’s books has created powerful learning experiences in my classroom. although children’s books have not been created for every time period and perspective of history, we use this lack of resources to our advantage. we create our own books to fill the missing gaps. this activity allows for students to draw on higher-level research skills. in the following pages, i will show some examples of student-created books. 9 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 figure 1. students created a book focusing on their own heroes. students wrote entries about friends and family members who had impacted their lives after studying english language learner advocators. figure 2. students analyzed films and books made about major american historical events and made more historically accurate books. 10 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 figure 3. students made books on hard to find children's literature topics. this student chose the incas to study. figure 4. students were asked to make children's books after learning about major world religions. this student compared and contrasted major world religions after learning the similarities and differences. 11 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 figure 5. students were given the opportunity to learn about the historical meaning of many american sports team names. this student created a children’s book to teach the history behind major professional sports team names. i have compiled a list of my students’ favorite children’s books activities. the activities listed in the next section help to build english proficiency by incorporating reading, listening, speaking and writing. historically based children’s book lesson ideas: 1. read a book to start a unit. 2. compare and contrast books on the same time period. 3. compare and contrast books on the same person. 12 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 4. compare and contrast your experiences with the main character of the story. 5. critique the book and determine its accuracy. 6. create a more historically accurate version of a book. 7. analyze and discuss the illustrator’s choice of drawings for the story. 8. create a timeline of happenings in the book. 9. incorporate bilingual books to allow students to share their language with the class. 10. write a book to share a different perspective of a historical event. in my classroom, over two-thirds of my students identify themselves as latino or hispanic. it is important for me to bring in historical figures of latino and hispanic descent into my classroom. “hispanics belong in the entire story of the country— as part of its origins and part of every important episode in its unfolding” (fernández-armesto, 2014, loc. 240). additionally, i try and bring in books that represent all of my students. my goal is that each student will see himself or herself in my classroom. my favorite books with latino and hispanic voices are listed below. 13 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 books with latino and hispanic voices: • dolores huerta, a hero to migrant workers (sarah warren) • harvesting hope: the story of cesar chavez (kathleen krull) • portraits of hispanic american heroes (juan felipe herrera) • roberto clemente: pride of the pittsburgh pirates (jonah winter) • separate is never equal, sylvia mendez & her family’s fight for desegregation (duncan tonatiuh) • si, se puede! yes, we can!: janitor strike in l.a. (diana cohn) • sonia sotomayor: a judge grows in the bronx (jonah winter) • that's not fair! : emma tenayuca's struggle for justice (carmen tafolla) additionally, many of my students are new comers to the united states. books about immigration allow my students to have crucial conversations about their experiences with their classmates. furthermore, it allows for discussion on the theme of immigration throughout united states history. books about immigration: • i hate english (ellen levine) • grandfather's journey (allen say) • one green apple (eve bunting) • pancho rabbit and the coyote (duncan tonatiuh) 14 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 http://www.amazon.com/diana-cohn/e/b001js25xw/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1417380663&sr=8-1 http://www.amazon.com/carmen-tafolla/e/b001hoqr28/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1 • paper son: lee’s journey to america (helen foster james & virginia shinmui loh) • when jesse came across the sea (amy heist) • the name jar (yangsook choi) the perspective of minoritized people is often hard to find in the traditional united states history textbook. often minoritized people are offered on a few glossy pages sporadically throughout the pages of the textbook and this is mirrored in many state standards as well. culturally relevant teaching uses student culture in order to show the multiple perspectives of united states history (ladson-billings, 2009). i believe esol social studies teachers should push for a more inclusive curriculum or create one themselves. successful teachers will take many different routes to ensure student success in the classroom (ladson-billings, 2009). united states history books about the perspectives of minoritized people: • a voice of her own: the story of phillis wheatley, slave poet (kathryn lasky) • henry's freedom box (kadir nelson) 15 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 • heart and soul: the story of america and african americans (kadir nelson) • mei ling in china city (icy smith) • moses: when harriet tubman led her people to freedom (carole boston weatherford) • phillis sings out freedom: the story of george washington and phillis wheatley (ann malaspina) • show way (jacqueline woodson) • sojourner truth's step-stomp stride (andrea davis pinkney) • the great migration, journey to the north (eloise greenfield) • this is the rope: a story from the great migration (jacqueline woodson) • three years and eight months (icy smith) • vision of beauty: the story of sarah breedlove walker (kathryn lasky) each year the civil rights unit is my students’ favorite. teaching the idea of progress in the united states has been empowering for my students, who sometimes comment that they feel like they are second-class citizens. we spend multiple weeks examining the beginnings of the civil rights movement and its ongoing strides. 16 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 http://www.amazon.com/eloise-greenfield/e/b001ixrwze/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1417381847&sr=1-1 http://www.amazon.com/jacqueline-woodson/e/b000apm3qo/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1417381877&sr=1-1 http://www.amazon.com/jacqueline-woodson/e/b000apm3qo/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1417381877&sr=1-1 books about civil rights: • back of the bus (aaron reynolds) • heroes for civil rights (david a. adler) • i have a dream (martin luther king jr.) • if a bus could talk: the story of rosa parks (faith ringold) • i've seen the promise land: the life of dr. martin luther king, jr. (walter dean myers) • freedom summer (deborah wiles) • my brother martin: a sister remember (christine king farris) • nobody gonna turn me 'round: stories and songs of the civil rights movement (doreen rappaport) • our children can soar: a celebration of rosa, barack, and the pioneers of change (michelle cook) • rosa (nikki giovanni) • testing the ice: a true story about jackie robinson (sharon robinson) • through my eyes (ruby bridges) • when marian sang: the true recital of marian anderson (pam munoz ryan) 17 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 http://www.amazon.com/pam-munoz-ryan/e/b001hcv5nq/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1 http://www.amazon.com/pam-munoz-ryan/e/b001hcv5nq/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1 • we march (shane w. evans) • we shall overcome: the story of a song (debbie levy) the use of historically based children’s literature has created an empowering learning environment for my students. “it (united states history) is arguably the single most important course ell students take as it can serve as an introduction to american culture” (cruz & thornton, 2013, p. 95). i believe culturally relevant teaching, high expectations, relationships and support are vital for successful ell students and programs. when teachers use their craft to provide a transformative classroom instead of a transmissional classroom, students are prepared to be effective citizens in a changing society. as the number of english language learners grows in the american public school system, it is important to remember that all children have the right to a quality education. education should not be hindered or withheld based on race, linguistic ability or socioeconomic status. 18 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 references alliance for education excellence. (n.d.). retrieved april 12, 2013, from english language learners: http://www.all4ed.org/about_the_crisis/students/ell bernhardt, e. b. (2011). understanding advanced secondlanguage reading. philadelphia, pa: taylor & francis. cruz, b. t. & thornton, s. j. (2009). teaching social studies to english language learners. philadelphia, pa: taylor & francis. cummins, j. (2001). negotiating identities: education for empowerment in a diverse society. los angeles, california: california association for bilingual education. cummins, j. (2006). language, power and pedagogy: bilingual children in the crossfire. england: channel view publications. dunne, k. & martell, c. (2013). teaching america’s past to newest americans: immigrant students and united states history. social education, 77(4), 192–195. georgia standards. retrieved october 30, 2014. http://www.gadoe.org/curriculum-instruction-andassessment/curriculum-and-instruction/pages/ccgps.aspx 19 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 http://www.all4ed.org/about_the_crisis/students/ell http://www.gadoe.org/curriculum-instruction-and-assessment/curriculum-and-instruction/pages/ccgps.aspx http://www.gadoe.org/curriculum-instruction-and-assessment/curriculum-and-instruction/pages/ccgps.aspx fernández-armesto, f. (2014). our america: a hispanic history of the united states. new york: w. w. norton & company. ladson-billings, g. (2009). the dreamkeepers. (2nd anniversary ed.). san francisco: josseybass publishers. nieto, s. (1999). the light in their eyes: creating multicultural learning communities. new york city, ny: teachers college press. noddings, n. (2005). the challenge to care in schools. an alternative approach to education. new york city, ny: teachers college press.  noddings, n. (2013). caring: a relational approach to ethics and moral education. berkley: university of california press. suárez-orozco, c., suárez-orozco, m. m., & todorova, i. (2008). learning a new land, immigrant students in american society. london: belknap press. 20 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 issn #2331-6845 teaching beginner ells with picture books by ana lado marymount university arlington, virginia ana.lado@marymount.edu tellability is applied to selecting pictures books with features that mirror the types of adaptations used by language teachers. these books provide students with scaffolds for comprehension, expression, language-focused study, and fluency. the report features a language experience approach lesson using a picture book with tellability. keywords: ells; esol; tesol; communicative language teaching; picture books; tellability; instructional conversation; language experience approach (lea); beginner ells picture books communicate meaning through direct experiences with text and visual media (galda, sipe, liang, & cullinan, 2013; sipe, 1998; wolfenbarger & sipe, 2000). authors and illustrators embed their texts, graphics, and formats with features that purposely prompt interaction. typical features include large fonts for readers to shout, flaps to lift, and questions to answer by examining an illustration. texts and visuals are static; they do not change. in comparison, the socially mediated means of 1 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 mailto:ana.lado@marymount.edu communication by the teacher and the students’ responses are on-the-spot language that is fluid communication. taken as a whole, picture books are a multidimensional medium that is a rich resource for a broad range of instructional situations. some picture books are ideal for teaching beginner english language learners (ells) because they have embedded features that direct students’ experience with english that is accessible. the book’s features scaffold oral instructional conversations which prompt the type of language needed for successful communicative language teaching (lado, 2012). these types of books save teachers from having to plan mediation activities between the language in a book and the language abilities of the ells. finding the right book for teaching beginner ells requires going beyond a readability or leveled book formula. these formulas focus on text and not the difficulty of the overall language presented through the combined experience of the text, graphics, format, and oral experience. most annotated lists of picture books do not have enough information about levels of difficulty for oral instruction because they address readability. teachers of beginner ells need information about a book’s tellability. they need information about 2 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 features that prompt successful participation of ells during communicative language teaching. i have developed a list of picture books for ells by applying the concept of ‘tellability.’ although the study of tellability covers many types of narratives including instructional conversations (baroni, 2014), few studies have applied it to teaching ells. tellability was coined by sociolinguist, william labov in 1972. he coined the term while analyzing solicited narratives of africanamerican youths about specific personal experiences. labov’s analysis began with asking the question “why this narrative…is felt to be tellable; in other words, why the events of the narrative are reportable” (p. 370). the study of an oral story’s tellability is dependent on a specific context and includes examination of the discourse features used by storytellers to keep the audience’s interest. we know that an insignificant incident can be made noteworthy at the hands of a good storyteller and a noteworthy incident can be ruined by a poor storyteller. we also know that a good story teller will tell the same story differently to different types of listeners. for example, a story that is told with a lot of detail to a native english speaker will be told with less detail to beginner ells. 3 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 picture books with tellability teachers use picture books with beginner ells to support and prompt interactions. these interactions combine the communication mediums of the picture book and the teacher’s oral communication. teachers engage ells in accessing the english in the book’s text and the english in the real life instructional conversation about it. meaning is accessed through the interplay of text, image, and the experience (sipe, 1998). the tellability of a book lies in the interplay of the static features of the book and the fluid features of a teacher’s oral language presentation of the book. just as some teachers are better storytellers for beginner ells than others, some picture books contain better scaffolds for english comprehension and language learning than others. the best books for beginner ells contain particular types of features in their text, illustrations, and formats. these books will free a teacher from having to develop extra mediation between the english in the book and that of the ells. these books also free ells from depending on the teacher for help with recall of newly learned english because they can refer to the book for help. 4 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 teachers scaffold conversation in order to avoid the typical breakdowns inherent in interactions with beginners. typical linguistic scaffolds include limiting the amount of language that the ell must process by providing repetition, pauses, and nonlinguistic scaffolds, such as gestures, pictures, and objects. let me describe some of the ways picture books prompt language learning in beginner els. instructional conversations based on picture books the following examples illustrate ways that picture books mirror teacher adaptations. in each case, assume that comprehension was aided by transparent illustrations of the content. in these text examples, the forward slash indicates a new page. 5 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 example #1 text with sentence patterns this is the sugar / that makes the pie filling. / this is the bowl / that holds sugar that makes the pie filling. / this is the flour / that makes the pie crust. / this is the pan / that holds the flour that makes the pie crust. / explanation this type of text helps beginners in two ways. first, the page breaks create a pause between sentences. this allows the student to process the input and mirrors the frequent pauses teachers make when interacting with beginners. second, this text has a grammatical pattern in its sentences. when texts have patterned sentences, it lends itself to explicitly directing students’ attention to the grammar. i provide it by showing the sentence with blanks and having students substitute words in the same class in the blank. this is the _sugar/bowl/flour____ that _____makes/holds__ the _pie filling/pie crust___. once mastered, students can substitute other objects in the environment into the sentence pattern. a number of the books provided at the end of this article have patterned sentences. some examples are the cazuela that the farm maiden stirred (vamos, 2011), the apple pie that papa baked (thompson, 2007), the breakfast we made for mother (neitzel,1997) and the house i’ll build for the wrens(neitzel,1997). in the next example, the text and format differ from this patterned text example in that it is a picture dictionary and does not have sentences but labeled illustrations. 6 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 example #2 picture dictionary fruits apple banana orange grapes / baking sugar flour butter baking soda / explanation teachers of beginners can use this second text in two ways. first, it provides students with opportunities to engage in processing vocabulary by asking them the same question of each of the examples on the page, “is this a fruit?” or “is an apple a fruit?” but this picture dictionary does not include a question and answer example explicitly in the text. second, this format lends itself to explicit teaching of semantic categories. i would have students make word cards to mix and sort and in this way learn vocabulary through association with semantic categories. once students have mastered the vocabulary for each semantic category, they can add words for other fruits and baking ingredients to their stacks of cards. some examples of books that have labeled pictures are feast for 10 (falwell, 2008), bembo’s zoo: an animal abc book (de vicq de cumptich, 2000) and) one potato: a counting book of potato prints (pomeroy, 1996. these are listed in the booklist provided at the end of the article. in the next example, the text and format differs in amount of features as well as the type of features that are compatible with communicative language teaching activities. 7 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 example #3 sentence patterns, repetitions, and active verbs this is how a snake slithers. can you slither like a snake? / yes, i can. watch me slither. / this is how a kangaroo hops. can you hop like a kangaroo? / yes, i can. watch me hop. / this is how a bird flies. can you fly like a bird? / yes, i can. watch me fly. / explanation teachers of beginners can use this text for several reasons. first, students can chant the repetitive phrase, “yes i can.” second, it lends itself to making word cards for animals and actions. like in the example above, these can be used for matching and sorting. once mastered, students can expand by adding words for familiar animals, such as bats for flying. third, it contains a model to use in teaching a question and answer routine. this question and answer discourse pattern lends itself to teaching students to ask yes/no oral questions about actions. once mastered, students can expand the question to ask about other actions, such as asking them to imitate other animal actions or student’s actions. finally, the meaning of the active verbs in this text can be demonstrated through gestures showing slithering, hopping and flying. examples of books that have similar text features compatible with communicative language teaching that are found on the booklist include piñata (emberley, 2004), what’s cookin’? (coffelt, 2003) and perfect square (hall, 2011). an example of a lesson using hall’s book is included in another section of this article. 8 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 these three examples of text are illustrations of picture books’ texts and formats that prompt highly contextualized and successful conversations. they scaffold instructional conversations and accelerate language learning. each example prompted different instructional activities. the first text had patterned sentences that prompted substitution of words in the same word class (nouns for nouns). the second text was a picture dictionary that lent itself to making words cards to sort by the semantic categories. the third text provided scaffolds for more instructional interactions. students could easily learn to chant the repetitive phrase, copy and match word cards, engage in question and answer routines, and to learn the active verbs using physical gestures, such as total physical response (tpr). in tpr the language learner responds to a teacher who gives verbal commands and by imitating the teacher’s actions. a teacher might decide to use tpr with a picture book about baking a pie. the active verbs might be implied in the text and shown in illustrations of people mixing sugar, rolling crust, and pouring filling. however, when active verbs are not in the text or in a labeled illustration, it requires the teacher to produce them. when the teacher adds the verbs on-the-spot, the transient nature of this oral input might make it difficult for beginner ells to later 9 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 recall them without the teacher present. the key to finding books for ells is to examine them for features that match teacher instructional adaptations. teacher adaptations are based on instructional strategies and approaches. i like using those that integrate oral and written language instruction. one that works well with using picture books is the language experience approach (lea). the language experience approach and beginners ells lea integrates and reinforces oral and written language using a recursive process (nelson, & linek, 1998). the written material is derived from the students’ telling the teacher about an experience and the teacher taking it down in a dictation. then the students learn to read this dictated material. in its purest form it does not depend on having a prewritten text. however, i found that using picture books increased participation of beginner ells. lea provides students with integrated oral and written language and covers the four strands of balanced communicative language teaching (nation, 1996). the four strands are independent of any particular methodology. comprehension activities provide students essential opportunities to 10 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 understand the message. without comprehension no language learning takes place. expression activities provide deeper processing of english as students engage in saying or writing a message to someone. language learners benefit from opportunities to explicitly attend to language items, for example studying spelling, vocabulary, grammar, and discourse patterns. finally, students need to develop speed and accuracy of the four skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. books with tellability features address oral and written comprehension, expression, language-focused study and fluency strands. lea lessons lend themselves to accomplishing each strand. comprehension is supported with the real objects and when accompanied by a picture book. expression is supported when students engage with each other, such as asking “can you pass me a potato?” “what did you make?” teachers conduct language-focused learning by explicitly directing ells' attention to writing conventions, such as difference between the writing in the book and which appears as a list (what you will need: potatoes, paint brush…) and other types of text (the teacher said that we needed a potato, a paint brush…). finally, lea creates many opportunities for building fluency through 11 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 repeated rereading of the book and the dictated chart. the figure below replicates an lea chart i used after making potato prints. fig. 1: lea chart lesson plan using lea and a picture book let me give an example of a lea lesson used with one book. perfect square (hall, 2011) is essentially a poetic narrative about resilience. the text follows a pattern. each day of the week something is done to the square, for example ripping or shattering. each day of the week this is followed by the 12 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 square making itself into something new. for example, after being cut into pieces and poked full of holes on a monday, the square makes itself into a fountain. the first step: sharing an experience using this book as a prompt, the lesson begins with ensuring comprehension of the language sample, i.e. the text. hall has transparently illustrated the meaning of each patterned verse. for example, students see examples of the actions (cut, poked, torn, shredded…) and of the things the square becomes (fountain, garden, bridge…). you can reinforce oral comprehension by asking ells to mimic the actions of verbs or point to objects on the page. you can reinforce written comprehension by having them copy words and phrases from the text onto separate cards for matching activities. finally, they can listen to the teacher’s intonation and imitate the ways this can further their understanding of the text. second step: creating a student generated text there are plenty of opportunities during the next phase of the lesson to imitate the teacher’s reading. the essence of lea is an experience. so ells would continue by imitating the book by ripping, poking, shattering… paper 13 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 squares and rebuilding them into fountains, mountains, windows… as they engage in this, students can describe their actions to each other. this experience becomes the basis for their story. the students are placed in small groups and individuals dictate their experience to the teacher. the teacher writes what the students say on a large chart. if a student is silent, the teacher prompts him or her to consult the picture book or to ask a buddy. once the dictation is complete, everyone reads it. third step: reading and assimilating the language this dictated story is used for explicit teaching of english. for example, as can be seen in the example of a dictated lea story, the teacher directed students’ attention to the use of direct quotes. other follow-up activities with the lea story chart help students assimilate english by continuing the gradual move from controlled to independent activities, such as having students copy a favorite page and then create a new one of their own. 14 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 fig. 2: example of student created page. it is also very important to conduct some language-focused study of the text. first, i wrote the sentence for each day of the week on the board making sure that these lined up one after another so that the sentence pattern is obvious. this made it easier for students to substitute and rewrite them. students transposed and substituted the days of the week (wednesday/thursday), the action verbs (shattered/shredded), or the nouns (park/bridge). for example: on ____________ (day of the week), the square was __________ (action verb). so it made itself into a _________________ (object). 15 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 second, with perfect square, i wrote the text onto sentence strips for each day of the week, placed these randomly on a table, and had students order them. i taught them the ordinal numbers, first, second… and made a list of the ordinal numbers on the board. students learned to list the days by number, “monday is the first day of the week.” fourth step: extending language learning lea leads to independent work. i had students brainstorm new verbs and objects to generate new sentences. we wrote a new book about another shape, such as a perfect rectangle, triangle, or circle. once we completed this class book, students wrote one of their own. finally, they engaged in repetitive fluency activities. they chose to either reread or recite hall’s perfect square, the class book, or the one they generated. the steps to using a picture book to generate successful instructional conversations with lea are summarized below. 16 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 lea dictation using a picture book with beginner ells step 1: shared experience begin with a class experience, such as a field trip or hands-on activity with a picture book about the experience. the book should provide scaffolds for comprehension and expression of the language used with this experience. step 2: create the text have students take turns dictating their experience as you transcribe it onto a chart. for example, linea said, “i made a perfect green square.” lee said, “i poked my square.” step 3: read the text read the chart story aloud together in a variety of ways. then conduct oral and written activities to gradually release them into being able to use the newly acquired english on their own. step 4: extension engage in a variety of instructional conversations and written activities utilizing the language learned. fig. 3: steps to an lea dictation reflections hall’s book perfect square was used to illustrate the way picture books with particular features provide ideal support for beginner ells. this book had tellability for implementing lea. it enriched their experience with comprehensible english, supported their engagement in oral conversation, and provided scaffolds for their production of their own written material. this book was not selected based on readability criteria but its tellability features. specific features in all three mediums of communication, text, graphic, 17 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 and format, made it a perfect match for teaching beginner ells with the lea. the following is a list of other books that are compatible with lea for beginner ells. a list of other picture books with features that are compatible with other communicative language teaching strategies can be found in my book and in its accompanying online annotated list. 18 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 references baroni, r. “tellability.” in p. hühn, et al. (eds.), the living handbook on narratology. hamburg: hamburg university. retrieved from http://www.lhn.uni-hamburg.de/article/tellability galda, l., sipe, l., liang, l., & cullinan, b. (2013). literature and the child. (8th ed.). boston, ma: cengage learning. hall, m. (2011). perfect square. new york, ny: greenwillow. labov, w. (1972). language in the inner city: studies in the black english vernacular (vol. 3). philadelphia, pa: university of pennsylvania press. lado, a. (2012). teaching beginner ells with picture books: tellability. thousand oaks, ca: corwin/sage. nation, p. (1996). the four strands of a language course. tesol in context, 6(2), 7-12. retrieved from http://www.victoria.ac.nz/lals/about/staff/publications/paulnation/1996-four-strands.pdf nelson, o., & linek, w. (1998). practical classroom applications of language experience: looking back, looking forward. boston, ma: allyn & bacon. wolfenbarger, c., & sipe, l. (2007). a unique visual and literary art form: recent research on picturebooks. language arts, 83(3), 273-280. 19 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 http://www.lhn.uni-hamburg.de/article/tellability http://www.victoria.ac.nz/lals/about/staff/publications/paul-nation/1996-four-strands.pdf http://www.victoria.ac.nz/lals/about/staff/publications/paul-nation/1996-four-strands.pdf issn #2331-6845 the good news about english learners by sarah mantegna fulton county schools atlanta, georgia mantegna@fultonschools.org this article describes how one teacher re-discovered the good news about english learners. it offers a counter-narrative to the prevailing negative discourse surrounding these students and offers teachers ideas for engaging their students in tasks that bring out the good news. keywords: english learners; multimodal; task based; common core the strongest finding of the study and the lesson which appeared over and over is the good news that english learners are capable of much more than prevailing discourses suggest. these adolescent english learners demonstrated again and again that, when given an opportunity to engage in a non-traditional assignment that called on their creativity and engaged them in multimodal composition, and pushed them to do things they had not done before, they would, could, and did rise to the challenge. they demonstrated an investment in learning, worked collaboratively, and created high quality videos. their video compositions inspired in these students a sense of pride, and the videos' content and quality impressed their teacher and other adult viewers. (mantegna, 2014, p. 207) in recent years it has become increasingly difficult to maintain a sense of optimism about public education. the national and local media routinely air 1 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 mailto:mantegna@fultonschools.org negative stories about curriculum and standards such as common core state standards, performance on large scale standardized tests such as sat and act, educational policies like ese and nclb, education funding, teachers and more. in georgia our legislature has cut billions of promised education dollars since 2002, with recent funding shortfalls averaging a billion dollars annually (shearer, 2014a). meanwhile, after a two year review and comment period, the state adopted the common core state standards in 2010, (foundation, 2013) and school systems began to implement the standards. in the 2014 session of the georgia legislature a bill was introduced which would effectively discard the common core standards (waylock, 2014). the bill died in committee, only after strong opposition from education, business and civic organizations (jones, 2014). the latest blow to teachers who are just now hitting their stride with implementing the georgia common core curriculum standards is a new teacher evaluation system that will tie annual performance evaluation to student test scores (shearer, 2014b). beginning in 2014-2015, teacher job performance will be measured in part by their students' performance on large scale standardized tests and/or other measures of student growth. is there no good news in education? many would answer that there is not, but i contend that there is and that we must focus on the 2 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 good news and forge ahead. i want to share with you the good news about english learners. i was fortunate to have the opportunity to spend time with nine high school english learners on a weekly basis over the course of a semester while doing a research project. my presence in the classroom provided a bit of respite for their teacher and provided a change of pace for the students. together we explored different modes of communication, modes other than the spoken and written words that filled their day in high school. using the tools of visual discourse analysis (albers, 2007; kress & van leeuwen, 2006) we engaged in activities such as examining the significance of colors and the ways they can be used to convey a message visually. we composed photographs to express concepts like alone, invisible, and justice. we experimented with different camera angles, distances, and perspectives and analyzed how these changed the visual messages we composed. we critiqued magazine and tv ads, deconstructed the ways in which the advertisers appeal to our subconscious in order to sell a product, and evaluated their effectiveness in doing so. we cast a critical eye on our school setting; discussed issues such as racism, falseness, and stereotypes that the students confronted daily. we took action on these issues by composing short public 3 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 service announcement-style videos that could be used to spark discussions with other members of the school community. throughout the semester these students from a variety of cultural and language backgrounds worked collaboratively and creatively within and across groups. they learned and applied the tools of visual discourse analysis to read and analyze a variety of visual and video texts. they critically discussed the effectiveness, audience, purpose, and attributes of visual and video texts, and practiced creating their own texts. they explored identities that were new to them; they viewed themselves and their peers from a different perspective. they used multiple modes of communication purposefully and effectively to communicate a persuasive message in their video texts. they showed pride in their successful completion of a challenging project, and they showed appreciation for the accomplishments of their classmates. along the way the students used their english extensively, often engaging in rapid-fire verbal interactions in english, the only language they all shared. the presence of these passionate discussions in a class composed of students labeled english learners is noteworthy for several reasons. first, it signals that students were invested in these interactions. norton (2000) suggested the construct of learner investment as an alternative to the often 4 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 used concept of motivation. the concept of investment calls to mind business transactions undertaken voluntarily with a goal of increasing one's capital resources. applied to a classroom setting, capital resources can take the form of such intangible assets as social position, knowledge, or experience. whatever the form, the anticipated return on investment must be sufficient to warrant an investment of time, attention, or effort by the student. using the construct of investment recognizes that the locus of power lies within the learner; the learner has the choice of whether or not to participate, the choice of participating at a superficial or deeply engaged level. the students' deep engagement in these discussions signaled their investment. another reason these rapid-fire discussions are notable is that such a level of participation indicates that our classroom context provided the necessary conditions for students to demonstrate their proficiency with spoken english. the students' interactions were characterized by friendly camaraderie from my first encounter with them. it was apparent that they liked and respected each other, a fact not surprising to me given their previous semester together as classmates. upon joining their class i introduced a project-based curriculum that included clear goals and procedures while also encouraging students to express and develop their interests and creativity (van lier, 2004). the combination of positive 5 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 relationships with a weekly change of pace, in the form of a project that provided increased opportunities for conversation, seemed to create the ideal conditions for the extensive and wide-ranging discussions they engaged in. lastly, and perhaps most important, the students' level of participation suggests that these students identified themselves as english speakers rather than as english learners. they demonstrated communicative competence (canale, 1983; canale & swain, 1980; hymes, 1972) as they actively engaged in using english to bid for recognition or show solidarity, to make connections and express their thoughts, to build their identities and sustain their relationships (cummins, 2001, 2006; kramsch, 2000). they were using the discourse of english to enact the socially recognizable identity of english speaker (gee, 2011). indeed, these students demonstrated that they were multilingual/multimodal communicators (mantegna, 2014) who drew upon a repertoire of heritage languages, academic and social english registers, and a host of additional embodied and disembodied modes of communication. the students' identity as multilingual/multimodal communicators was reinforced by their use of 21st century skills such as critical thinking and critically analyzing media; creating multimodal / multimedia products; communicating, collaborating, and working effectively in diverse teams; exhibiting flexibility, working independently, managing goals and time. (ncte, 6 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 2008; p21, 2009; pprc, 2010). further, they exhibited most of the attributes that characterize the description of college and career ready students provided in the common core state standards for english language arts. such students demonstrate independence; build strong content knowledge; respond to the varying demands of audience, task, purpose, and discipline. college and career ready students comprehend as well as critique, they value evidence, use technology and digital media strategically and capably, and they come to understand other perspectives and cultures (ngacbp & ccsso, 2010). over the course of our time together, the students demonstrated each of these traits as they interacted, negotiated relationships and power, experimented with new identities and connected to imagined communities, all the while using the tools of multiple languages and modes of communication. indeed, their actions and interactions served to contest the institutionally imposed identity of english learner. any visitor to the classroom would have witnessed them discursively enacting identities of english speaker, multimodal communicator, collaborator, media critic, team member, creative thinker, independent worker, goal and time manager, actor, director, cameraman, multimodal composer. how did this occur? what made this possible? these identities were possible due to the nature of the tasks and activities the students were engaged in (tinker sachs, 2007, 2009). in 7 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 today's high stakes climate, we teachers must recognize that traditional school assignments often serve to limit our students. those mundane tasks do not offer opportunities to imagine or explore varied identities; they don't give students the chance to demonstrate a wide range of abilities and skills. in fact, such activities deny teachers the opportunity to learn of their students' many abilities and interests. in contrast, when we design academic tasks that require active involvement, provide opportunities for student initiative, and promote interaction among students as they engage in meaningful tasks we provide our students the opportunity to surprise us with what they can accomplish (van den branden, bygate, & norris, 2009). in particular those of us who are esol teachers must recognize that it is such task based learning and teaching that leads to rich language learning. the student-to-student and student-toteacher interactions and the language processing that students engage in while they perform these meaningful tasks results in rich language learning (van den branden, 2006) that does not come from traditional, uninteresting, decontextualized instruction. this, then, is the good news; the students we label as english learners are capable of much more than we typically imagine and we can glimpse these capabilities and possibilities by changing the instructional tasks we design. we can offer our students the opportunity to 8 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 use and enrich their language while engaging in meaningful tasks that help them develop skills and abilities crucial for their participation in 21st century careers. the prospect of changing our classroom instruction may seem overwhelming, particularly in light of the pressures discussed at the beginning of this piece. we already work hard to create classroom environments that lower our students’ affective filters and provide comprehensible input (krashen, 1995); to educate our general education teaching peers about the difference between bics and calp (cummins, 1980); to use the wida, ccgps, and tesol standards to guide our instruction. nevertheless, we owe it to our students to forge ahead. we can and should improve the instructional tasks and activities we design. we can start by reflecting on tasks or projects we’ve used previously and selecting one that yielded unsatisfactory results. then we must commit to replacing it with a new task or project. we can design a meaningful task that requires our students to interact, to create, to collaborate, to produce; some ideas for such activities, and resources to support them, are listed in the table below. these new instructional tasks will call for us to embrace new classroom roles as facilitator, guide, or coach as our students take on more active and interactive roles in the classroom. we will surely encounter challenges as we change our practice; our students may be 9 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 reluctant to step outside the comfort zone of traditional assignments, we may grapple with technological problems or internet service interruptions, we may be reluctant to use applications or technologies that are unfamiliar to us. we must persevere and remember that every challenge presents opportunities. the difficulties we encounter will provide us opportunities for problemsolving, for collaborating with others to find solutions, for modeling flexibility and creativity, for demonstrating to our students that everyone is a learner – even their teacher. i challenge all teachers of english learners to uncover and share the good news about english learners in their own classrooms by designing meaningful instructional tasks that incorporate 21st century skills and abilities, that engage english learners in rich use of language, that call for creativity, that promote a classroom culture focused on strengths and possibilities. through our purposeful design and use of such activities we can reveal the strengths, develop the skills, and expand the possibilities of english learners. our voices may or may not be part of the public narrative on education, but our actions in the classroom will provide a powerful and enduring counternarrative to the ongoing litany of bad news, and compel others to recognize the good news we have to share about english learners. 10 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 web resources:  educational uses of digital storytelling, university of houston – includes information about digital storytelling, examples, suggested tools, step by step instructions, lesson plans. http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/  international reading association strategy guide: using glogster to support multimodal literacy – provides information on the research basis, application, resources and lesson plans. http://www.readwritethink.org/professional-development/strategyguides/using-glogster-support-multimodal-30789.html  creating multimodal texts blog and collection of resources by australian educator annemaree o’brian. includes basic information on several types of multimodal texts with linked examples and how-to guidance. http://creatingmultimodaltexts.com/  adobe youth voices community – worldwide network of educators, free to join. site includes extensive collection of curriculum resources, lesson plans, writing prompts, storyboarding tools, forums, and other resources. http://youthvoices.adobe.com/community/ 11 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/ http://www.readwritethink.org/professional-development/strategy-guides/using-glogster-support-multimodal-30789.html http://www.readwritethink.org/professional-development/strategy-guides/using-glogster-support-multimodal-30789.html http://creatingmultimodaltexts.com/ http://youthvoices.adobe.com/community/ suggested activities for pk-12 classrooms: grade level activity software applications pk-2 create a digital story based on personal experience, newly learned content, retell a favorite story, etc. tellagami little bird tales doodlecast toontastic 3-5 you be the teacher students depict and summarize their learning from an instructional unit by creating video from slideshow and adding voiceovers. use as review for test, save and use next year for new students, etc. mybrainshark animoto 6-8 interview a community or family member about his/her views or experiences related to an important world event then create a mini-documentary. ( example: tell me about when the first man walked on the moon) mybrainshark prezi create public service campaign posters or comic strips about school dress code, anti-bullying, preparing for high school, etc. glogster makebeliefscomix.com 9-12 identify a problem in school or community, create a video or poster campaign to address it. glogster windows movie maker apple imovie 12 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 references albers, p. (2007). visual discourse analysis: an introduction to the analysis of school-generated visual texts. in d. w. rowe, r. t. jimenez, d. l. compton, d. k. dickinson, y. kim, k. m. leander & v. j. risko (eds.), 56th yearbook of the national reading conference (pp. 81-95). oak creek, wi: nrc. canale, m. (1983). from communicative competence to communicative language pedagogy. in j. c. richards & r. w. schmidt (eds.), language and communication. new york: longman. canale, m., & swain, m. (1980). theoretical bases of communicative approaches to second language teaching and testing. applied linguistics, 1(1), 1-47. cummins, j. (1980). the cross-lingual dimensions of language proficiency: implications for bilingual education and the optimal age issue. tesol quarterly, 14(2), 175-187. cummins, j. (2001). negotiating identities: education for empowerment in a diverse society (2nd ed.). los angeles, ca: california association for bilingual education. 13 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 cummins, j. (2006). identity texts: the imaginative construction of self through multiliteracies pedagogy. in o. garcia, t. skuttnabb-kangas & m. e. torres-guzman (eds.), imagining multilingual schools: languges in education and glocalization (pp. 51-68). clevedon, uk: multilingual matters. foundation, g. p. p. (2013). background and analysis of the common core state standards as they relate to georgia. retrieved from http://www.georgiapolicy.org/background-and-analysis-of-thecommon-core-state-standards-as-they-relate-to-georgia/#ff_s=tcpzz gee, j. p. (2011). how to do discourse analysis: a toolkit retrieved from http://site.ebrary.com/id/10422022 hymes, d. h. (1972). on communicative competence. in j. b. pride & j. holmes (eds.), sociolinguistics. harmondsworth, england: penguin books. jones, w. (2014). georgia house committee kills common core bill. athens banner herald online. retrieved from http://onlineathens.com/generalassembly/2014-03-12/georgia-house-committee-kills-common-corebill kramsch, c. (2000). social discursive constructions of self in l2 learning. in j. p. lantolf (ed.), sociocultural theory and second language learning (pp. 133-153). oxford, uk: oxford university press. 14 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 http://www.georgiapolicy.org/background-and-analysis-of-the-common-core-state-standards-as-they-relate-to-georgia/%23ff_s=tcpzz http://www.georgiapolicy.org/background-and-analysis-of-the-common-core-state-standards-as-they-relate-to-georgia/%23ff_s=tcpzz http://site.ebrary.com/id/10422022 http://onlineathens.com/general-assembly/2014-03-12/georgia-house-committee-kills-common-core-bill http://onlineathens.com/general-assembly/2014-03-12/georgia-house-committee-kills-common-core-bill http://onlineathens.com/general-assembly/2014-03-12/georgia-house-committee-kills-common-core-bill krashen, s. d. (1995). principles and practice in second language acquisition (3rd ed.). new york: phoenix elt. kress, g., & van leeuwen, t. (2006). reading images: the grammar of visual design (2nd ed.). london: routledge. mantegna, s. t. (2014). process and product: high school english learners redefined. ph.d. dissertation, georgia state university, atlanta. retrieved from http://scholarworks.gsu.edu/msit_diss/123/ ncte. (2008). position statement 21st century curriculum and assessment framework retrieved june 15, 2010 ngacbp, & ccsso. (2010). common core state standards: english language arts & literacy in history/social studies, science, and technical subjects retrieved from www.corestandards.org norton, b. (2000). identity and language learning: gender, ethnicity and educational change. harlow, england: pearson education. p21. (2009). framework for 21st century learning retrieved october 14, 2012, from http://www.p21.org/overview/skills-framework pprc. (2010). pacific policy research center 21st century skills for students and teachers. honolulu: kamehameha schools, research & evaluation division. 15 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 http://scholarworks.gsu.edu/msit_diss/123/ http://www.corestandards.org/ http://www.p21.org/overview/skills-framework shearer, l. (2014a). georgia schools at breaking point after years of cuts. the august chronicle. retrieved from http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/government/2014-01-20/georgiaschools-breaking-point-after-years-cuts shearer, l. (2014b). good, bad in new ga. teacher evaluations. augusta chronicle. retrieved from http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/education/2014-02-09/good-badnew-ga-teacher-evaluations tinker sachs, g. (2007). the challenges of adopting and adapting task-based cooperative teaching and learning in an efl context. in k. van den branden, k. van gorp & m. verhelst (eds.), tasks in action: task-based language education from a classroom-based perspective. newcastle, united kingdom: cambridge scholars publishing. tinker sachs, g. (2009). taking risks in task-based teaching and learning. asian journal of english language teaching, 19(91-112). van den branden, k. (ed.). (2006). task-based language education: from theory to practice. cambridge: cambridge university press. van den branden, k., bygate, m., & norris, j. m. (eds.). (2009). task-based language teaching. amsterdam: john benjamins publishing company. 16 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/government/2014-01-20/georgia-schools-breaking-point-after-years-cuts http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/government/2014-01-20/georgia-schools-breaking-point-after-years-cuts http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/education/2014-02-09/good-bad-new-ga-teacher-evaluations http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/education/2014-02-09/good-bad-new-ga-teacher-evaluations van lier, l. (2004). the ecology and semiotics of language learning: a sociocultural perspective. boston: kluwer academic publishers. waylock, c. (2014). common core survives legislative attempts at revisions. north fulton revue. retrieved from www.northfulton.com website: http://www.northfulton.com/articles-columnists-c-2014-03-19203038.114126-sub-common-core-survives-legislative-attempts-atrevisions.html 17 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 http://www.northfulton.com/ http://www.northfulton.com/articles-columnists-c-2014-03-19-203038.114126-sub-common-core-survives-legislative-attempts-at-revisions.html http://www.northfulton.com/articles-columnists-c-2014-03-19-203038.114126-sub-common-core-survives-legislative-attempts-at-revisions.html http://www.northfulton.com/articles-columnists-c-2014-03-19-203038.114126-sub-common-core-survives-legislative-attempts-at-revisions.html issn #2331-6845 from the immediate past-president of georgia tesol by francisco j. (harvey) oaxaca oaxaca@fultonschools.org is this the end? the winter season. the end of the year. the end of the semester. these concepts and phrases indicate a time of stopping and of transition. winter is a time when nature goes into hibernation in anticipation of new growth and development of the spring. as we near the end of every calendar year, many people take time to stop and reflect on all their new year’s resolutions both realized and broken. at the end of any school semester, students and teachers alike complete their final moments or assessments and look forward to the changing of classes, topics, or units in the new semester. however, winter is not the end of the seasons and the end of one year or semester actually indicates the beginning of another. interestingly enough, professional research can be very similar. the writers of the articles in our journal have spent much time researching, planning, implementing, and compiling their work. many have spent months writing what you will read finding just the perfect way to express themselves and their ideology and how it supports or counters other leading research in our field. once they submit their work, in essence, it is the end; the completion of a time in their educational career. however, their work in the pages that follow should not be seen as a stop or end, but rather the beginning of your new understanding and growth and development. this journal provides an opportunity for transition of information from writers to practitioners. the completion of one article leads the way to application of new understanding for each of us as language educators. 1 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 mailto:oaxaca@fultonschools.org so, no, this is not the end. rather, let this journal and its content be for you a new beginning of understanding and application of current practices that may transform our teaching and understanding of language development for years to come. 2 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 issn #2331-6845 shifting paradigms starting with self by megan lewis mlewis58@student.gsu.edu georgia state university, atlanta, georgia in this article, a practicing teacher and doctoral student reflects on her attitudes about english language learners, and she analyzes how those attitudes influenced the relationships she had with past students. she also discusses how interactions with those students caused her attitudes to shift and change while giving advice to current classroom teachers. keywords: english language learners, shifting paradigms about language introduction the story of my language epistemology seems fairly straightforward. i am a middle class, white girl, raised by two parents who are both college educated. what, if any, language challenges could i have faced growing up, attending school, and working as a teacher? as it turns out, quite a few. not only am i a middle class, white girl, but i am a southern middle class, white girl. instead of getting a shopping cart at the grocery store, we always put our food in a buggy. whenever 1 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 mailto:mlewis58@student.gsu.edu we were getting ready to leave our house on sunday mornings, we were fixin’ to go to church. any verbalized criticism was prefaced or followed by “bless his/her heart.” during my childhood, though, things began to change in my community. many out-of-state companies moved to georgia, bringing many of their out-ofstate employees. new friends from michigan and new york often criticized the way native southerners speak. i remember my aunt telling us she felt very insulted and left a restaurant when the waitress said she would never be able to understand “people down here.” at the same time, new friends from different countries moved into our community, speaking new languages i had never heard before. their language practices also existed on the margins as many stores, restaurants, and schools operated under an “english only” policy. reading this, you would think i would be overwhelmed by the injustice of it all. the fact that another group of people came to my home and told me my way of speaking was wrong should engender feelings of anger and indignation. to see my new friends discriminated against because they spoke languages other than english should have empowered me to stand up for my linguistic rights as well as 2 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 those of others, but that is not what happened. instead, i turned to those more linguistically marginalized than me, and i criticized their ways of speaking. i have, since then, evolved, but i cannot truly understand how my paradigms regarding language have shifted until i examine my past language experiences. i have divided my story into three acts. act one, called othered english, describes an incident in my early childhood which caused me to internalize negative attitudes about my own ways of speaking. act two, called conventional wisdom, explores the time in my life when i subscribed to an english-only way of thinking. act three, called language awakening, analyzes events which began to change and evolve my attitude about language. finally, i conclude with what i have learned and make recommendations for teachers. act one: othered english i am 7 years old. i am the youngest child in my family, and the youngest grandchild on both sides of the family. my uncle jeff and aunt pam have just had a baby, and i am thrilled. babies are so cute and precious; i can’t wait to hold him and play with him and read him books. my mother takes me to the hospital, and i get to see him for the first time. i am beaming. i am a proud cousin. 3 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 a week later, we are gathered at my grandmother’s house. jeff shows the video of steven’s birth. i am in the video, holding steven and wondering why he doesn’t have any teeth. “wow!” jeff says, “you sound so country!” everyone laughs, and i am embarrassed. being country means being stupid. it means that i am not smart, which is valued in my family of teachers. from this point on, i try not to sound country. according to preston (2013), attitudes about language variation often coincide with attitudes about groups of people. he studied the attitudes of americans from different areas of the country and asked participants in his study to create maps of the united states by labeling geographic regions. participants from michigan labeled areas in the south rebel city and hillbillies. these labels reflect stereotypes about southerners being ignorant and racist. furthermore, these labels fail to take into account the ethnic and linguistic variety found among southerners. unfortunately, speakers within linguistically marginalized groups sometimes adopt negative attitudes such as these. in the vignette above, my uncle judged me by the way i spoke on his home video. by characterizing my 4 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 speech as “country”, my uncle was sending several implicit messages. first, people living in the “country” have historically had access to fewer resources and opportunities. many people living in the “country” work in agriculture, a job that pays little with few chances for upward mobility. according to ash (2013), occupation is a major defining feature of social class, and those using nonstandard or othered varieties of english typically are considered members of the working class. based on these factors, many “country” people are wrongfully characterized as being uneducated and low class. my grandmother, for instance, was the daughter of a sharecropper but graduated from high school. she was eligible for nursing school, however, school tuition kept her from realizing that dream. therefore, my grandmother was not stupid or uneducated. she simply lacked the financial resources to further her education. though he may not have meant it, i interpreted my uncle’s comment to mean that i sounded uneducated and poor, and i internalized these negative stereotypes. as a result, i began neutralizing my southern accent in almost all contexts. by making these conscious choices regarding my language use, i developed an identity as a smart girl who would achieve success as an adult (kiesling, 2013; kirkham, 2013). 5 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 act two: conventional wisdom i am a first year teacher, and i am struggling. i am failing to connect with one of my classes of 7th grade students. when i was in school, i was taught to sit still, be quiet, and pay attention. i assume that these behaviors show that students are learning, and part of my struggle comes from placing these same expectations on my students. i feel like i have no control of the classroom, so one day when the students begin conversing in spanish, i say, “excuse me! speak english!” this statement is met with resounding boos. “you’re a racist, miss!” one student yells from the back of the classroom. that night, i go home and cry. not because my feelings are hurt, but because i realize my students are right. according to chambers (2013), “all societies tolerate and foster social judgments of language use, and typically integrate them into communal ethos…where they become part of the institutional mandates of schools, government offices, and professional societies” (p. 4). in the united states, these social judgments tend to divide speakers into three groups: speakers of standard english, speakers of non-standard english, and speakers of other languages. standard english speakers find their dialect of english being spoken in the schools, 6 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 government offices, and professional societies chambers (2013) speaks of. the inability to communicate effectively in this dialect denies people access to what delpit (1995) calls the “culture of power,” which affords greater privileges to speakers of standard english and places non-standard english speakers and speakers of other languages at greater disadvantages. the terms standard and non-standard english are problematic within themselves. the term standard english gives higher status to this group of speakers. it assumes that this dialect of english is a standard, to which all other speakers should aspire. the term non-standard english assumes a deficit view. it implies that speakers of these dialects make haphazard mistakes in their speaking even though dialects such as african american vernacular english (aave) follow rules and patterns that are not haphazard at all (fought, 2013). in the rest of this paper, i will refer to standard english as the power dialect of english, drawing on delpit’s notion of the “culture of power”. non-standard dialects will be referred to as othered dialects to show their social location on the margins. negative attitudes associated with the language practices of speakers of othered dialects and speakers of other languages have the potential to destroy the positive relationships teachers have with these speakers. when i told my 7 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 students to speak english only, i believed that i was giving them access to the culture of power. how will they ever succeed if they do not speak english, which is required in schools, government offices, and businesses? once they stop speaking spanish and focus on english, then they will acquire the power dialect at a much faster rate. when the students pushed back at my request to speak english and called me a racist, i realized that my thinking was flawed. while i might have fooled myself into thinking i was helping my students, when confronted, i realized what i was really trying to do was control them by forbidding them from speaking in a language i did not know. since i had struggled with classroom management from the beginning of the year, this request truly represented a last ditch effort to get students to sit still, be quiet, and pay attention. i had wrongly equated compliance and control with learning, which ultimately led to chaos. though it was extremely painful at the time, this experience helped me to begin to examine and analyze the climate of my classroom and my attitudes about language. i would encourage other teachers to reflect on the ways in which they encourage students to respond during class. are these ways aimed at getting students involved in learning or are they meant to control behavior? if the answer 8 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 is the latter, then teachers need to reflect on how these practices could be changed to encourage students to participate without marginalizing their language practices. act three: language awakening it is my third year teaching. i am trying to learn important lessons from my past mistakes. i am still teaching english language learners and making conscious efforts to welcome spanish and other languages like vietnamese into my classroom. the effects of this new outlook are amazing. my students and i get along great! they find out my birthday and bring food, so we can celebrate together. at christmas time, they make me cards, and on valentine’s day, i get flowers. one challenge i still have, though, is engaging my students in writing. “i don’t like writing, miss,” or “i don’t know what to say” are often said when it is time to write. i decide to share with my students some of my own writing: a story of my most embarrassing moment. in this story, my 4th grade teacher throws a chalkboard eraser when my back is turned. it hits me on the butt, and everyone in the class sees and laughs. to make matters worse, the teacher apologizes in a way i find very insincere as he is still smiling and laughing while saying sorry. 9 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 as i finish reading this memoir, i ask the students to tell me their thoughts. one student raises his hand. he stands up and says enthusiastically, “i would pick up it and throw it at him. i would say, ‘you bastard!’” some children nod in agreement. others, who understand the weight a word like bastard carries, know that saying it is against school rules. they know cussing in class gets a two-day stay in in school suspension (iss). they look at me with shock on their faces as if to say, “you’re going to let him get away with that?” one student finally says, “you let him off, miss! you let him off!” “what did i do?” the enthusiastic student says. “you say a bad word, man!” “i did?” he looks at me, realizing what the consequences will be. he turns red and starts apologizing, but i interrupt him. “yes, you did say a bad word,” i tell him, “but you’re right. he was acting like the word you said.” even though i had made strides to make my classroom an inviting place for speakers of all languages, i still had students who were reluctant to speak to me or with others. their affective filters often were heightened during my class because it focused on the study of english (krashen, 1987). while some students 10 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 were fearless, others would ask their friends to ask me questions because they were afraid of saying the wrong thing. they also knew i only spoke english and could not converse with me in their first language. the enthusiastic student in the vignette above had attained a high level of english proficiency using grammatical structures. he was able to produce spoken language that followed the rules of the power dialect. however, he did not understand the social implications of using certain vocabulary. he genuinely did not think the word “bastard” was a curse word. when i saw him fully realize what he said, i took a moment to reflect before acting. if i showed disapproval, he would feel further embarrassment. if i wrote him up, i would scare those students unwilling to talk to me even further. mahar (2001) discusses how students who lack access to the power dialect often face disciplinary issues as they negotiate the social aspects of school. did i want this student, who strongly engaged in the activity, to be punished for relating to my story? the point of this class was to encourage (not force) students to use english. if they feared being written up because they did not fully understand the language, then i would be the only one doing any talking, or i would experience the same type of push-back that was so common in my classroom my first year 11 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 teaching. i decided not to punish the student and to agree with his word choice because i wanted to show him and his classmates that they should not fear participating in class discussion, especially when they were willing to take a chance using the new language they were acquiring. i never had another instance of cussing in class again and noticed more students participating in discussion. once i established that students were safe to take risks with language, they began to do so. at this point, i really began listening to and appreciating the contributions of my english language learners. looking back, i feel like this moment marked an important shift in my thinking about language. i realized it is impossible to consider language without context. when i look at the context surrounding the enthusiastic student’s response to my story, his reaction was appropriate. from that point on, i tried to discard some of my more rigid rules regarding language use (and school rules). anytime language use became an issue in my classroom, i tried to consider all the contributing factors before making judgments about what was appropriate or correct. i would also encourage other teachers to consider context before reacting to some of the sticky language situations that occur in our day-to-day interactions 12 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 with students. we should always ask ourselves what the purpose of the discussion activity is and how students were responding to that purpose before we react. if, like the student in the vignette above, their response aligns with the intended purpose, then i would recommend erring on the side of forgiveness if the delivery is not ideal. i also recommend explicitly telling students how their language choices could lead to misunderstandings in the future. though i did not punish my enthusiastic student, i made sure he understood that his word choice could lead to trouble. while i wanted to encourage his participation in class discussion, i also did not want to set him up for future trouble if he ever used that word in school again. by fully considering context, teachers can help students develop their understandings of language in a safe, respectful classroom environment. conclusion my understandings and attitudes about language have changed and shifted dramatically over the course of my lifetime. as i look ahead, i am excited at the prospect of continuing to grow and learn. along the way, i will use these important lessons to guide my future thinking: i will not allow the judgments of other to influence the way i see myself. when i judge others based on the ways 13 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 they use language, i rob myself of getting to know their authentic selves. language is a means of expression, not control. always consider context when listening to what others are saying. other teachers can read about my past experiences. they can see the lessons i have learned based on the interactions i have had with my students. but, i would also encourage them to reflect on their personal experiences with language and with their students as i have done. what lessons can be learned from your stories? how can you continue to grow based on these experiences? how will you help students see that all of their language practices have value and meaning both in and outside the classroom? 14 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 references ash, s. (2013). social class. in j.k. chambers and n. schilling (eds.), the handbook of language variation and change (2nd ed.) (pp. 350-367). malden, ma: wiley-blackwell. chambers, j.k. (2013). studying language variation: an informal epistemology. in j.k. chambers and n. schilling (eds.), the handbook of language variation and change (2nd ed.) (pp. 1-15). malden, ma: wiley-blackwell. delpit, l. (1995). other people’s children: cultural conflict in the classroom. new york, ny: the new press. fought, c. (2013). ethnicity. in j.k. chambers and n. schilling (eds.), the handbook of language variation and change (2nd ed.) (pp. 388-406). malden, ma: wiley-blackwell. kiesling, s.f. (2013). constructing identity. in j.k. chambers and n. schilling (eds.), the handbook of language variation and change (2nd ed.) (pp. 448-467). malden, ma: wiley-blackwell. 15 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 kirkham, s. & moore, e. (2013). adolescence. in j.k. chambers and n. schilling (eds.), the handbook of language variation and change (2nd ed.) (pp. 277296). malden, ma: wiley-blackwell. krashen, s.d. (1987). principles and practice in second language acquisition. new york, ny: prentice-hall international. mahar, d. (2001). positioning in a middle school culture: gender, race, social class, and power. journal of adolescent and adult literacy, (3), 200-209. preston, d.r. (2013). language with an attitude. in j.k. chambers and n. schilling (eds.), the handbook of language variation and change (2nd ed.) (pp. 157182). malden, ma: wiley-blackwell. 16 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 issn #2331-6845 teaching during times of change: on being a georgian tesol educator in cairo by dr. lori fredericks american university of cairo cairo, egypt lfredricks@aucegypt.edu this reflective article describes esl teacher training in cairo, egypt during the past five years. the author details her experiences with her ma students during the revolution and the military coup. she further explores how this journey has been influenced by her prior work in tajikistan and atlanta, georgia and the parallels that exists across these contexts. keywords: applied linguistics, esl cairo, egypt is an exciting and intense work environment for professionals in any field. for english language teachers and faculty in applied linguistics, cairo is a dynamic capital that poses a wealth of opportunities and some interesting challenges. in a city with a metropolitan population of approximately 12,000,000 (undata, 2014) and an ever increasing number of english language institutions and programs, educators often comment that “everyone seems to want to learn english.” in fact, visitors are frequently 1 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 mailto:lori%20fredricks%20%5blfredricks@aucegypt.edu%5d mailto:lori%20fredricks%20%5blfredricks@aucegypt.edu%5d surprised to find that english is quite widely used in varying degrees by everyone from taxi drivers to doormen, from professors to journalists. nativelike english is more common amongst upper class students (for whom english can be a dominant or even first language), sometimes at the expense of their arabic literacy (benkharafa, 2013). though the role of english in egypt is historically and socially complex, most view english language education as a tool for advancement in a variety of fields. as an american educator in cairo, i have also found that through english language instruction, teachers can encourage productive analytical discourse about the current political climate. within the last few years, major political shifts have prompted educators at every level to become more flexible and to find new ways of integrating discourses of social and political change into their english language curricula. cairo is not only the largest city in the middle east, in recent years, it has also been in the world’s media spotlight for major political changes such as the 2011 revolution and the 2013 military coup. now more than ever, students here have a heightened awareness of activism through social media (facebook, twitter, and blogs, for instance), the visual arts (often including performance art or graffiti murals in multiple languages), and faceto-face engagement with each other and visitors from abroad (lennon 2014). in the midst of this excitement, university faculty have been fortunate to work 2 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 with adult learners who have been witnesses to and frequently agents of innovations and political change. since joining the american university in cairo department of applied linguistics faculty in 2009, i have had the pleasure of training esl teachers from a range of backgrounds including graduate students from egypt, canada, nigeria, turkey, hungary, and the united states. as an assistant professor for the tesol ma program, i have found that our diverse backgrounds provide fruitful discussions on cross-cultural and political issues that are relevant to both the local context and working abroad. the ma courses i teach (discourse analysis, pragmatics, second language acquisition, and second language reading & writing: theory and practice) integrate theoretical debates with practical concerns in our everyday teaching and learning contexts. many of my ma students are fellows, which means that they teach incoming students in the intensive english program. others are teachers of adults, adolescents and children in public and private institutions in cairo, alexandria, mansoura and elsewhere in egypt. as currently employed educators, they can integrate concepts and activities from their ma courses in an immediate way and share the results with their peers. like ma programs in the us, some are very experienced while others are novices, and some contend with a transition to the lifestyle and cultures of egypt. the eclectic 3 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 nature of our community leads to beneficial discussions about differing cultural norms, values and ways of teaching and learning. in our discussions, i try to dispel the common, ill-conceived view of an american utopian system of education that is far superior to and more equitable than any other while simultaneously sharing many of the merits of that system. we also discuss the challenges in egyptian public schools, which are generally far removed from our privileged position at a private institution and that, as in the us, mark our place within the hierarchy of social classes. while my students themselves do not represent the most affluent communities (unlike our undergraduates), they also do not represent the poorest sectors of cairo but have taught in a variety of settings that are the basis for interesting comparisons. my ultimate aim is for us to have fun and maintain a high level of respect for one another while exploring our commonalities and differences. it is my hope that my students and their students will see this process of stimulating debate and discussion as ongoing throughout their careers. my prior work experience in the multicultural settings of atlanta, georgia and dushanbe, tajikistan had prepared me well for my current context. earlier in my career, i had taught as an esl teacher and teacher trainer at several institutions in georgia including georgia state university 4 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 (my alma mater), georgia tech, the savannah college of art and design, and georgia perimeter college. like in dushanbe schools and colleges, students in georgian esl programs are often multilingual and represent a variety of cultural and religious backgrounds. through our discussions about writing, literature, cultural norms and so on, my students and i have been continuously reminded that there are multiple ways to view and respond to a problem and that listening to the views and experiences of others can enrich our own perspectives. in each of these contexts; however, these rich discussions can be temporarily or perhaps even permanently obstructed by roadblocks like our own biases, particular political or religious alliances, or feelings of cultural, racial, or gender-based, superiority. during the revolution in egypt, for example, my students were a mix of those who supported and were not in favor of the goals of the revolution, and some, understandably, changed their views over time. the subsequent elections and other major events that followed posed additional challenges including many incidents of violence and disagreements about the legitimacy of the outcomes of the elections. it was, and still is, not possible to ignore the events of the time –to attend classes adhering to preset curricula, and it became clear to us that this was also clearly not preferable. at the same time, i have been impressed by the 5 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 students’ ability to maintain a high level of respect for one another. there were and are moments of tension but these are ultimately dealt with in a professional manner and are worth the effort it takes to talk through matters that are relevant and important to our world. as an educator who has spent the past several years teaching in my home country and abroad, i have benefitted from an increased awareness of parallels between the contexts, meaning that we all struggle with these types of concerns but can grow from attempting to tackle them as a community. experienced educators know that there will always be challenges. some will be more material like a lack of updated materials or regular electricity. some will be more philosophical, like handling a debate about the best system of government and how religion may or may not play a role in the realms of government or education. yet in each of these contexts, from atlanta to cairo, the value of critical debate and facilitating critical thinking has always proved worth the effort. 6 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 references benkharafa, m. (2013). the present situation of the arabic language and the arab world commitment to arabization. theory and practice in language studies, 3(2), 201-208. egypt. undata. (2014). retrieved september 13, 2014. http://data.un.org/countryprofile.aspx?crname=egypt lennon, j. (2014). assembling a revolution: graffiti, cairo and the arab spring. cultural studies review, 20(1), 237. 7 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 http://data.un.org/countryprofile.aspx?crname=egypt issn #2331-6845 keeping english learners motivated by mary a. frost georgia state university frost.marya@gmail.com the ability to create dynamic and engaging lessons which are designed to teach content as well as language is a unique and challenging skill. it is sometimes the case that instructors get so caught up in the complexities of language and discrete concepts that they forget that authenticity in communication and cognitively complex tasks are what make language learning engaging for students and motivate them to continue their education. as teachers we always have a wide assortment of students in our classes, with wide ranges of aptitudes, l1 proficiencies, diverse sociocultural factors, and of course varied levels of motivation to learn. according to dornyei and csizer (1998) “without sufficient motivation, even individuals with the most remarkable abilities cannot accomplish long-term goals, and neither are appropriate curricula and good teaching enough to ensure student achievement” (203). and of course, as they also point out in their 1998 study, motivation is capable of making up for deficiencies in other areas, such as aptitude, when strong enough. motivation is a crucial element to a student’s successful education and teachers need to have a thorough understanding of how best to access that drive within their students. 1 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 mailto:frost.marya@gmail.com since it is our job as educators to create measurable levels of learning growth in our students, the challenge of motivating learners who lack motivation seems most imperative. in addition, motivation is the only characteristic of successful learners upon which teachers may have any degree of influence or impact. in dixon’s 2012 study he identifies motivation as one of the four major characteristics of a successful l2 learner. the other three characteristics are aptitude, proficiency in l1, and sociocultural factors. sparks (2009) also found that motivation in l2 accounted for a 9% difference in reading comprehension levels and 4% of the variation within speaking and listening activities. a clear benefit can be seen in working to increase student motivation. how can teachers keep students motivated or inspire motivation where there is otherwise none? it is easy to say that looking out for students and showing them that their teachers are genuinely interested in their wellbeing is one way to increase their desires to achieve in school. most teachers know that looking out for students’ wellbeing is categorically correct behavior, but how should teachers accomplish this task? at the right time and place it is certainly beneficial to explicitly tell students that instructors value their opinions and care about their experiences, but showing is better than telling. in order for instructors to authentically demonstrate sincere interest and concern, educators must build opportunities for demonstrating the legitimacy of their care into daily interactions by incorporating them into unit designs. in order to craft such a unit, teachers need to make sure their designs incorporate two important concepts: authenticity of communicative tasks and assessments and a critical pedagogy. once a unit is designed under this lens, teachers must set the scaffolding for success in language learning. 2 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 authenticity once the teacher has an idea of the context of the classroom and what content needs to be taught, using the strategy of backwards design the teacher should construct opportunities for authentic communicative tasks as assessments. while it is fair to say that in every class there is going to be a variety of students, some of which lack motivation, it is generally believed that students are more motivated when the subject of learning is not perceived to be language, but some other content. according to d’anglejan and tucker (1975) “the student can most effectively acquire language when the task of language learning becomes incidental to the task of communicating with someone…about some topic…which is inherently interesting to the student” (284). using the content as a vehicle for language instruction, teachers can accomplish a great deal more because, if correctly designed, the student perception is that there is an actual purpose for communication. similarly, harper and de jong (2004) also point out that “because ells are simultaneously acquiring content and language proficiency, teachers are responsible for planning both conceptual and linguistic development for these students in order to meet grade level standards” (158). success in helping english learners to reach state standards is accomplished by integrating content and language teaching so that there is a purpose for language application. authentic, communicative assessments will have a practical element to them. instead of assigning a persuasive essay to a student, a more authentic approach would be to have a student write a persuasive essay or speech and actually submit it to, for example, the principal or whatever other authority might be applicable to the assignment. teachers can make journaling more authentic by responding to student entries. this action changes an exercise into a communicative act and student response will become more prolific. when the student knows that 3 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 the assignment is for something beyond being only read by the teacher for a grade, motivation to perform well will increase. making class activities both communicative and authentic can make a drastic difference in student motivation as it appeals to student relationships with l2 speakers, l2 community, and l2 language. for example, in daod’s 1998 study, he examined a class of graduate level medical students at damascus university in an english writing class. the students had very low motivation and did not consider themselves to be skilled writers, but the students were required to take the course to complete their medical degrees. when the teacher began a communicative letter exchange project with a university in the united states, students became intensely motivated to write. students drafted essays on a topic of their choosing, but later exchanges became about cultural or world issues. initial problems included sweeping generalizations with little support, often criticizing the american government or policies. students worked carefully to learn how to communicate appropriately to their task, incorporating pragmatic knowledge, and despite not having any wish to integrate into american society, the class still wished to be perceived by the american students as good writers of english. in the end, they had markedly improved linguistic self-confidence and interest in writing in english. also, by interacting with actual l2 speakers in authentic forms of communication, the syrian students’ perceptions of americans and american culture improved. once a genuine, communicative practice became part of their language routine, motivation was enhanced. it is also important to note that communicative competency should be stressed over discrete grammatical items. a person can have a great deal of knowledge about grammatical forms, but be incapable of getting a point across if they cannot comprehend pragmatic functions in varied situations (hymes, 1966; celce-murcia, dornyei, & thurrell, 1997). as a teacher with 4 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 standards to meet, it is easy to become overly concerned with the discrete, “small picture” elements of language, but ultimately the purpose of teaching english is for students to use it to communicate. certainly there are times and places for formative discrete grammatical assessments, but the ratio of discrete items to communicative “large picture” items should be dramatic. assessments should be conducted on the stressed elements of each task. if the emphasis is communicative competence, then the teacher should not nit-pick discrete errors, so long as the overall meaning is comprehensible. critical pedagogy just as authentic forms of communicative assessments increase student motivation, designing units with a critical approach will further enhance student interest in the topic and therefore increase motivation to communicate. the concept of backwards design is vital in the construction of a unit of work. using this strategy, teachers can design assessments which are the types of authentic communicative tasks which motivate students to work and ultimately learn. when one considers a puzzle, it helps to have an idea of what the fully constructed picture looks like before one starts putting the puzzle together. when the end result can be seen, one can have a more informed idea of where to lay pieces and of how different pieces should fit together. this concept is the same with constructing a unit and backwards design. when a teacher starts at the end and has the final project created first, that teacher can work backward from there and design the unit with ideal sequencing and scaffolding in order to facilitate the most effective learning. more intentional design choices are possible using this method and one’s overall design will be more cohesive. influenced heavily by the writings of paolo freire, the concept of a critical pedagogy asks students to recognize and deconstruct societal power constructs and hegemony, make 5 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 connections, and challenge those constructs through their class work and projects. students must recognize how individual experiences and lives connect to larger issues and the social contexts within which they are embedded, helping them learn how to think critically. freire was a critical educator, typically recognized as being a part of the social learning perspective. he advocated for the practice of students realizing their consciousness and engaging in praxis, or the knowledge needed to take action against oppression (freire, 1970). the banking model of teaching, where classes are dominated by teachers and knowledge is deposited into the minds of students is an outdated model in which students can have no control of their education. instead of this banking model, students and teachers should interact on a dualistic level, where students have power to direct their own learning. a critical approach makes learning more authentic for students because they are able to learn and study subjects which interest them. in addition, asking critical questions of students trains their brains to make connections in every subject across every walk of life. the ability to think critically is an important life skill that is needed in every adult person, but it is often overlooked in the classroom. for language minority students in particular, analyzing societal power constructs, which often place minorities in areas of marginalization, should provide students with avenues for expressing frustration and voices to empower them. what steps can teachers take to design their units in a critical way? teachers should consider the issues or history surrounding the literature they plan to use for the unit. for example, the house on mango street by sandra cisneros (1991), a book in which the main character, esperanza, deals with many issues related to the power of language as well as struggling with issues of identity, could be related to some much larger issues in history and current events. once the teacher is able to chisel out those core concerns within the literature, the teacher can then draw parallels with other pieces of literature, with history, or with current 6 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 events. for english learners in particular, the discussion of the power of language is deeply rooted in their everyday experience. they will have quite a bit to say on the topic. a teacher could incorporate history by discussing the los angeles school blowouts of the civil rights movement, which chicano(a) high school students organized protests against the pervading school policy of “english only” education and the filtering of native spanish-speaking students into lower tracks of education. the debate on the benefits or disadvantages of bilingual education could be a subject for consideration. connect it to current events by discussing proposition 203 and the events with educational policy in arizona. this is only a sample, but explicitly showing students that literature connects to larger issues and concepts will enhance the quality and authenticity of assessments, student interest, and ultimately, student motivation. scaffold for language once the instructor has accomplished the overall concept for a unit, incorporating critical ideas and authentic and communicative assessments, the stage is set to get students engaged and motivated to work. however at this point, it is very important that the instructor incorporate some scaffolding to support students of various english language proficiencies. there is no better way to kill student motivation than to overwhelm (or underwhelm, for that matter) a student with language or tasks which exceed reasonable expectations. for motivational purposes, to keep students engaged, it is critical that teachers differentiate to the level of the student and build a sturdy foundation which supports multiple language levels. moreover, differentiation should be tailored to fit each class. there are so many contexts within which students may be learning english and teachers likely have more than one class they teach. each group may require a varied scale of differentiation, depending on who is in the class, but it is important to note that most every activity or task can be given a slight change to provide more or less 7 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 scaffolding. for example, for all assessments which are graded in accordance with a rubric, teachers should incorporate a sliding scale based on student language competency scores in each of the four language domains. in this way, all students will participate in the same activities and tasks, but the language demands and rigor will always correspond to individual student needs. all students will be challenged appropriately on both linguistic and cognitive levels while all learning the same material. in order to scaffold effectively, it is essential that educators have an accurate understanding of the science behind second language acquisition. a common misconception of second language acquisition, or sla, is that mere exposure to language, as with first language acquisition, will result in language learning (harper, 2004). however, this is not how sla works. the contexts of second language acquisition are much more varied than those of first language acquisition. there are so many different contexts within which a student may be learning a second language: as a foreign language in their own country, as an immigrant coming to a new country, as a refugee fleeing their home country, as a young learner, as an adult learner, and a variety of many other possibilities. so much about second language acquisition is dependent on the context of the situation. in each of these contexts, student motivations will have vast differences and students’ stages of cognitive development will have major influence on learning (lightbrown & spada, 2006). it is important that teachers understand the impact that age can have on language learning in order to utilize cognitive function of one’s students in the best possible way, setting students up for success. in the context of the classroom, when considering how to teach a second language to one’s students, the age of the students should certainly make an impact on one’s methods, approach, and type of scaffolding. young learners have been shown to “have the ultimate 8 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 attainment advantage” but older learners demonstrate efficiency and rate advantages” (dixon, 2012). in essence, children and adults simply have different tools available to them which teachers can utilize in order to scaffold and increase effective learning. it is the teacher’s role to highlight student strengths, shape lessons, and scaffold to the needs of the individual to produce the maximum benefit for each learner. it is also important to note that the notion that past the age of puberty people are incapable of truly acquiring language is proven false every day. the difference in child learning and adult learning is simply a difference in learning strengths and strategies which are based on age. it is important to provide degrees of scaffolding for students so that they not only understand the class, but are also challenged enough to grow linguistically (maybin, mercer, & stierer, 1992). esol teachers must become skilled designers of language objectives for every lesson, and those objectives must challenge students’ language skills just enough to help them grow. in areas of the unit where the class is teacher-centered, it is important that the teacher tempers his or her language to be comprehensible to the class. while comprehensible input is important to consider, the bulk of all classes should be student-centered and focus on comprehensible output. comprehensible output is the idea that learning takes place when the speaker encounters a gap in linguistic knowledge during communication with another speaker (swain & lapkin, 1995). in contrast to the comprehensible input hypothesis, the comprehensible output hypothesis places the emphasis on language production. when a student is using language interactively with another speaker, he or she will notice gaps of knowledge once he or she attempts to communicate an idea and lacks vocabulary or knowledge of specific grammatical 9 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 structures (swain & lapkin, 1995). once the student notices these gaps, the student may be able to modify his or her output to communicate his idea and learning occurs. opportunities for this type of learning occur most easily within authentic, communicative assessments. the learning comes in the making and correcting of one’s own mistakes during language production, but it is equally important that the students are able to understand the teacher and one another in class. this kind of practice which incorporates the negotiation of meaning between speakers is emphasized in an approach which stresses the use of communicative tasks. the fostering of a positive and safe learning environment is equally critical, so that students feel unashamed about making mistakes in communicative tasks. these mistakes are vital to effective learning. when considering issues of communicative competence, it is important for educators to consider the differences between bics and calps language. bics, or basic interpersonal communication skills, refer to basic conversational skills students use to communicate in informal exchanges. calps, or cognitive academic language proficiency, is academic language used in the context of the classroom as well as basic literacy-related skills, such as reading and writing (cummins, 1986). it is estimated that it takes a student 5-7 years to acquire calps in a second language if the student is literate in the first language. in cases where the student is not literate in his first language, it can take even longer, as the student has no basis for comparison when learning (cummins, 1986). bics and calps are two distinct registers of language and it is vital for second language teachers to explicitly teach the differences between them, as well as the pragmatic uses of language in various social contexts. esol teachers need to be particularly cognizant of the structure of their lessons and be certain to incorporate the active teaching of pragmatic usages in a variety of registers. 10 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 for english learners in particular, a strong foundation in vocabulary is necessary for the progression of language development. however, direct instruction in the meaning of words is not all teachers need to be providing for their learners. engaged teachers also provide instruction in reading strategies, so that students will have the tools they need to deconstruct, analyze, and construct meaning from words independently. it would be an impossible task for a teacher to teach every single unknown word in a text as individual units of study. there are too many words in the english language. according to lehr, osborn, & hiebert (2004) “no more than 8-10 words can be taught effectively each week” (3). for this reason, teachers should try to simultaneously teach both vocabulary and word-learning strategies, utilizing both oral and written language and drawing from both oral and printed registers. as “language acquisition is a social activity,” activities based on authentic and purposeful communication should be utilized (tinker sachs & ho, 2007: 127). teachers should work to access students’ schema during instruction, incorporating the use of students’ mother tongues, cognates, and dictionaries to optimize learning and growth (lehr, osborn & hiebert, 2004). most of all, tasks for vocabulary development should not be isolated “practice” activities without integrated or applicable purpose. in the best possible scenario, vocabulary items should be drawn from the content literature so that vocabulary scaffolding and communicative practice reinforce one another. when teachers work to incorporate all three of these elements in the design of their units, and work to motivate english learners, more effective learning will be the result. during design, working from the end is the best way to ensure that the unit is headed in an optimal direction and that it can be developed in the most operative sequence with as many parallels to the primary content as are applicable to make instructional time engaging. 11 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 without a doubt, it is critical that teachers show a personal interest in students outside of class time. be approachable. allow them the support of their first language where appropriate and encourage them to maintain their connection to their first language and heritage. allow students who resist learning english the freedom to express why they feel how they feel. sometimes just the willingness to listen to and discuss the unpopular opinion is enough to change a student’s willingness to engage with that teacher in class. setting a positive example with one’s own language and personal presentation can also go a long way toward promoting the study of and interaction with the english language and with american culture. additionally, even if a student considered no aspects of english-speaking culture admirable in any way, if living in the united states, that student will likely still need some kind of relationship with english. teachers need to help students recognize that it is ok to wear many “hats.” they can maintain their pride and identification with their home culture and first language while also developing a positive identity as a second language learner. the two are not mutually exclusive. above all else what esol teachers can give english learners to increase their motivation and ultimately their effective learning is positive, successful experiences with communication in english. the way to provide those experiences is by integrating dynamic communicative tasks with a critical pedagogy and providing students with the right amount of language support in order to succeed. engage their intellect and students will work to find the words. 12 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 references celce-murcia, m., dornyei, z., thurrell, s. (1997). direct approaches in l2 instruction: a turning point in communicative language teaching? tesol quarterly, 31-1: 141-152. cisneros, s. (1991). the house on mango street. new york : vintage books. cummins, j. (1986). empowering minority students: a framework for intervention. harvard educational review, 18-37. d’anglejan a., tucker, r. (1975). the acquisition of complex english structures by adult learners. language learning 25-2: 281-296. daoud, s. (1998). how to motivate efl learning and teaching of academic writing by cross cultural exchanges. english for specific purposes, 391-410. dixon, e. q. (2012). what we know about second language acquisition: a synthesis from four perspectives. review of educational research, 82:5. dornyei, z., csizer, k. (1998). ten commandments for motivating language learners: results from an empiracal study. language teaching research, 203-229. harper, c., de jong, e. (2004). misconceptions about teaching english language learners. journal of adolescent & adult literacy, 48:2, 152-162. hymes, d. (1966). two types of linguistic relativity. in w. bright, sociolinguistics (pp. 114158). the hauge: mouton. freire, p. (1970). pedagogy of the oppressed. new york: herder and herder. 13 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 lightbrown, p. & spada, n. (2006). how languages are learned. oxford, england: oxford university press. maybin, j., mercer, n. & stierer, b. (1992). 'scaffolding' learning in the classroom. in k. norman (ed.), thinking voices: the work of the national curriculum project (pp. 142152). london: hodder & stoughton for the national curriculum council. lehr, f., osborn, j. & hiebert, e.h. (2004). a focus on vocabulary. research-based practices in early learning series. honolulu, hi: pacific resources for education and learning. retrieved august 27, 2011. sparks, r.l., patton, j. ganschow, l., & humbach, n. (2009). long-term relationships among early first language skills, second langauge aptitude, second language affect, and later second language proficiency. applied psycholinguistics, 725-755. swain & lapkin. (1995). problems in output and the cognitive processes they generate: a step toward language learning. applied linguistics, 371-391. tinker-sachs, g. & ho, b. (2007). esl/efl cases: contexts for teacher professional discussion. hong kong: city university of hong kong press. 14 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 issn #2331-6845 welcome from the senior editor by gertrude tinker sachs georgia state university gatesolinaction2020@gmail.com do i hear an accent? this is a question sometimes sounding like a bold statement that i often get from people meeting me for the first time or implicit in colleagues’ teasing about the way i speak. what is it about accent and language variation that spurs conversation and/or controversy? in general, variation in our lives provides an alternative, another form, way of being, seeing, or variant way of doing. the alternative, from the perceived or dominant accepted norm, can be a very positive attribute or a very negative characteristic for some people, depending on their own lived histories and experiences with others’ ways of thinking and being and … speaking. what reaction should be expected? sometimes one cannot place the response to a variation, in particular in the case of this editorial, linguistic variation. one is often left speculating on the intent behind the 1 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 question. diversity, as an associate of variation, can be a seen as so beautiful when we consider the diversity of plants in our gardens, or the animals in the animal kingdom, for example. people with different ethnic, cultural and linguistic diversity however, bring along a historical and social complexity that may not be evoked in the same way as the diversity of plants or animals. for example, in today’s atlanta journal constitution (bilefsky, 2016), i read about the fatal beating of a polish immigrant in london, england. he and another friend were having pizza in a local restaurant and were chatting in polish when a group of boys and girls (15 and 16 years of age) beat them up while calling them racial slurs. one of the men died from the injuries. the newspaper writer hypothesized that the beating was precipitated by the two men’s polish and was believed to have been also exacerbated by the united kingdom’s recent referendum to leave the european union. here, difference was not accepted or celebrated. it may have been perceived as a threat. many other similar linguistic examples of intolerance can be found in countries around the world. in another example, close to home, here in georgia, legislation was created to keep the linguistic and ethnic differences at bay. immigrants who came to the united states as children with undocumented parents, are suing the university system of georgia over a policy that does not allow them to attend the top 2 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 universities in the state. in addition, they must pay out of state tuition fees for the universities that they are allowed to attend. however, the federal deferred action for childhood arrivals (daca) programs afford these youths the rights to stay in the united states. according to the pew research center (2015), 75% of the total unauthorized immigrant population in 10 states are mexicans. the question to be asked is, is there an historical association between certain immigrants and the legislations created to keep them on the periphery? indeed, baron (nd) reports that from as early as the 1750s “american nativists have sought to eradicate minority languages and discourage bilingualism wherever it could be found.” german was the target in the 1750s and he states that “today . . . there is opposition to non-anglophones and bilinguals --this time not germans but hispanic and asian americans.” baron notes that “ela, english language amendment to make english the official language of the us have yet to be passed.” on the plus side, new mexico (1989), oregon (1989) and washington state (1989), rhode island (1992) have english plus resolutions that encourage the preservation and maintenance of home languages and the study of english as an additional language (english plus resolution, 1989). in striving to recognize the validity of linguistic variation, we must acknowledge that acceptance of variation or difference is associated with many 3 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 factors such as the speaker’s ethnic background, race, class, gender, country or state or county of origin, family and community membership etc. the issue of linguistic variation is highly political and therefore, when the question is asked, “do i hear an accent?” one is inclined to be cautious in determining the questioner’s intent. the papers in this edition are the insightful stories of educators as they reflect on their own positioning regarding languages and linguistic variation. as always, the place to start any interrogation is with oneself. what do i hear, see, think, and feel when i hear an accent that is different from my own? how do i feel about those undocumented parents who bring their young children into my home country? should we accommodate all the languages spoken by immigrants or should we have one official language? what is my stance? our writers for this edition are all united states based but from varying backgrounds: park, coming from south korea, wang and li coming from china, and poindexter and lewis, from the united states. collectively, these authors give us insight into the complexity of the critical issues surrounding identity and language, multilingualism, the hegemony of english, outsider and insider status in speaking varieties of english, and perceptions regarding the many englishes accents and variations that exist in the world. 4 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 all the papers, with the exception of li, were written in my doctoral class on language variation and learning at georgia state university in the spring of 2015. as the instructor of this class, i want to say that while i gave extensive feedback to my students, they also had opportunities for additional feedback when they participated on a panel at the 2015 georgia association of teacher educators’ (gate) conference on jekyll island in october of 2015. i thank all those who attended the session and provided additional feedback, in particular dr. barbara benson, past president of gate. once the revised papers were uploaded to our gatesol ournal system, all the papers were subjected to the journal’s review process with at least two or three reviewers each and here i pause to thank our reviewers. not all the doctoral papers have made it to the final round so i applaud all the submitters who stayed the course and made it to publication. as educators, we all need to recognize and confront our biases and subjectivities so that we can work to change them for the betterment of ourselves and all the learners who come in our path. after all, we too, came from somewhere and we all have accents. let’s embrace and celebrate linguistic diversity and diversity of all types! 5 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 references baron, d. (nd). the legendary english-only vote of 1795. official american english only. public broadcasting service. http://www.pbs.org/speak/seatosea/officialamerican/englishonly/ bilefsky, d. (2016, new york times). fatal beating fuels debate over british xenophobia. world. atlanta journal constitution, sunday, september 4, 2016 (page a16). deferred action for childhood arrivals. department of homeland security. https://www.dhs.gov/deferred-action-childhood-arrivals english plus resolution in new mexico (1989). http://www.languagepolicy.net/archives/nm.htm english plus resolution, 112th congress (2011-2012). https://www.congress.gov/bill/112th-congress/house-concurrentresolution/8 pew research center. (november 20, 2015). what we know about illegal immigrant from mexico. http://www.pewresearch.org/facttank/2015/11/20/what-we-know-about-illegal-immigration-from-mexico/ 6 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 http://www.pbs.org/speak/seatosea/officialamerican/englishonly/ https://www.dhs.gov/deferred-action-childhood-arrivals http://www.languagepolicy.net/archives/nm.htm https://www.congress.gov/bill/112th-congress/house-concurrent-resolution/8 https://www.congress.gov/bill/112th-congress/house-concurrent-resolution/8 http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/11/20/what-we-know-about-illegal-immigration-from-mexico/ http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/11/20/what-we-know-about-illegal-immigration-from-mexico/ gatesol in action georgiatesoljournal.org spring 2020 volume 29, issue 1 issn: 2331-6845 from the editor – the quietening of languages: how can we celebrate and welcome them? gertrude m. tinker sachs senior editor georgia state university, gtinkersachs@gsu.edu the atlanta journal constitution (ajc) published recently an article extracted from the new york times called “battle to save seke” (de freytastamura, 2020). this article was published under the theme of understanding native tongues. i was disheartened to read about the forecasted loss of the seke language, one of the 100 endangered languages of nepal. most of the seke people are speaking nepali and other tibetan languages. according to the endangered language alliance website, the total number of seke speakers is estimated to be around 700 in the world, with some 100 of them living in new york city. for numerous political, economic, and social reasons, seke is being lost, and in new york, one reason is that younger speakers’ language loss is being accelerated by moving away from the small existing community to seek jobs. the year 2019 was declared the international year of indigenous languages by the united nations (un), and in december of last year, the president of the general assembly, tijjani muhammad-bande, noted that “despite un efforts throughout this year to highlight the daily disappearance of mother tongue languages across the world, challenges persist nonetheless” (un news, 2019b, para. 1). linguistic neo-imperialism and indigenous languages the un rights experts report that “of the 7000 indigenous languages spoken today, four in 10 are in danger of disappearing” and they have called for “a decade of action to reverse the “historic destruction” of age-old dialects” (un mailto:gtinkersachs@gsu.edu https://elalliance.org/ https://elalliance.org/ 2 quietening of languages news, 2019a, para 1). in looking at the disappearance of languages, skutnabbkangas and phillipson (2010) contended that the conditions for languages are influenced by factors such as: the relative isolation of the speakers from speakers of other languages; the self-sufficiency of the group (the extent to which they need to trade with others for basic needs; whether they can grow and collect what they need all year round and so on; the availability of jobs without the need to migrate; the existence of material resources of interest to outsiders in the area, and their exploitation (logging, oil, mining and the like). (p. 8) however, the authors also note that some languages run the serious risk of being lost because of linguistic neo-imperialism. skutnabb-kangas and phillipson (2010) define linguistic imperialism as “operating through structures and ideologies and entailing unequal treatment for groups identified by language.” linguistic neo-imperialism is, on the other hand, “how linguistic capital is managed, how information flows toward or away from territorial entities through trade, commerce, capital thereby serving the interests of the corporate world and the government it influences” (p. 82). one of the results of linguistic neo imperialism is that people believe that the they must sacrifice their own language for the dominant one – the “neo-imperial language” because it will help them get ahead in life. for some linguistic groups, this may result in a subtractive language shift or what skutnabb-kangas and phillipson (2010) called “linguistic capital dispossession” (p. 83). this linguistic capital dispossession can be seen not only in the loss of endangered languages but also in the loss that many bi/multilingual children experience because their language is subjected to invisibility by school and country. the u.s. census clock shows that with a birth every nine seconds, at the time of writing, the u.s. has a population of more than 329,439,524 (as of march 26, 2020). it is the third most populous country in the world after china and india tinker sachs 3 respectively (u.s. census bureau, 2020). after english, the second most spoken language at home in the u.s. is spanish followed by chinese, tagalog, vietnamese, and arabic (zeigler, & camarota, 2019). in 2018, 67,268,668 people spoke a language other than english at home in the u.s. in georgia, from 1980 to 2018, there was a growth of 952% (131,720 in 1980 to 1,385,411 in 2018) in the number of people speaking a language other than english at home, which constituted 14% of the population in 2018 compared to 3% in 1980 (zeigler & camarota, 2019). imagine if all these people and their children felt that their languages were welcomed and celebrated in schools and community spaces? a big question for this editorial is just that: what would the united states be like if languages other than english were welcomed and celebrated in schools and in public places other than the home? the introduction presented previously gives us an inkling of the statistical numbers and the researched and theorized aspects of languages spoken. what follows are the actual experiences and insights of three bi/multilingual speakers who live here in georgia. the first is georgia author nury castillo crawford who consented to be interviewed for this editorial and the other two are in our featured article “testimonio y teoria: creating bridges with bilingual communities in dekalb county” authored by a. jyoti kaneria and christian valdez. interview with nury castillo crawford first, i discuss some of the insights gleaned from my interview with nury castillo crawford. castillo crawford came to the u.s. as a young child with her parents. she is author of the popular bilingual text 3,585 miles to be an american girl and co-author with demitrius motion bullock of sofia and vivi: a bilingual children’s book: big sister. i give excerpts from our conversation followed by brief commentaries. 4 quietening of languages the interview with nury castillo crawford (indicated in the excerpts as “ncc”) took place at my home on november 6, 2018, around lunchtime. emboldened words in the transcription indicate that they were spoken or stated emphatically. when castillo crawford arrived, we had a bit of lunch sitting at my kitchen table, and after lunch, we moved over to my sitting room where we talked for almost 90 minutes. castillo crawford talked candidly with me (indicated as “gts” in the transcription) about how to get to know “the other” who might be from cultural and linguistic groups different from your own. in this first excerpt, excerpt 1, she expands on othering. excerpt 1: othering ncc: i feel like “the other” in my life doesn’t necessarily revolve under a specific demographic but more of people that are closed minded in terms of global thinking or even being open minded to other cultures. i feel like there are other people that, due to their own personal background knowledge, don’t know anything about latino people and categorize “latinos” under one umbrella. i’m an optimist, so i think it’s due to the fact that they lack experiences, and they don’t know other people, um, that don’t look like them and because there’s been a narrative widely shared with the lack of knowledge, you buy that narrative. um, and many times when i speak to my friends that are latino, like me, i feel bad. and i tell them, like, i kind of feel bad for those other people because i feel like if they knew me, they might, i think they’d like me. i think, like, you know of they all think like, “that’s way optimistic for me,” but that’s what they think. gts: so, you were saying “the other” in your life would be people who don’t think like you? not open minded like you? ncc: well, i think that they just, they have limited experiences to other cultures, so therefore, it’s hard for them to empathize with other people’s challenges or struggles. and i feel like if they were a little bit more open minded, they might be more empathetic. gts: ah, do these people belong to any particular ethnic group? ncc: i don’t—i don’t think it’s more about ethnic. i think it’s more about lack of experiences and lack of background knowledge. tinker sachs 5 gts: so, they can be any group of people coming from any class or any race or any gender? ncc: well yeah, i do. but i think that since we’re living in the united states of america and my experiences with people that lack that have been “american,” so yeah, i just feel like it’s people in the u.s. because even other people in other countries—one of the things that i always talk about is how language is more than just grammar and vocabulary and knowing some words. language is part of culture and culture is part of language. and so, many times “americans,” because we live in america, they praise other americans for learning another language. you know, it’s like, “oh my gosh, like, you know another language” or “you know three languages.” it’s like the biggest thing in the world, you know? but they don’t, the same praise doesn’t go to people who come to this country with a language and are learning english. that’s still another language, but it doesn’t feel like someone who comes to this country as an immigrant gets the same praise and the same accolades for having another language in there . . . so i think part of that, i think it’s like limited knowledge on their part. i believe that many of the ailments of our world today have to do with our “unknowing” of those who are different from ourselves in some way. we also buy into a grand narrative of the other without ever knowing the person who is “othered.” i wanted to start the conversation this way to get castillo crawford reflecting on this and how she views othering based on one’s limited experiences and limited knowledge. i believe too, it has to do with issues of race, class, and history as well as country of origin. castillo crawford expands on this idea of intersectionality in excerpt 2. excerpt 2: intersectionality gts: is it regarding people who come from certain countries, or is it immigrants in general [that] this perception about not privileging their speaking of another language? ncc: i think just based on what i’ve been seeing and hearing and experiencing, i think it’s just immigrants that come from third-world countries. from countries that some americans feel like, because they don’t know either, they don’t know, they buy into this idea of, they think third-world country, even a third-world country has its rich areas or has an area of people who are making good money. 6 quietening of languages i mean, we can go into that, too, which i don’t approve of. like, you know, they, for example, people think, like, there’s literally people that think africa is a country and not a continent, and they want to group everybody in africa into one vision of starving children when that’s not the case. it’s like, you know, there’s so many countries in africa, and there’s so many rich countries in africa, and i always, like, baffled by that kind of thing. same mindset about south america. they think all of south americans, i guess, are wearing big sombreros or something when there’s so many, there’s countries in south america, and there’s a couple of countries in south america that are predominantly white latin american people, and even in mexico, there’s white mexicans and people don’t understand that. and i think it’s because a narrative has been written and people that have limited experiences and therefore have limited, uh, they don’t have an open mind and they have limited ideas and whatever, uh, about culture, etc., they buy it because it’s easier to just buy that than do your own research and find out about what the people in those countries or continents are all about. gts: so when we talk about that the so-called third-world countries and the way they are perceived by americans in general, um, under the privileging of certain groups speaking certain languages, who may not necessarily come from the third world, are you also talking about a darker skin color? or are those white, for example white mexicans, how are they perceived by americans? or is it only we are talking about darker-skinned people? ncc: right. well, i think in general most people would think that it is the brown skin or the darker skin immigrants from wherever they come from, but i know latinos that are white, and the minute they open their mouths and they have that thick accent, americans look down on them, too. like, and especially, they say they speak spanish it’s just, and i don’t know if it’s because of the climate that we’re currently living or not. but so yeah, generally you would think it’s just the brown people, but i personally know people that are latino, that are white latino, that get that, too. so, i feel like it’s more, i think it stems from the color thing first, but i think eventually it’s just like, okay, everybody’s just grouped. castillo crawford speaks about the differential treatment americans and immigrants receive when they speak additional languages. why is the immigrant’s language not affirmed while those who are learning (an)other language(s) are regarded as something wonderful? castillo crawford recognizes the intersectionality of language with race, culture, country of origin, and class. tinker sachs 7 castillo crawford names ignorance as a cause of othering. she also believes that othering is built upon the foundation of dominant narratives perpetuated in society. castillo crawford expounds further in excerpt 3. excerpt 3: dominant narratives ncc: because sometimes when people, when those other people, they don’t think about the human side. they just think about what they think is right and wrong and what they’ve been hearing. the narrative that they’re selling that the people in my community are illegal . . . gts: yes, the dominant narrative . . . ncc: . . . killers, drug dealers, and we’re stealing the government’s money, when it’s not true. when i came to this country, my dad worked night and day. he had blisters, his hands were bleeding, but he worked night and day to get us out of that one-bedroom—five of us in one bedroom. and we did! and by the time he got us out, we had a house and a car. it was a beat-up car but he knew how to fix cars so that was amazing. so, i think that when people think of, you know, latinohispanics, they automatically think that, and so i just try to help them see, like, i’m just like you. i love my family, too. castillo crawford is adamant about the negative stereotypes being perpetuated by dominant groups in society about minoritorized groups. she believes that we need to see ourselves in others to become more empathetic people. she feels the pain of the negativity. she moves on to tell another story from her own life, her real narrative from personal experience, in excerpt 4. excerpt 4: the real narrative from personal experience gts: right, right. so, tell us about your community? what would you like for us to know about your community? ncc: oh, my gosh. hard working, big dreamers, persevere. gts: they’re big dreamers in which way? ncc: i always considered my parents the original dreamers, and i am the dream. i feel like they sacrificed everything. 8 quietening of languages gts: yes. ncc: their life, their family, the little they had, just to try to give me something better. gts: right. ncc: to give me the opportunity to fly. gts: and you’re the only child? ncc: i’m the oldest. gts: the oldest, okay. ncc: so, i carried my other two around— gts: right. ncc: because i’m the oldest. gts: yeah. ncc: and they would tell you the same thing. gts: right. ncc: they would tell you, like, “yeah, she did.” because i went to the parent teacher conferences. i helped my brother with homework. i refinanced my parent’s house before i was 14. taught my mom how a drive before i was 13. like, i feel like my parents believed in me. gts: right. ncc: and um— gts: were you the language broker for your parents? ncc: i was. gts: yes. ncc: i was. but my mom and dad, my mom had very limited education. gts: right. ncc: but even then, i reminisce about the support she gave me, and i try to reiterate that, with parents, whether they’re latina, or non-latino, um, and i tell them, you don’t have to know anything. like, literally, not everything. i mean anything. tinker sachs 9 gts: right, right. ncc: you don’t have to know anything that your kids are learning. my mom didn’t know a word in english. gts: right. ncc: but i would get home, and she would tell me to read because i was supposed to read. gts: right. ncc: i mean, i didn’t know any english either. but i had the book that teacher gave me. and she would stop cooking because she was always cooking it seemed like, and she’d tell me to read, and i would, and she literally would be teared up, and she’d be smiling. and she’d be like, you’re so smart. your english is so good. and of course, i ate it up. but now as a grown up, i’m like, i didn’t know any english! i probably sounded horrible. (laughter.) but, so that’s not the point, i tell people. you know, self-confidence is more than half the battle. gts: right. ncc: and my mom had an elementary education, didn’t have a job and didn’t know any english. but she instilled that in me. gts: right. ncc: and believed in me and told me i was the smartest, bravest girl in the world. gts: yes. ncc: you know? and so, i feel like that is so powerful. gts: right. ncc: and if you don’t—it’s like, you don’t have to know everything. my youngest son took calculus his junior [year] in high school. and i remember looking at it, and i saw him working on it in the dining room table, so i knew it was serious because usually he just goes to his room, and i was like, “oh my gosh, he must be having trouble.” and i was like, “are you having trouble?” he was like, “i’m gonna look it up.” and i was like, “okay.” now i’m looking at it like, “oh my gosh, like, that totally looks like ancient egyptian hieroglyphics.” (laughter.) i don’t know what that is.” but i was like, “oh, marquitos, i have, i have cookies in the fridge. want me to make you some cookies?” 10 quietening of languages and he was like, “okay, yeah.” so, like, i baked cookies and gave him milk and sat next to him. literally just sat there. gts: yeah. ncc: and he ate his cookies. he didn’t [unclear] still looking like hieroglyphics. gts: yeah ncc: hieroglyphics! gts: yeah. (laughter.) ncc: so, like, i didn’t know anything, but it didn’t matter. i just sat with him. gts: that is the important thing that you want to convey to people, the fact that you were supporting him, and he felt your presence. ncc: yeah. [unclear]. gts: and knowing that you were egging him on just as your mom was, was egging you on. right? ncc: right. and so, i think it’s so important for parents to understand that even when we talk about supporting your kids work with education, i’m not saying you have to know anything. i’m just saying you have to be patient and love on them and be present. castillo crawford makes an important point in excerpt 4 for those immigrant parents who may feel “less than” because they do not speak the dominant language. she states clearly that parents do not need to speak english but can support their children in loving ways by being present as their children complete the school tasks. our final excerpt 5 looks at castillo crawford’s activism and community engagement. excerpt 5: activism and community engagement ncc: i am an extremely proud latina. i, part of me, and part of who i am as a leader is supporting my community. gts: yes. tinker sachs 11 ncc: i was talking to the latin american association as i was driving here, and they’re, they’re having their youth leadership thing on saturday. and, um, the young man said, basically, like, “do you sleep?” and i said, “when it comes to my community, i guess i’ll sleep when i’m dead.” i said, “because if i can support, i’m gonna support.” so yeah, i am a proud latina. american. i believe in culture and language being integrated. and it’s, you can’t have one without the other. um, i’m a proud mother of three young men. and, and i advocate for anything that has to do with education because i, i’m a believer that education is the game changer. and if we can help our communities understand that—it’s harder than people think—then we’ll be able to move forward. castillo crawford works hard in her community and believes in the power of education. our charge as esol educators and advocates of culturally and linguistically diverse students is to help them feel as empowered as she is. indeed, castillo crawford’s interview has highlighted challenges to some of the debilitating ways of thinking about those whose culture we may not know. in conclusion, she implores us to become educated about others and recognize that culture and language are inextricably intertwined. when we empower the child in our schools and communities, we empower the language and help that language to survive and thrive outside of the home. featured article: “othered” children and adults the interview with castillo crawford highlights othering, intersectionality, dominant narratives, the real narratives from personal experiences and activism and community engagement. from these lens, we know that othering and dominant narratives can be negative and debilitating. but, if we as educators can learn from the personal experiences of our students we can then serve to empower them. this is what the authors of our featured article do in telling us their stories. kaneria and valdez are educators of transnational parents from india and mexico. we hear their testimonio of growing up in georgia as “othered” children and adults. they draw on critical socio-historical, 12 quietening of languages linguistic, and cultural lenses to theorize their experiences. their stories are rich with intersectionality of language, race, class, and country of origin. they, like castello crawford, hope to inspire and empower educators of transnational children to see the linguistic and cultural resources they bring to school and draw on them to teach. kaneria and valdez’s article was used at the first preconference writing institute for teachers (tinker sachs, 2019a) on october 25, 2019, and at the gatesol in action presentation (tinker sachs, 2019b) at the gatesol conference on october 26, 2019, in suwanee, georgia. the readers at these sessions were very receptive to the paper, and i hope that the readers of this edition of gatesol in action will give a favorable response as well. we welcome more teacher writers to submit their work, and we thank our reviewers for their work on this edition. concluding thoughts in closing this editorial, i return to the question: what would the united states be like if languages other than english were welcomed and celebrated in schools and public spaces? of course, it depends on what we mean by welcomed and celebrated. for me, welcomed means given the power to be recognized by empowering legislation, and celebrated means drawn upon by teachers to affirm identity and deepen teaching connections where possible and allowed in classrooms and in community places. it would be a “gentler and more humane” united states where linguistic resources are built upon to promote self-efficacy and civic engagement. this climate would result in the awakening of languages, not the quietening of languages with which we started this editorial. i hope this editorial and this edition of our journal serve to enliven the conversation on the dangers of language loss and subtractive bilingualism and the need to celebrate tinker sachs 13 and welcome others who are culturally and linguistically different from ourselves. i close with the words from the united nations rights experts who implore all educators not to contribute to language loss or subtractive language shift or linguistic capital dispossession. the experts call for “un member states to recognise, protect and promote indigenous languages through legislation, policies and other strategies in full cooperation with indigenous peoples,” and for the “sustained support for bilingual and mother tongue education . . . access to health, employment, judicial and other public services in the languages of indigenous peoples, including through cyberspace and the internet” (un news, 2019a, para. 8). acknowledgements very special thanks to nury castillo crawford for her time in speaking with me to share her insights and experiences. special thanks also to zahava feldstein, georgia state university intern, for her meticulous transcription of the interview. references de freytas-tamura, k. (2020, january 7). just 700 speak this language (50 in the same brooklyn building). the new york times. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/07/nyregion/rare-languages-sekevlashki-wakhi.html endangered language alliance. (2012). seke: a tamangic language of nepal. https://elalliance.org/languages/himalaya/seke/ skutnabb-kangas, t., & phillipson, r. (2010). the global politics of language: market, maintenance, marginalization or murder. in n. coupland (ed.), the handbook of language and globalization (pp. 77–100). blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781444324068.ch3 https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/07/nyregion/rare-languages-seke-vlashki-wakhi.html https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/07/nyregion/rare-languages-seke-vlashki-wakhi.html https://elalliance.org/languages/himalaya/seke/ https://doi.org/10.1002/9781444324068.ch3 14 quietening of languages tinker sachs, g. m. (2019, october 25). the process and the act of writing as knowledgeable stakeholder in the education of multilinguals: gatesol unites to write [conference presentation]. gatesol all day pre-conference institute (session initiator, developer, and facilitator), j. alvin instructional support center, suwanee, ga. tinker sachs, g. m. (2019, october 26). images that haunt us: disrupting the normalization of what’s in our faces [conference presentation]. gatesol conference, j. alvin instructional support center, suwanee, ga. u.s. census bureau. (2020). u.s. and world population clock. https://www.census.gov/popclock/ un news. (2019, august 7). four in 10 indigenous languages at risk of disappearing, warn un human rights experts. https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/08/1043871 un news. (2019, december 17). two indigenous languages are dying every month: un assembly president. https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/12/1053711 zeigler, k., & camarota, s. a. (2019, october 29). 67.3 million in the united states spoke a foreign language at home in 2018. center for immigration studies. https://cis.org/report/673-million-united-statesspoke-foreign-language-home-2018 https://www.census.gov/popclock/ https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/08/1043871 https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/12/1053711 https://cis.org/report/673-million-united-states-spoke-foreign-language-home-2018 https://cis.org/report/673-million-united-states-spoke-foreign-language-home-2018 issn #2331-6845 unpacking capital: promoting english learner success and learning to ‘do school’ by dr. maria montalvo balbed metro resa, atlanta, georgia maria.montalvo@mresa.org dr. bernadette mccormack musetti loyola marymount university, los angeles, california bmusetti@lmu.edu this study examines the educational trajectories, critical life events, variations and commonalities of four dominican women who, despite being non-english speakers and working class immigrants, were academically and professionally successful in the united states. criteria for case study participants included being first generation immigrants from the dominican republic who had earned an advanced degree in education, were currently working in the educational arena in georgia, and had joined the ranks of the american middle class. four dominican women were participants in the study. data collection included multiple in-depth, open-ended, semistructured, one-on-one, as well as focus group interviews. the themes that emerged are related to various types of capital, which include aspirational, linguistic, familial, navigational, and resistant. findings suggest that the women’s own academic expectations and cultural capital, coupled with high levels of academic and emotional support, were key factors in their educational and career success. this study contributes to an expanded understanding of the concept of cultural capital and its application in education. keywords: taxonomy of capital, community cultural wealth, latina/o achievement, english learners, dominican immigrants, lived experience 1 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 mailto:aubrey.southall@gmail.com mailto:bmusetti@lmu.edu the examination of these women’s stories has been cathartic for me in terms of understanding my own journey of success through education. i have often wondered how i made it into college; when, after a battery of tests, my own high school counselor called me into the office and said words that still make me cry: “you’re not college material.” at the time, i had no idea what she meant by me not being college material. all i knew was that she was reinforcing the message that i could not ‘do school’, which reinforced the messages that i often heard in other, more subtle ways. (co-author, maria montalvo-balbed) capital and why it matters students bring the entirety of their life experiences to school each day. these experiences involve a great deal of what we refer to as capital. however, schools traditionally honor and leverage capital differently for different groups of students. students whose background experience, language, and cultural expectations are aligned with what teachers want to teach, how teachers want to teach and assess learning, the ways teachers prefer students to learn, and how teachers expect students to interact, are more likely to find school to be a positive experience and a place where their capital is valued. this is often not the experience of students whose cultural background and languages do not fit the school norms. the capital these students bring to the school is generally neither honored nor leveraged for the students’ benefit. in this article we argue that all students, regardless of their background experiences, bring vast reservoirs of capital that can be leveraged for learning 2 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 and success with schooling. our goal is to identify and define the various forms of capital, to share what we have learned from our work about capital, and to discuss how schools can build and leverage it to promote success for students, in particular for english learners. educational research is replete with theories and studies that attempt to explain why latino students have experienced persistent underachievement (boykin & noguera, 2011; chapa & de la rosa, 2004; orfield, losen, wald, & swanson, 2004: portes & salas, 2010; valenzuela, 1999), even where it is understood that to use a term like ‘latino’ masks vast cultural, linguistic and other variations (nieto & bode, 2012). cultural capital is the knowledge and understandings that people draw upon as they participate in society— including successfully learning to ‘do school’. however, a limited and exclusionary view of capital promotes a deficit approach to educating many latino, as well as other students (villegas & lucas, 2002; zeichner & payne, 2013). conversely, an inclusive view of students both recognizes and leverages what gonzález, moll, & amanti (2005) describe as a “funds of knowledge” approach, which includes the background knowledge, life experiences and areas of expertise that students bring with them to school. when teachers infuse students’ cultural experiences and language into the curriculum, they honor the linguistic and cultural knowledge of students 3 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 within the school setting, which promotes positive identity development, engagement, and relevant learning experiences. in short, this approach respects the experience of the learner (boyd & brock, 2004; salazar, 2013). the study: questions and methods the purpose of this study was to understand the success of four dominican women who are first generation immigrants and english language learners and the ways in which their realities can be understood and explained using in part, the community cultural wealth (ccw) model (yosso, 2005). their life stories yield a deep understanding of the factors that explained, influenced, and, indeed allowed for their academic and professional successes and their eventual advancement into leadership roles in pre-k-12 education in the u.s. theoretical perspectives in qualitative research provide an overall framework for the study on questions of gender, class, race, and other issues of importance to marginalized groups (creswell, 2009). the intent of the study was to make sense of the meanings and understandings the participants had of their experience of and in the world, with a focus on their educational experience. qualitative research methodologies allowed for a deep understanding of what propelled and allowed the women in the study to be successful. our goal, as creswell (2009), states was to “focus on the specific contexts in which people live and work, in order to understand the historic 4 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 and cultural settings of the participants” (p. 8). more specifically, the study’s aim was to identify and describe the types of capital relevant to the participants’ “lived lives” that contributed in important ways to their educational and professional success. the qualitative methodologies employed allowed the women’s stories to be heard, understood, and shared with others. as marshall and rossman (2006) assert, qualitative research is crucial for understanding rich narrative experiences such as those shared by our participants. the criteria for inclusion in the study included being first generation female immigrants from the dominican republic who had earned either a master’s or doctoral degree in education and were currently working in an administrative capacity in the pre-k-12 educational arena in georgia. four dominican women who met the criteria were invited to participate in the study. of the four participants, two had earned their master’s degrees and two had earned their doctoral degrees. data collection included, but was not limited to, multiple in-depth, open-ended, semi-structured, one-on-one and focus group interviews. each participant in the study constituted a case and data collection involved an array of procedures for building an in-depth case, where multiple data collection formats were used. in addition to multiple oneon-one interviews, a focus group interview was combined with physical 5 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 artifact data, which included photographs. each participant described a series of photographs she had brought to share during the focus group, as both descriptive and emblematic of her journey. the study addressed the following questions: • what factors, including various types of capital, do academically successful dominican women report as significant in helping them navigate the ‘school world’? • what are the commonalities and variations in the narratives of educationally successful dominican women across particular categories, including class, gender, and language? background to the study ana, carmen, rosario and deyanira (all pseudonyms) are the four women whose narratives we describe. they immigrated to the u.s. during their elementary grades years, are native spanish speakers, grew up in working class families, and were born to parents who had limited experience with higher education. in this report we share lessons learned from their collective successes and examine ways to apply our findings to promote success among other latina/o students. 6 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 theoretical framework: community cultural capital immigrant, non-english speaking students from working class families benefit from schooling experiences that leverage their existing capital, while helping them to acquire other types of capital that their middle class, english speaking peers often possess. here we describe what it looks like to unpack the more generic term ‘capital’, into various specific types, building on the work of yosso (2005) as a framework to view types of capital that latino students often bring to the schooling experience. we offer recommendations for making these strengths more apparent to teachers, so they can leverage them to the benefit of students. yosso’s taxonomy of types of capital encompasses the more commonly used and understood concept of social capital, as networks of people and community resources. however, within the taxonomy are important, yet less understood types of capital, which we use as a theoretical framework to understand, and in large part explain, the educational successes of the women in the study. 7 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 table 1 yosso’s taxonomy of capital type of capital description resistant capital behavior that challenges inequality. aspirational capital hopes and dreams for the future, even in the face of real or perceived barriers. familial capital a broad understanding of kinship and ‘familia’ that promotes community wellbeing through a sense of community, history, and cultural institutions. navigational capital people and community resources that provide both instrumental and emotional support for maneuvering through social institutions. linguistic capital intellectual and social skills acquired through communication experiences in more than one language and/or style. illustrative narrative vignettes the four women in the study “beat the odds” in that they became academically and professionally successful, despite their realities as first generation working class dominican immigrants who learned english as an additional language and whose families had very limited experience with higher education. their stories demonstrate in various ways how the types of capital outlined above were recognized and leveraged by teachers, counselors, 8 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 and others in critically important ways that allowed and promoted educational success among all study participants--ana, carmen, rosario and deyanira. mentors and cultural brokers linked to capital findings from the study revealed that mentors were a key element in each of the women’s stories. each had a mentor who also acted as a cultural broker and whose support and efforts made a critical difference in their immediate as well as their eventual success. these informal cultural brokers assisted the women by helping them to bridge the gap from their home lives and cultures to their lives in the u.s., particularly as those related to schooling. this ‘brokering’ took various forms. in some instances it was helping them to navigate social and bureaucratic systems or to find jobs. for others it was explaining academic expectations and offering additional opportunities to acquire academic english and information literacy skills, which were critical for their success. for the women in the study, mentors were linked to other kinds of capital, including navigational and aspirational capital. aspirational capital carmen, had a high school counselor who helped her develop strong aspirational capital, the ability to hope and dream for the future, even in the face of very real obstacles. carmen’s counselor ensured that she had college 9 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 aspirations and the requisite classes and skills for college. the counselor also understood that students like carmen had no experience of college and so took her on college visits and helped her fill out applications, get financial aid, and even convinced her parents that it was good for their daughter to leave home to go to college. this kind of support is important because we know there is a significant disconnect between latinas’ aspirations for college and the reality of them realizing this goal for a number of reasons, not the least of which is financial (national women’s law center and mexican american legal defense and educational fund, 2009). these early experiences and college pipeline programs can and often do have dramatic effects on student participants in terms of aspirations and academic outcomes (musetti & tolbert, 2010). familial capital all of the latina educators in our study had high levels of familial capital and described numerous ways in which their families supported, encouraged and inspired them. all attributed their success in large part to their families, whose words and deeds let them know they must “make something of themselves”, be financially independent, and do better than their parents. each participant described various types of support, often through extended family, that allowed or pushed them to succeed and each described 10 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 sacrifices made by family, often the greatest of these by mothers, which allowed them ultimately to ‘do school’. each of the women said her parents did not visit the school, but cared deeply about their child’s success. ana’s family, like the others, was busy working and could not come to school. one of the mothers did not even know where the high school was because she worked very long hours in a factory and never attended any school functions. both authors have worked with educators of latino students for many years and we often hear teachers lament the fact that parents don’t care about their children’s education, as evidenced by the fact that they don’t come to the school. what we hope teachers will understand, and is reinforced by this research, is that latino parents, like all parents, care deeply about their children’s education, but may express that caring in ways that differ from traditional school engagement activities, such as “advocating” for their child, fundraising, or attending parent-teacher organizational meetings. navigational capital although the women in the study came from immigrant families in which the parents had not gone to college, participants found they could learn to navigate the higher education system through various means, which included supportive programs for first generation college goers, mentors, cultural brokers, family members who had immigrated and attended college, 11 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 and other connections including religious structures and social supports. for two women in the study, ana and rosario, their religious institutions provided them with important opportunities to develop navigational capital. rosario’s mother insisted that she return to the dominican republic when entering sixth grade so she could attend the boarding school affiliated with her church. rosario did so and attributes that decision in large part to setting her on an educational path to success. for ana, who was painfully shy, church provided a place for her to participate in service to others and where she could be mentored, which she says allowed her to have more experiences in the world and to build confidence. for ana and rosario, their churches provided both the emotional and academic support critical to their eventual academic and professional success. linguistic capital all of the women in the study said they possessed linguistic capital and that their bilingualism was a significant asset to them as educators and administrators. they recalled how their knowledge of spanish helped them to learn english, but often they expressed frustration with their struggles to attain high levels of academic language proficiency in one or both languages, which all of them eventually developed. one of the participants, deyanira, described how the development of her spanish skills helped her develop her 12 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 english skills: “what i did was, as my spanish vocabulary expanded, i brought those words into my english.” deyanira was not taught to do this sort of transfer or analysis, but developed the strategy on her own. she writes “many times these comparative analyses helped me with my learning of english.” here deyanira speaks to an important principle of language acquisition—the transfer of language skills, specifically—of cognates. academic english is largely latin-based, as is spanish, and many of the common, everyday, high frequency words in spanish are often text-based, academic words in english (corson, 1995; 1997). for example, edificio in spanish is a common word for the noun ‘building’; whereas, edifice and edifying are distinctly academic words in english, but where the words share the same latin root across the two languages. as another example, explicar is a common word in spanish, meaning ‘to explain’; whereas, in english it has the same meaning, but again, the word explicate in english is a decidedly academic word . these words are cognates and therefore have a similar structure and meaning in both languages. however, in spanish these are more common words used in conversation, whereas in english they are low frequency, academic words, more often found in texts. spanish speakers learning academic english have a large advantage in that much of their conversational language can potentially transfer to english as academic language, if and when students are made 13 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 aware of these cognates. this linguistic capital can be leveraged in significant ways to promote academic success for english learners, as deyanira discovered for herself. resistant capital all of the participants had to resist negative stereotypes and other barriers in order to be successful in learning to ‘do school.’ carmen spoke about her ability to make life choices, including her resistance to choosing the more culturally favored path chosen by her sisters: “i think it’s an inner choice. i think you look at life, and you look at how you are living, and you then make a choice in whether you want to live in that manner or you don’t. i also had the opportunity to visit friends’ homes and so i knew where they lived…you know the brownstones, so i knew there was a difference with that kind of living. exposure, i think like going to visit colleges and there was a whole different world outside of your neighborhood and your school. i think that was a big difference….i think my sisters made a choice with life. i think that they were limited in their thinking about life and sometimes i wonder if it was about what was pushed in the dominican republic— you got married early and it was about being a housewife and taking care of your husband; i think that’s the cultural piece probably.” taken together, the women in the study shared a wealth of aspirational, linguistic, familial, navigational and resistant capital, which helped them ‘do school’. all participants had access to, acknowledged and leveraged all six types of capital outlined in the community cultural wealth framework, albeit at different times in their trajectories and via different pathways. 14 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 intersection of capital and caring we share one final anecdote from our study to highlight the ways in which having an ability-centered perspective of students requires knowledge of students, their lives and cultures, but is also characterized by caring, and how these intersect in ways that make the critical difference for students. one of the women in the study—rosario, fondly recalled a fourth grade teacher whom she remembered warmly, because she was so “kind.” rosario was responsible for getting her younger brother to school and to his classroom and was often late to her own classroom, arriving each day out of breath from the morning rush. the teacher understood that she was a child with adult responsibilities and so did not take recess away or punish her in any way, even though she was late to class almost every day. this simple act of caring may likely have changed rosario’s educational trajectory, since the teacher could have invoked disciplinary action for the tardiness, that when compounded, could have had very negative consequences for her. instead, rosario’s teacher understood the reason for her tardiness and appreciated what rosario was providing for her sibling and her family (familial capital). rosario identified this teacher’s willingness to accommodate for her tardiness without taking punitive action as one of the factors in her early 15 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 educational journey that promoted engagement over alienation. indeed, among the main school ‘push-out’ factors and contributors to the ‘school-toprison pipeline’ are unreasonable and often unevenly implemented discipline policies. in the current era of zero-tolerance policies at schools, it is important for educators to see the whole child and to understand and take responsibility for the impacts discipline and other policies have on students, including a lack of opportunity to practice critical literacy, especially among students of color (winn & behizadeh, 2011). recommendations for practice it is the authors’ experience as educators who have worked for more than three decades with both pre-service and in-service teachers, that instructional approaches and stances that validate students’ identities, backgrounds, and realities while promoting and leveraging multiple types of capital are most likely to produce positive schooling outcomes and academic success among traditionally marginalized students, including english learners. the students placed most at risk by and within our educational systems, including english learners are the students most in need of highly qualified and well-prepared educators with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to help them to succeed. with this in mind, we make the following recommendations for educators: 16 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 • offer professional learning and programs, which promote multicultural and multilingual curricula and primary language literacy. emphasize the importance of developing academic language and leveraging a student’s native language in that process, including for example cognate study (linguistic capital). • the common core state standards have an increased emphasis on informational texts, which is critically important. here we also encourage the continued use of narrative in pre-k-12 classrooms and in teacher preparation as a means of activating awareness of various types of capital and of developing the same, while honoring students’ developing identities. specifically, we recommend the use of texts, which allow and require students to explore their developing identities (cummins, 2006). this may include having students do cultural autobiographies, explore boundary crossing experiences, draw neighborhood maps with accompanying stories, compose poetry about where they are from, document oral histories and create cultural memoirs, to name a few examples (resistant and all other main types of capital explored here). • create and expand pipeline programs, which expose first generation college-going students to college life, expectations and experiences. if a 17 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 school has little experience with these programs, start small, for example with a month long intensive summer program and grow it over time. also learn from others who have successfully implemented such programs and enlist the assistance of organizations with experience doing these programs, including but not limited to hispanic scholarship fund (hsf), math, engineering and science achievement (mesa), and others (aspirational and navigational capital). • do more to engage families of immigrant and all students in welcoming, culturally appropriate ways, especially those who have been traditionally marginalized within our social, economic, political, and educational systems. consider alternative models of family engagement such as those outlined by allen (2007) in her work on creating welcoming schools and authentic family-school partnerships. meet families both literally and figuratively on their turf and terms and in ways families identify as important. minimally this would include communicating with families in the language(s) spoken by them (familial capital). from this study we can conclude that students, including english learners, bring with them multiple types of capital. at times these are understood, discovered, and cultivated by teachers, but often they are unacknowledged 18 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 and unleveraged by teachers and schools. these multiple types of capital are huge assets, which encourage students to remain motivated, help them to learn, and allow them to succeed. the question we leave readers to ponder and address in their professional settings is: how can educators and schools allow for the co-creation of success by drawing upon what students bring as assets and strengths, while at the same time operating as places where students can acquire various types of capital and literacies that they do not already possess in large measure? it is our hope that meaningful discussions of this among educators, students, families and other community members might yield new insights and new ways to ‘do school’ for english learners and other students placed at risk. 19 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 references allen, j. (2007). creating welcoming schools. ny: teacher’s college press. boyd, f. & brock, c. (eds.). (2004). multicultural and multilingual literacy and language: contexts and practices. new york: guilford press. boykin, w. & noguera, p. (2011). creating the opportunity to learn: moving from research to practice to close the achievement gap. alexandria, va: ascd chapa, j., & de la rosa, b. (2004). latino population growth, socio socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, and implications for educational attainment. education and urban society, 36(2), 130-149. corson, d. (1995). using english words. dordrecht, the netherlands: kluwer. corson, d. (1997). the learning and use of academic english words. language learning, 47, 671-718. creswell, j. (2009). research design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. (3rd ed.). thousand oaks, ca: sage. cummins, j. (2006). identity texts: the imaginative construction of self through multiliteracies pedagogy. in o. garcía, t. skutnabb-kangas & m. torresguzmán (eds.), imagining multilingual schools: language in education and glocalization (pp. 51-68). clevedon: multilingual matters. 20 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 gonzález, n., moll, l. c., & amanti, c. (eds.). (2005). funds of knowledge: theorizing practices in households, communities, and classrooms. mahwah, nj: lawrence erlbaum. marshall, c. & rossman, g. b. (2006). designing qualitative research. (4th ed.). thousand oaks, ca: sage. montalvo-balbed, m. (2011). looking back: tracing the trajectory of four dominican women who learned ‘to do’ school (unpublished doctoral dissertation). kennesaw state university, kennesaw, ga. musetti, b., & tolbert, s. (2010). science as springboard: promoting achievement and aspiration among english language learners. in d. sunal & c. sunal (eds.), teaching science with hispanic ells in k-16 classrooms (pp. 253-274). charlotte, nc: information age publishing. national women’s law center & mexican american legal defense and educational fund. (2009). listening to latinas: barriers to high school graduation. washington, dc: national women’s law center & maldef. nieto, s. & bode, p. (2012). affirming diversity: the sociopolitical context of multicultural education. boston: pearson. 21 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 orfield, g., losen, d., wald, j., & swanson, c. (2004). losing our future: how latino youth are being left behind by the graduation rate crisis. cambridge, ma: civil rights project at harvard university. portes, p., & salas, s. (2010). in the shadow of stone mountain: identity development, structured inequality, and the education of spanish-speaking children. bilingual research journal, 33(2), 241-248. salazar, m. (2013). a humanizing pedagogy: reinventing the principles and practice of education as a journey toward liberation. review of research in education, 37, 121-148. valenzuela, a. (1999). subtractive schooling: u.s.-mexican youth and the politics of caring. albany, ny: suny press. villegas, a. m., & lucas, t. (2002). educating culturally responsive teachers: a coherent approach. albany, ny: suny. winn, m. & behizadeh, n. (2011). the right to be literate: literacy, education, and the school-to-prison pipeline. review of research in education, 35, 147-173. yosso, t. j. (2005). whose culture has capital? a critical race theory discussion of community cultural wealth. race ethnicity and education, 8, 69-91. 22 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 zeichner, k. & payne, k. (2013). democratizing knowledge in urban teacher education. in noel, j. (ed.), moving teacher education into urban schools and communities: prioritizing community strengths (pp. 3-19). new york: routledge. 23 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 1 gatesol in action, fall 2018 issn #2331-6845 multilingual self: inspired by a recent trip to peru by dr. jayoung choi department of inclusive education kennesaw state university jchoi44@kennesaw.edu funded by gatesol, i had the privilege of presenting at the 2016 peru tesol conference in arequipa. in this poem, i write about my inspiration of becoming fluent in spanish by drawing on my interactions with and observations of locals and backpackers, non-native speakers of spanish, in cusco, machu picchu, lima, and ollataytambo beyond arequipa during my extended 10-day stay in peru. i describe how exhilarating it was to try out my limited spanish and to watch crosslinguistic influences at work. in this poem, i write in all four languages of which i have varying proficiencies: korean, english, farsi, and spanish in hopes to encourage teachers to allow multilingual students to draw on all linguistic repertories when learning in school (please see ofelia garcía and her colleagues’ work on translanguaging). keywords: spanish; multilingualism; korean; persian; english; peru; crosslinguistic influences; identity funded by gatesol, i had the privilege of presenting at the 2016 peru tesol conference in arequipa. in this poem, i write about my inspiration of becoming fluent in spanish by drawing on my interactions with and observations of locals and backpackers, non-native speakers of spanish, in cusco, machu picchu, lima, and ollataytambo beyond arequipa during my extended 10-day stay in peru. mailto:jchoi44@kennesaw.edu 2 gatesol in action, fall 2018 the image in figure 1 below shows a free two-hour walking tour in peru i joined through which i interacted with backpackers from around the world: figure 1. memories from peru. this is a screenshot of information about a free walking tour in cusco. i found free walking tours in peru very informative. it is also fun walking around the city with backpackers. i describe how exhilarating it was to try out my limited spanish and to watch crosslinguistic influences at work. in this poem, i write in all four languages of which i have varying proficiencies: korean, english, farsi, and spanish in hopes to encourage teachers to allow multilingual students to draw on all linguistic repertoires when learning in school. figures 2, 3, and 4 below illustrate how three languages, korean, farsi, and english, are integrated in our daily lives in my household: 3 gatesol in action, fall 2018 figure 2. korean books. my two-year-old daughter, who is growing up as a trilingual, is pretend reading a title of a children’s book in korean. figure 3. farsi children’s book. i came across a children’s book in farsi in a farsi language class that my five-year-old son recently started attending on sundays. 4 gatesol in action, fall 2018 figure 4. english language. my son, who is developing trilingual abilities, wrote english alphabet on the white board when he came to my office. this practice is called translanguaging, which is defined as “the deployment of a speaker’s full linguistic repertoire without regard for watchful adherence to the socially and politically defined boundaries of named (and usually national and the state) language”(otheguy, garcía, & reid, 2015, p. 283). multilingual self: inspired by a recent trip to peru forming a different identity speaking a foreign tongue in a new place being othered it is exhilarating! yo soy coreana pero vivo y trabajo en atlanta georgia usa1 me llamo jayoung2 excitedly, having a short conversation with locals in cusco, machu picchu, lima, ollataytambo, and arequipa unexpectedly, my third language, farsi, was crawling out when using spanish what is happening here? 이란어가 여기저기서 왜 불쑥불쑥 튀어나오지?!3 in place of por que, 4 چون کهpopped out pushed out sí5 بله i took a step back and amusedly watched crosslinguistic influences at work but, my spanish did not go much far… 5 gatesol in action, fall 2018 why did i wait all these years not learning spanish? oh boy, i grew envious of a young college student from the u.s. who could converse in spanish fluently with a beautiful english accent a polish backpacker who naturally picked up enough spanish by travelling i can be like them, non-native speakers of spanish if they can do it, i can do it. 저 정도는 나도 조금만 시간 투자하면 할 수 있지, 그럼!6 hopeful and inspired i return to my two young kids and my full-time job in an english-speaking country like my teachers who wish to learn the languages of their students but who don’t have the time i also struggle to carve out a time to keep the momentum and passion but i cannot put it off again! i have promised myself to go back with much-improved spanish soon and start to figure myself in spanish too notes 1. in spanish, “i am korean but i live and work in atlanta, ga, u.s.a.” 2. in spanish, “my name is jayoung.” 3. in korean, “why is my farsi popping out here and there?” 4. in spanish and farsi, “because” 5. in farsi and spanish, “yes.” 6. in korean, “i can speak spanish that much if i invest more time in learning, for sure” concluding thoughts i have chosen to write about my experience in peru particularly in the genre of poetry. when i had a strong urge to express my bursting desire of becoming a proficient spanish speaker, i could not think of a more suitable medium than poetry. poetry served well for me as i desired to get my thoughts on paper and start dialoguing with others quickly. this genre, unlike a long prose or an academic paper, permits fewer words to carry my inspirations and reflections in a more impactful manner. this genre 6 gatesol in action, fall 2018 can especially be powerful for multilingual writers as it conspicuously highlights the use of multiple languages in it. multilingual writers who could be teacher educators, teachers, and k-12 students can employ translanguaging through which they purposefully and strategically choose words and sentences in one language over another to express more layered meaning. please see ofelia garcía and her colleagues’ work on translanguaging as well as translanguaging guides and resources on the web, https://www.cuny-nysieb.org. conclusion esol teachers are the bridge for el students in most content area classrooms, and knowing what mainstream teachers think and believe is an important part of advocating for els. it is now more than ever imperative that esol teachers ground themselves in the facts about the issues that most affect their students: immigration and documentation; oms. professional development providers as well can keep these misconceptions and realities at the forefront of their work with teachers. taking schoolbased steps to increase awareness of the realities of els’ experiences, situations, and language acquisition processes and how to navigate this with mainstream teachers is a way to start the advocacy journey. https://www.cuny-nysieb.org/ 7 gatesol in action, fall 2018 references garcía, o., johnson, s. i., & seltzer, k. (2016). the translanguaging classroom: leveraging student bilingualism for learning. philadelphia, pa: caslon publishing. garcía, o. & kleyn, t. (eds.). (2016). translanguaging with multilingual students: learning from classroom moments. new york, ny: routledge. garcía, o., & wei, l. (2015). translanguaging, bilingualism and bilingual education. in w. e. wright, s. boun, & o. garcia (eds). the handbook of bilingual and multilingual education (pp. 223-240). hoboken, nj: wiley-blackwell. otheguy, r., garcía, o., & reid, w. (2015). clarifying translanguaging and deconstructing named languages: a perspective from linguistics. applied linguistics review, 6(3), 281-307. doi:10.1515/applirev-2015-0014 1 gatesol in action, fall 2018 issn #2331-6845 learning to teach again, in china by lisa mcleod-chambless georgia state university lmcleodchambless1@student.gsu.edu teaching english abroad provides an opportunity to travel the world however, it can also be a challenging endeavor. having limited exposure to and understanding of the culture adds to the intensity of the challenge and the inability to navigate daily living in a new environment can be a painful disorienting experience that often results in culture shock. young yun kim’s (2008) theory outlines a developmental model that presents the trials of cross-cultural adaptation as a dynamic and transformative process through which intercultural personhood can be developed. kim (2008) argues that the stress of acculturation and deculturation is an opportunity for growth manifested in cycles of stressadaptation-growth. this account of a three-year experience living and teaching at a public high school in china applies kim’s (2008) model to demonstrate how the difficulties of cross-cultural experiences can be the catalyst for transformation and development of intercultural identity. developing an understanding of the cultural context through awareness and reflection facilitates the ability to teach students from other cultures. educators in georgia, particularly esl teachers, are likewise challenged by cultural differences with their students and can further develop their intercultural skills regardless of location. keywords: education, cultural studies when i began my career as a teacher, i was intentional in my choice to work in a school located in the inner-city neighborhood where i lived. the cultural background of the students, and most of the other teachers, was vastly different 2 gatesol in action, fall 2018 from mine, and my understanding of how to navigate the cultural differences was limited. while my teacher education program familiarized me with multicultural education, i learned that the ability to address the challenges of cross-cultural education is developed gradually through awareness and reflective practices. my efforts to understand the lives of my students through my relationships with them and my colleagues helped me to gain a broader perspective and provide context for instruction, and i began to develop an intercultural competence that facilitated my ability to teach in that environment. after 11 years of teaching i began to wonder about how i could further pursue my passion for educating adolescents. my love for teaching and commitment to students were still strong but i wanted to extend myself beyond the realm of my collective experiences as a secondary school social studies teacher; i enrolled in a doctoral program planning to build on my teaching experiences and become a teacher educator. when an opportunity to teach in china was extended to students in my graduate school program, it grabbed my attention. the idea of living abroad had always appealed to me; i had traveled to china as a chaperone for a middle school trip and was fascinated by what i had experienced. as a teacher in this university partnership, i could also function as a research assistant for the initiative to prepare chinese high school students for their educations in the united states. additionally, i would be able to bring my son and felt that the opportunity for him to learn through the experience would be invaluable. 3 gatesol in action, fall 2018 i was thrilled by the prospect of expanding our life experiences through an immersion in chinese culture. i had a longstanding desire to develop a deeper understanding of the rest of the world by living abroad. i envisioned being immersed in the culture as a two-year learning experience for my son and me that would afford us a broader, more global perspective on the world. i quickly learned that the excitement of our adventure would be tempered by the difficulties of being a foreigner. learning to teach in china felt like my first years as a teacher. when i began my teaching career i had had a basic understanding of pedagogy; but, it was through my experiences in the classroom and an increased understanding of the students’ culture that i reconstructed my identity as a teacher. although i was an experienced teacher and had studied chinese culture, i found that teaching in my new environment was quite difficult. however, the trials that i encountered were the catalyst for my growth as a teacher and for the development of my intercultural identity. my experience preparations and assumptions the international program is a collaboration between a chinese public high school, the university, and a private company. there are approximately 3,000 students in the school which is located in china’s third largest city, guangzhou. the university recruited three teachers (language arts, math and social studies) who would prepare the students for attending college in the united states. in the program, the students spend two years taking half of their courses from the 4 gatesol in action, fall 2018 american teachers and half of their courses from chinese teachers on the school’s faculty. the goal of the program is to facilitate the chinese students’ transition through an educational experience that provides english language instruction while incorporating student-centered teaching and learning strategies. in preparation for my endeavor, i tried to develop some understanding of the culture, plan for the courses i would teach, and gather things that i thought would ease the transition to my new world. i had never been to guangzhou, and i lacked substantive experience with the culture, i needed a crash course on living in china. i gathered information to build background knowledge on the culture and tried to anticipate the tangible cultural differences that were ahead of me. the language was the most obvious obstacle to our adjustment, so my son and i took mandarin lessons; but, while he developed a basic level of proficiency, i acquired only a few words. to understand the context for teaching social studies i read books and articles about the politics and history of education in china. along with the other teachers, my son and i attended briefings on the history and culture of china. in a university course on intercultural communication i studied scholars of asian culture and explored my cultural background. i examined my cultural identity in an effort to understand my biases and lay the groundwork for building relationships with my future students and colleagues in china. my work in this course was the beginning of a reflective process that has been an invaluable part of my experience. using the framework provided in intercultural communication (scollon & scollon, 2001) as a lens for considering my approach to teaching and day-to-day interactions with the local people gave me a perspective that extended beyond intercultural communications taking into account differences in 5 gatesol in action, fall 2018 gender, generation, and sociolinguistic systems. according to scollon & scollon (2001), differences in discourse patterns are the primary source of intercultural miscommunication, and because professional communicators are simultaneously, members of multiple discourse groups there are several factors to consider as we interpret inter-group communications. throughout my preparations for teaching, i tried to anticipate the learning environment. i thought that my greatest challenge would be coaxing the “reticent” chinese students to take part in student-centered learning activities. while i tried to resist assigning stereotypical characteristics to my images of my future students, i could not imagine them otherwise, given my view of the highly structured environment of the traditional chinese education system. i developed my syllabi for world history and american culture using the georgia performance standards (gps) and common core standards (ccs) as a framework. to begin, i planned to use the strategies i had employed with my students in atlanta who were reading below grade level: building background knowledge through vocabulary instruction and the use of visual images, differentiated instruction, and cooperative learning. having been warned that internet access would be limited (no youtube!), i packed books and digital resources that i had used in the past. as i considered the content, i was given a list of topics that i could not discuss. it was not particularly difficult to navigate the restrictions because they were explicitly communicated. however, there were times when the appropriateness of course content was extraordinarily hard to discern due to a communication strategy where administrators avoided direct 6 gatesol in action, fall 2018 introduction of their topic. this approach to addressing communication when it is unclear that the listeners will be open to the speaker’s conclusion or when the aim of the discourse is to require the listener to take a particular action (scollon & scollon, 2001). cross-cultural adaptation a goal for this cultural exchange has been for the participants to have experiences that facilitate cross-cultural understanding. in his theory of crosscultural adaptation, kim (2008) states that identity develops throughout life, and we can learn and change through intercultural communication experiences. he posits that intercultural personhood evolves as individuals adapt to living in a new and different culture or subculture. having extended intercultural experiences challenges individuals as they face others’ different ways of thinking, in response their cultural identities can evolve as they move beyond their cultural boundaries and ways of thinking and seek similarities to solve problems. kim (2008) further explains that cross-cultural adaptation is the product of the reciprocal relationship between acculturation and deculturation. acculturation, the acquisition of new cultural practices, is a learning process that requires the active engagement of an individual. deculturation is the unlearning, if only temporarily, of cultural practices in order to adopt new habits. experiences of continued acculturation and deculturation are accompanied by stress from the internal conflict that is created by the push and pull between the old and new ways of doing things. for kim, this stress is “an opportunity to search deep inside ourselves for new possibilities to recreate ourselves (2008, p. 363). 7 gatesol in action, fall 2018 stress-adaptation-growth my personal experiences and observations of the experiences of the other teachers and students support kim’s (2008) theory that intercultural identity evolves through the adaptation to a new living environment. kim (2008) illustrates the stress-adaptation-growth dynamic as the product of the conflict between the need for acculturation and the resistance to deculturation. the stress can result in emotional lows (confusion, uncertainty, anxiety) commonly referred to as “culture shock” (ward, bochner, & furnham, 2001). sahlins concludes that it is through the desire to overcome difficulties that people learn to adapt to their new circumstances (as cited in kim, 2008). the growth follows the “successful, longterm, and cumulative management” of the stress and adaptation (kim, 2008, p. 364). in retrospect, i can identify many cycles that began when i faced a surprising or unfamiliar situation and experienced the stress of not understanding something or not knowing how to address a problem. there were many difficulties that i did not handle very well initially. however, because of the cyclical nature of the adaptive process i began to learn new ways of operating as i came to understand the local practices. at the same time, i learned to let go of some of my familiar ways of being. stress at first, my excitement about our adventure and new surroundings overshadowed many of the challenges i encountered, but even during that honeymoon period there was evidence of the challenges ahead. after a month or 8 gatesol in action, fall 2018 so, i began to realize the inadequacy of my cultural competence. many of my expectations about the school and teaching turned out to be off-base; i was unprepared for the complexities of navigating daily life; and intercultural communications were far more complicated than i had expected. the new experiences of our first weeks were full of excitement and wonder. when the american teachers moved into our apartments in the teacher dormitory a week before school began, the students were already on campus for their mandatory military training. they began training at 7:00 a.m. and practiced marching drills until lunch when they took a two-hour break to eat and rest. after lunch they continued to practice drills until the dinner break, and they practiced again in the evenings until 9:00. from our apartment i could hear their chants and cadences. the training was run by soldiers from the people’s liberation army (pla) and it appeared to be grueling work under the hot sun. the american teachers were invited to meet our new students, and the students and 版主任ban zhuren asked us to participate in a musical performance as part of a show on the last night of the training. for me, the invitation was completely unexpected after observing the formality of the military training, and i was even more surprised when the students chose a bruno mars song to perform with us. some of the students were as shy as i expected them to be. however, several students were quite excited about our performance and participated in the planning and practices enthusiastically. the evening of the performance was surreal. the stage in the gym was the setting and the gym was dark, the stage lights were bright, and the sound system 9 gatesol in action, fall 2018 was blaring. my senses were overloaded. having no understanding of the language i was relying on body language to interpret what was happening. during the show the atmosphere and energy in the gym was far different from the militaristic environment that i had observed throughout the week. most of the classes sang and some danced to popular chinese songs; the students in the audience clapped and cheered after each performance. i was surprised when two groups presented comedic skits mocking their pla trainers; however, the students, teachers, and soldiers laughed and applauded. the soldiers gave the final performance of the evening. the synchronicity and beauty of their traditional martial arts routine drew a standing ovation. standing in the midst of the applauding students, i realized that they had a great deal of respect for their trainers and they had developed a bond during their week together. i began to feel the full weight of the circumstances and it was clear to me then that i was going to encounter many new and unexpected experiences here. one of the more surprising discoveries was that while the school culture is based on traditional chinese education, in many ways, the controls on students are far more relaxed than i had expected. for example, each class is assigned to a classroom and the students remain in their classrooms. the daily schedule is quite rigorous with classes being held from 7:30 am to 5:00 pm each day and an evening study period from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm. the teachers have offices and go to the classrooms to teach so the students are frequently unsupervised throughout the day and during self-study periods. i also discovered that many of my students did not fit the stereotypical image of chinese students. i had 10 gatesol in action, fall 2018 imagined that my students in china would be singularly focused on academics, and that they would be compliant and reticent in the classroom. however, some of them were inattentive during class and disinterested in school. some of the students aspired to careers in medicine and some dreamt of being movie stars and singers, some were perfectionistic and overachieving while others were unorganized and only did the minimum amount of work required on assignments. adapting to a new school environment and new students was a trying experience that required a great deal of patience at times. there are many things that did not “make sense” from a western perspective and i am not sure if i could have done more to prepare myself for that. while some of my advance work made some aspects of the transition go more smoothly, navigating the complexities of living in a new culture required me to develop a whole new skill set. as the novelty of being in china began to wear off, the culture shock began. adjusting to our new living environment was more difficult than i believed it would be and providing for basic needs presented challenges that i was ill-prepared to face, i was completely unprepared for how helpless i would feel. i was expecting to shop at a local market for food and dine frequently at local restaurants. but when we arrived in guangzhou we found that the location of the campus was relatively isolated and was mostly surrounded by high rise residential buildings that were under construction. one small community was visible from our balconies; the buildings were stained and the road was unpaved and partially flooded. we were warned not to go to that village because of the people living there who “do not like foreigners.” due to the ongoing 11 gatesol in action, fall 2018 construction, there were no amenities such as shops, restaurants or grocery stores within walking distance of the campus. without access to a personal vehicle the public transportation system was our connection to the local businesses and the larger commercial sections of the city. because the metro station is a ten-minute walk from the campus, there were no quick trips to shop for groceries. a one-way trip to the nearest supermarket entailed walking to the bus station and a twenty-minute bus ride. at the supermarket there were more challenges to face. many of the products were unrecognizable to me and their labels, written in chinese, were impossible to decipher. we had to make three trips to the supermarket each week because we could only buy as much as we could carry. there were psychological challenges, too. the phenomenon of being an outsider can be disorienting. typically, foreigners stand out in contrast to the homogenous population with 91.6% of the citizens being of han ethnicity (the world factbook, 2017). my son and i often drew attention in public spaces. my tall, blue-eyed, chinese speaking son achieved something close to rock star status while we were there. as we rode on the subway, walked down the street, or shopped for groceries people used their cellphones to take photos of us. we were approached directly by people who wanted to have a conversation in english or take “selfies” with us. on several occasions, we were approached by students who had been assigned the task of talking with a native english speaker as their homework. on the other hand, it was surprisingly easy to feel anonymous and isolated in the midst of the crowds of people. the language barrier was an 12 gatesol in action, fall 2018 obvious obstacle and making connections was impossible without enough language to engage with the people around us. the bewildering contrast of being on display to feeling invisible in a densely populated city of over 15 million people was an ongoing source of stress. the trials of working at the heart of this cross-cultural partnership were often related to communication and the cultural differences were equally perplexing. language was the most obvious problem for the foreign teachers. while the international program’s content courses were taught in english the primary language of communication is 普通话 putonghua (the common language). all school business (including communication with parents) was conducted in 普通 话 putonghua. thus, we were rarely informed about daily operational issues such as schedule changes, school rules, and procedures. we could use our translator to communicate with parents and other teachers but it was difficult to be certain that our intended message was being transmitted accurately. for example, at the end of the first semester, the teachers were required to submit written comments on each student which were translated so that the parents could understand them. i wrote that a student was “frequently distracted” which was affecting her performance on some tasks. shortly after the comments were given to the parents, i received a message from the student. she said that there must have been a mistake in the communication, the translation of the comments gave her parents the impression that she was not coming to my 13 gatesol in action, fall 2018 class. fortunately, her parents knew her well enough to know that she would not skip class but many difficult situations were not so easily resolved. adaptation after a few weeks of teaching the inaugural group of students, i was approached by the department chair who shared her concern that the students were afraid of me. taken aback, i candidly shared with her that i did not know how it was possible that i was frightening them. i was perplexed when she said that it was because of my directness; how could i manage my classroom any other way? the chinese teachers were reportedly stern and strict, i wondered how they could be strict without being direct. i moved on without understanding what my department chair was trying to convey to me. later, as i reflected on my first term, i realized the distinction between my directness and the directive aspect of the chinese teachers’ instructional practices. as an illustration, my world history students were producing puppet shows on a story of origin. on this project, the students used cultural narratives about how the universe began and how humans came into being to write a script and perform the story using puppets they created. the students were assigned to small working groups and each member had been assigned a specific task. the progress of one group was not advancing at the same pace as the other groups; as i observed the group i saw that only one student, who was assigned the role of “producer”, was actively working and the other group members were talking and watching her. i chose that particular student to be the producer because she was very organized and diligent in completing her work. as i stood watching i assumed that efforts of the other group 14 gatesol in action, fall 2018 members were constrained by her perfectionistic standards. i approached the group, with my stern teacher look on my face, and restated my expectation that each member had a role in the group’s efforts. some of the students laughed, then they all sat silently, when i let them know that they all needed to get to work. my stern teacher look had been an effective way of communicating with my students in the united states, so i was surprised and frustrated by their reaction. as i built relationships with the students and gained exposure to the school culture, i saw the circumstances in a different light. i began to understand why the department chair told me that the students were afraid of me and i realized my missteps in communicating with my students during that activity. the students were not accustomed to the facial expressions of the american teachers. the non-verbal mode of communicating with students using “a look” made the students uncomfortable; the laughter was an expression of anxiety or nervousness about the interaction (scollon & scollon, 2001). furthermore, the “producer” was also the 班长 ban zhang (class monitor a leadership position giving her elevated status in the school and with her peers) and my actions were equivalent to what we describe in the u.s. as “calling her out”. in the chinese classroom, a student loses face if she is criticized publicly by the teacher (schoenhals, 1993) so my reaction was out of proportion given the situation. growth through the process of recognizing and reflecting on my cultural missteps i developed a new understanding of chinese culture and my environment. as my perspectives shifted i became increasingly competent at living in china. the 15 gatesol in action, fall 2018 internal boundaries that shaped my views expanded and softened. as i recognized the shift in my perspective i felt more connected to my environment. during my first year, i struggled to survive in my new environment. the challenge of how to meet my basic needs exhausted me. teaching in a new context and accepting my position as a foreign teacher frustrated me. and, the isolation that i experienced caused me to be anxious and frightened at times. at first, i tried to hold on to my cultural identity. i sought out familiar foods at specialty stores and western restaurants, i made frequent trips to hong kong to soak up the western influences there. i maintained my western style of communicating directly with my colleagues and students. at the same time, i stubbornly refused to give up my desire to become a part of my new world. the two-hour trip to the supermarket was an ordeal at the end of a long day of work. however, it required me to leave the insular school community and experience the lifestyles of the locals. each outing was a cultural field trip where i experienced the world in a completely different way and i witnessed the ingenuity and fortitude that is the fabric of daily existence for the people living around us. bicycles and motor scooters with myriad cargo moved in every direction. peasants were selling fruit and vegetables from blankets on the sidewalk, a man setting up a stool as a barber’s chair to cut hair on the sidewalk of a busy street. gradually, my curiosity delivered me from ineptitude as i explored the city and traveled to other provinces i observed people and their ways of life. i recorded my experiences in my journal and with my camera. i reflected on my interactions with my colleagues and students. i established relationships with local people that were open to educating 16 gatesol in action, fall 2018 me about their culture. i struggled with learning the language, fortunately my son learned to speak and read relatively quickly. as he attained a level of fluency that allowed him to communicate with local people i noticed a shift in our interactions with them. crossing the language barrier made daily transactions simpler and provided a way of connecting to the people around us. we gained acceptance through our increasing familiarity with the community and our improved communication. after our first year, people in the community recognized us and greeted warmly when they saw us. my perspective on my work with the students also shifted. i had come to china expecting to use the same curricula and many of the same studentcentered strategies that i would typically use with my american students. while i was able to recognize my bias through efforts to prepare for intercultural teaching and learning, i did not fully develop intercultural competence until i had lived through and reflected critically on my experiences. eventually, i grew to understand that preparing my students for college was not about teaching them with western teaching strategies. i had to develop practices that incorporated those strategies in ways that were meaningful and beneficial to the students; in order to learn how to teach them i had to develop an understanding of the cultural context. having limited exposure to and understanding of the culture before going to china added a layer of difficulty to the trials of navigating daily living. i found that adjusting to a new culture can be a disorienting and stressful experience. after two years of learning how to navigate my new world i gained a new-found 17 gatesol in action, fall 2018 perspective; in my third year i was able to take more time to reflect on how my experiences impacted me. without question, i have been transformed. i am certainly stronger and my experiences have taught me more about chinese culture than i could have learned by reading books, but the most substantial shift has been the opening of the internal boundaries that shaped my identity. because of my growth the divisions that once existed between myself and people with different cultural backgrounds no longer dominate my experiences. now, it is easier to see the world in terms of commonalities amongst people and appreciate different perspectives. applications to georgia in order to educate our students our knowledge of them must extend beyond the classroom into their lives and cultures (freire, 1998). as teachers of english language learners, we face many obstacles that stem from cultural differences and we must learn to navigate cultural barriers to establish relationships with our students. haddix and price-dennis assert that, “students are less likely to resist teachers when pedagogies are congruent with the cultural and linguistic identities of their communities” (2013, p. 250). we can become more effective intercultural educators by extending our education beyond coursework to include experiences that familiarize us with the cultures of our students. “one does not need to leave home to experience acculturation” (kim, 2008). the school where i began my teaching career was literally two blocks from my home but the cultural differences between my students and me were significant obstacles 18 gatesol in action, fall 2018 as i learned to teach. the first two years were quite stressful as i learned to adapt to my new environment. i found that i had to be intentional about gaining understanding of the lives of my students, and i learned the importance of spending time in their communities. these experiences changed my perspective and enabled me to connect with my students in the classroom; they were growth experiences that transformed me as a person and informed my teaching practices. in 2008, gatesol in action published an article on the work of teachers in an esol endorsement program in georgia. the analysis of the funds of knowledge family literacy work provides detailed insight to the effects of working with refugee families in their homes. the teacher’s reflections illustrate how developing relationships with the families transformed their perspectives and shaped their teaching philosophies (tinker sachs et al., 2008). these statements, made by the teachers in this study, demonstrate the influence of their connections with the students’ culture on their teaching: establishing relationships with the families is not only beneficial for the teacher, but also for the school. there is and always will be a connection between school and home. building rapport and relationships of trust in both scenarios benefits not only you as a teacher, but also your students and their families; therefore, the social processes of teaching and learning can only be improved (p. 7). as i make my visits, i am a teacher and a learner, an insider and outsider. only by experiencing the same living conditions and constraints of these families can a teacher truly understand the daily struggles faced by our students and their families. in this learning process, i hope to be able to transfer what i learned to the classroom, as a teacher who does not perceive my students with prejudiced social and cultural perspectives, but one who is empathetic, resourceful and truly effective (p. 15). 19 gatesol in action, fall 2018 conclusion we develop our intercultural competence when we seek to understand the cultural differences we experience in our daily lives. kim (2008) asserts that a broader application of his theory of intercultural personhood is relevant in the context of the increasing intercultural exchange that accompanies globalization. the opportunities for developing an understanding of other cultures and our ability to communicate across cultural and physical boundaries are growing. in addition to experiential learning, mass media and technological innovation are avenues that expose us to cultures that are different from ours. whether we are in or outside of the classroom, technological innovations and social media provide opportunities for learning from each other. through these tools we can acquire new cultural information to support our efforts to become more effective intercultural educators. 20 gatesol in action, fall 2018 references central intelligence agency. (2017). china. the world factbook. retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/br.html freire, p. (1998). cultural identity and education. teachers as cultural workers: letters to those who dare to teach. boulder, co: westview press. haddix, m., & price-dennis, d. (2013). urban fiction and multicultural literature as transformative tools for preparing english teachers for diverse classrooms. english education, 45(3), 247-283. retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/23364869 kim, y.y. (2008). intercultural personhood: globalization and a way of being. international journal of intercultural relations, 32(4), 359-368. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2008.04.005 . schoenhals, m. (1993). the paradox of power in a people’s republic of china middle school. armonk, ny: m.e. sharp. scollon, r. & scollon, s. (2001). intercultural communication (2nd ed.). malden, ma: blackwell publishers. tinker sachs, g., hendley, m.l., klosterman, s., muga, e., roberson, a., soons, b., wingo, c., & yeo, m. (2008). integrating funds of knowledge in the esol practicum: the missing element. gatesol in action, 21(2), 23-30. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/br.html http://www.jstor.org/stable/23364869 21 gatesol in action, fall 2018 ward, c., bochner, s., & furnham, a. (2001). the psychology of culture shock (2nd ed.). philadelphia: routledge. learning to teach again, in china by lisa mcleod-chambless georgia state university lmcleodchambless1@student.gsu.edu issn #2331-6845 welcome from the k-12 editor by kendra castelow, ed.s. houston county (georgia) board of education k12gatesolinaction@gmail.com hello fellow educators! we know you have a story to tell or knowledge to share. people want to know about your expertise and how you have grown professionally. as an esol teacher, i have met families from all over the world, helped students to develop survival skills in this western culture, and used my spanish to help students to make connections between their native language and the language of their academic content. more specifically, i have conducted professional development classes for k-12 teachers, presented at state-level conferences, and conducted research about the culturally proficient teacher and the esol student. in addition, i have encouraged mainstream teachers to improve upon their pedagogical content knowledge so that they might more insightfully use their curriculum guides. also, i have initiated cultural celebrations that showcased important contributions of prominent figures from that cultural community. these celebrations provided tips and strategies to help the english language learner improve their english and enlightened families and other members of my community about the intricacies of us-born and immigrant students. as a gatesol regional liaison, i met with wonderful educators from the k-12, 1 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 university/college, and retired sectors. we discussed the mission and vision of gatesol, their experiences with culturally diverse populations, and policies and procedures that are in place to ensure equity in our educational systems. as a result, networks were established and morale increased. reflect upon your own story. have you had teachable moments in your classrooms that sparked an interest to engage families and to further your own education? have you participated in professional development sessions that equipped you to initiate a new strategy or to re-vamp an old one? have you taken an endorsement class or completed a degree that caused you to conduct quantitative or qualitative research? i want to encourage you to write about these things and your contributions that benefit multilingual and multicultural communities. your research, strategies, and insight can increase the morale of your fellow k-12 educators and all other stakeholders. start here with us at gatesol in action journal. i am available to help you work on any submissions, and please feel free to let me know if you need anything. your partner in education, kendra m. castelow, ed.s. k-12 editor gatesol in action journal 2 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 issn #2331-6845 letter from the immediate past-president of georgia tesol by beth wallace elizabeth.wallace@gpc.edu dear gatesol members & readers! as the immediate past-president of georgia tesol, i am very excited that the new online journal, gatesol in action, begins a new era for georgia tesol. the work on this initiative begun under my presidency and has continued into harvey oaxaca’s presidency. i want to thank our co-editors, gertrude tinker sachs and kendra castelow, for all of their hard work over the past year in creating the journal and the systems for the peer review. they have worked very hard to create a professional peer-reviewed journal which will only continue to get better as we work through small issues. this volume of the journal will be the last one done not using our new electronic publishing system. what you see currently will be our final manually produced journal, and the best is yet to come! throughout the past year, the gatesol in action committee looked into various platforms to use for publishing our online journal. we also applied for and received our issn number through the library of congress. this library of congress number lends credibility to our journal and will enable our authors to have their work seen through library systems around the world and a variety of academic search engines. 1 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 mailto:elizabeth.wallace@gpc.edu much hard work goes into creating a journal and the publishing is just the last step in the process. our editors recruited not only authors for this volume, but they also screened and reviewed applications for our peer review board. they deserve thanks for the time and energy they gave to this project. i was honored to serve as georgia tesol’s president during 2012-2013. as an allvolunteer run organization, we have a tesol affiliate to be proud of; therefore, thanks goes out to many of you for volunteering your time and talent! also, please consider sharing with your fellow teachers around the state by writing an article for an upcoming issue of gatesol in action. the call for papers for the spring 2015 volume is out and on the website. we are strong individually, but united by our love of teaching and our english language learners, we are great together! with best regards for enjoyable reading, beth wallace georgia tesol immediate past-president 2 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 issn #2331-6845 an r&d approach to the educational challenges of the growing latino population in the united states’ “new south” by dr. pedro portes portes@uga.edu dr. rolf straubhaar rolf@uga.edu dr. paula mellom pjmellom@uga.edu center for latino achievement and success in education university of georgia, athens, georgia the authors here outline three evidence-driven school-based initiatives of the center for latino achievement and success in education at the university of georgia: an afterschool program, culturally-responsive pedagogy training, and a longitudinal study of latino students. all these initiatives focus on improving educational outcomes for latino students throughout the state. keywords: latino students, new south, culturally responsive pedagogy the latino population within the u.s. has in recent years grown more quickly than any other ethnic group and attracted considerable political attention. according to the most recent census (u.s. census bureau, 2010), the u.s. latino population increased by 15.2 million between 2000 and 2010 — a 1 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 mailto:%20portes@uga.edu mailto:rolf@uga.edu mailto:pjmellom@uga.edu number that represents more than half of the total u.s. population growth during that same period. due to demographic and economic trends for the next decades, english language learners (or ells) now represent 9.1 percent of the u.s. student population (national center for education statistics, 2014). since 77.2 percent of those ells are spanish speakers, predominantly from latin america (national center on immigrant integration policy, 2010), it is safe to say that an increasingly large number of u.s. schoolchildren are spanish-speaking latinos. in states like georgia in the so-called “new south,” these students are confronted with not only the linguistic challenges of learning english, but with a teaching workforce that is considerably underprepared to succeed with ells and often predisposed against latinos. on the other hand, evidence-based alternatives are available that can turn this crisis around, and these need to be disseminated. our purpose here is to show how this crisis can be averted in a systemic fashion, one that can help improve the educational infrastructure for not only latino ell students, but their peers from all other marginalized groups. after identifying key challenges, we show a glimpse of some of the action steps that our research has proven effective in transforming latino underachievement in the new south, and which could easily be scaled up at the k-12 level throughout the country. 2 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 the origins of latino underachievement while not all latinos are ells and not all ells are latinos, they comprise the large majority of students living in poverty that are taught in ways that produce significant gaps in learning outcomes and college opportunities. research has shown that structural inequalities are present when comparing latino and majority student achievement: in 2009, the national assessment of educational progress showed that non-hispanic white fourth grade students outperform latino fourth grade students by 21 points in mathematics and 25 points in reading (u.s. department of education, 2011). in 2002, similar assessments provided similar results, showing that low-income students considered at risk (including latino students, both those who were born in the u.s. and those born abroad) were graduating from high school with between a three and four year deficit of content knowledge in reading, mathematics and science (portes, 2005). no reforms to date appear designed to turn this severe problem around, a problem that (to hearken back to the language of a previous era of reform) truly places our nation at risk (gardner et al., 1983). part of this gap can be explained in socio-linguistic terms: previous research has shown that latinos in this system typically require four to six years of instruction in order to develop sufficient capacity in academic english 3 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 to fully participate in and benefit from regular instruction (thomas & collier, 1996; valdés, 2001). however, this linguistic difference is exacerbated by a startling lack of u.s. public school teachers trained to work with ells—that is, the research shows that most teachers speak no languages other than english (howard, 2006), do not possess certification in teaching english to speakers of other languages (esol) and have received little professional development in that area (national center for education statistic, 2013), and often hold negative, deficit-focused attitudes towards latino students and other ells (walker, shafer & iiams, 2004). these deficit attitudes only serve to hamper the psychological and academic development of latino students (portes & salas, 2010), and scholars such as walker, shafer & iiams (2004) argue that this hostile school climate for latinos will only worsen as the number of latino ell students continues to increase. this state of affairs presents the u.s. public education system with a serious challenge: can we provide sufficiently high-quality teaching and learning to effectively help latino ells transition into u.s. schools and perform to the best of their abilities therein? we at the university of georgia’s center for latino achievement and success in education (or clase) argue that this problem can be effectively addressed for years to come on the basis of a single, simple presumption: that by progressively improving teacher 4 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 effectiveness through training in evidence-based student-centered strategies, those teachers certified through clase programs become able to leverage change in their schools and districts as instructional leaders, within the new south and throughout the country. here we will outline particular ways in which clase has expanded the knowledge base regarding effective policy and instruction for latino ells, and has the capacity to further prepare both preservice and interested teachers and administrators in those evidence-based best practices. we end with related recommendations for policy makers, who we hope are aware of the larger implications for our society if we do not take advantage of the human resources inherent in the burgeoning latino student population. an evidence-driven instructional model given the previously mentioned academic gaps between latino ell and majority students, there is an urgent need for the development and expansion of pedagogical models that more effectively promote the academic achievement of latino ells. in an effort to address this need, the research team at clase was awarded a multi-year federal grant from the u.s. department of education’s institute of education sciences to evaluate the efficacy of the instructional conversation (ic) pedagogical model on ell achievement. this study, designed as a randomized controlled trial, tests 5 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 whether teacher training in the ic model improves both the academic achievement and cognitive development of elementary-level ells in high poverty schools in north georgia. in this research model, we randomly assigned 147 third and fifth grade classroom teachers, spread out over three cohorts, into treatment and control groups. these teachers were spread out in 47 low-income elementary schools in a combination of rural, suburban and urban parts of north georgia. the treatment group received multiple, in-depth in-person trainings in the ic pedagogy, and then had frequent support from ic coaches throughout a full academic year (whereas the control group only received the standard professional development provided by their school and district administrators). following this “practice” year, in which the teachers focused on mastering the ic pedagogy, we then followed them for a second “experimental” year in their classrooms with regular visits, videotaping and analyzing their instruction and monitoring their students’ academic output (primarily in the form of standardized test scores), in which we measured the impact of the ic training on student achievement. the hypothesis tested by this study was whether the ic pedagogy, a purposefully student-centered, culturally relevant pedagogy, could positively impact the academic achievement of low-performing latino students in georgia. the ic pedagogy primarily consists of a regularly-occurring 6 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 instructional session in small groups, similar to a guided reading group. while these sessions are teacher-led, teachers purposefully try to intervene in the conversation as little as necessary—prior to an ic, the teacher trains their students in how to participate in a teacher-facilitated, mature conversation focused on academic content and leading towards an academic goal (such as, for example, differentiating between fact and opinion). each ic session typically includes between three and seven students, and should take about twenty minutes. during this time, students discuss exemplary content, such as practice sentences, math problems (in the case of a math-focused ic), or other sample questions which test their knowledge of a previously taught concept. the students then discuss each example, debate possible answers and the merits behind them, and come to a consensus. the teacher, ideally, only intervenes to get students back “on track” if the consensus is leading towards an erroneous conclusion, and as the ic is used more and more frequently, the premise is that students will become better and better at maturely carrying on an adult conversation regarding academic content and connecting it to their daily lives. to give a clearer picture, we here provide a concrete example of an ic. this lesson is from an elementary fifth grade classroom in the metro atlanta area which we observed regularly for two years as a part of our study. 7 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 snapshot of an ic seven fifth grade students sit in a circle on the floor of their classroom. as the other 25 students in the class work quietly in independent groups at other centers, their teacher takes a sentence printed on a strip of paper that has been cut from a worksheet and reads aloud, “because tia’s bugatti was in the shop.” then she lays the strip on the floor in the center of the circle. the students, without needing to be told by their teacher, immediately begin discussing the phrase, working together to decide if it is a fragment, a run-on sentence, a compound sentence, a complex sentence or a simple sentence. they state their thoughts and listen to each other’s ideas, agreeing or refuting by offering evidence to support their opinions: “i believe it’s a fragment because it begins with because,” says one student. “i respectfully disagree,” says another student. “a complete sentence can begin with because, but this one doesn’t have a main idea. i mean what happened because the bugatti was in the shop?” “i respectfully agree with marco,” says a third student, “this sentence is a fragment because it isn’t a complete thought, do you agree elias?” a thin boy in a red jacket, who has been watching and listening intently, leans in and responds, “i agree, this sentence is fragment, because it not have whole idea.” after all the students in the group have voiced their 8 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 thoughts and come to a consensus, they place the paper strip on the pile labeled “fragment,” and the teacher reads another sentence. in the 20 minutes that follow, the teacher makes very few comments, only asking facilitating questions to help the students clear up misconceptions. for instance, they debate at length whether the clause “ms. hill ate” is a complete sentence or a fragment. the teacher, who has been able to use this discussion for formative assessment, explains that a complete sentence just needs a subject and a verb and that sometimes a two-word sentence can be very powerful, e.g. “i am.” nevertheless, she praises them, recognizing that they think that the sentence must be a fragment because it lacks the detail they have grown used to seeing and using as they prepare for the state writing test. this dynamic, with children politely discussing with each other using academic language, and polite turn-taking, would be perfectly normal and expected in a “gifted” classroom. however, this group of children, several of which were ells, including elias, a newcomer who had no english when he arrived 4 months before, were placed in this particular teacher’s class because in addition to being an exceptional teacher, she is a former marine and the principal knows that she can “handle” the roughest of kids enrolled at their title i school in metro atlanta. these are the kinds of children who may not 9 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 normally be given the opportunity to engage in this kind of high level academic discourse in an average classroom. but, given the tools and practice afforded them by the instructional conversation model, these children regularly and consistently use thought-out, polite discourse that spills over into their hallway, lunchroom and playground interactions. through these instructional conversations, the children are not only learning content and developing cognitive and language skills, but equally importantly they are learning how to interact with one another, voice their thoughts in appropriate ways, and listen carefully to their peers to seek understanding, reach consensus and resolve conflict. proven results of ic implementation through this on-going study, clase has found that students taught by ic-trained teachers outperform their peers across most core subject standardized achievement tests (including ela, math, reading, science and social studies) after controlling for other factors such as prior achievement and english language proficiency. in terms of cognitive development, students taught by ic-trained teachers also scored higher than students from similar backgrounds on psychological assessments of cognitive ability and selfesteem (mellom, nixon, gokee, & portes, 2012). 10 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 in addition to improving cognitive and academic outcomes for students, through analysis of teachers’ personal journals and notes during their training, clase has also found that ic training improves teacher attitudes towards their ell students, creating a more welcoming classroom climate in which to learn. when rigorously-designed research studies produce such results, the models in question merit expansion. while several cohorts of georgia teachers have been trained as a part of this larger study, on the basis of these results clase has also expanded to work with individual school districts to train their teachers in these same proven ic pedagogical techniques. by investing in transforming teachers through current and future pedagogical training, and thus creating “expert teacher cells” in schools throughout georgia of teachers capable of sustaining and sharing more effective ell pedagogies with peers, clase expects to see an impact on student achievement and development that extends well beyond the scope of the current study. expanding the school day through effective afterschool programming in addition to studying pedagogical models that can improve the instruction students receive during the school day, clase has also committed long-term to evaluating the most effective methods of expanding instructional time. previous research has found that a difference in academic learning time 11 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 (aronson, zimmerman, & carlos, 1998) between latino ells and their majority peers accounts for a significant portion of the achievement gap between these groups (madrid, 2011). one means of providing additional academic learning time is through tutoring programs, which previous studies have found to be effective in improving literacy (elbaum, vaughn, hughes, & moody, 2000; ritter et al., 2009). however, unfortunately most afterschool tutoring and mentoring programs use the same less-effective pedagogical models used during the school day (lauer et al., 2006). the clase tutoring and mentoring program sets itself apart by operating on the philosophy that “more of the same” is not sufficient for addressing the serious achievement gaps facing latino ells. instead, the clase program has for several years utilized a model focused on student centered learning that has been found to improve student performance while leveraging college student participation and training (mira, portes, mellom & moreno, 2012). more specifically, clase’s afterschool program trains tutors in culturally relevant pedagogical techniques, including the same ic pedagogy which the aforementioned study found to be effective in raising latino student achievement throughout north georgia. while the impact of this program over nearly a decade of implementation is still being analyzed, previous analyses of individual cohorts found that students in the 12 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 program outperformed their in-school peers on standardized tests in math, and to a lesser extent, in language arts (mira, griffin, simmons, & portes, 2014). this program, like clase’s entrée into teacher training at the school and district level throughout georgia, is also ripe for expansion and scaling throughout the new south with community-higher education partnerships. studying the development of latino students: a longitudinal pilot project beginning with the students in its tutoring and mentoring program, clase has begun a larger study in which the children of latino immigrants will be followed throughout their educational careers, so as to more accurately document the difficulties and successes which immigrant children as a group experience in school settings in the new south. in our model, each ell student is matched with a college mentor/ tutor for each semester they are in the study. while yet in its infancy, including only a few cohorts, such a longitudinal study is unprecedented in the current literature and provides an integrated way to improve school outcomes and the economic future of all in this region. this is because both initiatives can impact and benefit both latino ells and other groups of students. 13 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 conclusion the longstanding gaps resulting from current instructional and reform efforts call for innovative and longitudinal responses that improve policy, practice and particularly pedagogy. this is vital to recognize as higher standards are here to stay that call for more stringent pedagogical standards and extra learning time for those who most need assistance after school. the university of georgia’s center for latino achievement and success in education sets itself apart by longitudinally studying both the educational trajectories of ells and the effectiveness of policies and pedagogies that can positively impact those trajectories (see portes, 2014; portes, salas, baquedano-lópez & mellom, 2014). through those studies, as documented here, clase has both provided evidence regarding effective policy and pedagogical models that could be brought to scale for the benefit of latino ells nationwide, and developed its own capacity as a teacher-training institution that can help to implement that expansion. 14 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 references aronson, j., zimmerman, j., & carlos, l. (1998). improving student achievement by extending school: is it just a matter of time? san francisco, ca: wested. elbaum, b., vaughn, s., hughes, m. t., & moody s. w. (2000). how effective are one-to-one tutoring programs in reading for elementary students at risk for reading failure? a meta-analysis of the intervention research. journal of educational psychology, 92(4), 605-619. gardner, d. p., larsen, y. w., baker, w., campbell, a., & crosby, e. a. (1983). a nation at risk: the imperative for educational reform. washington dc: united states department of education. howard, g.r. (2006). we can’t teach what we don’t know: white teachers, multiracial schools. new york: teachers college press. lauer, p. a., akiba, m., wilkerson, s. b., apthorp, h. s., snow, d., martin-glenn, m. l. (2006). out-of-school-time programs: a meta-analysis of effects for at-risk students. review of educational research, 76(2), 275-313. madrid, m. e., (2011). the latino achievement gap. multicultural education. 19(3), 7-12. 15 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 mellom, p. j., nixon, c., gokee, r., & portes, p.r. (2012). ping pong vs. pinball: instructional conversation as a tool for l2 language development. presented at the second language research forum. pittsburgh, pennsylvania. mira, w., portes, p.r., mellom, p. j., & moreno, d. (2012). an evaluation of a tutoring and mentoring program involving undergraduate college students and elementary school english learners. presented at the 2012 annual meeting for the american educational research association. vancouver, bc, canada. mira, w., griffin, t., simmons, c., & portes, p. (2014). technical report on tutoring and mentoring program at oglethorpe elementary. athens, ga: center for latino achievement and success in education. national center for educational statistics. (2013). digest of education statistics. washington, dc: u.s. department of education. national center for education statistics. (2014). the condition of education 2014: english language learners. washington, d.c.: u.s. department of education. national center on immigrant integration policy. (2010).top languages spoken by english language learners nationally and by state. washington, d.c.: migration policy institute. 16 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 portes, p. r. (2005). dismantling educational inequality: a sociocultural approach to closing the achievement gap. new york: peter lang. portes, p. r. (2014). making kids smarter: how to maximize children’s intellectual development and creativity (3rd ed.). colorado: portes books publishing. portes, p.r., & salas, s. (2010). in the shadow of stone mountain: identity development, structured inequality, and the education of spanishspeaking children. bilingual research journal, 33(2), 241-248. portes, p.r., salas, s., baquedano-lópez, p. & mellom, p. j. (eds.). (2014). u.s. latinos in schools: research-based policy directions for change. new york: routledge. ritter, g. w., barnett, j. h., denny, g. s., & ginger, r. a. (2009). the effectiveness of volunteer tutoring programs for elementary and middle school students: a meta-analysis. review of educational research, 79(1), 3-38. thomas, w., & collier, v. (2002). a national study of school effectiveness for language minority students' long-term academic achievement. washington, d.c.: office of educational research and improvement. u.s. census bureau (2010). the hispanic population: 2010. washington, d.c.: u.s. department of commerce. 17 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 u.s. department of education (2011). achievement gaps: how hispanic and white students in public schools perform in mathematics and reading on the national assessment of educational progress (publication no. nces 2011-485). washington, d.c.: institute of education sciences. valdes, g. (2001). learning and not learning english: latino students in american schools. new york: teachers college press. walker, a., shafer, j., & iiams, m. (2004). “not in my classroom:” teachers’ attitudes towards ells. journal of research & practice, 2(1), 130-160. 18 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2015 issn #2331-6845 welcome from the senior editor by gertrude tinker sachs georgia state university gatesolinaction2020@gmail.com welcoming others: immigrants and refugees – how do you do it? i chose the picture that is posted on the wall of the shrine of the immaculate heart of mary, a church in downtown atlanta minutes from our state capitol buildings, as the subtext of my editorial. i was mesmerized and encouraged yet distraught by the words: “immigrants & refugees welcome.” take a moment to ponder these words. the shrine of the immaculate heart of mary, atlanta, georgia (downtown) 1 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 many of us would say, rightfully so, given that this is a church. however, many churches have chosen not to post anything on their walls (inside or outside) or say anything from the pulpit. this “lack of visibility” may not amount to much, but to put up a sign like this on a church and near the state capitol, speaks volumes. ways of stating our views, acting and enacting them define who we are as a people and proclaim what we stand for and represent. what do you stand for and what do you represent on the matter of immigrants and refugees? as an immigrant to the united states since 2003 and a person who has lived in other countries (hong kong and canada) historically, ethnically, culturally and linguistically different from my home country where i was born, bred and educated, (the bahamas), i understand and am sensitive to walls and barriers of numerous types and perspectives (tinker sachs, 2006; 2014). the walls that we erect, ideologically, metaphorically, and physically are chilling to the heart and soul of a person. as human beings, we have so many ways to keep others out and history is riddled with too many examples. we have only to look in this country, the united states, to see the exclusionary practices directed particularly toward people of color, native americans, mexicans, asians (the chinese exclusion act of 1882; japanese internment during ww11), and african americans to name a few prime examples (see for example, works by gloria anzuldúa, stephen middleton and howard zinn). outside of the united states we have examples from around the world of walls of all types – the gaza strip and israel, north korea and south korea, india and bangladesh, spain and morocco, botswana and zimbabwe just to name a few (noack, 2014). 2 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 since the fall of the berlin wall (1961 – 1989) noted “wall” researcher and professor of geography at the university of quebec, élisabeth vallet, and her colleagues have shown in their books and presentations that the physical structures that divide us globally continue to grow (vallet, 2014; vallet, 2016; vallet & david, 2012). there is no denying that these visible and invisible walls, structures, philosophical orientations as well as the language we use to describe others, such as illegal alien (johnson, 1997, p. 277), divide us as humans and educators who share planet earth and impact us at the classroom level. in this edition of gatesol in action, i am very pleased to present four publications that face-off on some of the walls that separate us and how we as educators can work to minimize and to eliminate them through our research and classroom practices. if we are for sharing the resources of this planet earth in ways that promote peace and harmony, we will want to face the misconceptions about language learners that limit teacher effectiveness and student performance (harrison’s “shedding light on misconceptions: an act of advocacy”) and talk with our students about how to deal with difficult topics such as the very same walls that seek to divide us (pendergrass,’ “cultivating respectful classroom discourse in trump’s america”). while we embrace positive action to eliminate walls, we continue to educate ourselves to fill the voids that reduce our effectiveness such as addressing the need for teacher development programs for those who teach adult english language learners (pettitt, elkers, campbell and gure’s,“critical service -learning in adult esol teacher preparation: reflections from the field”) and the importance of providing more dual language programs (farran and mindrik’s, “drama, language, literacy and cognition in 3 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 preschool dual language learners”). all these papers are important for our times and very much needed. when i bought my house in georgia, i opted not to build a fence around the property. i felt that there was something inherently wrong with doing so. i believe in sharing our resources and as difficult as this may sometimes be, it means that i must be willing to work with my neighbors on either side of me should disputes and misunderstandings arise. this approach is hard work, isn’t it? it is much easier to build a fence and then i do not have to deal with the issues. just insulate myself and go about my business. but, i do not wish to live in a world of alienation and denial. can we not learn how to get along? can we not be our neighbor’s keeper (tinker sachs, 2013)? what we stand for and what we represent must manifest itself in our lived experiences and educational practices. how we welcome others is a definite part of this. let’s work harder at being more welcoming to each other on this earth. let’s collaborate to tear down the walls (and not build new ones) through developing mutually beneficial understandings and building common ground. it is an arduous task but it is the better path! happy reading and many thanks to our reviewers. may we all continue to seek peace and learn to live, teach and work in harmony with one another for the betterment of us all! 4 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 references anzaldúa, g. (1987). borderlands la frontera. the new mestiza. aunt lute books. johnson, k.r. (1997). the social and legal construction of nonpersons. university of miami inter-american law review, 263, 263 – 292. http://repository.law.miami.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1335&context=umialr &seiredir=1&referer=http%3a%2f%2fscholar.google.com%2fscholar%3fstart %3d10%26q%3dimmigrations%2blaws%2bagainst%2bmexican%2bamericans %26hl%3den%26as_sdt%3d0%2c11#search=%22immigrations%20laws%20ag ainst%20mexican%20americans%22 middleton, s. (2005). the black laws. race and the legal process in early ohio. athens, ohio: ohio university press. noack, n. (2014). these 14 walls continue to separate the world. the washington post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2014/11/11/these-14-wallscontinue-to-separate-the-world/?utm_term=.c9585885c282 tinker sachs, g. (2014). essentialism and respecting the other. in g. tinker sachs & g. verma (eds.), critical mass in the teacher education academy: symbiosis and diversity (pp. 111 – 129). champaign, il: common ground publishing. tinker sachs, g. (2013). who will be my brother’s keeper? my first visit to haiti. journal of multicultural perspectives. 15, 52-57. doi: 10.1080/15210960.2013.75465 http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15210960.2013.754650. 5 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 http://repository.law.miami.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1335&context=umialr&seiredir=1&referer=http%3a%2f%2fscholar.google.com%2fscholar%3fstart%3d10%26q%3dimmigrations%2blaws%2bagainst%2bmexican%2bamericans%26hl%3den%26as_sdt%3d0%2c11%23search=%22immigrations%20laws%20against%20mexican%20americans%22 http://repository.law.miami.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1335&context=umialr&seiredir=1&referer=http%3a%2f%2fscholar.google.com%2fscholar%3fstart%3d10%26q%3dimmigrations%2blaws%2bagainst%2bmexican%2bamericans%26hl%3den%26as_sdt%3d0%2c11%23search=%22immigrations%20laws%20against%20mexican%20americans%22 http://repository.law.miami.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1335&context=umialr&seiredir=1&referer=http%3a%2f%2fscholar.google.com%2fscholar%3fstart%3d10%26q%3dimmigrations%2blaws%2bagainst%2bmexican%2bamericans%26hl%3den%26as_sdt%3d0%2c11%23search=%22immigrations%20laws%20against%20mexican%20americans%22 http://repository.law.miami.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1335&context=umialr&seiredir=1&referer=http%3a%2f%2fscholar.google.com%2fscholar%3fstart%3d10%26q%3dimmigrations%2blaws%2bagainst%2bmexican%2bamericans%26hl%3den%26as_sdt%3d0%2c11%23search=%22immigrations%20laws%20against%20mexican%20americans%22 http://repository.law.miami.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1335&context=umialr&seiredir=1&referer=http%3a%2f%2fscholar.google.com%2fscholar%3fstart%3d10%26q%3dimmigrations%2blaws%2bagainst%2bmexican%2bamericans%26hl%3den%26as_sdt%3d0%2c11%23search=%22immigrations%20laws%20against%20mexican%20americans%22 https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2014/11/11/these-14-walls-continue-to-separate-the-world/?utm_term=.c9585885c282 https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2014/11/11/these-14-walls-continue-to-separate-the-world/?utm_term=.c9585885c282 http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15210960.2013.754650 tinker sachs, g. (2006). the world away from home. in a. curtis and m. romney (eds.). color, race and english language teaching (pp.121-135). mahwah, nj: lawrence erlbaum. vallet, é. (ed.). (2014). borders fences and walls: state of insecurity? abingdon, uk: ashgate. vallet, é. (ed.). (2016). borders fences and walls: state of insecurity? new york, ny: routledge. vallet, é. & david, c-p. (2012). introduction: the (re)building of the wall in international relations. journal of borderlands studies, 27 (2), 111-119. doi: 10.1080/08865655.2012.687211 zinn, h. (1980). a people’s history of the united states.1492 to present. new york, ny: harpercollins. https://zinnedproject.org/ 6 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 https://zinnedproject.org/ issn #2331-6845 welcome from the senior editor by gertrude tinker sachs georgia state university gatesolinaction2020@gmail.com a recent edition of the atlanta journal constitution (ajc) gives front page coverage to the changes that are coming for georgia teachers. rose french and jaime sarrio (ajc, november 23, 2014) wrote “georgia makes it tougher to teach” and discuss how they perceive “standards are designed to raise educator quality” by drawing on the work of the georgia professional standards commission. while many georgia-based educators bemoan the plethora of assessments that are crowding teacher preparation no one can deny that increased quality in all teachers is something for which we all aspire. in our esol work, we certainly would like to commend those in-service teachers who despite all odds, work hard to maintain their standards by engaging in school and outside of school professional development 1 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 opportunities. it was wonderful to see so many of you at our 2014 fall state conference and to know that some of you are even presenting and reflecting on your own practice by going a step further to write about what you are doing in the classroom. in all our teacher preparation work, we must all continue to insist on rigor and high expectations for our teacher candidates. we must also encourage our in-service teachers to professionalize the work of teaching by being reflective practitioners who write about their work. i cannot emphasize this enough despite how difficult and challenging this aspiration may be. our research papers in this fall 2014 edition compel us to maintain high professional standards and positive attitudes for the education outcomes and possibilities for our students. mantegna offers us good news for the ending of the old year and the start of a new year. she uses high level tasks such as video composition to empower high school learners to articulate the critical issues that confront them. indeed, it is the design of mantegna’s tasks that promoted the deep engagement of her learners which showed their capabilities as “multilingual, multimodal communicators of 21 century skills.” odo, on the other hand, offers us a perceptive take on assessment. it is not the usual puzzle metaphor, just do all these pieces, get them to fit and our assessment will be perfect and complete. instead, odo outlines his 2 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 dissatisfaction with the “fixed and constrained nature” of the puzzle metaphor to encourage us to develop a more organic view of assessment that relies on promoting “teacher’s assessment intuition” placing the power of assessment in the hands of teachers and not in a set of disparate and discrete tests to be placed in the student’s folder after completion. again, as professionals we are obligated to update our knowledge and perception so that we can move our understandings to new heights. caspary, wickstrom and boothe bring us up-to-date on problem-based learning and information and communication technologies under the scrutiny of english for specific (esp) and academic purposes (eap). the authors compare the challenges and strengths of teaching and learning under different modes in business and academic settings. they contend that in today’s world the imperative of english language teaching and learning is to incorporate more rigorously problem –based and ict methodologies and processes. early childhood teachers will find the article by lado very instructive. lado presents a detailed approach to using picture books. she outlines the features and procedures for promoting “tellability” in using picture books with young learners. lado makes the approach very accessible because she not only illustrates the procedures but she also provides examples of picture books that can be used to employ the approach. 3 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 our report by a colleague outside of ga is written by fredricks who is based in cairo, egypt. fredricks brings home to us first-hand, the current political tensions in cairo and she notes that “university faculty have been fortunate to work with adult learners who have been witnesses to and frequently agents of innovations and political change.” fredricks describes the work she does in cairo and demonstrates to us how to work respectfully in contexts outside of one’s home country. collectively, the articles in our fall 2014 edition spell out hope and good will for the work we do in the new year of 2015. we can see that there is always something new to extend and deepen our knowledge and insight and above all, uplift us to explore new worlds and ways of teaching and learning. a happy new year to everyone and we look forward to your spreading the word and the articles of our peer-reviewed gatesol in action online journal and we encourage you to write about what you are doing in your teaching context. don’t be afraid to submit your work to us! we look forward to giving you encouraging and helpful feedback that will be invaluable to your professional development. gertrude tinker sachs, senior editor 4 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 issn #2331-6845 cultivating respectful classroom discourse in trump’s america by jennifer pendergrass jennifer.pendergrass@bartow.k12.ga.us bartow (georgia) county schools the 2016 presidential election brought debate about wall building, deportation for undocumented families, and the creation of a registry for muslim americans. a trump presidency means that many of our esol families are concerned about their security in our communities. families are talking about this at home, and children are talking at school. students are repeating insensitive things they have heard at home or on television. for our students who are already fearful that their families will be separated or that they will have to register because of their religion, hearing their peers express those ideas can feel intimidating. how can teachers provide a safe learning environment that respects all learners? suggestions are presented for maintaining an intimidation-free classroom and encouraging respectful discourse in order to promote optimal learning opportunities. keywords: politics, trump, bullying, intimidation, muslim registry, deportation, safe environment “that man wants to send my family back to mexico.” the shaky voice of this kindergarten student took me by surprise. in past elections, it has been my experience that my students rarely care enough to learn the names of the candidates, much less actual campaign promises. the first time i heard a child talking specifically about the 2016 election, i brushed it off as an interaction with a child who must be from a very political family. i am the itinerant teacher for english learners in two rural elementary schools, and in my 12 years of teaching, this was my first experience with such a young 1 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 mailto:j?????????????????????????park91@student.gsu.edu child who was concerned with politics. however, over the next several days, as election day approached, i would see just how concerned my students were. i overheard student conversations becoming more and more passionate as the election drew near. a second grade student shared, “he’s going to build a wall to keep my family out.” a kindergarten student said, “my daddy will be sent to mexico.” a fifth grade student said, “my whole family is muslim, and he doesn’t want us here.” what i soon realized is that this presidential campaign was not like any other that has occurred during my career. the topics brought up during this campaign directly affect my students’ families and our local esol community. and it was now clear that my students were worried. immigration, deportation, and religious freedom are adult issues. they are not something that children should have to worry about. yet in these times, when the threat is real and the information is on television, on social media, and in the conversation around the dinner table, children are listening. children are worrying. students are physically present in classrooms, but their minds seem to be preoccupied with problems as heavy as keeping their families together and religious freedom. how can educators be aware of and sensitive to these very real fears? peer intimidation the stress may not be coming entirely from information students are getting at home. in the wake of trump’s election, minority students are starting to experience racial bullying at school. a pennsylvania school reported an incident following trump’s election where students chanted, “white power” and declared that minority students would be their slaves. some students were even spat on (post-trump victory bullying, 2016). unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident. post-election bullying is being 2 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 reported across the country. lanktree (2016) reports that students at dewitt junior high school in michigan blocked latino students from their lockers, saying they were trying to “make america great again.” thankfully, the schools where i teach have not experienced this level of bullying, but even in my schools, students are certainly talking about race issues and religious rights. in the hallways, at lunch, and waiting in line to board the school bus, i overhear students talking about incredible walls so high no one could climb them and about how we will be making people leave “our” country. i hear them. my latino students hear them. my muslim students hear them. their fear and anxiety is not just being fueled by media anymore. creating a safe environment marshall (2016) states that effective teaching requires establishing a safe, respectful learning environment. however, creating a safe learning environment is a greater challenge now than ever before. many of our minority students wrestle with the realization that our newly elected president has discussed plans that feel threatening to their family and home. other students are repeating hurtful phrases they’ve heard during the election and since president trump took office, often without realizing how insensitive those statements can be. how do we cultivate a peaceful and safe learning environment in the midst of this? it is critical to the learning process that children can feel some relief from anxiety during instructional time. perry (2000) states that children are free to experience curiosity for learning when they feel safe. however, when children feel fear, they are more likely to be overwhelmed by the learning process. therefore, creating an emotionally safe classroom for children whose anxiety is heightened will allow them to focus on instruction and maintain academic curiosity. 3 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 what specific steps can we take to help students feel emotionally safe at school? alber (2011) states that as a part of classroom rules, teachers should set some nonnegotiable behaviors, for which there are always consequences. name calling and bullying are typical non-negotiables in classroom rules. it is important to hold children accountable for bullying and name-calling so that all students begin to understand that there is never a situation when it will be overlooked. teachers often let students work out small disputes on their own so that they can learn to deal with conflict independently, and we regularly see children whose feelings are hurt by others in the process. in my experience, these issues can be part of a typical school day. however, when a teacher becomes aware that a student is feeling intimidated by other students, that is the point at which teacher intervention is required. the student who was intimidating others needs not only to be disciplined, but also to engage in a conversation with the teacher about what specifically crossed the line from disagreement into intimidation. the student who feels bullied will likely need some comforting words and assurance that bullying will not be tolerated. when students see that non-negotiable behaviors are consistently followed by consequences, they will begin to feel safe in the classroom. dusenbury (2012) reminds teachers to monitor closely during times of transition, in the hallways, and during lunch. if a conversation seems insensitive and would not be allowed during class, dusenbury (2012) recommends holding students to those same standards outside of class time. it is important to redirect not only overtly inappropriate conversations, but any conversation that could be perceived as insensitive. innocent conversations about something insensitive do not warrant punishment, but could still be 4 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 redirected to a new topic. this will help students know that the teacher’s expectation for a safe environment remains consistent during the entire school day. over time, this will also help students accept that they should expect to be respected by their peers in any school setting. the effort here is not to limit free speech or to diminish healthy political discussion. those things are important. however, on this particularly sensitive topic, it is important to have those discussions in a closely monitored atmosphere so that hate speech and intimidation can be curtailed. is there a way to create a classroom environment that will proactively support students in avoiding those intimidating situations? robinson and kakela (2006) state that making the classroom a place for fun, interaction, and trust can begin to create the kind of nurturing, respectful learning environment where students feel comfortable and free to learn. it not only provides a safe environment, but it also promotes deeper, more personalized learning and contributes to whole person development. in times of high stress, creating an upbeat atmosphere is a task that might need deliberate attention. quick game breaks or quiz breaks can ease the monotony of long class periods and help students remain engaged. games and fun surprises also lighten the atmosphere of the classroom, which often helps student interpersonal dynamics. something as simple as a warm smile and an upbeat attitude from the teacher can help students to feel safe as well. alber (2011) states that when tensions are high, teachers can set the tone of their classrooms by smiling and laughing. students who are having a good time are likely to release worry and become more engaged in the lesson. alber (2011) also lists music as a way of improving the welcoming atmosphere of the classroom. on those days when keeping student conversations directed to academic language seems almost 5 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 impossible, music can help. upbeat, light-hearted music can be played during independent work periods. this time of working with music in the background could give students a break from stressful conversations and ease student anxiety. leading controversial discussions is it possible to have a productive classroom discussion about race and religion when tensions are already high? cleveland (2009) offers a method of beginning discussions on current events in high school classrooms. she states that teachers can encourage student-led discussions about controversial topics. students can bring the news that interests them from any source, including magazines, online news, or newspapers and use this to begin respectful discussions. this allows students not only to achieve a deeper understanding of the topics, but also to reflect upon their own beliefs. the important thing to remember is that discussion rules must be set before beginning these conversations. the class can create these guidelines together to ensure that everyone agrees on what kind of language will contribute to non-threatening conversations. some teachers may decide that their class is not old enough or mature enough to follow the debate norms for ensuring a safe environment. those teachers may choose to bring up the topics in a less assertive way through storytelling. buntting (2012) suggests that introducing controversial issues through stories about people dealing with them can help students achieve a deeper understanding of the issues. this would allow the class to discuss one person’s experience rather than the general topic. the teacher can focus discussions on the people in the narrative and their experience, rather than on the broad issue. for example, given a narrative about a muslim american 6 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 who is fearful of a potential travel ban or muslim registry, student comments would naturally be directed toward the individual in the story rather than muslims in general. this strategy could also help students relate to people who are affected by the proposed changes in our country. even in this narrative discussion, it is important to encourage respectful language. my students’ fear of deportation, separated families, and religious persecution following the election of our new president is real. i understand why they are worried. i wish i could promise my students that everything will be okay. i wish i could tell them that their families will not be separated, that their friends will not be deported, and that they will not be asked to register because of their religion. i wish i could do that. however, none of us know what is coming. i cannot make promises. what i can do is provide a few hours in the day that will bring relief from their anxiety. i can infuse my classroom with music, humor, and kindness to help them feel at ease and ready to learn. i can lead them in learning to communicate respectfully. and most importantly, i can make sure that during the hours i have with my students, they are in an emotionally safe environment. 7 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 references alber, r. (2011). 20 tips for creating a safe learning environment. retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/20-tips-create-safe-learning-environment-rebeccaalber buntting, c. (2012). issues in storytelling. new zealand science teacher, (130), 6-10. cleveland, m. (2009). using current events to promote class discussion of controversial topics. hot topics: best practices in teaching controversial issues in psychology, october 16-17, 2009, atlanta, ga doi:10.1037/e522282013-013 dusenbury, l. (2012). creating a safe classroom environment. retrieved from http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/creating-safe-classroom-environmentclimate.shtml lanktree, g. (november 11, 2016). schoolchildren begin building trump's 'wall' as racial bullying surges in the classroom. international business times. retrieved from http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/school-children-have-begun-building-trumps-wallracial-bullying-surges-classroom-1591042 marshall, j. c. (2016). the highly effective teacher: 7 classroom-tested practices that foster student success. alexandria, va: ascd. perry, b. d. (august, 2000). creating an emotionally safe classroom. doi: 10.4324/9780203864388 8 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 https://www.edutopia.org/blog/20-tips-create-safe-learning-environment-rebecca-alber https://www.edutopia.org/blog/20-tips-create-safe-learning-environment-rebecca-alber http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/creating-safe-classroom-environment-climate.shtml http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/creating-safe-classroom-environment-climate.shtml http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/school-children-have-begun-building-trumps-wall-racial-bullying-surges-classroom-1591042 http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/school-children-have-begun-building-trumps-wall-racial-bullying-surges-classroom-1591042 post-trump victory bullying, harassment reported in schools. (2016, november 13). cbs news. retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/news/post-trump-victorybullying-harassment-reported-schools/ robinson, c. f., & kakela, p. j. (2006). creating a space to learn: a classroom of fun, interaction, and trust. college teaching, 54(1), 202-207. doi:10.3200/ctch.54.1.202-207 9 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 http://www.cbsnews.com/news/post-trump-victory-bullying-harassment-reported-schools/ http://www.cbsnews.com/news/post-trump-victory-bullying-harassment-reported-schools/ peer intimidation creating a safe environment leading controversial discussions references 1 gatesol in action, fall 2018 issn #2331-6845 girls and boys for others: creating relevance and critical inquiry for english learners by dr. annmarie patricia jackson department of elementary and special education university of north georgia annmarie.jackson@ung.edu the paper describes a critical multiculturalist approach the author used while working as a reading support teacher in a third-grade classroom of english language learners. the author shares a step-by-step timeline she used to adopt a social justice agenda in the classroom, while teaching a unit. through integration of reading and social studies content objectives, the author was able to meet students' reading needs, as well as foster critical thinking through questioning, through art, through discussion, and through writing about matters that were relevant to the students' own lives, their families' lives and the community, while teaching the social studies content. students were able to identify important problems, determine relevant themes within and across texts, as well as decide on potential solutions. ultimately, the critical approach helped students learn that they can be agents of change in their own communities, in and out of school. keywords: critical multicultural education, english language learners, social justice education, integrated literacy, cultural relevant teaching the common core state standards (ccss), which was adopted in the state of georgia in 2010, still generate apprehension and a great deal of tension for some educators. therefore, the goal of this article is two-fold: (1) to provide meaningful lessons and strategies for literacy instruction integrated with social studies and a social mailto:annmarie.jackson@ung.edu 2 gatesol in action, fall 2018 justice emphasis to support k-5 english to speakers of other languages (esol) teachers or teachers working with english learners (els); and (2) to serve as an example for teacher educators in preparing their teacher learners to develop literacybased curricula, through the integration of social justice in the social studies content area. the first part of the article addresses social justice education and some of the challenges teachers face in this era of mandatory high stakes tests. the remaining sections illustrate integrated literacy and social studies episodes and activities from lessons with a social justice theme in a grade three esol class. in my lessons, i also discuss backward design and identify specific strategies which may be used to incorporate social justice in the curriculum. the final section addresses what teacher educators can do to bring a social justice platform to life in their classrooms. today, many teachers are still heavily utilizing the model of 19th century transmission style teacher centered, whole class teaching (mehan, 1979; tharp & gallimore, 1988: wells and arauz, 2006). this enduring way of teaching serves to minimize students’ expression and dialogic engagement in the classroom and ultimately “keep kids under control” both physically and mentally. moreover, teacher-centered teaching styles are increasingly found in low income, historically marginalized and minority students’ classrooms, where teaching to the test prevails and critical thinking is undermined and underdeveloped. for example, latino and other minority students are often given work sheets and not challenged with higher level thinking activities. students’ linguistic and cultural resources are underutilized or simply not valued in the k-12 classroom (gonzalez, moll and amanti, 2005; mantegna, 2013). against this 3 gatesol in action, fall 2018 backdrop, there is an urgent need for 21st century educators to be critical multiculturalists, who generate analytic thinking in the classroom. the development of critical multiculturalist educators must begin in the teacher education classroom with an integrated approach to social justice and focused inquiry into the prevailing inequities that exist in our schools and communities (gay, nd; sleeter & soriano, 2012). multiculturalism is often oversimplified by educators (banks 1993, nieto, 1994). for some, multiculturalism is superficial and consists of merely incorporating the heritage of minority students in school celebrations. however, nieto (1994) challenges teachers to move away from mere tolerance of students’ cultures and be more accepting and respecting of them. nieto (1994) also recommends that students work together, even amidst conflicts, to achieve solidarity and learn from each other’s cultures. while multiculturalism aims to empower students, critical multiculturalism goes beyond this and requires deeper commitments. nieto (1999) argues that though multiculturalism is inclusive of students’ culture in instruction, it does not equate to shaping analytic thinkers. critical multiculturalism is a transformative approach, which develops students’ interests and challenges hegemonic knowledge (nieto, 1999) so that people may be empowered to become agents of change for their own lives. in other words, critical multiculturalism offers new directions in multicultural education (ladsonbillings, 2003). furthermore, it poses alternative perspectives of the reality in people’s lives and allows for schools to provide opportunities for highlighting social injustices (ladson-billings, 1995). 4 gatesol in action, fall 2018 esposito and swain (2009) suggest that teaching for social justice includes building critical thinking skills, thereby empowering students not just for academic success, but helping them see how they are situated in society relative to others. commitment to social justice also entails commitment to others. arrupe (1973) coined the phrase, “men and women for others”, as a way of encouraging people to commit to serving others, thus becoming agents of change. to that end, teaching for justice constitutes educating for change (arrupe, 1973). with that mindset, i extend that phrase to “girls and boys for others” and not just the spiritual dimension of this, but also the directive to “take action” for others for the good of humankind. social justice education helps to shape students to be mindful of sociopolitical forces, to develop a sense of agency, and ultimately to become socially and culturally responsible citizens (gutstein, 2003). i argue that social justice education extends beyond gathering of knowledge to include lessons that are relevant to students’ lives. furthermore, it comprises teachers having the courage to teach outside the box, beyond the mandated curriculum in an effort to prepare citizens with agency (freire, 1970). social justice education ensures that students have a voice and the classroom structures, topics, and themes that teachers enact will enable those voices to be heard. as such, critical multiculturalist educators must be prepared to teach students to question why things are the way they are and to begin posing their own solutions (gutstein, 2003). in so doing, students become agents of change and are inspired to “take action.” needless to say, with all the state testing mandates, even the most devoted and committed teachers are often overwhelmed and feel challenged with finding ways to prepare all students to be critical multiculturalists. for many teachers, there is added 5 gatesol in action, fall 2018 pressure to decipher the correct balance between test prep and content instruction (migliacci & stoops verplaetse, 2008). the common core state standards have added increased challenges at our school. for one, some of the teachers believe that the standards do not provide much flexibility or room for creativity in lesson planning. there is ambiguity in how to design lessons that will accomplish the objectives of the standards. teachers also feel that the standards lack clear outlines and sufficient ideas on how to accommodate els. for teachers wanting to provide a critical lens and build inquiry within the classroom, they face limits in choosing between teaching for the test or in helping to develop analytic thinkers. moreover, building critical thinkers includes directing students’ attention to issues of inequities within society, in their communities, and in their families, thereby incorporating an understanding of social justice. however, building critical thinkers who are socially responsible takes time (esposito & swain, 2009). dover (2013) alludes to the lack of time and room to integrate a social justice platform within the classroom, while up against a mandated curriculum. in the paragraphs below, i introduce the school context, followed by strategies and approaches that i used to accomplish the integration of social justice in my social studies lessons. the setting of the school described here is a public elementary school in a suburban county in the greater atlanta area with 90% of the students being english learners. the students were born in america to immigrant parents, mostly from vietnam and south america. english is not the primary language spoken at home. a small percentage of the els are new arrivals, who have immigrated to the u.s. within the last one to three years. another five percent of the students are african american students. 6 gatesol in action, fall 2018 up to 90% of the students receive free or reduced lunch. english learner students, as well as mainstream english-speaking students are taught together in an immersion setting. that is, els receive general instruction within mainstream classrooms. students typically receive instruction in reading, language arts, writing, social studies, math, and science. most els receive daily instructional help from esol teachers. the instructional framework is primarily a push-in model, where esol teachers work with students in small groups within their mainstream classrooms. typically, esol teachers provide one to two periods of instructional support for el students depending on their level of english proficiency and need for vocabulary and language support. students sometimes receive reading support from reading specialists to further accelerate their reading levels. students are placed in classes with their age appropriate peers regardless of their academic abilities. students are required to take all state standardized assessments if they have been in the country for at least ten months (migliacci & stoops verplaetse, 2008). all students are expected to meet the grade level curricular requirements as laid out by the county and state for promotion to the next grade level. in an effort to prepare students for the state assessments, the county administers a benchmark assessment every quarter or nine weeks throughout the school year. all students, including els, are expected to complete these assessments. the exemplars discussed in this article were written by nine third-grade students, all latino/a, except for one african american. the latino/a students all received at least one period of esol service daily. two of the latino/a students also received daily special education service in speech and language. the students’ reading levels ranged from beginning of first to second grade level at the start of the school year. during the 7 gatesol in action, fall 2018 literacy block, the students received small group guided reading instruction. the social studies unit, entitled people who made a difference, was integrated with a literacy standard unit goal. i served as the instructor for this class between 2013 and 2014. to demonstrate the integration of social justice in the curriculum for teaching els, i suggest the following lesson planning ideas below. as each of these ideas are developed, exemplars from the social studies unit are cited to corroborate them, with a play by play timeline: • utilize a backward design model for unit and lesson planning • introduce students to critical thinking through questioning and art integration • teach students how to think critically about things in their own lives, by making content relevant to their families and society at large • encourage students to be agents of change. • teacher education: prepare teachers to be social justice educators utilize a backward design model for unit and lesson planning mctighe and wiggins (2004), in explaining how to move from the standards to the desired curricular outcomes, describe the backward design process. backward design is an approach that starts with identifying the end curricular goal in mind, before starting a unit. teachers consider the final assessments of students’ understanding of a unit and identify the appropriate lesson pace to achieve the goals before commencement of a unit. to implement the backward design, i recommend that teachers examine the standards and identify the essential objectives or goals students 8 gatesol in action, fall 2018 should know by the completion of the unit. the following is a description of this first step implemented in an integrated literacy and social studies instructional unit with a focus on social justice. in the unit entitled, people who made a difference, i first identified the goal in the social studies state standards, which was to determine who key people were at specific times in history, and to tell how they made a difference in the u.s. second, to fulfill the literacy goals, students needed to identify common themes that connected the lives of the key people. last, in an effort to link new learning to students’ lives, as well as to relate to larger social issues in society, the students were challenged to brainstorm potential solutions for unfair practices they identified within their families or in society. in considering the evidence for students’ understandings, several performance assessments were built in place, before the start of the unit. for instance, to meet the literacy standard, (a) the students were required to identify potential themes and cite evidences from their texts using graphic organizers. stoops verplaetse (2008) discusses the importance of providing ample opportunities for els to interact orally and in writing to foster language acquisition and academic achievement. students (b) responded to critical questions by elaborating and citing reasons during discussions and writing. as students gave their opinions and reasons, it was necessary to look closely at their language to see the kinds of connections they were making between and across texts, as well as to determine the language patterns they were using to support their answers. sentence starters on the graphic organizers were instrumental in scaffolding the els’ writing by providing the necessary language to help students frame their thoughts. (c) students also compared key historical people by citing similarities and 9 gatesol in action, fall 2018 differences in the problems occurring during particular historical time periods. students created illustrations and drawings to reflect their understanding about the content as they compared features. (d) students established how each historical figure set out to solve problems by filling out a compare/contrast organizer. graphic organizers are critical tools for helping els negotiate difficult academic content (diaz-rico, 2008), as well as for helping them to convey their understanding of text (stoops verplaetse, 2008). the variety of ways to present information in graphic organizers builds interest in learning (graves & fitzgerald, 2003). in closing out the unit, the (e) hands project was used as a tool to assess the critical thinking students used to identify a social issue in their family or community through discussions, drawing, and writing. further details follow below. teaching and planning for social justice requires time (gutstein, 2003). teachers are not only planning for the essential and mandatory curriculum, but also are providing opportunities for students to think critically beyond the texts. therefore, i suggest combining the literacy and social studies standards and objectives to create an integrated unit. for instance, the standard 9 for reading and writing in the ccss requires that students: “analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the author takes” (ccss.ela-literacy r.9). the 2014 georgia third grade social studies standard ss3h2, stated that ‘the student will discuss the lives of americans who expanded people’s rights and freedoms in a democracy’. as a result, the goal for this unit was for students to compare the themes or common topics across texts of important american figures who made a difference in people’s lives. the rationale to integrate the content 10 gatesol in action, fall 2018 areas was multifaceted. for one, it accommodated the challenge of meeting the content area standards, as well as the literacy goals (holloway, 2002). further, by integrating content area subjects with reading, it fostered stronger readers with expanded content knowledge (holloway, 2002). therefore, it was necessary to identify essential questions that served the social studies goals, as well as met the literacy standards for the people who made a difference unit. here are some of the essential questions for social studies that were integrated with the literacy standards: who was susan b. anthony? how did she make a difference? what were her character traits? what obstacles did susan b. anthony face? how are susan b. anthony and cesar chavez alike? how did those traits help her make a difference in the u.s.? during the first nine weeks or quarter of the school year, i began teaching students specific reading skills, during the literacy block. for example, i taught students the reading skill of identifying and determining themes. to start, i introduced what the concept was, cited examples, showed students examples and had them identify themes within short stories or passages. next, i taught students how to compare and contrast objects, settings, ideas, concepts and people. then, i ensured students understood what it means to compare and contrast, to specify key words authors use, and helped them identify possible graphic organizers that are useful for comparing and contrasting. i realized it was important to teach students how to determine the character traits of individuals based on evidence. it was equally essential to teach them how to express their opinions with supporting evidences. throughout the unit, i modeled each expectation for students. 11 gatesol in action, fall 2018 it was vital for me to be intentional about the integration of the social studies and literacy objectives. therefore, in mapping out the framework for the people who made a difference unit, i incorporated essential questions that served dual purposes. one goal was to gain facts about who the historical people were, including susan b. anthony, franklin d, roosevelt, cesar chavez, fredrick douglas, and mary bethune, as laid out by the 3rd grade social studies standards, at the time. for the second nine weeks or quarter, students were retaught the reading skills using leveled books or online texts on the historical figures, during small group guided reading block. during week one of the second quarter, i began teaching students how to identify character traits for historical people by using character maps. in week two, i taught students possible themes or messages within each text, based on the historical people’s lives and their causes. for instance, after reading a franklin d. roosevelt’s (fdr) text, i modeled how to cite evidences and page numbers based on his actions. also, i discussed with students how to describe franklin roosevelt’s character, based on the evidences i had collected. i shared why i gave those descriptions, page numbers, and supporting evidences. in the people who made a difference unit, the students concluded fdr was a caring person. thus, the theme of caring was elicited. as students were strengthening their reading abilities by learning specific reading skills and the theme of caring, they were also learning the social studies content (holloway, 2002). during week three, students compared two of the historical figures, susan b. anthony and franklin d. roosevelt, to determine commonalities and differences, as well as to identify important causes. students provided facts about each of the two historical figures. see graphic 12 gatesol in action, fall 2018 organizer, comparing historical people below in figure 1 and appendix. the sample shown here is of a student, named luis. it is evident, luis was able to identify who the key people were, where they were located, and also find the existing problems and solutions across two texts. figure 1. comparing historical people, in texts (graphic organizer) introduce students to critical thinking through art integration and questioning in an effort to provide differentiation, i invited the els who were just learning the vocabulary or who had language challenges, to draw pictures or comic strips to illustrate 13 gatesol in action, fall 2018 their understanding of the social context during the time of history. migliacci and stoops verplaetse (2008) recommend finding varied and creative ways for els to demonstrate their knowledge base of content standards. drawing and illustrations are language mediums that can be used as scaffold or support for english learners’ language acquisition. for example, while working with the third graders on the unit, luis used a graphic organizer to draw how life was before things changed, then drew pictures of difficulties the people faced, followed by things the people wanted to change, then outlined the outcome (see figure. 2). figure 2. students’ art work of then and now 14 gatesol in action, fall 2018 other students included captions and speech bubbles to further express their ideas and learning. during discussions, students explained their rationale behind the images and shared their work with the group. i was purposeful about incorporating strategies that fostered deep and analytic thinking. questioning is one approach that i used to prompt and generate students’ critical thinking skills. questioning is a beneficial tool which can bridge communication for english learners (brown, 2007). by using simple how and why questions during reading, students can become more analytic readers. hedgcock and ferris (2009) suggest students engage in a dialogue with the author, by asking questions about the text during reading. they also recommend students respond by agreeing or disagreeing to ideas, based on personal experiences or their own views. during the fourth week, the goal for building critical thinking was gradually developed in the unit. for example, before the actual reading of the susan b. anthony text during the guided reading block, it was necessary to check students’ background knowledge to ascertain what students knew about how different racial groups and genders lived during that time. it was also essential to elicit responses about why things were the way they were, and how people’s lives were impacted by inequities. midway through the week, students read a mary mcleod biography as part of the unit. i asked students thought provoking questions, about what life was like during mcleod’s time. luis offered the first response, followed by other students: 15 gatesol in action, fall 2018 t: who had the better school? why? luis: whites. they had desks, blacks didn’t have anything. they used other things to write. whites have a lot of things in school, but not blacks. t: what would life be like for blacks, if mary mcleod did not make a school? s2: they wouldn’t have nothing to learn about. they wouldn’t have good jobs, houses, and money. s3: if she didn’t build school, and people didn’t change their minds, then they wouldn’t have school for black children. s4: it wouldn’t be fair for blacks. she treated them good. t: do you think all people are treated fairly? all students said no. by the end of the week, students were engaged in discussions and were providing answers about critical issues relating to equity during the historical time. it was necessary to have students talk about what they were noticing, using the sentence starters they were taught earlier in the quarter. by way of formative assessment, it was important to listen closely to students’ responses during the discussions. this provided the opportunity to assess student learning and clear up any misunderstandings students had at the time. in an effort to create critical thinkers, it was also important to engage students in thought provoking questions about issues of equity (gutstein, 2003). during week five, the issues of equity arising from the social studies texts were used to stimulate critical 16 gatesol in action, fall 2018 questions and discussion. for instance, students were asked to offer their opinions about students being forced to speak only english in school (see figure 3). they first had to discuss in a small group and then write their views on sticky notes, stating whether they agreed or not and explaining why. the rationale for including oral and written discourse was to provide different modes of learning, which is important for els. figure 3. students’ opinions about speaking only english in school 17 gatesol in action, fall 2018 in week six, after learning about susan b. anthony and cesar chavez, and how they fought for people’s rights and convinced people to vote, students, wrote their thoughts about the question below. see figure 4 for sample student responses. do you think everyone should be allowed to vote? why or why not? figure 4. several students’ opinions about voting students were immensely opinionated and passionate about their views. luis wrote that “yes, i think everyone should be allowed to vote. i think so because everyone should have the right to vote…” another student wrote, “yes, i think everyone should be allowed to vote. i think so because we would not have a leader, if we did not vote. also, if we did not vote, we would not have laws”. students were taught from the beginning of the year to use words from the question, to frame their answers. they were also instructed how to use the sentence starter, “i think so because”, to frame their opinions 18 gatesol in action, fall 2018 on what they think about a topic. providing els with scaffolds in writing builds confidence until they are able to write independently. scaffolding their language also helps in their language development. make content relevant to students’ families and community delpit (2006) proposes that while it is critical to teach academic skills, educators need to do more than just that. to further develop students’ critical abilities, it is important to invite them to make connection of learning to their own lives. researchers (ladson-billings, 1995; murray, 2010) suggest that teachers should be respecting of students’ culture and be intentional in incorporating students’ culture in their instruction. to that end, student diversity can be a vital resource for language development, as well as a means for providing cultural learning in the classroom (murphy & byrd, 2001). however, creating relevance in the curriculum goes beyond merely providing resources and textbooks and tolerating students’ culture (nieto, 1994). it includes showing students how to identify issues of disparity within their families’ lives or in their communities. as such, talking to students about things they perceive to be unfair in their families’ lives, in their communities, or with what they see on t.v. is very important. for instance, ask, are there any unfair things happening with your family members? is there anything being done about the issue? how does your family member feel about the unfair issues? what would they want change? have you seen anything unfair in the news? it is important to pay close attention to the types of responses students are giving and be intentional about stimulating more critical thinking. the third graders in this class each shared in discussion and in writing about issues of inequities. for example, luis wrote how unfair it was that children were faced 19 gatesol in action, fall 2018 with other people’s cigarette smoke and how harmful it is. as a follow up, i asked luis how he felt about the smoking that was going on around him. he discussed how smoking could make people sick. another student wrote how her aunt was often owed money by her boss, despite already receiving very low pay. probably one of the most surprising responses was from a student who wrote about how some big countries enter other countries, create wars, and then force people in those countries to obey them or face being killed. see figure 5. giving els the opportunity to talk first and then write strengthens their vocabulary and listening skills, builds awareness about issues around them, and creates critical writers. students are also able to extend their learning, in this case, about issues of fairness from the social studies unit and connect their learning to issues in their own lives and in society. figure 5. social problems 20 gatesol in action, fall 2018 encourage students to be agents of change it is important to prompt students to brainstorm solutions for inequities. by encouraging students to share what and how they think things could be changed, can help create agents of change. delpit (2006) points out that children are rarely given the opportunity to tackle serious moral issues in society or seldom trained to think of themselves as agents of change. she praised the awesome responsibility teachers hold in shaping students to become agents of change. however, creating agents of change does not happen overnight, but takes time. therefore, teachers need to be intentional and purposeful in directing students to consider issues that are unfair and that serve to exploit groups of people. as a culminating activity and whole class assessment for the unit, students were required to offer their own solutions to the social problems they cited in their families’ lives or in society. the third grade students drew their hands as a symbol of what they would do to deal with the inequities they described. they then wrote a few sentences explaining how things could be changed. for instance, luis wrote: “i think that the people have to stop the smoking because we will get sick and die. i think the governor should make a law. the law should say, people should not smoke around children. also, if we see people smoke tell them to stop. friend should tell friends to stop smoking”. students shared their hand project with the rest of the group by stating how they proposed to deal with the inequities. see figures 6. and figure 7. 21 gatesol in action, fall 2018 figure 6. drawing hands as change agents 22 gatesol in action, fall 2018 figure 7. student’s solution for drugs in the world teacher education: preparing teachers for social justice education when we consider the integration of social justice in our classes with a goal of “girls and boys for others” we need to bear in mind that we are talking about the context of 21st century knowledge-based economies and the real need for nontraditional models of education (livingston, 2012). the content area of social studies is rich with possibilities of what non-traditional and integrated social justice classrooms and syllabi could accomplish. in the earlier sections, i enumerate how one teacher set out to achieve this goal. this article can serve as one example as we forge ahead, committed to critical multiculturalism and envisioning a future bright with possibilities. the continuing education of pre-service and in-service teacher learners must be grounded in critical creative curricula development. this means that teacher learners need to be equipped to develop long term (at least a half to a full semester) themebased lessons that integrate literature, literacy, and social studies while incorporating 23 gatesol in action, fall 2018 social justice perspectives and habits. i used a theme of people who made a difference, based on the teaching topic of civil rights and equality. my children participated in a hands project, citing what they would do to improve life in the family, the community, and in the world, which is the action element of critical multiculturalism. in teaching their classes, teacher educators need to model backward design with teacher learners. teacher learners can work together in grade level groups to put all the components of social justice, literacy, language, literature, and social studies content, goals and objectives together into a coherent syllabus. starting with the end in mind, teachers can then adopt a theme, select a major culminating task or event, and then work backwards to plan the content, language, skills and strategies they will use to reach the end standards, objectives, and goals. all of this must be set in a critical curricula context, where historical representations of knowledge are interrogated from the sociocultural perspectives of race, class, gender, abilities, cultural and linguistic backgrounds (boyd et al., 2006; luke, woods and weir, 2013). critical pedagogy and multiculturalists are about social justice in action. critical pedagogues critique and contest the social forces that serve to replicate and reproduce social structures in society for the maintenance of the status quo. many of these reproduction forces and structures are inherent in our curriculum and accomplish the continuing marginalization of various groups (king, 2005). therefore, teacher educators need to ensure that they are modelling critical pedagogy in action and explicitly teaching about the need for critical approaches to teaching (books, 2006; wink, 2010). furthermore, teacher educators need to engage in enquiry oriented ethnographic approaches to teaching, where teacher learners study others’ knowledge systems and 24 gatesol in action, fall 2018 cultural resources in sites outside of the university classroom and in traditional pk-12 classroom settings. such sites may include, but are not limited to, living in other countries, study abroad programs, apartment complexes, community centers, churches and the homes of refugee and immigrant families (gonzalez, moll and amanti, 2005; tinker sachs et al., 2008). integrating social justice into 21st century teaching with multimodalities and multiliteracies approaches really requires a commitment to energy in teaching. this energy is enhanced and sustained when like-minded teachers and teacher educators work together in collaborative planning for curriculum development, research, and professional development. integrated approaches are challenging to enact and only through working together can action take place. teacher educators who work together with one another in the academy and with teachers in k-12 schools, through their research and professional development activities, help to promote sustained action for social justice. multiculturalism and internationalism are necessary perspectives and dispositions for today’s educators. again, teacher educators need to be living and enacting these behaviors and attitudes in their classrooms by the design of their teaching activities and assignments and by the amount of attention they devote to these orientations. paying lip service and listing these as goals are inadequate without action. conclusion in this article, i have sought to empower our els with voice and action in the classroom through the integration of social justice, language, and literacy within the content area of social studies. i believe that empowering els is challenging work that 25 gatesol in action, fall 2018 requires collaborative commitment, passion, and energy from both university teacher educators and k-12 teachers. we must break the barriers that divide us and together create the kind of educational spaces that we require in today’s world. 26 gatesol in action, fall 2018 references arrupe, p. fr. (1973). men and women for others. speech given to jesuit high school alumni. downloaded 8/16/2014: http://www.interaksyon.com/article/68311/menfor-others--the-40th-year-of-a-speech-that-challenged-jesuits-and-the-world banks, j. a. (1993). multicultural education: development, dimensions and challenges. the phi delta kappan, 75(1), 2228. books, s. (ed.). (3rd ed. 2006). invisible children in the society and its schools. new york, ny: routledge. boyd, f. b., ariail, m., williams, r., jocson, k., tinker sachs, g. & mcneal, k. (2006). real teaching for real diversity. preparing english language teachers for the 21st. century classrooms. english education, 38 (4), 329 350. brown, h. d. (2007). teaching by principles: an interactive approach to language pedagogy. 3rd ed. white plains, n.y: pearson education. diaz-rico, l. t. (2008). strategies for teaching english learners (2nd ed.). boston: allyn and bacon. delpit l. (2006). other people’s children: cultural conflict in the classroom. new york, n.y: the new press. dover, a. g. (2013). getting “up to code”: preparing for and confronting challenges when teaching for social justice in standards-based classrooms. action in teacher education, 35, 89102. http://www.interaksyon.com/article/68311/men-for-others--the-40th-year-of-a-speech-that-challenged-jesuits-and-the-world http://www.interaksyon.com/article/68311/men-for-others--the-40th-year-of-a-speech-that-challenged-jesuits-and-the-world 27 gatesol in action, fall 2018 esposito, j. & swain, a. n. (2009) pathways to social justice: urban teachers’ uses of culturally relevant pedagogy as a conduit for teaching for social justice. perspective on urban education, 3848. freire, p. (1970). pedagogy of the oppressed. new york, ny: continuum. gay, g. (nd). a synthesis of scholarship in multicultural education. downloaded 12/10/2013: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ed378287.pdf gonzalez, n., moll, l.c., & amanti, c. (2005). funds of knowledge: theorizing practices in households, communities and classrooms. mahwah, nj: lawrence erlbaum associates. graves, m. & fitzgerald, j; (2003). scaffolded reading experiences for english language learners. norwood, massachusetts: christopher-gordon publishers, inc. gutstein, e. (2003. teaching and learning mathematics for social justice in an urban, latino school. journal for research in mathematics education, 34(1), 37–73. hedgcock, j. s. & ferris, d. r. (2009). teaching readers of english: students, texts, and contents. new york, ny: routledge. holloway, j. h. (2002). integrating literacy with content. educational literacy, 60(3), 87 88. jackson, a. p. (2014). comparing historical people in texts, (graphic organizer). king, j.e. (ed.). (2005). black education. a transformative research and action agenda for the new century. new york, ny: lawrence erlbaum associates. 28 gatesol in action, fall 2018 ladson-billings, g. (1995). but that’s just good teaching! the case for culturally relevant pedagogy. theory into practice, 23(2), 159-165. ladson-billings, g. (2003). new directions in multicultural education: complexities, boundaries, and critical race theory. in j. banks & c. banks (eds.), handbook of research on multicultural education (2nd ed.), (pp. 5065). san francisco, ca: wiley. livingston, k. (2012). quality in teachers’ professional career-long development. in j. harford, b. hudson & h. niemi (eds.), quality assurance and teacher education. international challenges and expectations, (pp.35 – 52). bern, switzerland: peter lang. luke, a., woods, a. & weir, k. (eds.), (2013). curriculum, syllabus design and equity. a primer and model. new york, ny: routledge. mantegna, s. (2013). process and product: high school english learners redefined. unpublished doctoral dissertation. department of middle secondary and education, college of education, georgia state university. mctighe, j. & wiggins, g. (2004). understanding by design. alexandra, va: association for supervision and curriculum development (ascd). mehan, h. (1979). learning lessons. social organization in the classroom. cambridge, ma: harvard university press. 29 gatesol in action, fall 2018 migliacci, n. & stoops verplaetse, l. (2008). inclusive pedagogy in a mandate-driven climate. in l. stoops verplaetse & n. migliacci, (eds.), inclusive pedagogy for english language learners: a handbook of research-based-informed practices. taylor and francis. murphy, j. & byrd, p. (2001). understanding the courses we teach: local perspectives on english language teaching. ann arbor, mi: university of michigan press. murray, o. (2010). a mindfulness to transcend pre-service lip-service: a call for k-12 schools to invest in social justice education. multicultural education, 17(3), 48-50. nieto, s. (1994). affirmation, solidarity and critique: moving beyond tolerance in education. multicultural education, 1(4), 9-12. nieto, s. (1999). critical multicultural education and students’ perspectives. in s. may (ed.), critical multiculturalism, (pp. 191215). london: falmer. sleeter, c. e. & soriano, e. (eds.). (2012). creating solidarity across diverse communities. international perspectives in education. new york, ny: teachers college press. stoops verplaetse, l (2008). inclusive pedagogy in a mandate-driven climate. in stoops verplaetse, l. & migliacci, n. (eds). inclusive pedagogy for english language learners: a handbook of research-based-informed practices. taylor and francis. tharp, r.g. & gallimore, r. (1988). rousing minds to life. teaching, learning and schooling in social context. new york, ny: cambridge. 30 gatesol in action, fall 2018 tinker sachs, g., hendley, m.l., klosterman, s., muga, e., roberson, a., soons, b., wingo, c., & yeo, m. (2008). integrating funds of knowledge in the esol practicum: the missing element. gatesol in action, 21(2), 23 – 30. wells, g. & arauz mejía, r. (2006). dialogue in the classroom. the journal of the learning sciences, 15(3), 379-428. wink, j. (2010). critical pedagogy: notes from the real world (4th edition). upper saddle river, nj: pearson. 31 gatesol in action, fall 2018 appendix name: _____________________ date: ____________ texts comparison: nonfiction (compare and contrast the most important points and key details presented in two texts on the same topic). title of text/ who (names) where/when (setting) what were the problem during this time? how did people try to solve the problem? what was the outcome? what changed? how are the texts alike? how are the texts different? explain. remember: talk about the details in the texts. details include names, dates, places, events, text features, word choice, and author’s style. o they are alike because ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ o they are different because ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ jackson, a. p. (2014). comparing historical people in texts, (graphic organizer). girls and boys for others: creating relevance and critical inquiry for english learners by dr. annmarie patricia jackson department of elementary and special education university of north georgia annmarie.jackson@ung.edu issn #2331-6845 shifting paradigms of language and identities: my personal journey of english learning, teaching and researching by huan wang hwang45@student.gsu.edu department of middle and secondary education georgia state university, atlanta, georgia a person’s identities are constantly changing in response to varied contexts where one is playing the role as an english learner, an english instructor, and a language researcher. with english being her non-native language, the author has experienced numerous challenges while being a learner attempting to explore her language identities, an english instructor trying to implement effective language teaching pedagogies, and a language investigator intending to conduct rigorous research to benefit next generations of english language learners. this article depicts the academic journey of an english language learner and how she has transformed from an english learner to an english instructor, and then a researcher and language variationist. the author also addresses how her language paradigms and identities have shifted during her years of experience. keywords: english language learner, identities, language paradigms, language varieties, language variationists introduction my perspectives about language have been constantly changing through many years of learning, teaching and researching. chambers (2013) argues that “language cannot exist without societies; language is quintessentially social” 1 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 mailto:hwang45@student.gsu.edu (p. 1). due to the social aspects of language, english teaching, learning and researching are inevitably impacted by the social and political dynamics of the local context. given this, my english learning and teaching experience in my home country where english is taught as a foreign language is very different from my experience of learning, studying english at a university in the united states where english is utilized as the primary language of teaching and communicating. in this paper, i share my previous experience of learning and teaching english in china, my home country, and my current experience of studying and doing research in english as my second language in the u.s. i will also address how my language paradigms and identities have shifted during these years of experience. being an english language learner i started learning english in my middle school at the age of 14 before china’s department of education enacted the full-time compulsory education standard english curriculum (experimental version) with coastal cities and a few developed areas offering english as one of the elementary school courses from first grade (wang, 2012). grammar translation method was one of the dominant english teaching methods back then. we learned english grammatical rules and practiced to translate phrases and sentences from chinese to english. i had a difficult time 2 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 learning english at the beginning and would have quitted if it was not tested or the assessment result had not the power to decide whether or not i could go to a reputable high school. honestly, i did not enjoy learning english for the first year but found the reward one year later because i received high grades and was labeled as “successful english language learner”. this label brought me priority and prestige, and boosted my confidence in the study of other content areas. i am aware of the political and power dynamics of english and its impact on my middle and high school life today since i have been putting on multiple lenses to perceive english and its social, cultural and political impact on various contexts. in college, the power dynamics between english and me have shifted. i used to be a slave of english since it controlled my life and i had to spend so much time and energy to master it. however, in my college, i was eager to learn english since i was aware that successfully learning english would make a difference to my life. i believe that was an important reason i chose english as my major. later i found what it brought to me was what we called opportunity – something excluded me from others but in a good way. i was selected as the only candidate to represent my university to compete in a provincial english speaking contest. before i went to the contest, i had the opportunity to stay with foreign faculty and was given full-time intensive training by two excellent native english speakers 3 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 for two weeks. i was treated so special that it made me uneasy and even stressful. even though i did not win the opportunity to proceed to the national competition, this experience brought me enough recognition and prestige in my department and even in the whole university. being an english instructor three years later, my role transitioned from being an english learner to an english teacher who obtained the power of teaching the language. therefore, i had to treat english differently. when i was preparing each lesson, i was precise in grammar and spelling because my identity of being an english language teacher pushed me to be accurate about the information i delivered to my students. at that time, every english teacher was required to teach “standard english”. my understanding of “standard” was “standard” grammar and “standard” pronunciation since these areas were constantly tested by the university as well as by the board of higher education. i thought i would never achieve this political expectation because i could stick to the grammar book but i could not force my students to speak english the same way to make their english “standard”. as a teacher, i care about speaking because i believe that an important reason of learning a language is to freely talk to people who speak the language. 4 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 although speaking naturally occurs to native speakers of the language, it is a challenge to speakers who are learning english as a second or foreign language. for this reason, i encouraged my students to participate in classroom discussions as well as in after-school english corner where english was practiced orally. i was tolerable about students’ different pronunciations, intonations and dialectintermingled englishes (some students speak their local chinese dialects and this affects their english pronunciation). i would only correct them when their pronunciation and word stress caused misunderstanding. the philosophy underpinning my language paradigm was that i intended to allow “linguistic and social differences in communication” (florio-ruane & morrell, 2011, p. 88) among students of diverse linguistic and social backgrounds (students from different areas bring their local culture and speak a distinctive local dialect). jim cummins (1981) asserts that “if the teacher consistently uses the standard form while accepting student utterances” in the non-standard, then “students will gradually shift to using the standard in the school context” (p. 35). the “standard” dr. cummins mentions here sounds political and brings me questions such as “whose standard is it?” “what is the purpose of making one dialect standard and others non-standard?” “shouldn’t variety of dialects be valued and treated equally?” as a non-native speaker of english, even after many years of learning, being 5 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 immersed in the english speaking environment and even being recognized in the english speaking contest, still, my english has an accent. do i speak standard english? does that make a difference to my life and career if i do not? in the second year of my teaching, i was nominated to be the coach of the university english speech team. my role shifted again from only teaching to the dual role of both teaching and coaching. there was more pressure and obligation; however, i felt i had more control over english to win honor for my students as well as for myself. during the intensive training two weeks before students participated in the competition, accurate pronunciation and fluent speaking were my norms of coaching. even though it was hard to achieve the “standard”, i guided my students toward this direction because from my experience of being a contestant, i was clear about what was expected: judges prefer fluent english either 100% british accent or 100% american accent with professional performance. finally, we achieved success. two of my students won the provincial english speaking contest and one was selected to compete in the national contest. when my students and i were awarded and had our photos taken by the media, i felt for the first time that i was the master of english and i had conquered it. 6 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 being an english researcher and language variationist many years have passed; my language paradigms have shifted both consciously and unconsciously. after i became a doctoral student in the language and literacy program in a u.s. university, i realized that people speak english very differently and i sometimes had problems understanding different varieties of english. gradually, i could understand much better than the time i first came. this is partly due to the language insights and knowledge i have gained from my language classes and partly because my attitude towards the varieties of english has changed. now i call myself a language variationist because i am holding tightly to the perspective that there are varieties of languages and each variety should be equally perceived and treated because each language has a value and serves as a communication tool for a certain group of people. even though the debate about “standard english” is no longer a prominent topic in the current era, the “standard” to me is like an invisible person who still holds the power and controls the society. this person is smart that he/she does not say anything such as “your english is not standard but mine is”; instead, he/she only judges, fails or marginalizes people who do not speak like him or her. thomas (1999) claims that “the development of a standard form of a language is 7 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 tied up with the development of a national and cultural identity” (p. 155). to apply it to english, which english or english varieties people speak could represent the national and cultural identities of people from a particular society. however, it is almost impossible to have one single english or english variety that identifies every person in a country or society because each individual uses english differently; their purposes of using it vary, and “how they perceive themselves, and what identity they want to project” (wareing, 1999, p. 10) are different as well. in this regard, it seems that the identity of language is actually the identity of the people who speak that language. wareing (1999) claims that “who speaks which language (or which variety of a particular language) and the attitudes of people towards that language (or language variety), are further issues inherently connected to the concepts of power and society” (p. 10). in other words, some speakers are powerful enough to empower their language or language varieties; however, some speakers are not in a powerful position to authorize a prestigious identity to their language. as a critical language and literacy teacher, teacher educator, and researcher, i constantly remind myself to be neutral when perceiving language and its varieties since the attitude to certain languages is closely related to attitudes towards people who speak that language. in this sense, there is no 8 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 problem with the language because some languages have been passed from previous generations and are still alive even though they are only used by a small population. however, there is a problem of those who judge people by the way they speak their languages. often times, their judgments are biased. some language varieties may be difficult to be understood; however, if we have enough patience and make adequate efforts, we can do so successfully. this reminds me of the experience in the second year of my college, we requested that our oral english teacher from australia to be replaced by another teacher from the united states. unexpectedly, we had problems with the new teacher’s accent again. it was until one year later that i realized it took time to get used to people’s accents since everyone spoke differently even though they were all native english speakers. we as non-native speakers, should not only learn how to speak one language variety, but more importantly, taking english as an example, need to learn the differences among multiple english varieties and be prepared to understand and communicate with speakers of these different english varieties. final words as a language researcher of english, i perceive language as a system—a system of sounds, grammar and meaning (wareing, 1999). when language is 9 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 used, variations occur since there is “scope for creativity and invention” (wareing, 1999, p. 10). while i am teaching english, one of my focuses is on how to encourage free language expression without judgment. we need to work on providing the space “where standard english could be acquired while at the same time respecting and reinforcing the children’s pride in their own variety” (van lier & corson, 1997, p. 237). in addition, we need to be aware that language is not isolated from the society; it is interdependent to the social, political and cultural aspects of the world. moreover, judging people by the way they speak is dangerous since often times our judgments are biased due to the language concept we receive from the popular culture and media. finally, a language researcher of english needs to be free from bias when exploring and studying the varieties of english in the language world. 10 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 references chambers, j. k. (2013). studying language variation: an informal epistemology. in j.k. chambers, & p. trudgill, (2nd ed.). the handbook of language variation and change (pp. 1-15). malden, ma: wiley-blackwell. cummins, j. (1981). the role of primary language development in promoting educational success for language minority students. in california state department of education (ed.), schooling and language minority students: a theoretical framework (pp. 3-49). los angeles: evaluation, dissemination and assessment center california state university. florio-ruane, s., & morrell, e. (2011). discourse analysis. in n. duke, & m. mallate, literacy research methodologies (2nd ed.), (pp. 87-103). new york: gilford press. thomas, l. (1999). the standard english debate. in l. thomas, and s. wareing, language, society and power: an introduction, (pp.151 – 171). london: routledge. van lier, l. & corson, d. (eds.). (1997). encyclopedia of language and education, volume 6: knowledge about language. dordrecht: netherlands. wang, q. m. (2012). china’s primary english teaching research and analysis in the past decade. english teachers, 2, 63-67. wareing, s. (1999). what is language and what does it do? in l. thomas, & s. wareing, language, society and power: an introduction, (pp.1 – 15). london: routledge. 11 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 issn #2331-6845 what does it mean to be a language variationist and bilingual? by jeehye park jpark91@student.gsu.edu department of middle and secondary education college of education and human development georgia state university, atlanta, georgia in this article, the writer discusses what it means to be bilingual and a language variationist by reflecting on her language learning experiences. the author shows how she gains power through her multilayered identities as she learns to employ a variety of englishes as tools for academic success and community participation. keywords: language variationist, bilingual, power, identity, standardized english as a non-native english speaker, my first language learning experiences began with learning how to speak and write korean. our family uses standardized korean, which is spoken through mass media. as foulkes, docherty, and watt (1999) emphasize that early input is essential, my korean has developed since an early age through the language input of my family members. the way of speaking, such as accents, frequently used words, and even gestures resemble the language of my parents (roberts, 2013). it seems that i developed my language skills 1 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 mailto:jpark91@student.gsu.edu according to labov’s (1990) hypothesis on child-directed speech, which says that young children echo their mother’s speech. my mother, as the principal caregiver, provided the most influential input that supported my language acquisition at an early age. my family members do not speak the korean dialect, which has unique accents, intonations, and word choices based on local language variations throughout south korea. however, when family members on my father’s side gather, they suddenly begin to speak the korean dialect of the island located in northern west side of south korea. as an adult, i selectively and intentionally choose not to speak my father’s dialect because seoul, which is the place where i live, as the main city of south korea, privileges standardized korean, and i am proudly a member of that community (meyerhoff & strycharz, 2013). during school days, learning was focused on standardized tests. english teachers taught mostly reading comprehension, vocabulary, and grammar, and there was a little bit of listening practice. students learned english to get into prestigious colleges for their future rather than studying english as a lingua franca, and i was one of them. english class was teacher centered and students rarely had opportunities to speak during the class. in high school, english listening comprehension became emphasized and was included in the college entrance exam. we listened to a tape with native speakers’ recordings. the conversations 2 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 consisted of daily conversations with friends or families. in one of the listening tests, i was confused by the strange and unfamiliar british accents of a native speaker, and i couldn’t understand what the speaker was saying, which made me embarrassed. right after the test, all the students complained about the native speaker’s different accents and pronunciation to the english teacher and asked to replace the british speaker with an american english speaker. we all felt that only american english was the correct and recognized worldwide standard language, and we could not accept englishes from other countries. later, i had a chance to change my views about learning english through a trip to the philippines. people from the philippines did not look embarrassed at all when they used strange pronunciations or incorrect grammar. they seemed to use very simple sentences and sometimes tagalog mixed with english, and nobody cared about it because we could communicate and understand each other. the filipinos seemed to employ either a heritage dialect or a “mixed” variety as described in fought’s linguistic repertoires (2013, p. 389). my understanding was that people only spoke a standardized english, which was american english as employed in the classroom. when i tried to make concrete sentences without grammatical errors in my brain, i could not communicate with people. i was already off the topic of that group when i was finally ready to speak 3 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 an english sentence. in this setting, it did not matter to me whether accent or pronunciation of english were similar to american english; rather, all i wanted was to be able to communicate with people in english. i initially came to the u.s. as a graduate student. i remember that i had to face many challenges in terms of building my academic identity through english as a second language in an unfamiliar place, knoxville, tennessee. according to johnstone (2004), place is essential to construct identity. for example, spanishdominant speakers showed that adopting local language forms such as “y’all” and “fixin” helped them to be in the community and to gain “local identity” (wolfram, carter, & moriello, 2004, p. 344-345). similarly, i tried to learn academic uses of standardized english in order to be a member of the graduate school community. at the same time, i picked up several expressions of colloquial english with southern accents because i was sure that this would be the effective way to be close to my classmates. since success in graduate study relies on heavy reading, writing, and discussing, i had to adapt to new strategies associated with how to express my points of view, support ideas, and discuss arguments in standardized english. i had to struggle in order to equip myself with an aggressive attitude to express my ideas in writing and class discussion. i sometimes found myself mimicking 4 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 tennessee’s southern accents when talking with classmates. i knew that my pronunciation couldn’t be the same as theirs but i guess that i wanted to be a part of the community rather than being an outsider. i memorized some expressions to use later when i was in a similar situation where the conversation happened. finally, i selectively chose a variety of english that depended on the context and the type of discourse being used. for example, i speak in different ways when i am in classroom and in local markets. when i teach english to korean students and english language learners (ells) from other countries, i often feel that my perspectives and experiences about learning english are reflected in my teaching. for example, i respect ells’ diversity in language and culture. i encourage them to be proud of different cultural perspectives and ideas, and a variety of ways of speaking english with different accents and pronunciations. they also need enough time to be ready to share ideas and to speak in front of classes. i especially feel empathy towards english learners who will go through learning processes in english only classes in the u.s. public school system. the learners might be confused when they realize that there are a variety of englishes depending on the context such as school or community. the learners would be overwhelmed by the fact that their way of speaking english is not welcomed by teachers and other native speakers. 5 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 according to gee (2013), people acquire “new social languages and genres” resulting in constructing different “discourses”, in other words “identity kits” (p. 143-144). ells have already built identities in their culture and language, and they are required to build new identities again in a new language, english (kiesling, 2013). i am sure that there has to be thoughtful consideration, attention, and support given to these students. however, they are sometimes misunderstood and characterized as being without language even though many children have confident language abilities in their own languages (gee, 1996; labov, 1972). the learners' home language is a valuable asset in globalized society. however, these students are often unconsciously forced to forget their home language in the process of learning the norm language; in fact, most third-generation immigrants have entirely lost the use of their home language (milroy & llamas, 2013). this rapid language loss requires educators' attention and, at the same time, requires a shift in the dominant perspective that currently values only a standard english dialect in the public education system. as a non-native english speaker, i feel that i have some advantages to help ells because i have experienced identity changes (kiesling, 2013) and employed english in different “communities of practices” (meyerhoff &strycharz, 2013, p. 428) which are inseparable from language learning. from my language learning 6 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 experiences, it seems to me that ells benefit from building “multi-layered” (kiesling, 2013, p. 463) identities. this is how i negotiated learning english in various settings. while keeping pride in who i am and the language i speak, i am able to adapt to the dominant language and culture in order to fit harmoniously into this community. by employing standardized academic english, i try to become a member of the doctoral student community. on the other hand, i speak korean borrowing a few english words with my children and sometimes with english language learners from korea because i want to build a strong cultural and linguistic bond with them. i sometimes copy the way native americans speak english in my community and thus, i don’t want to be an outsider. looking back on my language learning experiences, i realized that i have chosen a type of language based on both my own will and unavoidable forces around me. now, as a doctoral student, i, once again, feel the shift of language paradigms especially in standardized academic english. my views about english have changed from viewing english as somebody else’s language to adopting it as my second language so that i can communicate with people from different cultures and linguistic backgrounds. i feel that i have more power over using english. i employ standardized english as my tool to communicate with other doctoral students and professors and to assert my point of view. 7 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 still, i do not think that people understand how many different language variations they are using. there is no static english structure because language always changes. furthermore, i am certain that each person will experience the shift of language paradigm while meeting diverse people, gaining new learning experiences, and building careers. as an educator, language variationist, and future researcher, i would like to invite people who speak a variety of english to enjoy and celebrate what they are and who they are. english is not owned by only some countries or cultures. english is a language that anybody is able to own and use as a lingua franca. this way, anyone who respects uniqueness and difference can be a language variationist. 8 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 references fought, c. (2013). ethnicity. in j. k. chambers & n. schilling (2nd ed.), the handbook of language variation and change (pp. 387-406). malden, ma: blackwell. foulkes, p., docherty, g., & watt, d. (1999). tracking the emergence of structured variation. leeds working papers in linguistics and phonetics, 7, 1-25. gee, j. p. (1996). social linguistics and literacies: ideology in discourses (2nd ed.). london: traylor & francis. gee, j. p. (2013). reading as situated language: a sociocognitive perspective. in d. e. alvermann, n. j. unrau, & r. b. ruddell (6th ed.). theoretical models and processes of reading (pp. 136-151). newark, de: international reading association. johnstone, b. (2004). place, globalization, and linguistic variation. in c. fought (ed.), sociolinguistic variation: critical reflections (pp. 65-83). new york: oxford university press. 9 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 kiesling, s. f. (2013). constructing identity. in j. k. chambers & n. schilling (2nd ed.), the handbook of language variation and change (pp. 448-467). malden, ma: blackwell. labov, w. (1972). language in the inner city. philadelphia, pa: university of pennsylvania press. labov, w. (1990). the intersection of sex and social class in the course of linguistic change. language variation and change, 2, 205-54. meyerhoff, m. & strycharz, a. (2013). communities of practice. in j. k. chambers & n. schilling (2nd ed.), the handbook of language variation and change (pp. 428-447). malden, ma: blackwell. milroy, l. & llamas, c. (2013). social networks. in j. k. chambers & n. schilling (2nd ed.), the handbook of language variation and change (pp. 409-427). malden, ma: blackwell. roberts, j. (2013). child language variation. in j. k. chambers & n. schilling (2nd ed.), the handbook of language variation and change (pp. 263-276). malden, ma: blackwell. 10 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 rueda, r. (2013). 21st-century skills: cultural, linguistic, and motivational perspectives. in d. e. alvermann, n. j. unrau, & r. b. ruddell (6th ed.), theoretical models and processes of reading (pp. 1241-1267). newark, de: international reading association. wolfram, w., carter, p., & moriello, b. (2004). emerging hispanic english: new dialect formation in the american south. journal of sociolinguistics, 8, 339358. 11 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 article yixuan wang is a doctoral student in tesol and world languages in the department of language and literacy education at the university of georgia, athens, ga; email yw61560@uga.edu. poetry in tesol teacher education: a chinese teacher’s identity negotiation and reconstruction before and during the pandemic gatesol in action journal 2020, vol. 30(1), pp. 32–47 issn: 2331-6845 yixuan wang department of language and literacy education, university of georgia abstract this case study explores how meili (pseudonym), a pre-service teacher in a tesol and world language education program, negotiated and reconstructed her identity as a multilingual graduate student in her emergent bilingual poems through two poetry classes offered in spring 2018 and summer 2019. her reflections and stories in the interviews are analyzed under the framework of arts-based research. the findings point out that this non-english native multilingual teacher negotiated and reconstructed her emerging teacher-poet identity through bilingual poetry in three main ways: (a) she challenged the long-existing norms and judgments set by her english monolingual peers by bringing her multilingual voice in her english poems, (b) she combined her personal experiences as a multilingual international student in the u.s. to reconstruct an ideal identity that she aspires to as a pre-service teacher, and (c) she used translingual creative writing to exhibit and expand her linguistic and cultural repertoires which contribute to the ongoing construction of her teacher-poet identity. this analysis has implications for poetry and other artsbased approaches to be included in tesol teacher education to help pre-service and in-service teachers from diverse backgrounds disrupt problematic norms in the field during and after the pandemic. the affordance of poetry also enables multilingual teachers to mediate and reshape their desired teacher identity through their poem writing combined with their life experiences. keywords tesol, teacher education, multilingual teachers, pre-service teachers, poetry background the united states and other western english-dominant countries have been popular destinations for international students. in the u.s., international students are a fast-growing population with diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. among international students, chinese international students are the fastestand largest-growing group of international students in the u.s. (qi et al., 2018). although international students generally face some shared and common challenges, previous studies demonstrated that students from asia, africa, and south america in the u.s. face more challenges compared to their counterparts from europe and north america (qi et al., 2018). even among asian international students, a salient difference would be language barriers that mailto:yw61560@uga.edu wang 33 chinese students face since they have lower toefl ibt scores (a mandatory language test international students have to take to apply for universities in the u.s.) compared to students from india where english is an official language and korea where english is not an official language either (educational testing service, 2018). when the language barrier is an enormous challenge to chinese students, the hardship becomes even more difficult for chinese international students who are enrolled in the program of tesol or world language education (wle), in which language proficiency is a prerequisite. noticing this issue, many scholars advocate to offer more creative approaches, such as poetry, in tesol programs to help international students navigate in the new host country for their new life, study, and identity (cahnmann-taylor et al., 2016; harman & zhang, 2015; kamhi-stein, 2013). along with these advocacies, scholars also urge to disrupt the standards set by english native practitioners in the field and offer more creative ways for international students to achieve better in their academic performance and pre-service training (cahnmann-taylor et al., 2016; cahnmann-taylor & hwang, 2019). as most of the teaching all around the world has been interrupted and altered due to the pandemic, it is time for educators and learners to make transformative and critical changes. the recent upheaval of policy that could influence all international students in u.s. academic programs, particularly tesol, programs should take actions to not only nurture pre-service teachers’ academic and professional development but also self-agency and intercultural competency. thus, in the midst of a global pandemic, i ask two questions related to both arts and the world of tesol: 1. what role does arts/poetry play in teacher education? 2. what can arts-based approaches offer in tesol teacher education? what follows here is a case study of a chinese international student’s personal experience. through the analysis of three interviews with her, the analysis exhibits problematic norms and concepts that many tesol and wle practitioners still carry against international and multilingual teacher candidates, the negotiation and reconstruction of this bilingual teacher’s identity, and the affordance of poetry in tesol teacher education programs. the analysis itself also illustrates the importance of using arts-based research in both teaching and research (cahnmann-taylor & siegesmund, 2018; mulvihill & swaminathan, 2019). this study begins with a review of the long-existing binary of english-native speakers and non-native speakers in tesol, translanguaging practices of bilinguals/multilinguals, and the arts in tesol practice, specifically poetry. after the review, the context of culture and situation is explained to better illustrate meili’s situations in her program and her workplace as an international bilingual educator who was reshaping her identity as a bilingual, novice teacher, and emerging poet. theoretical background the binary of english-nativeness and non-nativeness in tesol the expanding role of english as a global lingua franca leads to the demands for more qualified english teachers in the world. nonetheless, about 80% of english teachers around the world speak another language as their native or first language (faez & karas, 2019). however, these non-native teachers’ teaching skills are often doubted and challenged since the field has linked teaching skills with “native like” english proficiency. as a result, such a problematic concept situates “non-native english-speaking” bilingual or multilingual teachers in a discriminated side, worsening the 34 gatesol in action journal 30(1) tolerance and embrace of english varieties and localized english in the world. gradually, this binary lead non-native teachers to identify with the ideology of “nativeness” in the field, ranging from teaching skills to cultural understanding and teaching. this deep-rooted ideology further favors native teachers as well as influencing non-native teachers to perceive themselves as inferior and deficient in english (nguyen, 2017). phillipson (1992) challenges such “native speaker fallacy” and he asserts that this proposition is unequal and unethical (p.185). a growing number of scholars call for breaking down the dichotomy and promote counter discourses (pennycook, 1994). to empower non-native speakers in the field, samimy and brutt-griffler (1999) also advocate for the necessity to “develop an identity of their own construction that neither prescribes a limited role for them in the profession nor specifies definite boundaries to their capacities therein” (p. 418). therefore, tesol teacher education becomes extremely important to non-native teacher candidates’ experiences in the training since teachers tend to bring in their own experiences in the program into their future classrooms and form their own beliefs from the programs. for this reason, it is critical to examine if courses offered in tesol teacher programs are able to influence preservice teachers’ perceptions and beliefs of non-nativeness and diversity, and if the courses could empower non-native bilingual/multilingual teacher candidates to disrupt problematic norms in the field (mahboob, 2010). when seeking for critical pedagogy changes and transformations, artsbased teaching and learning offered possible solutions. art and poetry in tesol teacher education dewey (1934/2005) explores the concept of art experience, noting that a person not only transfers materials into art, but artworks also transform the person. life’s challenges and changes create momentum for personal development and growth. dewey points out that the human development speeds up when a person overcomes challenges and difficulties to make progress (dewey, 1934/2005; richards, 2017). in this process, a person’s artistic transformation takes place when the past experience is carried into the present experience with the desired imagination of the near future (eisner, 2002). art helps people better understand the sense of self, the world, and their own life experience (dewey, 1934). thus, dewey’s notion of art as experience highlights the importance of art in human development and growth. as international students constantly face challenges and difficulties during their stay in the u.s. for academic purposes, especially during and after the global pandemic, art should be involved in their life as much as possible to help them carry prior life experiences to their current experiences to fulfil the goals of self-development and self-growth. with the increasing needs for english teachers in other countries, more and more international students come to the u.s., seeking a graduate degree in teaching english as a second language (esl) or a foreign language (efl). to help these students adjust to the new environment academically and socially, poetry has been adopted by tesol teacher educators as a creative, aesthetic, and critical vessel. hanauer (2003) conceptualizes that poetry has certain value in promoting multilingualism and understanding diversity in human life. unlike other linguistic approaches, poetry makes it possible for poets to express their thoughts in an aesthetically pleasurable way, and thus brings back adornment to the original thoughts. hanauer (2003) also states that poetry offers access to the first-hand experiences in the world, which connect readers with the understanding of the artist’s experiences, thoughts, and emotions that are related to the poems. he further argues that bilingual/multilingual poems have pushed against the assimilation that the dominant monolingual power posts on the multilingual minorities. wang 35 in recent research which focuses on poetry in teacher education, especially with international students, scholars demonstrate that by writing bilingual/multilingual poems, multilingual teachers push against the norms set by dominant monolingual practitioners and bring in both multicultural and individual voices in the field. adding poetry in language teacher education also introduces the new concept of poetic zone of proximal development (p-zpd) which offers dialogic possibilities to help tesol teachers identify themselves as collaborative artists in creative multilingualism (cahnmann-taylor & hwang, 2019). p-zpd can also “impact imitation, grammar, vocabulary, authority, and other classroom concepts in many global efl classrooms” (hwang, 2016, p. 159). training pre-service teachers to be artists means to help students think and act actively and strategically, seeing opportunities when others might see as limitations and impossibilities. the arts make great contributions in tesol education to help students view english as a meaningful “home” from multilingual perspectives and enable creative and agentive multilingual proficiencies. artful tesol practices also connect instructors’ and students’ linguistic and cultural repertoires to learn from cross-cultural sharing, failure, and revisions. through such an aesthetic self-discovery, students’ authorhood and creative agency will be sharpened and developed (cahnmann-taylor & zhang, 2018). in another word, poetry provides teacher candidates with a space for sharing personal/life experiences with multicultural, multilingual, and multilevel meanings to forefront the process of translanguaging and shaping a new identity as a teacher. translanguaging in poetry translanguaging is a process when multilingual speakers use their multiple languages in meaning making. this discursive process of multi-language use, often simultaneously, is an expansion of languaging featured with speakers’ complex navigation in multiple linguistic and cultural repertoires (carnagarajah, 2011; garcía, 2009). under this framework, scholars push back against the false view of bilingual speakers’ cognition, which describes bilingual speakers as inferior speakers of both languages and double monolinguals (baker, 2011; garcía, 2009; garcía & wei, 2014). since english has become the second or the third language of many people all over the world, translanguaging is prevalently used and implemented in numerous countries. because of this change, the space for translanguaging is expanding in educational settings at the same time. in higher education in the u.s., as more and more international students come to the u.s. to pursue an undergraduate or a graduate degree, these students certainly employ translanguaging skills in their personal and academic experiences. hence, such vital change in higher education also requests tesol educators to accommodate these bilingual/multilingual students’ needs, and to foster their prior skills that they acquired in both their native and second or third languages. allowing and assisting students’ translanguaging practices opens the door for more potential and possibilities in tesol programs (de costa et al., 2017). the current analysis: contexts and method context of culture the context of culture in this case study is surely consistent with the larger culture of the tesol world. meili started her graduate program as soon as she graduated from college in 2018. meili’s program and its faculty make efforts to reshape beliefs and ideologies of multilingual learners and world english in multiple courses for pre-service and in-service teachers. among graduate students 36 gatesol in action journal 30(1) in the program, the teaching experiences of students vary. for students who do not have much teaching experience, like meili, they applied for the program mainly for a pre-service training before their future career. meanwhile, there are also students who are full-time teachers already, working on another degree for better career choices. thus, for meili and many other international pre-service teachers, they regard u.s. in-service teachers as experienced authority in tesol and wle. however, idolizing experienced teachers in their pre-service training could be inappropriate since some experienced teachers could bring in misbeliefs about multilingual teachers in the tesol and wle world, even though many courses have been correcting and shifting such false concepts. if these pre-service teachers internalize and continue this misconception in their training and future teaching, they might look down upon their own identities as multilingual and idealize the “native speaker fallacy”. blindly following and legitimizing this norm set long ago by english native monolingual educators is harmful for international and multilingual teacher candidates, especially in their negotiation and reconstruction of their identity as promising educators in the field. their internalization of these norms could also further hinder their performance and teaching in diverse classrooms where they might serve a great number of multilingual students. context of the situation in a university in the southeastern u.s., meili, a chinese international student, enrolled in two poetry classes offered in the graduate-level tesol and world language education program in spring 2018 and summer 2019. when meili took the first course, it was the first semester of her first year in the program. the course offered in 2018 was a master-level poetry course for preservice teachers. in the course, there were four chinese-l1 international students, including meili, and four other english-native students (english-spanish bilingual speakers and english monolingual speakers). in the doctoral level course offered in 2019, meili was the only international student along with other u.s. students who are both english-spanish bilingual speakers and english monolingual speakers (six in total). at the end of the second course, meili had two english poems published in u.s. poetry journals. the purposes of these two courses are helping students acquire poetic crafts to write poems to cross linguistic, cultural, and disciplinary boundaries as well as immersing teachers in the process of writing poetry, regarding themselves as poets, to create more cross-cultural and meaningful instructions in their own language classes. meili was selected as the focal participant because she took both courses, and she was the only international multilingual student in the summer course who experienced challenges from other multilingual or monolingual u.s. peers. as meili felt powerless and lonely in the summer course when a u.s. english-l1-multilingual in-service teacher consistently picked on her language use in her poems, meili wrote the poem “for international students” to push back against this u.s. inservice teacher’s grammar critiques. in the poem, meili had written about not only language barriers she faced in the program but also many other challenges that she had to overcome in the new host country. when the first interview took place, it was the beginning of her last semester in the program as a pre-service teacher. upon the time the second interview was conducted, meili had already been working as a full-time chinese teacher in an elementary school in the u.s. for almost a semester. the third interview was conducted in the summer of 2020 before meili went back to china to be a full-time english teacher in a local elementary school. in the first two interviews, meili and i both used english most of the time. for the last interview, meili chose to use chinese with only a few english words as she felt more relieved to speak chinese for the last interview. wang 37 data collection to have a better understanding of meili’s prior experience with poetry and literacy before and after she enrolled in the program as well as the two poetry classes, three semi-structured interviews were conducted and audio recorded in the fall semester of 2019 and summer of 2020. the first interview mainly focused on meili’s reflection on the summer course. one of her poems entitled “for international students” is also partially included in the analysis (see figure 1 below) as a poetic reflection on her own experiences in the u.s., which epitomize chinese international students’ collective experiences in her program. the second follow-up interview covered more of her early childhood and family literacy practices that indicate her rich poetic repertoire of biliteracy. the third interview unveiled her reflection of the rapid changes in her life before and during the pandemic as well as how poetry engaged in her life during this unprecedented time. figure 1 excerpt from “for international students” poem “for international students” for you cross the sea with 2 overweight luggage; for realizing even youtube ads know your race; for feeling you shouldn’t speak your mother tongue; … for hearing “we only hire americans”; for depositing triple security when not having the ssn; for changing the tire, then worrying about the next-month-rent; for longing to hear your native songs in restaurants; for furnishing your apartment from dumpsters; … for not relating to family newborns; for hating yourself when parents sell their house for tuition; for lying “i’m great.” note. the poem is patterned after jubilate agno by christopher smart. data analysis a thematic analysis was conducted to examine the collected data and identify recurring themes and issues. line-by-line transcription reading was employed in the first round of inductive thematic analysis. transcribed and translated data were coded in the chronological order. all themes and categories were generated from the data without any pre-existing presumptions. by using the software qda miner, pattern and frequency of words were collected and categorized. some of the frequent words that appeared in the data were “identity”, “experience”, and “bilingual”. after the initial coding, a second round was conducted to analyze the contextual connections and relationship of the patterns. there were three core pattern codes established in this stage: prior 38 gatesol in action journal 30(1) experiences of literature and art, experiences as a non-native bilingual speaker in the u.s., and affordance of poetry in the ongoing negotiation and reconstruction of identity. under each of these themes, there are several developed sub-codes to better explain, connect, and explore each main theme. since meili already employed translanguaging practices during all three interviews by using both languages, “translanguaging” was also coded and categorized as one of the sub-themes. although the terms of “native” and “non-native” speakers are still prevalent in tesol, this paper will consistently use alternative terms, such as “english monolingual,” “english-native bilingual/multilingual,” and “english non-native multilingual.” these terms are selected to avoid spreading and reinforcing the long-existing binary. findings prior experiences of literature and art when international pre-service teachers study in the u.s., their academic ability and knowledge repertoires are usually graded and judged by their english academic writing. this u.s.-centered practice usually neglects the profound cultural and linguistic foundation that these students already established in their native language and culture. the data and findings displayed below showcase meili’s previous life experiences that shaped her knowledge and ability in language and literacy that the u.s. academic practices often overlooked. meili’s family literacy practice. in the second interview, meili revealed her family’s literacy practices when she was a child. these valuable practices with family members established her early literacy skills in her native language. in the excerpt below, meili described her family’s reading practices with her mother and uncle: once i finished my homework, my mom read books. we were in the same room but doing different things. . . she read the book and i read the book. we shared thoughts together. . . even now, we still recommend books to each other. . . sometimes i read with my uncle. (personal communication, november 27, 2019). this vignette demonstrates that her mother helped her develop regular and constant reading habits in her family. apparently, through reading books while meili was doing homework, her mother became a role model for meili when she was young. they shared their thoughts on books they read. her mother helped her develop her reading ability and possible critical thinking through book discussion. through her narrative here, it is not hard to understand that her family offered great literature resources for her to accommodate her reading needs. prior experience with literature and cultures of different countries. because meili’s family fostered a great environment and provided her with resources for her literacy and reading development, she was able to read many translated books from world literatures and cultures, along with developing her literacy in her native language ( 《 》are used with book titles in chinese): i liked books such as little women, harry potter, and anne of green gables. and 《黑骏马》 (black beauty), 《古堡里的月亮公主》 (the little white horse). and some chinese books. in middle school, that was numerous! so many. . . like jane eyre, pride and perjurious, sense and sensibility, and emma. wuthering heights, great expectations, les misérables, but all in chinese though. . . high school, i read some russian, french, and japanese literature. i read《安娜. 卡列 wang 39 琳娜》(anna karenin) and 《复活》 (resurrection). but i don’t really like russian literature. they combined so many descriptions of scenery and the language is kind of obscure. french literature,《羊脂球》 (boule de suif), 《茶花女》(la dame aux camélias), 《基督山伯爵》 (the counte of the mounte cristo), 还有一些莫泊桑的短片小说集 (and some other short stories from guy de maupassant). japanese literature,《菊与刀》 (the chrysanthemum and the sword) (personal communication, november 27, 2019). her narrative here is an epitome of her experience of foreign literatures and understanding of diverse cultures through reading classics from her native language and other languages. when recalling these books, she also had a short reflection on russian literature and her understanding of russian literature back then. this means she connected her prior experience with her literacy and understanding of russian literature with her present literacy level to make such a reflection. this excerpt also proves that meili established primary understanding and gained knowledge of literature, languages, cultures, and histories of other countries, being culturally competent. these experiences surely enabled her to understand multicultural materials at a young age. early experiences with art and literacy. similar as books, meili also had adequate experience with the arts when she was little in both school and home settings. the public schools that she attended helped her with artistic experience: we also had writing competition and calligraphy competition. i drew pictures and handwrote for our newsletters. . . i drew pictures that matched my articles and combined them together to make posters (personal communication, november 27, 2019). meili’s school back then provided many art-related activities to help students develop art experiences as well as multimodal literacy by using multi-semiotic approaches. for example, chinese calligraphy is a kind of art combined with both literature and art, because writing characters on the paper to make artwork requires the artist’s ability of understanding the meanings of characters and content as well as making aesthetically beautiful handwriting at the same time. the combination of pictures, handwriting, and articles in newsletters and posters that meili made also created opportunities for her to develop multimodal literacy of understanding the pictures and the texts in the process of meaning making. poetry, specifically, is another type of the arts that is important to meili, her family, and other chinese children according to her narrative: when i was in elementary school, we had poem reciting competitions. teachers liked us to use poems in our writing. so, i always write my favorite lines from poems in my notes and use them frequently in my writing (personal communication, november 27, 2019). using poems in her writing seems like a common practice for meili, which helped her understand the history and culture of her native language and carry the legacy in her own writing. these poems later undoubtedly became a part of her linguistic repertoire and her english poem writing. in her home setting, poetry also had its own priority: when i was a kid, my mom taught me how to recite poems . . . when i had summer break, i still remember this, my mom required me to be able to recite one poem every two days. she picked the poems and i really liked them (personal communication, november 27, 2019). 40 gatesol in action journal 30(1) her mother’s requirement of reciting one poem every two days during summer breaks showed the importance and her value of poems in the family. along with the book reading routine, meili’s mother made many influential decisions on literacy education and art education for her daughter. besides meili’s prior life experiences, her life experiences in the u.s. are also important components in her english poems. experiences as a non-native bilingual speaker in the u.s. collective experiences of chinese students. carrying her prior life experiences, meili came to the u.s. as a graduate student in tesol and wle program. as a chinese student, she found the community in which she found a sense of belonging: i got a lot of help from other chinese students. . . the person who picked me up at the airport. the first day when i was here was new year’s eve. and my roommates cooked a lot of food for me and helped me with my luggage (personal communication, november 27, 2019). within the community of chinese peers, meili learned and shared common experiences as a chinese international student, for example: i think we have some similar experiences like the social security number thing. it’s like when we first came here, we all don’t have social security number and i still remember my first apartment. and we have to pay a-thousand-dollar security deposit. everyone just does that. (personal communication, september 29, 2019). in this example, she recalled the experience of paying a higher security deposit for her rent since she did not have the social security number, like all of the other chinese students (indicated by her use of “we” as heteroglossia and a collective voice) when they first arrived. this experience later appeared in her poem (see figure 1 above) along with many of her personal experiences. one example of her personal experiences that she included in her poem was an online english teaching job which rejected her application due to her citizenship: they said, “we can’t hire you, not because like you are asian, but because you don’t have american citizenship.” the funny thing is that their customers are chinese students. i think probably i can do it, because it’s teaching chinese students how to say english, right? (personal communication, september 29, 2019) from the comment on this experience, it is obvious that she regarded herself as a qualified and eligible candidate of this english teaching job, because teaching english to chinese kids should be her expertise based on her academic, linguistic, and cultural competence. however, her citizenship became the main reason for the company to reject her. this experience exemplifies the challenges chinese and other international students have to face in their stay in the u.s. for academic purposes. this kind of hardship is exclusive to international students and immigrants because u.s.-born students, monolingual or bilingual, would not have such concern in the program. this kind of hardship and challenge adds more uncertainty to their stay in the new host country. wang 41 friendship and tension with english-l1 peers. during her stay in the u.s., she had both friendship and tension with u.s. peers. although some english-l1 peers came from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds, they were able to understand meili’s poems during the poetry class. however, not all encounters with classmates were pleasurable to meili. in the second poetry class, a u.s. english-l1 bilingual peer criticized meili’s grammar in her poem and further created intense tension which aligned with the long-existing binary of nativeness and non-nativeness in the field: it’s just i feel like she thinks every grammar mistake is because of my english proficiency. that’s weird. that’s weird. because i know english is not my native language, so i make mistakes. i accept that fact. but that’s not an excuse like she can blame me, or like she can pick my grammar mistakes every time when she saw my poems. terri is just like she saw this line and she just assumed that i made it because my english is not very good. i don’t like it (personal communication, september 29, 2019). the tension started when the peer, terri (pseudonym), picked on meili’s grammar use in her english poems. although meili admitted and understood her own limitations in writing english poems as a non-native bilingual speaker, she did not think it was acceptable for terri to criticize her unconventional grammar use every single time. ironically, terri herself is also an english native bilingual speaker who has been teaching spanish for more than a decade in the field. from this scenario, the tension between native speakers and non-native speakers of english still exists in the field. even english native bilingual educators can spread and repeat such misconceptions in and out of the pre-service training. since meili and other students mainly interact with people in the program during the graduate training, it is critical to stop false beliefs in teacher education so that students like meili can have better experiences in their training. at the earlier stage of the global pandemic in 2020, meili also experienced tension and misunderstanding from her colleagues in a u.s. elementary school. as she recalled, her students asked if she had been to china in the last fourteen days in february 2020. when she started taking precautions since she got the information from chinese media where she learned this virus is extremely contagious, her american colleagues did not think it was necessary: they only believe what they want to believe. . . they don’t understand why i prepare disinfectant and masks. they don’t believe scientific and medical information from other countries… i’m always foreign to them (personal communication, august 10, 2020). since covid-19 was first identified and spread in china, her students inevitably connected meili and the virus together. as a chinese native bilingual speaker in the u.s. during this time, she certainly experienced racial related distrust and misunderstanding from her working and living environments. when dealing with these tensions in both academic and professional settings, poetry became a critical tool to record and reflect. affordance of poetry in the ongoing negotiation and reconstruction of identity connecting prior and present experiences. at the point of writing her poem to international students, meili connected her prior and present experiences in her poems. as discussed above, paying a higher security deposit for rent took place when she first arrived, in the first several weeks. however, the encounter with the online teaching job happened later in her stay. 42 gatesol in action journal 30(1) thus, in the same poem, meili connected her earlier experiences and later experiences in one poem to convey the scenarios of her life in the u.s. her three-semester experiences in the u.s. were composed in each line in the poem, representing the most important moments of her stay in the new host country. by writing this poem, meili got opportunities to recall and re-experience these events to reflect on hardships and challenges she had as an international student. many experiences depicted in this poem have tight connections with her identity as an international bilingual speaker, for example, “for realizing even youtube ads know your race.” this line represents how the environment in the u.s. reflects and reshapes her own understanding of her identity as being international and non-native, which might not be the same as her prior experience in china. living in a homogenous region in china, meili has never experienced being marginalized and non-native. this new experience in the new host country made her reconsider and reshape her own identity. empowering bilingual voices. by writing and teaching poems, meili’s bilingual voice and desire of empowering bilingualism were strengthened in an artistic way: “i want to keep my non-native voice. it’s interesting. sometimes, english is very, very, very, not flexible as chinese” (personal communication, september 29, 2019). after taking the second course, meili confirmed that she aimed to have voices from both languages that she can speak in her poems, especially keeping her english non-native voice. the reason behind this goal is based on the inflexibility of english compared to her native language, chinese. she was able to have this goal because of her knowledge of both languages as a bilingual speaker. after using both languages, she made such choices and goals to keep her non-native voice as a choice of a bilingual poet. this goal could be interpreted that her bilingual voice was empowered through poetry, challenging the voice and standard set by monolingual english speakers. enhancing cross-cultural understanding and translingual practice. as meili started her own teaching in fall 2019 in the u.s. as a full-time chinese teacher in an elementary school, she used poems in her classes to foster her own and her students’ translingual practices to help her students in meaning making: i will write the first complete sentence as an example, using both chinese and english. and then, i will leave some blanks for them to finish. . . one kid wrote “我是 (i’m) pikachu.” and he drew a picture of pikachu, so funny (personal communication, november 27, 2019)! the method meili used to teach poems in her classes is truly translingual as well as multimodal just like what she did when she was a kid in her school for newsletters and posters. as a chinese teacher who can speak both chinese and english, meili not only teaches chinese in her class but also english. for some kids in her classes, chinese is probably their third language, because 80% students are african americans, and 10% students are latinx. therefore, by learning, writing, and drawing in her classes, students had chances to learn chinese, as a new language, through poetic and multimodal ways. at the same time, as a bilingual speaker herself, meili also respects and encourages students to employ their translingual ability in the school settings: i encourage them to use more languages in class. i have some kids who can speak spanish. so, they were so surprised when i say “hola” and “gracias”, and they are so happy. they ask me “how do you know español?” i speak spanish to them, and they use chinese with me, and usually english. it’s a way to improve the relationship between us (personal communication, november 27, 2019). wang 43 this implementation has a close relation with meili’s realization of her bilingual identity and the empowerment from poetry. as discussed above, poetry helped meili realize and be more confident about her bilingual identity as well as the importance of keeping bilingual/multilingual voices. therefore, meili is able to resonate with her multilingual students and try to encourage her students to have multilingual practices in academic settings. the practices of translanguaging and poetry in meili’s class strengthen the relationship between meili and her students even though they are from very different cultural, linguistic, and demographical backgrounds. the multilingual and translingual interactions between meili and her students further enriched their cross-cultural communication and mutual understanding by using different languages in literacy activities. the relationship between meili and her students improved since translingual practices made students from different backgrounds communicate better in the classroom. the shared experience of being bilingual/multilingual and english non-native in the u.s. built a bridge for meili and her students. using translanguaging and poetry in her first in-service practice in the u.s. have significantly positive transition from her graduate training to full-time career. current teaching and imagination of the near future. poetry in certain ways also serves as a bridge to mediate new challenges she experienced during the pandemic in the u.s. and transition meili’s imagination of her future in china, facilitating her ongoing negotiation and reconstruction of identity as a teacher and bilingual speaker. before and during the covid-19 pandemic, she worked as a full-time teacher in an elementary school in the southeastern u.s. and used poems in her chinese classes. poetry can be an effective tool for her to reflect on her own teaching and life, as well as her reconstruction of identity as a teacher: “i guess i can put some teaching experiences in my poems in the future. my students were very surprised when they knew i published poems. they asked for copies so they can read after school” (personal communication, november 27, 2019). before her job at the current elementary school, meili already put her prior life experiences in her poem, although without teaching themes since she had limited teaching experience. themes in her poems before are mainly experiences of her childhood, food, and her family (personal communication, november 27, 2019). however, now meili plans to include her own teaching experiences and her transnational experience in both countries in her future poems as accumulated present experiences. meanwhile, her poems also help meili and her students build community inand afterclass. since her students were surprised that meili writes and publishes poems, they would like to ask for copies to read after school. in this way, a close relationship could be established through poetry reading and discussion (personal communication, november 27, 2019) from more diverse multilingual perspectives. in addition, reading meili’s poem may help her students better understand her not only as their teacher but also an individual with multifaceted identity (e.g., bilingual, international, teacher, poet, etc.). another important function poetry has is helping meili with her desired identity in the near future. due to the severe covid-19 situation, visa uncertainty, and discrimination against asians and asian americans during the pandemic, meili made the decision to go back to her home country. obviously, this is another major challenge and change in both her life and career. as dewey (1934/2005) points out, this could be one of the transformative experiences of self-development and self-growth assisted by the arts. scholars have also regarded poetry as therapeutic in the present time. from a psychological perspective, “poetic words not only forge links between the writer’s voice and the mind and heart of an individual reader, but also provide connection among members of a community” (chavis, 2011, p. 13). hedges (2005) also notes that poetry “can give 44 gatesol in action journal 30(1) us a sense of identity with the mood or thoughts or feelings of the poet . . . it broadens out our experience and helps us understand that some experiences . . . poetry also expresses affirmation and inspiration and offers hope” (p. 2). echoing these points from scholars in both education and psychology, meili also considers poetry one of the best ways to document this unusual lifechanging decision and this unprecedented time with her international and bilingual perspective for both international, multilingual, chinese, and educator communities. she also asserts that poetry will also exist in her future classrooms when she goes back to china to teach english as one of the most powerful tools for language and literacy education: “poetry is a good way to express self and who we are. it’s a good way to teach, especially young children. they are the hope of the world’s future. i can see that from them” (personal communication, august 10, 2020). she imagines and expects poetry in her classes to add more therapeutic creativity and possibilities for students in her classes. as an emergent bilingual herself, she feels happy about such possibilities and hopes that she could bring into teaching. her imagination about changes she could make soon also reveals the self-agency and self-confidence she gained from poetry. discussion poetry as a vessel to connect prior and present experiences meili has been developing and expanding her linguistic and cultural repertories since she was young with help from her family and her teachers. from chinese poetry and art to international literatures, meili sharpened her cultural competence and literacy skills through literacy related activities. these prior literacy experiences later became resources to support her academic performance in the u.s. or materials for her english poems. the literacy practices her family and schools implemented in her childhood were also reformed and implemented in her classes in an elementary school in the u.s. in terms of her experiences as an international bilingual, poetry gives meili a space to record, think, retrospect, heal, and relive in those moments when she had hardships and challenges. to be able to write collective or shared experiences of chinese students’ experiences in the u.s., meili also brings in the collective voices of chinese students in her poems to make a more solid reflection on the unique phenomenon of studying abroad as chinese students. more chinese students’ prior and present experiences were intertwined and combined in her poems for readers from different backgrounds. poetry makes it possible to make human connections regardless of the different backgrounds that the poet and readers have. reconstructing identity and imagining the near future through poetry from her reflection during and after writing poems, meili also pushes forward for identity reconstruction as a new teacher in the u.s. or soon in china. although this process of reconstruction is an ongoing process, meili understands what kind of teacher she absolutely does not want to be based on terri’s reaction in the second poetry class. due to the tensions with english native peers during their training, meili learned that unconventional grammar use in bilingual writer’s creative writing is more like a choice instead of a mistake. simply judging grammar mistakes in teaching and learning loses the opportunity to help multilingual learners add their voice in their writing. meanwhile, such critiques could also hinder learners’ development of self-agency and self-growth. additionally, meili combined poems and multimodal literacy in her poetry teaching with her students in the u.s. who are also bilingual, emerging bilingual, or multilingual learners. by wang 45 drawing and reading poems, her students had chances to learn chinese, learn poetry, and have positive relationships with her. such transformation has transformative impacts on both the teacher and students. the affordances of poetry and multimodal literacy help meili move forward to her goal of being a teacher who can let students have fun and learn at the same time (personal communication, november 27, 2019). translanguaging practices in multiple settings meili also explained how she uses poetry in multiple settings. in her personal life, poetry is a way of recording her prior life experiences, her life in the u.s., and some arrangements done by her family to help her settle once she goes back to china. writing poems becomes a kind of relief and healing as she said, “it’s actually a kind of self-relief, because sometimes i feel really hard to work, to study, and to learn how to get used to american things. so, it’s kind of relief. it’s kind of growth” (personal communication, august 10, 2020). however, writing these personal experiences and emotions in english poems requires her constant translingual practices as a bilingual writer. in her classes, she also teaches poetry to help students from different backgrounds express themselves and have conversations in an aesthetic way to embrace and develop students’ translanguaging, multilingual skills, and identities. she thinks to write bilingual poems and to teach students to be creative writers disrupts both rigid language standards set by monolingual native speakers in the u.s. as well as rigid teacher-centered classroom culture from china. poetry becomes a hybrid space between two countries and two cultures. disrupting problematic standards of nativeness and empowerment the tension between meili and another english-native bilingual peers in the poetry class also displays the dichotomy of nativeness and non-nativeness, although the peer herself is bilingual as well. however, since meili chose to keep her non-native voice in her poems, her word choices and language use as a bilingual poet questions and challenges the standards set by english native speakers, which is not flexible to bilingual speakers in the u.s. in the process of meaning making. confronting this tension is not an easy process for meili, because she regarded experienced english native peers as role models in the field when she entered the program. therefore, the huge transition from respecting to challenging shows the empowerment assisted by poetry in disrupting the problematic binary and standard by english native speakers, both monolingual and bilingual english-l1 native speakers. after this epiphany, meili found a sense of self-agency in her poems as an emergent bilingual teacher poet who has potential to make changes in the field. through the artistic approach, she found a way to push back the boundary of defining qualified and skilled teacher in the field and bring in more justice in the program and field for other pre-service or inservice bilingual/multilingual and international teachers. this case study with meili further proves dewey’s (1934/2005) theory of art as experience that reshapes people when people carry challenging moments in their life into arts-based approaches to achieve self-development and growth. through poetry, meili re-experienced and mediated the hardships she has been through in the u.s. as an international bilingual speaker in her program and her job. the process of creating artworks empowered her bilingual voice and agency as a graduate student and novice teacher. most importantly, this transformation gives her confidence and hope in her future career, believing that she can bring positive learning experience to her students as a bilingual teacher-poet. her creative poem writing offers her resources to negotiate, reconstruct, and imagine the desired identity she wants to shape as a teacher. 46 gatesol in action journal 30(1) conclusion this study testifies the troublesome concept of nativeness and non-nativeness that many educators still hold in the field of tesol and wle. the negative judgement regarding non-native bilingual/multilingual teacher candidates as deficient and inferior better illustrates the importance of more arts-based approaches in teacher education for social justice and the embrace of bilingualism/multilingualism. meanwhile, it is also an urgent necessity to find effective solutions from art to help international bilingual/multilingual students adjust to the new environment in the new host country during and after the pandemic. this analysis also showcases benefits of arts-based educational research in future artsbased research to expand educators’ understanding and knowledge of the field, teaching, and learning (mulvihill & swaminathan, 2019). future studies could also use the approach of different kinds of art to explore the affordance of art in tesol programs for social justice and meaningful changes. this case study also has some limitations. although meili’s poems and reflections consist of many collective experiences of chinese students, future studies on the same topic should recruit more participants to further explore the collective and individual experiences of chinese and other international students in the tesol and wle programs in the u.s. the final impact of covid19 on international and multilingual students deserves continuous attention in future research. references baker, c. 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(1999). revisiting the colonial in the postcolonial: critical praxis for nonnative‐english‐speaking teachers in a tesol program. tesol quarterly, 33(3), 413–431. https://doi.org/10.2307/3587672 ______________________________________________________________________________ received: august 15, 2020 | accepted: september 30, 2020 | published: october 29, 2020 https://www.ets.org/s/toefl/pdf/toefl_tsds_data.pdf https://www.ets.org/s/toefl/pdf/toefl_tsds_data.pdf https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ej1204612.pdf https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ej1204612.pdf https://doi.org/10.3138/cmlr.60.1.69 https://getd.libs.uga.edu/pdfs/hwang_yohan_201612_phd.pdf https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315143361-8 https://doi.org/10.1177/0033688217690066 https://doi.org/10.1037/aap0000119 https://doi.org/10.1037/aap0000119 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-44297-6_7 https://doi.org/10.2307/3587672 issn #2331-6845 learning to listen to all the different voices: a teacher’s journey to shifting paradigms in language variation and diversity by april linnea poindexter aprilgardner22@yahoo.com georgia state university, atlanta, georgia as a veteran educator, i prided myself on embracing a pedagogy that valued diversity in the classroom. however, it wasn’t until i enrolled in a graduate course in language variation and learning that i was challenged to deeply explore my evolving language paradigm. keywords: language, diversity, language variation, professional development, paradigm, teacher shifting paradigms starting with self if you believe that children’s language can be “deficient,” then you might be tempted to try to improve their language in some way. if you believe on the contrary that the concept of language deficit does not make much sense, and that there is nothing wrong with the language of any normal child, then you will probably believe that schooling should not interfere with a child’s dialects. and if you believe that linguistic disadvantage arises largely from people’s intolerance and prejudice towards language differences, then you will probably try to change people’s attitudes to language. (stubbs, 2002, p.79) 1 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 mailto:aprilgardner22@yahoo.com if the quote above were actually a quiz of multiple choice, could you use your natural wit and skill to apply process of elimination and cleverly whittle down the responses to identify the “best” answer? many people probably could. however, what happens when you know the correct response but your actions and ideologies force you to select a different choice? i share this example as a metaphor for my experience in the shifting and reshaping of my language paradigm. as an elementary educator and a first-year doctoral student enrolled in a course in language variation, when i came across this quote in my research, it deeply resonated with me. in the margins of the text, i wrote a question for myself: “where do you stand?” as my language course continued, i had the opportunity to reflect on that question from a new perspective. i became positioned to understand language as socially situated, and as the core of the human experience. the origins of a language paradigm i had the privilege of growing up in a biracial family. i refer to my racial background as such, because it afforded me the opportunity to dually participate in language and cultural variances. i have a white mother and black father. it is not so much the racial difference as it is the individual social and cultural backgrounds of my mom and dad which led to the speech differences between 2 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 them. barrett (1999) contends that speakers’ “utterances reflect the nuances of identity in multilayered ways that cannot be broken down into smaller components” (fought, 2013, p.389). my mom grew up in the suburbs of buffalo, new york. her family was well-educated, and working middle-class. my dad on the other hand grew up in a small predominantly black neighborhood in memphis, tennessee. he came from a working-class family with a single mom. these “multilayers” of my parents’ upbringing contribute to their identity(ies), which ultimately connect to their language use and child-rearing practices. both of my parents speak, what i always thought of as “standard english”. however, i now realize that by labeling one variation of english as the “standard”, other variations are then subsequently positioned as inferior. today i recognize the gravity of the assumptions inherent in this term, and avoid using it. while both of my parents use a socially-privileged dialect, my dad often employs stylistic, semantic, and speech variances situated within an african american vernacular english (aave) that my mom does not use. for example, my dad will say, “i’m going to the store right quick”, or “we gone leave round ten…what time it is?” he may use the word “ain’t”. growing up, my sister and i were acutely aware of these subtle dialectal differences used by our dad. at times we would poke fun of him, or curiously inquire about a phrase he used or the way he 3 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 pronounced a word. in retrospect, the linguistic observations i made as child formed the beginnings of my language paradigm. in making fun of the subtle speech differences of my dad, i recognize that i had subconsciously learned to privilege one english dialect over another. i recall upper elementary and middle school as a time when i began to play with language. in elementary school, my friend had a book of hand-clap games and rhymes for “black girls”. we would sit for hours melodically singing the chants and clapping the beat. these lyrics and rhymes were in aave dialect. i briefly considered that i could easily flow from this dialect, to the socially and academically privileged dialect. soon, i began to recognize the value in being able to speak other dialects, such as aave. the versatility allowed me to fluidly participate in both predominantly white and black social and professional circles and institutions. i began to connect pride in my ability to code-switch and utilize my dual-culture upbringing as cultural capital (bourdieu, 1986). “by codeswitching, individuals can capitalize on the linguistic values associated with both a heritage language and a variety with broader regional, social, and national implications” (fought, 2013, p. 393). therefore, code-switching abilities must be (re)considered as “linguistic tools”, an asset that allows one to participate in varied spaces and successfully communicate with multiple groups (taylor, 4 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 bernhard, garg, & cummins, 2008). as a young adult, i came to know the value inherent in different dialects as well as languages. however it was not until i was in my third year of teaching when i began to see the larger and systemic issues connected to language. the intersection of language and schooling during my third year teaching, i was hired to teach a summer school reading program for students who had failed the state achievement test. in my class that summer were two ell refugee students from cambodia. neither girl could speak or read english well, one hardly at all. the entire structure of the program seemed to disregard any cultural differences, and unjustly set the same expectations for immigrant and refugee students. i couldn't help but question the purpose. what messages were being sent to these students? by positioning them as deficient by way of language, what claims were educators asserting about their identity? by condemning and penalizing students in school for not speaking english, or in particular, a privileged academic dialect, we use power structures and authority to cultivate a sense of inferiority in students. in doing so we effectively and systematically chip away at their very identity and self-concept thereby devaluing them as human beings. 5 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 this was an eye-opener for me in terms of the inequity embedded in education policy. espinosa (2009) asserts the following in regard to young dual language learners: “depending on the language-learning context, negative emotions such as anxiety and self-consciousness may interfere with learning and limit the child's ability to benefit from instructional strategies developed for his or her support” (gutiérrez, zepeda, & castro, 2010, p. 377). educators, researchers, and policy-makers cannot continue to ignore the voices of minority and ethnic students, less, marginalization of students is perpetuated. teaching tolerance through language diversity if the world of policy is too large to tackle and too slow going, i've learned small changes can occur at the schoolhouse level almost instantly by purposefully activating conversations on race, culture, and language variation with students and creating a space for new meaning making experiences. presenting language in a critical light for children affords them the opportunity to expand upon on their own language paradigms. for example, during a unit on the contributions of cesar chavez, i decided to take a strong focus on chavez's schooling experiences and the discrimination he faced as an english language learner. i shared a powerful video clip with my third grade students from a social experiment hidden camera show called, “what would you do?” this particular episode featured a spanish speaking 6 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 family ordering food at a restaurant in the u.s. while a white male taunts and teases the mother, telling her to “speak american” or “go to taco bell”. during this video clip some students sat quiet and wide-eyed. others couldn’t contain their disapproval, and yelled out to the antagonistic man that he was wrong. after the video segment, students were free to share their own experiences and thoughts on language discrimination. creating a space for dialogue on these issues can aid students in thinking more deeply and critically about language variation so that they may display both confidence and tolerance in embracing their own language varieties and those of others. lisa delpit suggests the following for teachers: first they should recognize that the linguistic form a student brings to school is intimately connected with loved ones, community, and personal identity. to suggest that this form is “wrong” or, even worse, ignorant, is to suggest that something is wrong with the student and his or her family (1995, p. 53). seeing the impact of bringing critical language conversations into the classroom with my students prompted me to extend this opportunity to the teachers with whom i work. therefore, this year i started a professional book club at my school. my hope is that it will serve as a long term platform for professional development through exposure to critical literature and discourse so teachers may begin to reconceptualize language diversity in our classrooms through culturally7 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 responsive pedagogy and paradigm shifts. thus far, our conversations have certainly extended to race, stereotypes, privilege, and access. new experiences and an evolving paradigm i have been fortunate to work at a wonderful public elementary school for the majority of my teaching career. my school is widely known for its academic status as a top-performing school in the district as well as the state. however, it is the sense of community and the relationships among the students, families, and staff that speak loudest to those familiar with our school. the atmosphere is warm and supportive, and one in which the values of care and respect are at the forefront. nestled in the historic neighborhoods of a major metropolitan city in georgia, my school serves a population of roughly 600 students. currently the approximate racial /ethnic makeup of the student body is as follows: 60% white, 20% black, 14% asian, and less than 6% identifying as hispanic, indian, pacific islander, or students who identify as one or more races (georgia department of education, 2015a). while the racial composition reflect a somewhat diverse mix of students’ cultural and linguistic diversity, there is more homogeneity among students and families in terms of social economic status. the majority of students come from upper middle-class families, with parents who are well-educated, working professionals. but educators, administration, and teacher leaders at my 8 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 school recognize that these characteristics do not reflect the entire student body. indeed there are students whose lived experiences consist of single-parent households, homelessness, low socioeconomic status, limited access to resources, and undervalued home language and literacy practices. the desire to examine these issues of inequity in a school and community context has prompted us to create a new initiative; a space to better understand all of our students and explore our own cultural biases that may exist. as luck would have it, shortly after the administration began efforts to partner with university professors and a representative from the national association of multicultural education, we received news that our school district would redraw the local school boundary lines in order to relieve severe overcrowding in certain parts of the district. the rezoning efforts would address a cluster of schools which serve a predominantly latino community. this news meant that my school would take part in these efforts by enrolling nearly 300 english language learners, all of whom speak spanish as their native language. to say this will be a big change is an understatement, especially considering our esol (english for speakers of other languages) classes are currently made up of less than five percent of the student body. it is also important to consider the additional changes and challenges. many of these students come from a lower 9 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 socioeconomic background and have parents who do not have transportation. they will be bussed from their former neighborhood school, near their homes, approximately 30 minutes across town. the logistics of this change have brought resistance from many families. in speaking with teachers and parents at my school, feelings range from apprehension to excitement. what will academics look like now? how many esol teachers will we need? how do we help our new students fully participate in all that our school has to offer? what if i can’t speak spanish? many teachers have expressed an interest in becoming esol certified. for me, the chance to work with ells in a larger capacity is serendipitous. my school has a wealth of resources at our fingertips and are positioned to gain support from the district as we begin this endeavor. there is much we can offer these students. additionally, i know there is much we can learn from these students! i hope to use our culture and diversity initiative as a platform to support other teachers in their understandings of students of diverse backgrounds and their philosophies on language acquisition and development. while there is great promise and possibility in this rich blending of backgrounds, there is also the reality that if students, teachers, parents, administrators, and the school district do not fully embrace this rezoning effort, 10 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 the potential for two schools within a school will exist (oakes & rogers, 2006). this kind of de facto division is highly undesirable, and must be proactively avoided. a positive mind frame, rather than a deficit perspective will be necessary and critical. today, as i reflect on the journey of my own language paradigm shifts, i am excited about where i am and where i am going. i realize that agency is a key factor in the development of my paradigms. i am now more perceptive to the power, assumptions, and ideologies that languages and dialects carry. i know i must consciously act upon my learning and new understandings to make an impact in the school and community. thus, rather than adding to a hegemonic social discourse that emphasizes linguistic differences as deficiencies, i have chosen to espouse and reify languages and their variations as instruments of identity, unity, and agency. 11 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 references abc (2013, june 21). spanish speaking family discrimination on route 66 [television series episode]. in what would you do? new york, ny: abc broadcasting. barrett, r. (1999). indexing polyphonous identity in the speech of african america drag queens. in m. bucholtz, a.c. liang, & l. sutton (eds.), reinventing identities: the gendered self in discourse. (pp. 313-331). new york, ny: oxford university press. bourdieu, p. (1986). the forms of capital. in j. richardson (ed.), handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education. (pp. 241-258). new york, ny: greenwood delpit, l. (1995). other people's children. new york, ny: the new press. espinosa, l. m. (2009). getting it right for young children from diverse backgrounds: applying research to improve practice. boston, ma: pearson. fought, c. (2013). ethnicity. in j.k. chambers & n. schiling (eds.), handbook of language variation and change (2nd ed.). (pp. 388-406). uk: john wiley & sons. gutiérrez, k., zepada, m., & castro, d. (2010). advancing early literacy learning for all children: implications of the nelp report for dual-language learners. in 12 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 d. alvermann, n. unrau, & r. ruddell (eds.), theoretical models and processes of reading (6th ed.). (pp.375-384). newark, de: international reading association. oakes, j. & rogers, j. (2006). learning power: organizing for education and justice. new york, ny: teachers college press. stubbs, m. (2002). some basic sociolinguistics concepts. in l. delpit (ed.), the skin that we speak: thoughts on language and culture in the classroom. (pp. 6386). new york, ny: the new york press. taylor, l.k., bernhard, j.k., garg, s., & cummins, j. (2008). affirming plural belonging: building on students’ family-based cultural linguistic capital through multiliteracies pedagogy. journal of early childhood literacy, 8(3), 269-294. 13 gatesol in action, vol. 1, fall 2016 issn #2331-6845 from state rule to practice: how esol push-in looks like in the classroom by mae wlazlinski georgia department of education mwlazlinski@doe.k12.ga.us k-12 english learners (els) in georgia increased by 13.4% from 2010 to 2013, with an average annual growth rate of 4.28% (gadoe student record) in contrast to the 1.95% in total k-12 population, inclusive of els, with an average annual growth rate of 0.65% from 2010 to 2013. there is little question that if this trend continues, all teachers will soon have an el in their classrooms; hence it is critical that all teachers have the skills to be successful with els who come from different cultural backgrounds and have varying levels of english language proficiency. moreover, the implementation of the common core state standards, which requires k–12 districts and schools to establish common goals and shared ownership of curriculum and instruction to successfully reach all learners, including els, makes collaborative partnership between content and esol teachers on how best to meet the needs of their el students undoubtedly crucial. collaborative teaching between esol and content teachers is a promising practice in k-12 classrooms because it ensures access to the core content curriculum and language proficiency standards-based instruction for english learners. teachers will develop lesson plans and create 1 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 mailto:mwlazlinski@doe.k12.ga.us mailto:mwlazlinski@doe.k12.ga.us activities together to help els reach or meet the common core georgia performance standards through the integration of the english language development standards. these are the underlying assumptions of the push-in delivery model. in georgia, collaborative teaching in esol (esl in other settings) translates primarily into the push-in delivery model. it is also the only co-teaching model that earns the full time equivalent (fte) credit. per georgia state education rule 160-4-5-.02 language assistance: program for english language, in the push-in model (within reading, language arts, mathematics, science or social studies) – students remain in their core academic class where they receive content instruction from their content area teacher along with targeted language instruction from the esol teacher” (p.21). it continues to say that “the esol teacher and the content teacher are co-equals in the classroom, but each has a distinct role. the esol teacher is responsible for language support, while the content teacher is responsible for delivery of academic content…. when students break into groups, the esol teacher should work with els, while the content teacher focuses on mainstream students. the esol push-in delivery model allows the teachers to collaborate in order to facilitate meaningful language instruction within the content classroom and to appropriately plan differentiated instruction and tasks to meet the various proficiency levels of the els (georgia department of education esol/title iii resource guide p.21). currently, almost all school districts in georgia have push-in esol classes, yet several esol coordinators and esol teachers still express reservations about the lack of consistency in the interpretation of the state guidance, resulting in a wide range of implementation practices. given that collaborative teaching may be a tremendously effective way to teach els, and recognizing that teachers are willing to work in partnership, the reported divergent classroom practices, varied interpretations of the state board of education (sboe) definition of push-in, and the demand for actual classroom implementation examples became the impetus for this 2 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 paper, which offers some conceptualizations of what push-in looks like in classrooms. while the state definition of the esol delivery model directs teachers to collaborate, there are no actualized examples to guide teachers enter into and sustain a collaborative partnership. arkoudis (2006) wrote that assuming that any esl and mainstream teacher can engage in crossdisciplinary planning is problematic. she wrote that in order to place the esol curriculum within a content curriculum and give the el students the opportunity to access the language of the content area, the esol teacher has to make the language teaching meaningful in the content curriculum, assert his/her position as a language teacher and negotiate the curriculum with the content teacher. such processes require training of esol teachers on how to develop effective collaborative practices and how to situate language instruction within the content curriculum. this paper through actual practices of and anecdotes/testimonies from successful push-in teachers aims to illustrate the processes involved in developing successful teacher partnerships. to this end, it provides examples of “compliant” operational applications of the sboe definition and classroom practices that promote teacher collaboration, such as ways of allocating classroom instruction time to maximize benefits for els and lesson planning. this paper also offers a prototype instructional sequence template using a standards-based instructional framework that may meet the sboe’s definition of push-in esol delivery and earn full-time equivalency (fte) credit. finally, to provide context to the push-in processes and practices described in this paper is the discussion of selected results from a survey study that was conducted in 2009 to determine the state of affairs of push-in delivery model adoption and implementation in districts across georgia including trends or patterns in the selection of content areas for push-in, level of administrative support, and teacher commitment. the complete analysis of the results of the survey study is not the purview of this paper. 3 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 review of selected literature the majority of the research on collaborative teaching or co-teaching has been done in special education (friend and barsack, 1990; villa and nevin, 2008; friend and cook, 2003). much can be learned from this body of research. in fact, haynes (2007), in her investigation of collaboration between a mainstream teacher and a push-in esl teacher, proposed five special education approaches, which included teach and write, parallel teaching, alternative teaching, team teaching and lead and support. as such, examining the special education (sped) coteaching approaches and exploring various ways of adapting them in esl settings, will inform esol practices, particularly in the (1) definition of teachers’ roles and responsibilities, (2) decision on class configurations, and (3) allocation of time segments for lesson activities. there are instructional and logistic issues with each of the sped co-teaching approaches, so that if the intention is to adapt one or develop a hybridized version, using a standard protocol of analyzing the strengths and drawbacks of each approach vis-à-vis the state definition of push-in and local conditions is extremely helpful. a search of literature on collaborative teaching in esl settings establishes its positive effects on the content and language development of els in the most inclusive and efficient manner (abdallah, 2009; arkoudis, 2003; crandall, spanos, christian, simich-dudgeon, and willets, 1987; creese, 2005; davison, 2006; dove and honigsfeld, 2010a; wertheimer and honigsfeld, 2000; york-barr, ghere, and sommerness, 2007; zehr, 2006). arkoudis (2003) described the social justice aspect of collaboration and called for an inclusive instructional model rather than pulling out english learners, which according to her is believed to be a practice that marginalized this population. this social justice angle is supported by other researchers who wrote that co-teaching model could alleviate the historical wariness to maintain models that seem 4 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 to overtly imply racial, linguistic, and other forms of segregation (mckay and freedman, 1990; nieto and bode, 2008; ovando and collier, 1998; and platt, et al., 2003). case studies on coteaching among teachers of els in u.s. and foreign contexts have expanded understanding of, and allowed a closer look at, co-teaching. mcclure and cahnmann-taylor (2010) analyzed findings from two studies done in georgia, one involving focus groups with new bilingual and monolingual esol teachers and the other involving an ethnographic study of one pair of esol and grade-level teachers to examine the complexities of co-teaching relationships. they proposed, “performance-based focus groups as one approach for articulating the challenging aspects of co-teaching partnerships, fostering dialogue and relationship building” both separately and together (p. 126). a case study conducted in britain resulted in findings that showed the complementary roles of the second language teacher and the content teacher in providing different interaction patterns to their students (creese, 2006). using ethnography of communication, examining specific discourse patterns of co-teachers in british secondary schools, creese (2006), citing arkoudis (2003), argued that bilingual children might not have access to the different subject-specific discourses if not for the facilitative, accessing, and scaffolding discourse of english as an additional language (eal) teachers. baecher and bell (2011) conducted a qualitative and quantitative research initiative in k-12 settings in new york city public schools, which sought to better understand the way co-planning and co-teaching took place. their findings indicated that there were two factors that greatly inhibited co-planning: lack of time for co-planning and the degree to which co-planning was highly personneldependent. additionally, teachers reported that they could not attend curriculum planning held during grade-level meetings because of their large student caseloads. a three-year case study of co-teaching in an urban elementary school in the midwestern united states examined teacher 5 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 perceptions of co-teaching as well as the model’s impact on el achievement on standardized assessments in reading and mathematics. its findings showed increased positive teacher attitudes towards co-teaching as well as “considerable positive gains in both reading and math” for els (p. 323). this case study identified common planning and reflection among teachers, made possible by sustained administrative support in the form of additional staffing and other resources as key factors (york-barr, et al. (2007). as these studies on esl and grade-level teachers’ perceptions of co-teaching indicated functional and logistical challenges and conditions for successful collaboration (arkoudis, 2003; baecher and bell, 2011; cahnmann-taylor and souto-manning, 2010; creese, 2000; davison, 2001; gimenez, 2011; hoffman and dahlman, 2007; mcclure and cahnmann-taylor, 2011), they also underscored the importance of resolving serious challenges to collaborative teaching, in terms of supports and implementation, for it to be effective. in conclusion, common to the research literature on collaborative teaching between esl/esol and content teachers is the recommendation that more empirical research on the benefits of collaborative teaching should be conducted to complement conceptual and/or anecdotal literature (keefe and moore, 2004; mcclure and cahnmann-taylor, 2010; coltrane, 2002; harper, de jong, and platt, 2008; menken, 2008; york-barr, ghere, and summerness, 2007; honigsfeld and dove, 2010). components of successful esol push-in – a georgia study in 2009, the title iii program manager asked this author to conduct a survey to determine the status of the push-in delivery model across the state. previous research done on teachers’ perceptions of conditions that favor or inhibit a successful teacher partnership or collaborative teaching influenced the current survey study (gimenez, 2011; hoffman and dahlman, 2007; cahnmann-taylor and souto-manning, 2010; mcclure and cahnmann-taylor, 2011). survey 6 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 questions in both phase i and phase ii, which investigated the perception of georgia esol teachers and esol coordinators regarding factors promoting or inhibiting effective push-in esol delivery drew from the results of these perception studies. due to space limitation, discussion of results will primarily focus on esol teachers’ perceptions of factors that affect a successful push-in delivery. this section briefly describes the participants and the methodology used in the study. it also presents selected findings (wlazlinski, 2011). this study was conducted in two phases. phase i, exploratory in nature, was conducted to fine tune the questions that would be used for phase ii, the actual survey study. participating in the exploratory study was a limited sample of twentyone esol coordinators, who had an average of three years in their leadership position, and fifteen esol teachers who push-in in different content classes. the survey questionnaire, which was comprised of ten open-ended and close-ended (multiple-choice and categorical) items to determine the state of implementation of the push in model in esol classrooms in georgia, was administered to both the coordinators and the teachers. their responses were subjected to a thematic data analysis (bogdan & biklen, 1998). recurring observations and themes were selected to include in the survey questionnaires used in phase ii. in phase ii, the actual study, a purposive sample of thirty-five esol coordinators and 203 esol push-in teachers from mega metro to small rural districts across georgia participated. the coordinator survey questionnaire had 11 items and the teacher survey questionnaire included 14 items (see appendices a and b for the phase i and phase ii survey questionnaires. for the purpose of this paper, only the esol teachers survey questionnaires are included and their results discussed. all respondents had some experience with or were involved in pushin esol delivery (patton 1990). almost 50% of teachers reported being certified in the content 7 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 they were pushing in. participants reported english language arts and reading as the most popular content areas for pushing-in, followed by mathematics. regarding the esol teacher survey questionnaire administered in phase ii, three questions offered response choices from observations and themes culled in phase i. these themes were presented as response options in ordinal close-ended questions. furthermore, phase ii respondents were encouraged to add to the list of choices that reflect their own observations and experiences with push-in. these respondent-generated responses were subjected to thematic data analysis (bogdan and biklen, 1998), and frequencies were calculated on all the responses to determine which responses were favored more by respondents. for instance, categorized under thematic codes were responses to the question: “what are the factors of successful teaching partnership?” examples of such themes were institutional supports, personal attributes, and mutual respect for competencies and skills. the following section presents some highlights from the results. finding 1: what elements contribute to successful teacher partnership? the chart shows the response frequencies in percentages. the data indicated that 100% of esol teachers regarded co-planning time and being co-equal as critical to a successful partnership or push-in collaboration. teachers should learn/know each other’s curricula and plan together so that they can facilitate and scaffold content for varying levels of english proficiency. deliberate 50 60 70 80 90 100 esol coordinators esol teachers 8 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 planning is important to determine at what point in the content lesson meaningful language instruction is given. ideally, during planning, two teachers, each recognizing his/her individual professional expertise, negotiate how to best meld their competencies and make concerted efforts to maximize use of resources and professional expertise to address students’ needs. co-planning will allow also teachers to decide on the kind of special education co-teaching model or combination of models they will adapt for their classroom. ninety-six to ninety-eight percent of the esol teachers responded that partners who are non-territorial, flexible, and cooperative were also important to successful teacher partnerships. these results support esol teachers’ reports of push-in classroom contexts where esol teachers were not accorded equal status as the content teacher, and esol teachers’ responsibilities were limited to those of a paraprofessional. arkoudis (2003) argued that the lower status of the esol teacher could be explained by society’s and education’s valuation of teachers’ roles, that is whereas content teachers transmit subject knowledge to the many, esl teachers deliver support and facilitation to the few. a compatible teaching style was also important to 97% of esol teacher-respondents. this means that both teachers should agree on the amount of whole class versus small group instruction, the amount of lecture or teacher–led activities versus interactive and hands-on activities, and types of resources to use. to summarize, the results (as shown in the chart) indicated that esol teachers would like to work with content teachers who treat them as equal partners; accommodate their schedules to better utilize their expertise in planning, delivering, and assessing their lessons; are open to new ideas; like to share responsibility; like to learn els’ culture and language; and are willing to “give up” a little of their classroom for the benefit of their el students. 9 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 finding 2: when does push-in delivery work? the above chart shows that 100% of esol teachers regarded administration’s support in scheduling as critical. building administrators are responsible for creating teacher and student schedules. highly regarded as essential to success by 98% to100% of the respondents were coplanning time and adequate staff. in this regard, teachers reported that pushing in different content areas taught by different content teachers in different grade levels and worse, in different schools (in the case of itinerant teachers), did not allow esol teachers any collaborative time to develop/nurture partnership with their push-in partners. literature on collaborative teaching stresses the fundamental requirement of building collaborative time into the schedules of esol teachers, so that they can plan and discuss instruction and curriculum with other teachers (dove and honigsfeld, 2010b; honigsfeld and dove, 2012). in a district with inadequate esol staff and a low incidence of els spread out in different schools, an esol teacher may not likely be scheduled to have any planning time or common planning time with other teachers because of logistical constraints. as regards to how teachers regarded state guidance on the push-in, it is interesting to note that only 71% of the teachers thought it was important. 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 esol teachers' elements of successful push-in delivery 10 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 finding 3: what is the biggest challenge to successful implementation? four themes emerge as critical for this model to be successfully implemented. these themes focus on a need for communication between co-teachers for full integration of language lessons, administrative support, similar philosophies, and planning time. (1) segmenting time is not easy. teachers reported that each grade level/content area was different and segmenting of instructional time or how the period was to be divided into activities or events greatly depended on the content teacher. adding to the challenge was the administrators who might also dictate what should occur during that time period. finally, they also reported that whatever the content teacher had planned to be accomplished at the end of the week directed daily agenda. (2) lack of planning time. time commitment from esol and content teachers to co-plan and discuss lesson/activities cannot be guaranteed. teachers reported that finding common planning time to collaborate was a big challenge. (3) teachers vary in teaching philosophies and practices. teachers reported that there was disagreement over student grouping and class time spent on scaffolding activities. (4) lack of administrative support. teachers reported that they received from very little to no institutional and structural support, related to teacher and student schedules and availability of resources conducive to an effective implementation of push-in. teacher beliefs, practices, and “tools” of push-in esol delivery: lessons from the trenches the literature and the results from the georgia esol teachers survey study discussed in the previous section indicated many challenges inherent in the push-in delivery model. additionally, many administrators and esol teachers wrestle with the issue of “proper” interpretation and 11 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 implementation of the sboe rule, specifically the statement, the esol teacher and the content teacher are co-equals in the classroom, but each has a distinct role. the esol teacher is responsible for language support, while the content teacher is responsible for delivery of academic content…. when students break into groups, the esol teacher should work with els, while the content teacher focuses on mainstream students (georgia department of education esol/title iii resource guide p.21). the risk of a narrow interpretation of the rule is high, which is that there are two separate teaching processes occurring simultaneously. consequently, it suggests one of three possibilities: (1) that language lesson is provided to el students outside of content instruction during small group time, (2) that there is unconnected language instruction, or (3) that no language instruction is provided during whole group instruction. fortunately, there are successful push-in teachers from whose experiences we can learn. beyond the scope of the survey study, this author has visited more than 100 push-in classrooms and interviewed more than 200 esol and content partner-teachers across the state. esol teachers whose practices are included in this paper were selected because this author had observed their classrooms, or they were recommended by their esol coordinators for their effective instructional delivery. all teachers reported having overcome their challenges through determination, initiative, and consistent modeling of best practices, thereby gaining the support of their administrators and content teacher-partners. due to space limitation, this section can include only a few esol teachers’ narratives/anecdotes describing their collaboration with content teachers. it also includes a few examples of “tried and tested” effective practices and products, developed by successful push-in teachers whose classrooms were visited in school year 20112012 and 2012-2013 by this author. the examples are understandable and easily applicable. as luck would have it, coordinators and teachers who have continually asked the question, how do we implement the push-in esol delivery model correctly and effectively 12 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 while working within state guidance constraints? may very well find their answer from the experiences of these esol push-in teachers. for the purpose of organization, a question precedes examples of teacher practices and products. how does a district ensure that roles in push-in are clarified and delineated? all stakeholders must know their roles and responsibilities towards proper implementation of the delivery model. margo williams, the el coordinator in dekalb county schools, states that the induction process begins with the professional development of administrators, which should include training on how best administrators can (1) provide resources/materials/technology, (2) consider suitability of teachers’ personality and disposition, (3) understand els’ cultural, linguistic, and academic needs, (4) provide professional development to content teachers on esol-related topics, (5) schedule planning time and expect collaboration, (6) ensure inclusion of esol teachers in grade-level planning meetings, and (7) secure space for esol teacher to meet with other teachers. training teachers must include development of guidelines and protocols, which once finalized, must be implemented and consistently maintained. williams stresses that teachers must be clear on their responsibilities; that is, while the esol teacher is responsible for teaching language during the segment and accountable for the language development that occurs during the segment, the content or general education teacher-partner is responsible for teaching content during the segment and accountable for the content learning that occurs during the segment. both teachers, however, should know that they are equally responsible for finding the time to collaborate, which may either be face to face, virtual, or by phone conference. one tool williams uses to help push-in teachers make monthly plans is the “bird’s eye view of the curriculum” (honigsfeld and dove, 2008). it is a template divided into 3 columns for the month, key ideas (or content goals), and most 13 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 challenging concepts (or language goals) and 4 rows for week 1, week 2, week 3, and week 4. this tool provides both teachers a convenient way of “being in the know” about the curriculum, so that they have enough time to plan their activities and resources. kelly underwood, an elementary esol teacher in jeff davis county schools, explained for push-in to work, the classroom teacher needs to embrace the “push-in” delivery model with a positive outlook. some teachers feel threatened by another teacher being in “their” classroom. this will often lead to the esol teacher becoming more like a paraprofessional in the classroom instead of an equal. there also needs to be common planning time between the regular education teacher and the esol teacher. if the esol teacher is walking into the classroom “blind” then she/he can’t adequately add anything meaningful to the lesson. there again, this may lead to the esol teacher becoming more like a paraprofessional. how can districts prevent personality divergences and how do successful esol teachers overcome role conflicts? many esol teachers maintained that building administrators could minimize role conflicts if personalities of teachers and their willingness to work as partners were considered before scheduling them to teach a push-in class. they added that real partnership developed over time, so administrators should allow esol teachers to work with the same content teachers for at least 2-3 years. an esol teacher in paulding county schools described how she determinedly demonstrated that she was worthy of the respect and acceptance of her content push-in partner. i have to learn the content curriculum, particularly the content standards of the course. this is very important. how can i make the lesson comprehensible to my students if i do not make the standards accessible to them? without being asked, i create and share activities that are effective in differentiating content not only for second language learners but also for other students. i also share strategies, offer resources, and volunteer to teach language activities. when my content teacher has pressing responsibilities or deadlines, i offer to take care of the class. in the beginning i just led small group activities and usually stayed in the back of the room with my students, but now, the entire room is my real estate and my content teacher always asks for my opinion about instruction and assessment. how can content and esol push-in teachers use or share time effectively? how do we break down a class period of 45-55 minutes for a push-in class? 14 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 for push-in to succeed, esol teachers must have dedicated time for working with els to adequately provide language support and monitor progress. in a push-in where the content teacher has his or her content standards and content objectives to teach, esol teachers’ input in the development of a lesson plan and in the creation of supplementary activities that are differentiated for the levels of english proficiency of els must have intentionality. in the following table, lindy patterson, an esol teacher in gilmer county schools, sketches how she and her push-in partner plan their instructional period of 45 minutes. 15 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 shown in another table is a push-in plan for multiple content classes, which shows intentional language support provided to els. jennifer suarez, a high school esol in cobb county schools, deliberately plans for her push-in classes in ela 9-12, social studies 10th, and science 9th grade in a 90-minute block (see appendix c). regardless of content area, whether she takes the lead or assists the content teacher, jennifer clearly provides language support to els. similar to the two plans is a general template called “how a push-in looks like in the classroom” (see appendix d). it was developed by this author to illustrate how an esol push-in class of 45-55 minutes could be taught by esol and content teachers while meeting the state definition. it drew ideas from the works of dove and honigsfeld, (2010) and conderman, bresnahan, and pedersen (2009). this template, which uses a standards-based lesson structure, has three basic parts: opening or activating, work, and closing. the different examples of teacher and student activities/events under each part are meant to clarify what each teacher may be able to do during the instructional period. although not exhaustive, the examples under each session are authentic and concrete and should serve as catalysts for more ideas and options. a close look at the examples in the column, “what esol teachers can do,” shows that the six approaches of coteaching in special education may be adapted. victoria isabelle, clayton county schools; cadeisha cooper, candler county schools; and lisa schlabra, gilmer county schools reviewed and critiqued the prototype of the current template. since its inception, the template has undergone multiple revisions based on numerous comments/feedback from esol professionals from across the state who had used it as a guide to create their own instructional plans. in fact, some comments that may further help users of the template were listed under the column “challenges,” so that teachers trying the template may be prepared to take counter action. an 16 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 esol, using the template as a guide, added esol differentiated activities to a content area plan (appendix e). in conclusion, this template offers push-in esol teachers several benefits, such as accessibility to an already familiar standards-based lesson plan framework to plan their own lessons, examples of language support activities integrated into the lesson, ideas for ways of segmenting instructional time to result in more clearly delineated roles and responsibilities for teachers, multiple examples of options to draw on for scaffolding/differentiating the activities of content teachers, and different combinations of special education co-teaching models to adapt. what are some collaborative instructional experiences of push-in teachers? collaborative teaching should be based on data which reveals specific areas in which the students need support. for teachers of els, collaboration starts best with the examination of the access scores of their els and interpreting them for content teachers. mary kay clyburn, a k12 esol teacher in oconee county schools, explains that when she meets with a classroom teacher to discuss a student’s performance on the access, she brings the current access teacher report, any previous years’ reports, copies of the speaking and writing rubrics and the can-do descriptors for that grade cluster. on the can-do page i highlight the columns that coincide with the student’s elp scores in each domain so the teacher can use the descriptors as a reference when planning instruction and assessment. i often bring a copy of the wida eld standards also. in the case of a student with a low writing score, we would look at the wida writing rubric and the can do descriptors and note the tasks that the el student can perform and which tasks we need to target for continued growth………the classroom teacher and i would discuss a number of strategies that support this, such as pre-teaching certain terms, pictorial clues, checking for prior knowledge, personal picture dictionaries, word banks, and computer-based vocabulary programs. i would share information from the wida amplified standards and the model performance indicators to help the teacher set goals and design strategies to scaffold the student’s language acquisition. 17 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 julia phillips, an elementary esol teacher in atkinson county schools, discusses with her content teachers the student profile she has created, which includes the student’s personal, cultural, linguistic, and academic background information. she recounts that prior to reviewing a student’s access scores, there are a few things that have to be taken into consideration and discussed with the teacher. for example, i had a student in her very first school term living in the united states. she’s from the dominican republic and attended a school in a thriving community. prior to attending school in the us, she was at the top of her class, which (naturally) means that she is (very) literate in her l1. at this point, i’d explain how an el’s literacy in her l1 can really help/hinder her ability to learn english. then, i will explain the meaning of the access scores and discuss the can do descriptors in a very detailed manner. finally, i will offer the teacher some strategies and resources specific to the el’s needs. when esol and content teachers plan together, they can ensure that content lessons are presented to els using effective esol strategies. stephanie herb, a middle school and secondary esol teacher in hart county schools, describes the joint planning between herself and the content teacher: i push in to mrs. smith’s 7th grade science class. our teachers have been trained in siop (sheltered instruction observation protocol), which has made a great foundation. initially, mrs. smith and i discuss the next unit she will teach. we go over the materials that will be covered and assessed in the holt’s science series and discuss the videos and worksheets that will be used to help the students comprehend the content. for our next meeting, i will gather any materials that i find to support the content. i usually look at the oxford content area dictionary, science a-z, and enchanted learning. our science book includes resources in spanish, which i occasionally use. mrs. smith uses videos from the science series, as well as, youtube, where she has found great songs that complement the content and help all the students remember the material. i also have found wonderful resources on reading a-z that are written at different reading levels. this allows me to differentiate for different language levels using the same content. after we have gathered all the material we will use for the unit, mrs. smith will begin the unit. in our lesson plan, which has an opening, a work session, and a closing, i make sure we have transition activities and differentiated activities for the els who have different levels of english proficiency. we always include a model performance standard (mpi). for example, for the s6e4 standard: “students will understand how the distribution of land and oceans affects climate and weather,” one of our mpis is “the student will draw and describe cloud types using clouds reading passage in the textbook.” one of our activities is “students will work in pairs to complete cloud foldable and reading comprehension questions. 18 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 similarly, lindy patterson of gilmer county schools consistently plans and teaches collaboratively with her content teacher. she states that mrs. morrow, a first grade teacher, and i prepare each week’s language arts lessons through a weekly meeting and follow-up via emails and instant messages. at the beginning of the year, we designated this “sacred time” and included it on our schedules and in our lesson plans to ensure that other meetings did not interfere with our planning. also in the beginning of the year, we discussed initial classroom management concerns including whether or not the students would be allowed to get water or go to the restroom during instruction, which of us would make copies, who could discipline the students, and who would contact parents. these initial conversations created an atmosphere in which the students saw mrs. morrow and me as equals. for our lessons on adjectives (ccgps elacc1f), mrs. morrow and i met with our folders (our collections of past activities), the standards, and the performance levels of our english learners. we began sorting through the activities we had used in the past to determine which we found beneficial and would like to reuse. from these, we determined the order we needed to instruct the curriculum and assigned the specific responsibilities. like the majority of the lessons we presented, we began the initial instruction with team teaching. mrs. morrow and i were both at the board providing instruction. with collaboration from the students, we led a brainstorming activity and created anchor charts to display in the classroom for the students to reference. for the next few days, the students practiced with adjectives to describe themselves and other nouns in the classroom using words, phrases, or sentences. as the week progressed, the co-teaching styles transformed from team teaching to one teach, one assist (during review time) and alternate teaching (as students with lower performance levels needed extended review). the adjectives lessons concluded with a standards-based report card assessment. if observed, a monitor would have observed parallel teaching. although mrs. morrow and i were providing the same instruction, the students in my group needed additional time to think about and write their answers. brandy douglas, of coffee county schools, works very closely with her content teachers and creates scaffolded activities for her el students. she gives her students visual and tactile activities. to her delight, the content teachers also use some of them with the other students. brandy stresses the importance of planning and professional development. according to her, one of the keys to a meaningful experience is consistent collaboration between the esol teacher and the content teacher. scheduling collaborative planning is often a challenge but makes the biggest impact in ensuring effective implementation. i try to meet face to face with the teachers i will be co-teaching with on a weekly basis. when that is not possible, we rely on email and phone calls. these virtual planning sessions often occur outside of the normal school day. with each teacher, the act of planning varies depending on the teaching style of my partner, the amount of time i have already been working with him or her, and the 19 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 demands of the course, standards, or weekly activities. with some teachers, i simply amplify what he or she has already planned. often these are plans created as a department. with other teachers who may not be part of a department, we plan the week together more closely giving and sharing ideas of how to meet the needs of all the students within our care. once i know what will be happening in the classroom, i can begin creating differentiated materials that allow all english learners to access the grade-level standards. the majority of the work that helps make the push-in model successful happens before i ever enter the classroom. the “marriage” of co-teachers builds over time but intensifies with support though professional learning experiences. the general education teachers who attend conferences and other esol specific professional learning opportunities are more confident and accepting to the push-in model. this makes my job as the esol teacher much easier. jessica little, of habersham county schools, stated: during the initial meeting, i will set up a time to meet with the classroom teacher for afternoon collaborative planning. these meeting occur at least once a week but oftentimes collaboration will happen more than just once a week. during these collaboration meetings, we will discuss what content will be covered during that week and how the content will be taught in a collaborative effort between us. each teacher is responsible for her own lesson plans and creating any materials or other resources needed for the lessons. these collaboration meetings either happen after school or during the classroom teacher’s planning if it is at the same time as my planning. dorothy shouppe, another habersham esol teacher, said that being an esol teacher requires a great amount of flexibility when practicing the push-in model. it is a long-term and on-going process to build a collaborative relationship among classroom and support teachers. in addition to physically being in the classroom during the esol segment, it is important for esol teachers to collaborate regularly with the classroom teacher (and with other support teachers if there are any in the classroom during the esol segment). at our school, we meet weekly for 30 minutes to collaborate. during this time we look at the current and upcoming standards, discuss instruction, and group students strategically using whatever data is available. we also try to discuss what worked well and what did not in our recent instruction. common to all the teachers quoted in the foregoing section is collaborative planning with their content teacher-partners during which they discussed content and language standards, differentiated activities, classroom management and student data prior to instruction. what may teachers do to overcome the lack of time to co-plan? finding the time for co-planning is one of the most difficult hurdles that has to be overcome by push-in partners. many esol teachers do not have the benefit of a common planning time 20 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 with content teacher-partners, or they are not able to attend grade planning time because of multiple grade push-in assignments. fortunately, teachers find recourse in communicating via email. more recent technological developments offer teachers more options for collaborating and sharing best practices if their schedules do not allow a face to face co-planning. timeconstraint becomes less of an issue. teachers may co-plan via skype and via google hangouts, which is a web-based tool created by google for communicating through live video conferencing. setting up a google account plus at http://www.google.com/+/learnmore/hangouts/ is very easy and up to 10 people can “hang out” at one time. why push-in at all? push-in takes a lot of practice, compromises, and coordination to become successful and benefit the students. colquitt county schools’ push-in partners described their collaboration as unique: we believe all teachers are essential in the classroom setting. all teachers have both knowledge and expertise that, when combined in a true co-teaching atmosphere, make education something special. we appreciate the value in allowing students to interact with all educators, and develop a personal relationship with the regular classroom teacher as well as the specialized teacher. at c.a. gray, students often do not realize the area of specialization for each teacher, or that students are divided into smaller sub-groups (such as el). this is mainstreaming at its best. the adults are aware of the special needs of students, and actively address these needs without excluding the students from the group. students view all teachers as “their teachers”, and realize that each adds something unique to the lesson. discipline problems are greatly reduced, because students respect all teachers equally. all lessons are standards based and on grade level, with strategies and activities to differentiate and accommodate, so that learning is a possibility for every student. 21 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 http://www.google.com/+/learnmore/hangouts/ connie johnson, of clayton county schools, sums up the benefits of push-in and the concerns of esol teachers: there are many obvious benefits to co-teaching for students. esol students have both academic and social benefits. they are exposed to the mainstream content but have the support of a second teacher. they are not pulled out of the class, so they learn with their classmates. esol teachers, however, cite many concerns. they do not want to lose ownership of their students be relegated to the status of an aide. they feel that collaboration is a lot of additional work especially if they are co-teaching with several different teachers. they are also concerned about esl beginners, who they feel do not really benefit from learning in the large group setting. as an esol teacher, i think the benefits of collaboration outweigh the drawbacks. when teachers share the responsibility of instruction, lessons are more creative because two people are planning them. it’s nice to have another adult in the room to be able to provide a range of support to students and to share those “ah-ha” and “light bulb” moments. conclusion the teachers’ anecdotes about their practices and the instructional tools they have developed indicate that the esol push-in delivery model is a viable approach to teaching both language and content to el students. as an esol teacher puts it, academic or extra-curricular classes are not omitted from student schedule. all el students receive grade level, standards-based instruction and support on an equal basis as their native english-speaking counterparts. evidently, in this delivery model, el students benefit from the expertise of two teachers. the content teacher brings to the partnership his/her content area expertise, teaching style and the state content standards, while the esol teacher brings his/her second language acquisition and pedagogy expertise, the english language standards, and his/her teaching style. to be 22 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 effective push-in teaching partners, they must weld their individual attributes into a cohesive whole, while still maintaining their individual identities. the elements that contribute to successful partnership and the biggest challenges to successful implementation of push-in delivery model (or collaborative teaching) that were identified in the georgia survey study are supported in the literature. based on the georgia survey results, 97% of esol teachers regarded compatible personalities as an important element that contributes to a successful teaching partnership. ninety-two percent regarded compatible teaching styles as important. this means that push-in partners have to complement each other’s teaching style and personalities. teacher anecdotes revealed how teacher-partners discussed classroom management during the initial planning. being cooperative was considered important to a successful partnership by 98% of the respondents. this has an important implication because teachers are often autonomous, so it is important that they forge a teaching philosophy that is based on a strong commitment to aligning the content and language curricula, meeting the needs of el students, effecting differentiation and engaging in reflective practice because of a shared goal and vision. the anecdotes clearly indicated that push-in teacher-partners benefit from many opportunities to grow professionally. because planning and instruction are shared, push-in teachers have the ability to experiment with and implement fresh and innovative teaching practices. gleaned from the literature and from teachers’ anecdotes is that collaboration among esol and content teachers is not a natural and easy process. however, the good news is many schools in georgia have esol teachers already effectively pushing in to classes in spite of implementation challenges. as evidenced in the teacher anecdotes/quotes and examples of collaborative practices, these challenges are surmountable. however, like any educational 23 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 practice, the push-in delivery model can be successful only if implemented in a school that embraces and promotes collaborative teaching for el students. as the survey results indicated, 100% of esol teachers responded that support from administrators was crucial to a successful push-in implementation. since teaching partnerships have to be developed over time, administrators should allow push-in teacher-partners time to define their roles, develop relationships, and co-plan. additionally, administrators should offer ongoing training on collaborative teaching to teachers so that they could cultivate their collective and individual responsibilities (dove and honigsfeld, 2010a). to summarize, the push-in esol delivery model will benefit teachers and most important, el students, if and when the elements of successful push-in exist. its success draws from teachers who are willing to share their classrooms and students, egalitarian, skilled, cooperative, and flexible. it also draws from a strong support from administrators who provide common planning time and instructional resources, offer training in collaborative teaching to esol and content teachers, and give incentives and rewards to teachers for pushing-in. all these factors combined will yield student success and effective push-in classrooms. while the survey results, teacher anecdotes, and examples of instructional tools provided a description of the state of affairs of push-in esol delivery model and clarification of what push-in looks like in the classroom, results of empirical investigations in georgia’s schools to evaluate the success of el students in this delivery model, specifically in measuring their rate of progress in acquiring english language proficiency and content mastery, would strongly support the assertion that push-in is a scientifically research-based delivery model and that adopting it is to the best interest of el students. 24 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 references abdallah, j. 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(2006). team-teaching helps close the language gap. education week, 26, 14, pp. 2629. 30 gatesol in action, vol. 1, spring 2014 issn #2331-6845 rethinking metaphors of classroom assessment by dennis odo international language institute of hanyang university seoul, south korea dmurphyodo@yahoo.ca the lenses and metaphors we use to describe the world around us affect the way we view and interact with the world. bearing this truism in mind, this essay urges educators to revisit the popular assessment as puzzle metaphor. i contend that while this metaphor has served scholars and practitioners well in the past our current understandings of the assessment process point to a need to upgrade this image. while the puzzle metaphor allowed an expanded conception of assessment it also obscured the static view of assessment that it promoted. the organism within an ecosystem metaphor proposed here may help policymakers understand that the larger purpose of assessment is not solely about collecting and evaluating artifacts but it is rather about making well informed decisions that support the learning needs of students. this perspective shift may help us better appreciate the complexity of effective assessment as well as the need for ongoing professional development that supports teachers’ assessment literacy growth. keywords: assessment, assessment literacy a number of factors over the past several decades have contributed to a proliferation of assessments in schools. these factors include public and policymaker demands for school accountability and school administrator convenience leading to increasing use of high-stakes standardized tests 1 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 mailto:dmurphyodo@yahoo.ca (stiggins, 2004). additional audiences for assessment results have also necessitated the creation of newer assessments. these audiences include the public, administrators, parents, teachers and students who often want access to different kinds of assessment information (farr, 1992; valencia, 2002) and whose wants and needs are frequently in conflict (farr, 1992). proliferating assessment purposes also fuel this trend with various reasons including evaluating learning objectives, reporting student progress, counselling, motivating and recognizing students, selecting students for special programs and holding schools accountable (coil & merritt, 2011). consequently, students are being assessed much more than being assessed historically (pandya, 2011) with a much more varied and disparate collection of assessment tools and procedures. as assessments have continued to multiply and we have continued to refine our understanding of them, one metaphor has gained popularity in helping scholars and practitioners to frame their expanded conception of the assessment process. this metaphor imagines assessment as being the assembling of pieces of a puzzle (farr, 1992; valencia 2002; edwards, turner & mokhtari 2008). each type of assessment or component of the process is often likened to a piece in the puzzle. this metaphor has been valuable in 2 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 many ways because it has allowed educators to re-imagine the assessment process as a somewhat more eclectic collection of evidence to provide a more complete model of learners’ abilities and limitations than a single one-off high stakes test. it is a popular metaphor that has been drawn on by a number of scholars and commentators over time and it has been particularly prevalent among those who talk about the value of alternative and formative assessments. while acknowledging its usefulness over the past few years, given our continually expanding understanding of the assessment process, it may be time to rethink and update this puzzle metaphor. considerable benefit derives from updating our metaphors. for example, the metaphor of the mind as a serial processing computer has given us valuable insights into a print-based approach to perceiving and comprehending written words on a page (gough, 1972). however, a parallel processing metaphor adapted from developments in computer technology allowed scholars to better understand how both perception of print and drawing on background knowledge contribute to the reading comprehension process (rummelhardt, 1985). this example demonstrates that we have to be thoughtful about the metaphors that we use to explain the phenomena in our world because they shape our perception of 3 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 those phenomena and may cause us to be blind to important aspects of those phenomena (lakoff & johnson, 2008). bearing this in mind, i contend that it is time to revisit and update our metaphor of assessment as a puzzle because it may be causing us to overlook some crucial aspects of the assessment process. i also propose that likening assessment to the feedback processes that take place within an organism can help draw our attention to some important features of that process that assessment stakeholders can benefit from understanding better. revisiting the puzzle metaphor educators collect a variety of assessment information that includes both traditional “standardized” forms of assessment and other “alternative” forms ranging from anecdotal notes through to checklists and portfolios. student self-assessment can also be considered to be a component of the broader category of alternative assessments (coil & merritt, 2011). each assessment type has unique strengths and weaknesses. for instance, standardized assessments can provide a general sense of a student’s overall ability but their broad sampling of content tends to make them less informative for classroom instruction. in contrast, while alternative assessments offer rich information on ongoing progress in authentic classroom tasks they also come with the 4 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 drawback of being rather labor intensive and increasing the risk of teacher bias affecting their evaluation. likewise, the benefit of student selfassessment is that it gives them a sense of responsibility and ownership (reif, 1990) but it needs to be carefully managed to ensure students’ thoughtful reflection and analysis (valencia, 2002). if we understand what each type of assessment can and cannot contribute to our understanding of student learning, we can do a better job of teaching as well as assessing students (hiebert & calfee, 1989; pearson & valencia, 1987). this process of assembling assessment information from a variety of sources has gained increasing scholarly attention in recent years. a number of contemporary scholars and commentators on assessment have compared the process to piecing a puzzle together (farr, 1991, coil & merritt, 2011). however, several varied – and sometimes conflicting – conceptions of the assessment as puzzle have emerged. it appears that some of the disagreement relates to what the pieces of the puzzle actually are. for instance, farr (1992) describes the puzzle pieces as being general orientations toward assessment noting “[the] pieces of the [assessment] puzzle represent many types of assessments, critical attitudes toward assessment, and attempts to challenge or improve them” (p. 26). this conception contrasts with another view of the pieces as being broad categories of assessments such as “standard 5 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 assessment, classroom based assessment, and student self-assessment” (valencia 2002, p. 2). to this, coil and merritt (2011) add instruction, as well as documenting and reporting progress. valencia (2002) also contends that “[the] glue that holds these assessment pieces together is content standards— statements about what students should know and be able to do” (p. 2). a third conception of the puzzle sees the pieces as the actual types of assessment. for example, hill, campbell and ruptic (1994) focus on specific and practical aspects of assessment and evaluation such as collecting and recording information from multiple sources (i.e., portfolios and student observations) on an ongoing basis. applying this same perspective to second language reading assessment, geva (2006) supports using a lot of the same assessment tools used with l1 learners if they have a basic command of the l2. to these, she adds several l2 specific assessments including l1 performance data (e. g., home country report cards), previous assessments, family cultural and linguistic background, and so forth. ultimately, all of these various interpretations of the “puzzle” demonstrate that there are really no commonly agreed upon definition. in essence, the puzzle metaphor likens the assessment process to assembling a puzzle that represents the overall ability of the student. each 6 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 piece of the puzzle is some type of assessment of the student’s abilities. thus, pieces of the puzzle might include test scores, anecdotal classroom observations and a collection of portfolio materials. this puzzle metaphor has been a helpful tool for scholars and educators to use when thinking about formative assessment. it has also provided us with a number of important insights. for instance, it has allowed educators to bear in mind the reality that assessment is not a singular unified process and there are many pieces of information to be assembled to put forth a fair and accurate description of a learner’s strengths and limitations (farr, 1992). secondly, the assessment puzzle has allowed us to see the value of collecting an eclectic variety of types of assessment information such as scores on standardized tests through to anecdotal classroom records (coil & merritt, 2011). lastly, the notion of “assessment as puzzle” has helped us to remember that there needs to be some balance among the various information sources such that assessment decisions are not made primarily based upon information from only one source (valencia, 2002). the valuable insights this metaphor has provided for understanding the importance of assembling a balanced variety of evidence for learner ability must be acknowledged. nevertheless, this way of seeing the assessment 7 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 process has also created some potentially hazardous distortions in many educators’ views of assessment. when stretched beyond its capacity the metaphor threatens to cause educators to generate a number of unproductive if not harmful misconceptions about what effective classroom assessment is. these specious conceptions of assessment may in turn cause inaccurate perceptions about a student’s, or group of students’, relative strengths and areas of need. three particularly dangerous misapprehensions generated by the puzzle metaphor provide evidence that it is time to rethink and update the assessment as puzzle metaphor to better incorporate recent research discoveries and developing understandings. these problematic assumptions include a static image of assessment, the notion that assessment can ever be complete and a somewhat traditional and constrained view of what constitutes assessment. the puzzle metaphor creates a fairly static image of assessment in the sense that it represents assessments as a fixed and predetermined number of interlocking pieces that does not necessarily leave room for the less tangible aspects of assessment. while the puzzle metaphor allows scholars to take a much broader and more holistic view of assessment, it is still problematic because it threatens to limit our imagination in terms of what we might accept 8 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 as being valid forms of student assessment. for example, while scholars who use the puzzle metaphor accept many alternative forms of classroom assessment (e. g., anecdotal records and portfolios) they ultimately still tend to view assessment itself as a rather static collection of artifacts in the sense that teachers collect data through anecdotal records or other means of documentation, assemble the data and present a conclusive representation of the student. in that sense, although this broader conception of assessment looks quite dynamic at first glance, it is actually still rather static. other scholars (e.g., popham, 2010; stiggins, 2004; pollock, 2011) would argue that assessment is actually still a more fluid and dynamic process than that conception allows. these scholars contend that classroom formative assessment is the deeply intertwined with the moment-by-moment decision making processes of the classroom teacher and, in fact, these in-the-moment decisions are at the heart of the classroom assessment process. the danger is that the puzzle metaphor may be an impediment to seeing the assessment process in this somewhat ethereal and dynamic way because it encourages us to look at assessment as an assemblage of artifacts rather than as an ongoing in-the-moment evaluative process. thus, while the puzzle appears to accept all forms of assessment, it may actually blind teachers to the importance of developing their assessment intuition. this is because the moment by moment 9 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 decisions based on their intuition may not necessarily find their way into the various assessment artifacts or documents favoured by this paradigm. a second and related issue with the puzzle metaphor is that it gives the problematic impression that there is a natural end point in the assessment process. that is, teachers or administrators just have to fit all of the pieces together to complete the picture of the student (e. g., coil & merritt, 2011). in this view, there is a predetermined outcome with a pre-set number of pieces and once all of the pieces are in place the puzzle is finished. those who see assessment as a puzzle are in danger of making this questionable assumption. the reality is that there is no real end point in assessment and to believe otherwise risks the faulty assumption that assessment can be a “paint by numbers” game. that is, teachers may come to think that rather than assessment being a single score on one test it is simply a collection of scores on a number of different kinds of assessments. the problem with this viewpoint is that is can cause teachers to tacitly see themselves as technicians whose task it is to assemble and record the results of assessments that have been designed by others. they may come to implicitly believe that though they use assessments from a wider variety of sources assessment is still ultimately about filling in blanks, just different kinds of blanks than in the past. the result 10 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 of this approach is that teacher creativity and professional judgement is left to atrophy. this enervation of teacher ability must be avoided because professional competence is a key element necessary for educators to refine the true art of teaching which is thought to be the source of joy and inspiration in teaching (eisner, 1983). thus, an assessment as puzzle of artifacts approach does not provide teachers with the opportunity to flourish as professionals. a third shortcoming of the assessment as puzzle of artifacts metaphor is its falsely mechanistic nature. in this construct, assessments are conceived of as being discrete puzzle pieces that all add up to a final overall picture of the student’s ability when in reality the various assessments often blend together in numerous shifting configurations within the overall assessment scheme. for instance, the “assessment picture” of a particular student might be comprised of data about her decoding, fluency, and comprehension that has been collected through miscue analysis, timed reading, and a story retell. taken at face value, it appears that these data are in fact discrete pieces of a puzzle that add up to a final result. in this way, the metaphor helps us appreciate all of the various data sources that can contribute to an evaluation of a student’s ability. however, it also blinds us to the fact that all of these data points are submerged in a largely invisible ocean of decision making that has gone into 11 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 the choice of which assessments to administer, when to administer them, what to do with the results and so forth. this continuous decision making process must be clearly understood because the value of the whole assessment process hinges upon informed and competent teacher decision making in light of the fact that “. . . teachers, themselves, are the most important assessment tool” (valencia, 2002, p. 3). reconsidering the assessment puzzle metaphor as noted above, the assessment as puzzle of artifacts metaphor has its limitations in terms of being somewhat static, presenting the false impression of an assessment end point, and being excessively mechanistic. while this metaphor presents student evaluation as being a mechanistic process of assembling predetermined assessment artifacts together, the reality appears to be a much more organic process. instead of mechanical data collection and evaluation, the student and teacher exchange information through both a variety of assessment artifacts and, equally as important, the ongoing interaction of student behaviour and teacher observation that occurs during their time together. in this way, a great deal of assessment happens “off the books”. however, the assessment as puzzle metaphor focuses on the artifacts in the form of puzzle pieces while ignoring the fact that those artifacts are 12 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 suspended in an ocean of classroom interaction and teacher decision making. therefore, a more suitable metaphor might be that the teacher acts like the brain of an organism (the class) by gathering information from the other organs (students) and deciding what needs to be done to ensure the optimal functioning of the individual organs and the organism as a whole. of course, as with any organism, it does not function in a vacuum but rather in an ecosystem of other stakeholders who have their own explicit and implicit guidelines and expectations that provide another layer of feedback to and constraint upon the organism. in this analogy, assessment is comparable to the nervous system of the organism serving as a conduit of information from the “organs” to the “brain.” this organic metaphor helps to foreground the holistic nature of assessment in a number of ways. first of all, it reminds us that, at its most fundamental level, assessment is about a relationship mediated by teacher and student prior conceptions, artifacts, observations and other actors in the immediate and wider environment. in many ways it is a communicative act but the puzzle metaphor obscures the relational dynamics between the teacher and student that are nested within an arrangement of other relationships among educational stakeholders. secondly, the organism 13 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 metaphor also characterizes assessment as being less neat and tidy and more accurately portrays the complex and messy process as it occurs in real classroom environments. lastly, this conception has the potential to create space for a crucial humanistic and affective component missing in many contemporary discussions of assessment (mckenna & stahl, 2012). the organic metaphor accomplishes this by expanding our conception of what assessment entails which helps us to realize that assessment has many more aspects that we need to explicitly consider than we had previously thought. re-imagining classroom assessment as organism rather than puzzle helps us to foreground the fact that assessment is not a static “paint by numbers” process with a pre-determined outcome. it requires problem-solving, engineering solutions, and creativity. this organic metaphor calls for those who assess to be much more knowledgeable about how to assemble and create assessment tools that collect and record rich data from multiple sources on an ongoing basis (hill, campbell & ruptic, 1994). they must also be able to accurately interpret that data and explain their interpretations to a variety of audiences. this ability demands an extensive educator professional knowledge base. the fact is that regardless of what metaphor we decide to use, be it puzzle or organism, 14 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 teachers need to be assessment literate. otherwise we risk deprofessionalizing teachers by failing to provide them with sufficient education to make them knowledgeable about effective classroom assessment practice. despite her reliance on the assessment puzzle metaphor, valencia (2002) balances her discussion of the need for standardized tests with an emphasis on the value of classroom assessment based on teacher observation. she likewise acknowledges the importance of training teachers to collect rich assessment data and then trusting them as experts in classroom assessment. farr (1992) agrees noting that authentic assessment is helpful (e. g., observations) if teachers are properly trained in procedures for how to do it. that is, teachers need additional training on using various informal assessments. 15 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 teacher assessment literacy coil and merritt (2011) point out that “as educators, we also assess without measuring.” this kind of assessment is usually based more on teacher observations and interactions and “with these assessments, we often rely on anecdotal records or verbal descriptions as alternatives to specific numeric measurements” (p. 7). we also need to realize that, in actuality, we assess without measuring a lot more than we assess with measuring. this continuous observational assessment requires solid understanding of correct performance of a variety of academic tasks as well as how and when to give clear feedback that the student can use to improve future performance. a significant component of the switch from a puzzle to organism metaphor is an increased reliance of teacher assessment literacy. that is, teachers would be expected to be much more competent at collecting and keeping systematic and informative formal and informal data on their students and well as interpreting that data for various audiences and using results to improve future student performance. as valencia (2002) notes, “teachers must be able to develop assessment strategies, gather evidence, analyze what they see, and ultimately, make instructional adjustments to respond to student needs. this is precisely why classroom assessment is so powerful” (p. 4). a clear and 16 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 useful conception of the assessment process coupled with strong assessment literacy will enable them to give the immediate and detailed feedback necessary to ensure improved student performance. in order to do this, they need knowledge of a wide variety of types of assessments as well as how to use them. in addition to administering assessments, assessment literacy is also crucial to enable teachers to defend their students from improper use of assessments. for instance, in the case of english language teachers, a variety of problematic assessment practices have arisen such as use of inappropriate accommodations (menken, 2008), frequent testing that impedes sufficient coverage of curriculum (pandya, 2010) and even serious questions about the validity of the assessments themselves for english language learners (almeida, 2007). therefore, the teachers who work with these populations of learners have to be sufficiently knowledgeable about these issues in order to protect their learners from inappropriate and potentially abusive testing practices. lastly, taking a somewhat wider perspective on the issue, another key reason for the need to promote assessment literacy is that all teachers need it. as valencia (2002) points out, 17 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 . . . as educators, we need to counter the illusion of a simple score and the almost exclusive confidence those outside education ascribe to standard assessments. on the other hand, we must learn to deal with multiple indicators (i.e. indicators from standard, classroom-based, and student self-assessment as well as multiple indicators within each type of assessment). sometimes information from multiple sources will converge, providing a consistent evaluation of student performance; other times the information may be discrepant because of differences in assessment formats, the skills and strategies tested, or simply inconsistencies in student learning. but, it is important to value all the information and to remember that the more samples of student learning we collect, the more trustworthy and informative our results (p. 8). in other words, assessment is a very complex process and teachers need to be well prepared in order to be able to do it effectively. consequently, a significant component of teacher preparation and professional development should be devoted to the development of teacher assessment literacy. this assessment literacy allows teachers to guide their instruction or defend their students speak from a position of strength when they join other stakeholders in assessment discussions in their own respective systems (farr, 1992). conclusion this essay presented the argument that scholars and practitioners need to update the metaphor of assessment as a puzzle and instead begin to think of it as analogous to the feedback processes that take place within an organism. granted, the puzzle metaphor offered several benefits such as an 18 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 expanded conception of the assessment process which allows us to see the value in accumulating a variety of artifacts that serve as valid indicators of student ability. however, it has also maintained somewhat of a static view in the sense that assessment generally continues to be seen as a collection or artifacts that overlooks the importance of the immense amount of ongoing “off the books” evaluation and decision making around these artifacts. the adoption of an organism within an ecosystem metaphor was proposed that sees the students as the body, the teacher as the brain and the assessment process as the nervous system. this metaphor helps educators to keep in mind the embedded, rich and continual nature of assessment. additionally, a switch to this “organic” lens may help policymakers understand that the larger purpose of assessment is not solely about collecting and evaluating artifacts but it is rather about making well informed and conscientious decisions that support the learning needs of students on a continual basis. this shift in perspective may also help them to more fully appreciate the complexity of effective assessment “for” and “of” learning and thus the need for ongoing professional development that supports teachers’ assessment literacy growth. secondly, the organic metaphor of assessment has the potential to open up teachers’ imagination to tap into other previously 19 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 overlooked ways of assessment. for example, thinking of assessment as feedback within an organism nested in an ecosystem may enable teachers to more fully appreciate the richness and complexity of the assessment process and consequently the level of knowledge and assessment literacy they will need to have to ensure they can gather and interpret all of the rich formal and informal data necessary for fair and valid assessment of their students. lastly, this lens may help teachers and administrators to more clearly convey the inevitable richness and complexity of valid and fair assessment to other stakeholders (e. g., parents and the public). this awareness will help stakeholders realize the insufficiency of a single standardized test score for evaluating a child’s ability as well the centrality of ongoing assessment and feedback to the activity of teaching and learning as well as maintaining an appropriate balance of use of the various assessment tools available to serve all of the relevant assessment purposes for the various audiences (coil & merritt, 2011). as educators, we must remember that the metaphors we choose to think about the world shape the way we act in the world and the impact of our actions on others (lakoff & johnson, 2008). this is why it is important to give careful consideration to the images that we use to conceptualize the 20 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 assessment process. if we fail to periodically update our schema of the assessment process we may overlook or misunderstand new insights we have gained from research and practice that may stand to benefit our students greatly. summary of implications for practice there are a number of clear implications of an organic view of assessment for teachers and teacher educators. several of these are predicated on the idea that teachers need to engage in ongoing professional development to increase their assessment literacy. • assuming an “organic” perspective helps us realize that assessment is not administering a set of artifacts but is rather cultivating an ability to observe and assimilate rich information about their learners that will help them to better differentiate instruction to meet all of their learners’ needs. • we can then move away from thinking of assessment as the simple collection and evaluation of an assortment of artifacts like cloze tests or portfolio materials and begin to think of it as a constant interactive process of observing learners and communicating with them about their performance. this perspective sees assessment as a frame of mind that 21 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 eschews following others’ recipes and encourages the exercise of greater professional autonomy. • recognizing the importance of ongoing assessment and feedback is for learning, teachers must find ways to develop their powers of observation and keeping anecdotal records that help them to collect the rich qualitative data needed to provide the specific feedback required to ensure effective instruction. • remember that as teachers and teacher educators we have to pay more careful attention to the metaphors that guide our thinking because these metaphors affect our actions and thus have real consequences for our learners. 22 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 references blair, j., & archer, j. (2001). nea members denounce high-stakes testing. education week, 20(42), 1-3. coil, c., & merritt, d. (2011). solving the assessment puzzle piece by piece. pieces of learning. saline, michigan: mcnaughton & gun inc. edwards, p. a., turner, j. d., & mokhtari, k. (2008). balancing the assessment of learning and for learning in support of student literacy achievement. the reading teacher, 61(8), 682-684. eisner, e. w. (1983). the art and craft of teaching. educational leadership, 40 (4), 4-13. farr, r. (1992). putting it all together: solving the reading assessment puzzle (distinguished educator series). reading teacher, 46(1), 26-37. geva, e. (2006). learning to read in a second language: research, implications, and recommendations for services. encyclopedia on early childhood development, online resource. montreal quebec: centre of excellence for early childhood development. retreived from http://www.child-encyclopedia.com/documents/gevaangxp.pdf gough, p.b. (1972). one second of reading. in j.f. kavanagh & i.g. mattingly (eds.), language by ear and by eye (pp. 331–358). cambridge: mit press. 23 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 http://www.child-encyclopedia.com/documents/gevaangxp.pdf hill, b. c., & ruptic, c. (1994). practical aspects of authentic assessment: putting the pieces together. norwood, ma: christopher-gordon publishers, inc. lakoff, g., & johnson, m. (2008). metaphors we live by. chicago: university of chicago press. pandya, j. z. (2011). overtested: how high-stakes accountability fails english language learners. new york: teachers college press. polimeni, j. m., & iorgulescu, r. i. (2011). whose standards? reaching the assessment puzzle. american journal of business education (ajbe), 2(7), 43-54. pollock, j. e. (2011). feedback: the hinge factor that joins teaching and learning. thousand oaks, ca: corwin press. popham, w. w. j. (2010). everything school leaders need to know about assessment. thousand oaks, ca: corwin press. rief, l. (1990). finding the value in evaluation: self-assessment in a middle school classroom. educational leadership, 47(6), 24-29. rummelhart, d. (1985). toward an interactive model of reading. in h. singer & r.b. ruddell (eds.), theoretical models and processes of reading (pp. 722-751). newark. de: international reading association. stiggins, r. (2002). assessment crisis: the absence of assessment for learning. phi delta kappan, 83(10), 758–765. 24 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 stiggins, r. (2004). new assessment beliefs for a new school mission. phi delta kappan, 86(1), 22-27. valencia, s. w. (2002). understanding assessment: putting together the puzzle. current research in reading/ language arts. accessed june 30, 2014 at http://www.eduplace.com/state/author/valencia.pdf 25 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 http://www.eduplace.com/state/author/valencia.pdf teaching techniques ndeye bineta mbodj is a doctoral candidate in the department of applied linguistics at georgia state university, atlanta, ga; email nmbodj1@gsu.edu. online teaching: the affordances of powerpoint and youtube for a more inclusive approach gatesol in action journal 2020, vol. 30(1), pp. 91–100 issn: 2331-6845 ndeye bineta mbodj department of applied linguistics & esl, georgia state university abstract online education, even when planned, has a number of challenges including availability and affordability of technology (palvia et al., 2018), students’ learning differences (jacobs, 2013; kebritchi et al., 2017), and tech-literacy of instructors and learners (jacobs, 2013). in emergency situations witnessed in spring 2020, one of the keys to successful online education might be collaboration among instructors as recommended by fish and wickersham (2010). the present paper is a move in that direction and shares techniques that can help address two of the challenges mentioned above: (1) the availability and affordability of technology, and (2) students’ learning differences. the latter point is particularly relevant to those teaching multilingual learners in that it relates to one of the solutions suggested by zamel and pack (2006) in addressing multilingual students’ academic challenges; that is, providing handouts to facilitate comprehension of the content being presented. keywords teaching, powerpoint, youtube, inclusion, esol, technology, media background when palvia et al. (2018) predicted that “globalization of e-education is bound to happen” (p. 239), they probably did not realize how soon their prediction would become reality. the outbreak of covid-19 worldwide in spring 2020 showed how online education may be the only option for teaching and learning to be sustained (gacs, et al., 2020). educators found themselves compelled to suddenly transition from face-to-face (f2f) to online delivery; however, transitioning posed a number of challenges that were not expected. online education, even when planned, has a number of challenges. notwithstanding issues related to tech-literacy of instructors and learners (jacobs, 2013), course designers and/or instructors have a number of factors to take into consideration, including, but not limited to, availability and affordability of technology (palvia et al., 2018) but also students’ learning differences (jacobs, 2013; kebritchi et al., 2017). indeed, ease of access to technology has been identified by volery and lord (2000) as one of the main variables that affect online teaching/learning, and studies have shown that minority students may be less likely to succeed in online courses due to a lack of access to adequate technology (e.g., k. moore et al., 2002; p. b. moore, 2002). this underscores the importance for course designers and/or instructors to ensure that the course content is readily accessible to all learners, and if possible, on a learning management system (lms) that students are familiar with. this is part of the impetus of the present paper. mailto:nmbodj1@gsu.edu 92 gatesol in action journal 30(1) another equally important factor for online course designers/instructors to take into consideration are student learning differences. as rightly put by harrell and bower (2011), “[t]he incongruence of a student’s learning style with the characteristics of the online environment could lead to frustration and eventually course withdrawal” (p. 187). while this statement could apply to all students, in general, attending to students’ learning differences becomes even more crucial when it comes to teaching multilingual learners. according to zamel and pack (2006), multilingual students bring with them “a multiplicity of intersecting experiences and a constellation of linguistic and cultural factors” (p. 127) that have a great impact on how they react to course materials, which in turn, can affect their performance. for instance, while students with prior first language literacy might be more at ease processing course content, those with less academic experience might have more difficulties digesting content in a language (english) they are still learning. other students, still, may have greater fluency in one or more language skills than in others (e.g., reading vs. listening, speaking vs. writing) and that, in turn, may affect their attitudes toward course materials, and ultimately, their performance in the course. a number of solutions have been suggested to address these issues specific to multilingual learners. one solution suggested by zamel and pack (2006) is the use of handouts that will help learners understand the content being presented. this is the rationale behind the second technique shared in the present paper (see zamel & pack, 2006, for more details on addressing multilingual students’ academic challenges). in sum, the present is an attempt to address two of the challenges discussed above; namely, (1) the availability and affordability of technology and (2) students’ learning differences, particularly when it comes to multilingual learners. using powerpoint and youtube, two familiar and affordable tools, instructors can design course content in both audio-video and downloadable/printable formats to accommodate different learning preferences, provide more support for comprehension, and facilitate access to content for students with limited internet access. the author has successfully used the techniques described in the remainder of the present paper in the design and delivery of content for a massive open online course (mooc) on english communication for health professionals in the west african region; and more recently, for an undergraduate online grammar course at a university in the southern united states. 1. creating a lecture video 1.1. some basic guidelines before diving into the different steps of creating a lecture video, below are a few tips that can help make the content simple and easy to understand for students: • provide the content outline at the beginning of the presentation. this can help students know what to expect and possibly activate their background knowledge on the topic. • use minimal content on each slide. to that end, a good option is to use bullet points as much as possible and avoid too much text on the slide. there is ample opportunity to provide additional explanations when recording the audio-slides (see next section). • use the animations tools in powerpoint to sequence the content of each slide. this allows students to focus on one point at a time. additionally, the shapes tool (e.g., arrows, text bubbles, circles, rectangles, etc.) can be used to draw students’ attention to key points. however, it is important to remember that too much animation might end up being distractive for students. mbodj 93 • use section divider slides to break up the content of the presentation. a section divider slide is a slide with the title of the next section. it serves the purpose of visually indicating to students the end of the previous section and the beginning of the next one. once all slides have been created following the guidelines above, the next step is to create a video of the powerpoint presentation following the steps described below. the steps and figures provided here are primarily those followed when using a mac computer, but they are similar to steps in windows. where there are significant dissimilarities, alternative steps are also provided for windows users. 1.2. recording audio slides in powerpoint there are three easy steps to follow for the recording of the audio slides in powerpoint: • step 1: click on slide show on the menu bar in powerpoint (see figure 1). • step 2: on the new toolbar that appears, click on record slide show. • step 3: start recording your slides once the recording screen opens. here is the opportunity to provide explanations and additional details, a little like when giving a f2f presentation. as seen in figure 1, step 3, the recording screen is similar to the presenter view in powerpoint with a preview of the next slide or the next point on the slide. to move to the next point or slide, just click on the right arrow under the current slide or use the down arrow on the computer keyboard. figure 1 three steps for recording audio slides 94 gatesol in action journal 30(1) in case of error while recording a slide, click on the round arrow above the slide to reset the recording of that single slide and then click on the play button to resume recording (see figure 2). for windows users, click on clear tab above the slide, and in the dropdown menu that appears, click on clear recordings on current slide. once all the slides are recorded, click on end show to exit and save your audio slides. figure 2 step 3 in details once all audio slides have been recorded and saved, the next step is to convert the audio into mp4 format, still in powerpoint. 1.3. creating mp4 file in powerpoint here also, there are three easy steps described below and visualized in figure 3: • step 1: on the menu bar, click on file (a), then on the dropdown menu that appears, select export (b). if you are using windows or a pc, after (a) and (b), click on change file type, then click on save as another file type. • step 2: in the dialog box that appears, name the file (c); then click on file format (d). for windows users, (d) will correspond to save as type. • step 3: in the dropdown box that appears, select mp4 (e) and click on export (f) or save for windows users. once powerpoint finishes generating the mp4 file, the next step is to create the video in youtube. it should be mentioned that it can take time for powerpoint to convert the audio slides into an mp4 file depending on the length of the presentation. the longer the presentation, the more time it will take to create the mp4 file. if possible, divide the content of your lesson or lecture into short presentations of 10 to 15 minutes. mbodj 95 figure 3 creating mp4 video file in 3 steps 1.4. creating the video in youtube to create the video in youtube, all you need is a google account. log in to youtube using your google credentials. if you do not have a google account, create one and then log in to youtube. once on your youtube page, follow these three steps: • step 1: on your youtube page, look at the top of the page for the video icon (see figure 4). regardless of what page you are on in your account you will always see the video icon on top of the page. click on the icon (a) and it will give you two options: upload video or go live; click on upload video (b) • step 2: once you click on upload video, a dialog box will appear. click on select file or just click on the arrow above it (c). • step 3: in the new dialogue box that opens, browse for the mp4 you have just created and select it (d). then click on open (e). 96 gatesol in action journal 30(1) figure 4 creating a video in youtube in 3 steps once the mp4 file has been uploaded, follow the steps in youtube to complete the creation of the video. once youtube finishes processing the video, select the visibility of your video (a). personally, i always choose unlisted. that way, the video is not searchable in youtube but anyone who has the link can access it. for greater collaboration, it is important not to save your video as private. private videos can be shared with a maximum of only fifty users and those users cannot share the video. in other words, even if someone else has the link, they cannot access the video unless you personally invite them. after selecting the visibility of your video, click on save (b). a box will appear with multiple options for sharing the video. all you have to do is copy the video link (c) and share it with your students, whether you are using a commercial learning platform (e.g., canvas, blackboard, d2l, loudcloud, itslearning, etc.) or other free platforms like google classroom. if you are not ready to share the video yet, click on close (d); you can always get the link later from your youtube page. mbodj 97 figure 5 last steps in youtube 2. creating a reading version of the video the purpose of creating a reading version of the video is twofold. first, it attends to students’ differences. students can choose to watch the video or download the reading version depending on their learning preferences. for multilingual students who are less fluent in listening, it certainly would be beneficial to follow the written version while listening to the video. as discussed above, this reading version of the lecture can also serve the purpose of facilitating multilingual learners’ comprehension of the content of the lecture. in fact, some of my undergraduates (also multilingual students) told me at the end of the course they found it very helpful to follow the reading document while listening to the video. the second purpose of the reading version is to make the same content available to students with limited internet access. downloading a word or pdf document certainly requires less data than watching a youtube video. the reading version is created using the transcripts of the video (automatically generated in youtube) and images of the powerpoint slides. 2.1. generating the video transcript in youtube here again, there are three easy steps: • step 1: open your video in youtube. • step 2: once the video is open, click on the three little dots in the menu bar below the video (a). in the dialog box that appears click on open transcript (b), and the transcript will appear at the top right of the page. • step 3: as you can see on figure 6, the transcript comes with time stamps. to hide the time stamps, click on the little dots on the top right of the transcript window (c) and then click on toggle time stamps (d). after these three steps, just select and copy the transcript and paste it on a word document. at this point, it is important to mention that the transcript is machine-generated, which means that it may not be a 100% accurate. it is necessary to go over the transcript to check it for accuracy and 98 gatesol in action journal 30(1) punctuation. after editing the transcript, you can now move on to converting the powerpoint slides into images. figure 6 generating video transcript in youtube 2.2. saving slides as images in powerpoint to obtain the images of the content that will be used for the reading version of the video, open the original powerpoint presentation and follow (again) the three easy steps below: • step 1: on the menu bar, click on file (a) and on the dropdown menu, click on export (b). if you are using windows or a pc, after (a) and (b), click on change file type, then click on save as another file type. • step 2: in the dialog box that appears, name your file (c) and click on the file format button to open the drop-down menu (d). for windows users, (d) will correspond to save as type. • step 3: on the dropdown menu, select jpeg or png (e) depending on your preferred extension for pictures, then click on export (d) or save, for windows users. powerpoint then generates a folder with all slides saved as separate images. now that you have your video transcript and individual images of the slides, you can create the reading version of your lecture. open a new word document, insert the first slide and then copy and paste the corresponding passage of the transcript. repeat the same process with subsequent slides till you reach the final slide. this transcribed version of the video can then be saved in both word and pdf documents and shared with the students. mbodj 99 figure 7 converting slides into images in 3 steps conclusion in this paper, i shared techniques for creating course content using familiar and affordable technology and using different modes of delivery of such content. beyond fostering ease of access to course content for all students, the techniques shared in this paper can contribute to a more inclusive approach to online teaching by providing multilingual learners with the additional support they may need to comprehend course materials. indeed, finding ways to provide this additional support is all the more crucial in a context like the united states where more than 176 languages are spoken nationwide (castek et al., 2008) and where multilingual learners are expected to make up for approximately forty percent of the k-12 student population alone (thomas & collier, 2002). since online education seems to be the main (if not the only) option in these challenging times, collaborating and sharing techniques and tips is more important than ever for instructors. it is my hope that the techniques shared in this paper will help alleviate some of the challenges (for both instructors and students) inherent to online education and perhaps most importantly, contribute to a more inclusive approach to online teaching/learning. acknowledgment i would like to express my gratitude to dr. john bunting with whom i designed and taught the mooc on english communication for health professionals. i learned a lot working with him. 100 gatesol in action journal 30(1) references castek, j., leu, d. j., coiro, j., gort, m., henry, l. a., & lima, c. o. (2008). developing new literacies among multilingual learners in the elementary grades. in l. l. parker (ed.), technology-mediated learning environments for young english learners: connections in and out of school (pp. 111–153). lawrence erlbaum associates. fish, w. w., & wickersham, l. e. (2010). best practices for online instructors. the quarterly review of distance education, 10(3), 279–284. gacs, a., goertler, s., & spasova, s. (2020). planned online language education versus crisisprompted online language teaching: lessons for the future. foreign language annals, 53(2), 380–392. https://doi.org/10.1111/flan.12460 harrell, i. l., & bower, b. l. (2011). student characteristics that predict persistence in community college online courses. american journal of distance education, 25(3), 178–191. https://doi.org/10.1080/08923647.2011.590107 jacobs, p. (2013). the challenges of online courses for the instructor. research in higher education journal, 21, 1–19. kebritchi, m., lipschuetz, a., & santiague, l. (2017). issues and challenges for teaching successful online courses in higher education: a literature review. journal of educational technology systems, 46(1), 4–29. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047239516661713 moore, k., bartkovich, j., fetzner, m., & sherrill, i. (2002, june). success in cyberspace: retention in online courses. paper presented at the association for institutional research, toronto, canada. moore, p. b. (2002). access and success in web courses at an urban multicultural community college: the student’s perspective. northern arizona university. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ed465402.pdf palvia, s., aeron, p., gupta, p., mahapatra, d., parida, r., rosner, r., & sindhi, s. (2018). online education: worldwide status, challenges, trends, and implications. journal of global information technology management, 21(4), 233–241. https://doi.org/10.1080/1097198x.2018.1542262 thomas, w. p., & collier, v. p. (2002). a national study of school effectiveness for language minority studetns’ long-term academic achievement. center for research on education, diversity & excellence, 96, 1–351. volery, t., & lord, d. (2000). critical success factors in online education. international journal of educational management, 14(5), 216–223. https://doi.org/10.1108/09513540010344731 zamel, v., & spack, r. (2006). teaching multilingual learners across the curriculum: beyond the esol classroom and back again. journal of basic writing (cuny), 25(2), 126–152. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43443830 _____________________________________________________________________________ received: august 16, 2020 | accepted: september 25, 2020 | published: october 29, 2020 https://doi.org/10.1111/flan.12460 https://doi.org/10.1080/08923647.2011.590107 https://doi.org/10.1177/0047239516661713 https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ed465402.pdf https://doi.org/10.1080/1097198x.2018.1542262 https://doi.org/10.1108/09513540010344731 https://www.jstor.org/stable/43443830 gatesol in action journal2020, vol. 30(1), pp. 91–100 online teaching: the affordances of powerpoint and youtube for a more inclusive approach issn: 2331-6845 abstract keywords 1 gatesol in action, fall 2018 issn #2331-6845 language experience camp: connecting schools, students and families in southeast rural georgia by dr. alisa leckie georgia southern university aleckie@georgiasouthern.edu for four years, esol teachers in effingham county have partnered with georgia southern university to provide a no cost language experience camp for english learners and their families. our language experience camp has three goals: 1) provide continued language development opportunities, 2) develop a sense of connectedness among els, their families, the school system, and the larger community, and 3) create a fun and engaging learning environment. it has become a place where students and families connect with esol teachers and the esol director as well as students from across the county. it is an example of how one county has adjusted to their changing student demographic in a way that supports students academically and also helps them integrate socially. opportunities. keywords: language development, family engagement although the concept of summer camp is not necessarily innovative, a summer camp for english learners (els) and their families in a large, rural county in southeast georgia is certainly novel. the language experience camp in effingham county has become an integral part of a comprehensive system proven to support english learners and their families in a context where the number of english learners is on the rise. for mailto:aleckie@georgiasouthern.edu 2 gatesol in action, fall 2018 the past four summers english learners and reclassified english learners have been invited to attend a week long language experience camp the first week in june. each summer the camp had a different theme: biomes, bridges, inventions, and aviation respectively, but all camps focused on developing language, incorporating hands-on activities, taking field trips, and including family members. across the years, teachers, students and families have benefitted from the extended time focused on language development in a fun, interactive learning environment. what started as an aspiration to connect families and develop language has become a tradition that english learners and their families look forward to every summer. why summer camp? effingham county is like many counties in the new destination south (licheter, 2012; massey, 2008), experiencing an increase in the number of immigrants and english learners in its communities and schools. currently, english learners attend their neighborhood school and are served by on-site or itinerant esol teachers. as with most esol program models, there are benefits and drawbacks in providing services to students at their neighborhood school. one benefit is that upon exiting the esol program, students are able to remain at the school where they have established friendships and are comfortable with routines. one of the drawbacks of this model is that english learners are “sprinkled” across schools in this large, rural county. while some schools have as many as 30 els, others only have one or two. english learners in these low-incidence contexts receive individual support from an itinerant esol teacher daily, but can often feel isolated from their peers and the larger school community. further, many families of these students are unfamiliar with the u.s. school system and 3 gatesol in action, fall 2018 have had limited school-based interactions as a result. although english learners in high-incidence contexts had larger social networks to assist them in achieving social and academic success, the spring semester often meant less instructional time with their esol teacher due to the need for esol teachers to administer the access assessment, and students’ need to take the georgia milestones assessment. all of the above factors were discussed at an esol program meeting just prior to the winter break in the fall of 2013. as an observer during this meeting, i asked the teachers what they thought could be done to address some of their concerns. how could we expand social opportunities for els and their families as well as provide intensive continued language development support? their response…summer camp. we then started imagining and describing what our ideal camp experience would look like. most important to teachers was that camp should be fun and there should not be any tests. informal assessments were fine, but typical paper/pencil tests were to be avoided. they also wanted the opportunity to spend extended time working with students in a semi-structured environment so they could engage in activities without the constraints of a strictly scheduled day. if their students were ready for a break, they could take a break. if students were engaged in an activity, they wanted the flexibility to be able to continue the activity through its completion. they wanted the time and flexibility to integrate authentic language learning opportunities into project-based, hands on activities. finally, esol teachers and the esol director all agreed that we needed to find a way to build community among the families of els. they recognized that families are instrumental to the academic success of their children and wanted to build connections among families and between families and the school system. based 4 gatesol in action, fall 2018 on these requirements, we developed three primary goals for our language experience camp: 1) provide continued language development opportunities, 2) develop a sense of connectedness among els, their families, the school system, and the larger community, and 3) create a fun and engaging learning environment. language development although minor adjustments were made each summer based on content and teacher preference, there were three central tenets to our language development approach: vocabulary development, scaffolding complex linguistic structures with sentence frames, and multiple authentic experiences for oral and written language production. these tenets helped esol teachers bring language to the forefront of standards-based instruction (rubinstein-ávila & leckie, 2014). vocabulary terms related to each summer’s theme formed the foundation of what language students produced; whereas sentence frames and aligned graphic organizers provided structure for oral and written language production. the selected terms and language structures were essential, but even more important was our emphasis on student produced language. collaborative tasks, authentic audiences, student produced videos and vocabulary infomercials provided relevant and meaningful ways for students to practice academic language. 5 gatesol in action, fall 2018 a description of some of our activities can help illustrate the ways we integrated vocabulary, sentence frames and language production into camp activities. our first summer focused on habitats in georgia and included field trips to the savannah wildlife refuge and skidaway aquarium. prior to each field trip, teachers taught relevant vocabulary and content using a variety of grade level appropriate activities. while on the field trip, student pairs had tablets that they used to take pictures and videos of wildlife and habitats. the morning after each field trip students uploaded their pictures and video into moviemaker, a free movie making software. in pairs, students worked on their georgia habitats video throughout the week by adding captions and narration. at the end of the week celebration several student videos were shown on a large screen and each student was given a copy of their video on a dvd to take home. similarly, these past two summers we again used moviemaker to promote language production. this time, however, our middle/high school students developed vocabulary infomercials using the selected terms and sentence frames for our inventions and aviation themes. students in the younger grades acted out the various scenes from the infomercials many of which were based on the projects developed in their respective classrooms. for example, inclined plane, momentum, and velocity were described through a demonstration using the “mars rovers” second and third grade students were making. instead of individual videos, students received a dvd figure 1: manuel and maron construct rocket launchers 6 gatesol in action, fall 2018 containing all of the vocabulary infomercials. although traditional vocabulary instruction and pencil/paper activities did occur, the varitey of contexts and incorporation of technology provided meaningful and authentic reasons for students to practice and produce academic language. creating connections: field trips, celebrations and parent engagement development of academic language was our primary focus, but we also wanted to enhance the sense of connectedness among english learners, their families, the school system and the local community. because effingham is such a large, rural county with a relatively small number of els spread across it, we wanted to use summer camp as a way to connect families and increase their comfort level with the esol director and several esol teachers as the schools each esol teacher serves can vary from year to year. parents and other family members were invited to participate in all camp activities but primarily chose to attend field trips and the end of camp celebration. not only did field trips provide authentic opportunities for students to learn and practice language, they allowed families to visit places many had never been before. field trips included the aforementioned savannah wildlife refuge and skidaway aquarium our first year along with the wildlife center and mechanical engineering labs at georgia southern university the second year and a morning of outdoor inventions and and afternoon of bowling the last two summers. each field trip was semi-structured and allowed esol teachers to interact with families in a setting outside of school and facilitated interactions among parents from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds. this past summer, we augmented our family component by integrating a family literacy component two afternoons. each day we developed a “make and take” activity 7 gatesol in action, fall 2018 related to our theme of aviation. parents arrived about an hour early and used the directions and materials to make a hot air balloon mobile one day and a rocket that used alka-seltzer tablets as fuel the next. after they made their own, parents took directions and materials home so they could make another with their child later on in the summer. the friendships parents made with each other throughout these activities have extended into subsequent school years and continue to endure. summer camp not summer school the third goal for our language experience camp was to create a fun and interactive learning environment. it was for this third reason that we determined “summer camp” was a much better term to use than “summer school”. even though academic language and state science standards guided our curriculum development, we focused on integrating small group work, games, technology, demonstrations and competitions to keep students engaged and to promote language production. during our bridges themed camp, for example, students made arch bridges, i-beam bridges, and suspension bridges out of a wide variety of materials from marshmallows and laffy taffy to cardboard tubes and string. the final day consisted of a bridge building challenge in which students were given a bridge building context and access to materials such as pool noodles, boxes, string, and duck tape to build the best bridge for their specific problem. when parents arrived, students described their context and justified why their bridge was the most appropriate. these types of activities were possible because of the loosely structured context, the parallel thematic instruction across grade levels, and the focus on language production throughout the week. 8 gatesol in action, fall 2018 funding and logistics once we realized the many advantages of a summer camp for english learners and their families, we needed to find funding to pay for teacher stipends, field trips, and classroom supplies. each summer we needed stipends for four teachers (k-1, 2-3, 4-5 and 6-12) to work with the 40-50 students we served each summer. fortunately, our first year was supported primarily through a grant from georgia southern’s partnership council and esol program funds. as our initial brainstorming session occurred late in the academic year, most of effingham county’s funds had already been allocated. this, however, did not preclude any support from the school system. in fact, director of esol services, kristie long, was instrumental in finding a location for camp, enlisting and securing on site support from the it department, collecting and organizing registration and other paperwork, and soliciting support from county level administration. each year since, our collaboration has continued with both entities contributing resources and brainstorming cost effective possibilities. for example, the second year effingham county paid for the majority of teacher stipends and fiscal support from georgia southern included supplying non-fiction and fiction books for instructional use during camp that students were able to take home, a single teacher stipend, and a small amount for classroom supplies. knowing that we would need a lot of material for our bridge building projects and challenge, teachers sent flyers home with students requesting that parents donate supplies such as paper towel tubes, boxes, string and other inexpensive or recycled items. we also took our field trip to georgia southern and students were able to see the bridge that engineering students entered in a national contest and interacted with undergraduate and graduate students as they worked on 9 gatesol in action, fall 2018 projects in the mechanical engineering lab. an added benefit of this experience was that several of the college students and faculty members have english as their second or third language. what started out as a cost-effective field trip, turned out to be an engaging and enlightening experience for both parents and students. these examples demonstrate that through creativity and collaborative efforts, we have been able to find ways to offer our summer language experience camp for english learners and their families at no cost to them. an unanticipated benefit: professional learning for esol teachers and georgia southern’s teacher candidates one unanticipated positive outcome of our language experience camp was the opportunity for professional learning for esol teachers and undergraduates about to be enrolled in georgia southern’s esol methods course. while developing curriculum and materials, esol teachers worked together collaboratively to integrate best practices for working with english learners (cloud, genesse & hamayan, 2009; de jong & harper, 2005) and to share ideas and resources. teachers discussed ways to utilize the same or similar structures across grade levels to provide consistency. these conversations contributed to the professional development of esol teachers working at camp and undergraduate students at georgia southern were able to see these best practices in action. at the end of the spring semester students who registered for esol methods for the upcoming fall semester were invited to volunteer for one or more days. throughout their time at camp, undergraduate students rotated through each classroom with the intent of providing an additional set of hands during the many interactive activities and also to focus on how the skilled esol teachers they were supporting integrated 10 gatesol in action, fall 2018 language development into content instruction. for example, students saw how thinking maps and sentence frames were used in kindergarten and middle school to scaffold content concepts and language production. further, the thematic nature of camp allowed undergraduates to see how related content was taught with increasing levels of difficulty. the camp setting provided an opportunity for undergraduate students to work with english learners across the k-12 grade span who spoke a variety of languages at home and who had diverse degrees of english proficiency. students who volunteered at camp regularly referred to their experiences throughout the esol methods course in the fall. final thoughts the language experience camp for english learners and their families has become a tradition in effingham county. students and their families begin asking about camp in march because they know spaces fill up fast. it has become a place where 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 ela hispanic ela limited english proficient math hispanic math limited english proficient georgia milestones scores 2015-2017 2015 state 2015 effingham 2016 state 2016 effingham 2017 state 2017 effingham figure 1 test scores from 2015 2017 for effingham county and georgia 11 gatesol in action, fall 2018 students and families connect with several esol teachers and the esol director as well as students from across the county. it is an example of how one county has adjusted to their changing student demographic in a way that supports students academically and also helps them integrate socially. as figure 1 indicates, effingham county is doing well in their efforts to educate their english learners, most of whom are hispanic. the language experience camp is not the sole reason for the academic success of these students, but it has become an integral part of a comprehensive system to educate all students in the county. 12 gatesol in action, fall 2018 references cloud, n., genessee, f., & hamayan, e. (2009). literacy instruction for english language learners: a teacher's guide to research-based practices. heinemann. de jong, e. j., & harper, c. a. (2005). preparing mainstream teachers for englishlanguage learners: is being a good teacher good enough?. teacher education quarterly, 32(2), 101-124. lichter, d. t. (2012). immigration and the new racial diversity in rural america. rural sociology, 77(1), 3-35. massey, d. s. (ed.). (2008). new faces in new places: the changing geography of american immigration. russell sage foundation. rubinstein-ávila, e., & leckie, a. (2014). meaningful discipline-specific language instruction for middle school students for whom english is an additional language. in best practices in adolescent literacy, kathleen hinchman and heather sheridan-thomas (eds.). guilford press: routledge, ny. language experience camp: connecting schools, students and families in southeast rural georgia by dr. alisa leckie georgia southern university aleckie@georgiasouthern.edu rubinstein-ávila, e., & leckie, a. (2014). meaningful discipline-specific language instruction for middle school students for whom english is an additional language. in best practices in adolescent literacy, kathleen hinchman and heather sheridan-th... article melissa aberle-grasse teaches in the language institute at the georgia institute of technology, atlanta, ga; email melissa.grasse@pe.gatech.edu. empowering language learning strategies online gatesol in action journal 2020, vol. 30(1), pp. 70–79 issn: 2331-6845 melissa aberle-grasse georgia institute of technology abstract english language educators faced challenges unique to their discipline as well as difficulties shared with all teachers as they suddenly adjusted to 100% online learning environments in 2020. language learning strategies (lls), which are proven strategies for improving language learning as well as building self-efficacy and peer support (macarthur et al., 2015; rose et al., 2018), are presented here as tools to navigate this new challenge. the article opens with a brief review of several acute current needs of online learners that critical pedagogy and learning strategies may address. next, the author provides concise definitions for language learning strategies and summarizes the historical and theoretical basis for lls. a classroom-based case study of language learning strategy instruction (llsi) then follows. finally, online tools and methods for two key strategies, goal-setting and peer review, are provided with recommendations for applying these strategies in a variety of settings. keywords language learning strategies, critical pedagogy, self-regulation, peer review, goal-setting background in my english as an academic language writing class, comprised entirely of multilingual learners, peer review days are among the liveliest. i remember one instance in february 2020, the jostling of chairs and laughter, attentive reading, and friendly conversations; everyone participated that day, even those faltering on their research-based persuasive essay. this demonstrated the selfregulated language learning strategies (lls) i taught, which research has long documented are effective and teachable (e.g., cohen & griffiths, 2015; dörnyei, 2005; rubin, 1975). among my colleagues and i, strategy instruction is frequent in our breakroom chats, with questions like: how can i creatively teach peer review? what helps struggling listeners more: attending to intonation or to key terms? then came march 2020 and an abrupt shift to 100% remote instruction amid covid-19. i’ll never forget when joe (pseudonym) appeared with disheveled hair and a blank look in our online classroom in early april. typically, he was a meticulous, successful student, so i contacted him. he said: “honestly, i can’t sleep . . . i can’t work. i’m just having a hard time. my flight home has been cancelled several times, and my family is worried, so i don’t leave my room.” suddenly, what seemed important as educators was reduced to: get through the curriculum the best we can and support ourselves and our students’ urgent needs. l2 learners in the u.s., and many globally, have experienced exponentially the losses of this pandemic: lost connection with family, future security, sometimes the respect of their community amidst anti-foreign racism (lingnan university, 2020). though it may seem counterintuitive, distance teaching amid this crisis highlights the value of language learning strategy instruction (llsi). strategy-based instruction can help us attend to mailto:melissa.grasse@pe.gatech.edu aberle-grasse 71 two critical human needs right now: the need for control and the need for community. first, the need for control: as davidson (2020) wrote, the first priority of educators during covid-19 should be: reckon with the trauma, which she explained “means thinking about access in all its dimensions: technological, intellectual, personal, financial, medical, educational. and cognitive. distraction is the single biggest deterrent to learning. physical and emotional distress are the single biggest causes of distraction we have” (para. 5). one simple way to address the acute stress is by teaching strategies that increase a sense of self-efficacy (artino & stephens, 2009; mastan & maarof, 2014; nguyen & gu, 2013). second, the need for community, for genuine human connection that involves laughter and trust as well as skill development, is acute for most of us these days. creating that online is not easy. in minds online, miller (2014) cited research that dispels the myth that online interaction necessarily divides us. conversely, miller emphasized recent research which demonstrates that online communication clouds the emotional aspects of communication and tends to foster insensitive behavior due to the perceived anonymity of remote communication. the book explained how educators should scaffold strategies for avoiding these pitfalls of teaching online. lls, from embodied tactics to culture-conscious peer review, can foster supportive relationships and a trusting atmosphere. these strategies can ease the self-consciousness intensified online which might block the freedom to make mistakes. perhaps this disruption invites us even to relinquish some aspects of our control in the classroom, to move toward critical pedagogy’s aim of critiquing power structures in society and in the classroom (norton & toohey, 2004). this could mean small changes in our behavior that communicate respect instead of control, such as our gut reactions when a student enters class late or makes repeated mistakes (weaver, 2020). or l2 instructors may consider broader implications of applying freire and later proponents’ ideals through critical language pedagogy (morris, 2017). for instance, students can be systematically led to identify and select their own learning strategies; learning outcomes could be allowed to emerge throughout the course. whether to attend to current student needs or to take a more radical approach to studentled curricula, llsi offers practical, evidence-based approaches (chamot & harris, 2019). this essay will explain and demonstrate learning strategies essential for this moment. the section “defining terms in context” provides a clear definition of lls and briefly reviews the history and theory that undergird it, including a graphic task-based model. “case study of lls” reviews the key outcomes of a classroom-based case study i conducted which applied a llsi method in an l2 writing course. “lls in practice online” is practical, describing online activities and tools for two learning strategies: goal-setting and peer review. in the conclusion, i offer implications for teaching in a variety of contexts. defining terms in context one common critique of llsi is simple: a lack of common definitions. in fact, the terms learning strategy/self-regulation/meta-knowledge are ill-defined buzzwords in many communities today. this confusion led oxford to conduct a content-analytic study of more than 30 respected lls definitions. based primarily on this study, she composed the following definition: l2 learning strategies are complex, dynamic thoughts and actions, selected and used by learners with some degree of consciousness in specific contexts in order to regulate multiple aspects of themselves (such as cognitive, social, and emotional) for the purpose of (a) accomplishing language tasks; (b) improving language performance or use; and/or (c) enhancing long-term proficiency. (oxford, 2017, p. 48) 72 gatesol in action journal 30(1) this definition adds that learning strategies may be mental or behavioral, are learner-chosen, creatively applied for various contexts, and are teachable. while linguists continue to debate the definitions (rose et al., 2018), i often return to oxford’s comprehensive definition; while long, it is clear and precise, unifying the best insights of nearly 40 years of scholarship and practice. just as important, it suggests the complex domains and theory undergirding thorough lls instruction. learning strategies “are part of complex systems—the contexts inside us and the contexts outside, all operating dynamically” (oxford, 2017, p. 170). this complexity has led linguists to develop models for lls. a widely respected taxonomy in k-12 schools in the u.s. is calla, the cognitive academic language learning approach developed by chamot and o’malley (1994). the strategy model i prefer is oxford’s s2r model, pictured in figure 1 as applied to a language learning task (oxford, 2017, p. 75; adapted with permission). two emphases should be apparent in this model: the importance of the social and inner context of the learner, and the importance of meta-strategies. figure 1 lls as applied to a language learning task language learning strategies have been explored by teachers and scholars for more than three decades. in the 1970s, when cognitive pedagogy accelerated focus on the learner, rubin (1975) famously launched a focus on successful behaviors of language learners. steady interest in lls has continued in part due to educators’ intuitive desire to teach how, not just what, to learn. lls scholars have increasingly explored: what works in the classroom? in the last 15 years, a growing body of research has confirmed that lls can be taught (chamot & harris, 2019; plonsky, aberle-grasse 73 2019; rose et al., 2018), and that context and methods matter. in a meta-analysis of 77 individual studies of llsi among 7,890 learners, plonsky (2019) drew the following conclusions: that selfregulation strategies should be emphasized; larger effects were observed for learners beyond the beginning level; and learners should be encouraged to select and develop their own strategies. the recent volumes by oxford (2017) and the edited collection by chamot and harris (2019) provide comprehensive overviews of lls, including ongoing critiques and future directions. theoretical frameworks for lls key theories that underly lls are cognitivism, constructivism, and sociocultural theory. each of these theories point to questions posed below that can guide instruction online today: cognitivism this learning theory was prevalent when lls began in the 1970s and 80s, which analyzes how learners process new ideas, sounds, and experiences as well as how they process information. cognitivism also posits the importance of prior knowledge and effort and in the 1990s led to the popularization of self-regulation. since 2000, insights from neuroscience have been added, for example how learners remember, attend to, and process information (miller, 2014). questions for online teaching: what are the key mental distractors for your students? how can your curriculum elicit and build on prior skills and knowledge and make students aware and confident in that? constructivism and sociocultural theory these often refer to the work of russian psychologist l. s. vygotsky and his colleagues (lantolf & thorne, 2007). constructivism explains that learning is an active process of constructing knowledge, dependent on the learner’s experience and self as well as current context. related is the well-known zone of proximal development, commonly defined as the distance between an individual’s current learning and their potential with assistance of key sources; and scaffolding, or gradually withdrawing assistance as the learner becomes more successful. also rooted in vygotsky’s work is sociocultural theory, which he posited as a radical new way to look at human psychology. he argued that the distinctive aspect of human consciousness is a person’s capacity for self-control through the tools of language, logic, and other cultural/mental skills that she can use to mediate her relationship to the world (lantolf & thorne, 2007). questions for online teaching: what is the social and cultural context that needs to be elicited at this time? how do i leave some space in the curriculum for the unexpected due to the ongoing process of learners constructing knowledge? case study of lls my 2019 classroom-based case study yielded new observations regarding the effectiveness of some lls. i explored the results of integrating new self-regulated strategy instruction into one instance of an l2 academic writing class. the course was an intensive english academic writing course (35 classroom hours in eight weeks) with nine students, ages 19-35, four males and five females representing five nationalities. the instructional method was adapted from “supporting strategic writers” (ssw; macarthur et al., 2015), a curriculum which had proven success in a quasi-experimental study with 13 instructors and 276 students at two universities (macarthur et al., 2015; traga philippakos et al., 2018). 74 gatesol in action journal 30(1) method from the ssw curriculum, i adapted and embedded explicit writing strategies i had not taught in detail before, such as: modeling by instructor; guided brainstorming, outlining, and drafting, scaffolded for increasing independent writing; and instructed/modeled peer review. the selfregulation strategies comprised a range of strategies such as goal setting, task management, monitoring of progress, and reflection. case studies generally are intended to focus on qualitative detail and context in one scenario. this approach allowed me to address several criticisms of llsi research: the need for descriptive detail about instructional methods (chamot & harris, 2019), and for qualitative analysis of learning strategies such as peer review, especially for persuasive writing (mitchell & pessoa, 2017). my research methods included two quantitative measures. first, i adapted the pre/post writing self-efficacy survey from the ssw curriculum which consisted of 27 questions, answered on a likert scale, addressing motivation and attitude about writing. second, i designed a comparative analysis of final student essays paired with completed peer reviews, all anonymized; these were scored (independently by a colleague and me) for significant improvement in areas related to the peer review. students utilized a peer review rubric to conduct peer evaluations. the qualitative measures were student journals and my participant-observer journal. i had two research questions: 1. do some aspects of strategybased instruction show impact on student self-efficacy and/or on writing revision skills? 2. is this methodology efficient (not overly time-consuming) for the instructor? results and discussion regarding my first question, there were limited positive results. the first quantitative method, the pre/post survey yielded insignificant results, and therefore are not reported in detail here. less than half of the eight participating students increased their confidence and attitude scores by 1 or more points on at least half of the questions. for example, 4/8 students expressed increased confidence in correcting their grammar and in finding ideas to write about. on the question “i can tell when to use different writing strategies,” only one student increased her score; the majority scored the same. this may have been due to a limited time period (eight weeks) for self-observed change or to a poorly-matched survey (not designed for l2 writers). the comparative analysis of the peer reviews showed more positive results, but not consistently related llsi. two evaluators who compared peer reviews to improvements in anonymized essays found the following: two thirds of the essays showed writing improvement related to the peer review, but only in a few areas (a clarified topic sentence or an added supporting detail); the same essays ignored other appropriate peer suggestions. notably, the essay with the most relevant positive changes had received a peer review with detailed, clear suggestions. the qualitative data of student reflective journals and my participant-observation journal showed positive results about my second question (efficiency of the methodology for the instructor), and positive results in student perceptions of lls. in their reflective journals, most students (7/9) perceived strategy instruction as significant and positive. these comments were not prompted, but rather open-ended questions about their learning throughout the course. for example, seven out of nine appreciated the journal-writing (one strategy) as giving them “more freedom” or “more confidence,” and planned to continue it as a new habit. positive comments about other llsi included: “peer review helps me to see how others write”; “modeling out loud by the teacher helped http://georgiatesoljournal.org/supplementary_files/100_aberle-grasse/100-writing-self-efficacy-survey.pdf http://georgiatesoljournal.org/supplementary_files/100_aberle-grasse/100-peer-review-rubric.pdf aberle-grasse 75 me to avoid some mistakes.” in my participant-observer journal, i also noted positive results. compared to teaching this course without the llsi, there was much less frequent writer’s block or confusion about writing, and more frequent collaborative problem-solving. with that added efficiency, i found that increasing llsi did not add to my time in preparation or classroom activity. in sum, my case study confirmed other research that a systematic approach to incorporating strategies is efficient for the instructor and perceived as effective for learners (cohen & griffiths, 2015; macarthur et al., 2015; nguyen & gu, 2013). regarding peer review, my students’ perceptions echo many studies that suggest that peer review is a positive, socially grounded language encounter and that conducting peer review enhances learning (ahmed, 2020; yu & lee, 2016). however, my brief case study failed to show a causal relationship between peer review and writing improvement nor contextual data about differences among reviewers and reviews. to extend my observations, research should explore llsi in context: how various types of virtual tools might work and for what kinds of learners (gender, age, professional or educational background, for example). finally, my students’ self-reflective journals confirmed the value of teaching and researching self-regulation and hopeful mindsets. even though my pre-post-survey was ineffective, with a longer time period i recommend such an instrument to raise awareness in learners and provide data for instructors. an accessible instrument is gkonou and oxford’s (2016) questionnaire which presents scenarios that elicit attitudes and emotions about language learning. lls in practice online as i have argued throughout this essay, teaching a system of learning strategies is ideal (oxford, 2017); yet in any stressful environment, simplicity is wise. to this end, i conclude this article with approaches—focused on practical methods and tools—for two lls for empowering learners in a global crisis: goal-setting and peer review. several principles for effective lssi should be recalled when incorporating these activities online (artino & stephens, 2009; chamot & harris, 2019; miller, 2014): • apply an iterative process: like a spiral, strategy instruction follows a pattern that repeats at least twice: instruction, practice, self-assessment (with instructor feedback) and changes, if needed; repeat. • explain the purpose of the strategy and accept doubts/ suggestions for changes. • collaborative and multi-modal approaches tap more learner domains and critical needs today, the motivational/ social as well as cognitive. • purposefully select tech tools. they should fit the objectives and be accessible to you and your students, prioritizing simplicity; suggested tools below. multisensory and self-regulated goal-setting lesson background llsi research emphasizes that goal-setting is most effective when it is self-monitored, with explicit definition of the purpose, modeling, and feedback to encourage competence. a metastrategy that can access mind and heart, goal-setting develops agency and hope (oxford, 2017). lesson and timing i created a 20-minute interactive presentation to instruct the key meta-cognitive skill of goalsetting. ideally taught synchronously, the lesson covers student experience with goal-setting; purpose in this course; images for reflection; student written or aural goal-setting. typically, i http://georgiatesoljournal.org/supplementary_files/100_aberle-grasse/100-lls-goalsetting.pdf http://georgiatesoljournal.org/supplementary_files/100_aberle-grasse/100-lls-goalsetting.pdf 76 gatesol in action journal 30(1) follow this pattern in the course: instruction and goal-setting week one; reflection and modification of goals: mid-course; reflection on goals and future goals: final week. instructional feedback in week one, i provide a brief encouraging comment on each student’s initial goals and the following day, share an example of any goal that was not correct (no name), and ask all students to revise their goals if needed, based on that example. i also ask them to share their goals with one classmate (which they report on in their goal-setting document). mid-course: i only skim their reiteration of their goals and share a few positive examples during class. final week: the overall assignment gets a complete/incomplete score at the end, with a final short comment from me (again non-evaluative, e.g., “i noticed your improvement . . .”; glad to hear this felt productive”). tools for student responses (at least 3 times in the course), the tool needs to be shareable between student/teacher, allow for repeated viewing and commenting (begin/mid/end of course), and ideally multi-modal, allowing for audio or visual responses. in our learning management system (lms) which is canvas, i use either the assignment tool or the embedded onenote; these allow for student-teacher private posts or whole-class interactions, and easily integrate audio or even video responses which i encourage. peer review lesson background my top goal for peer review is peer learning which develops essential transferable skills (wigglesworth & storch, 2012) and meets critical needs for community. promoting peer learning requires a willingness to share authority, not easy for most educators (morris, 2020). virtual learning may apparently discourage peer learning but has many creative tools that can boost it, particularly for less confident or less extroverted learners (miller, 2014). peer review as a language-learning strategy offers benefits for the reviewer and the reviewed (yu & lee, 2016). if written or oral dialogue is involved, especially in a dual-language, cross-cultural classroom, peer review can foster authentic communication skills such as asking for and receiving feedback (ruecker, 2011). for instructors, effective peer review can save instructional time while still providing feedback that is specific and frequent (oxford, 2017). however, my experience agrees with several cautions regarding peer review, especially for l2 learners; it is ineffective if students don’t apply effort to the task; and cross-cultural misunderstandings can occur. in a recent adult professional writing class, for example, i was asked to intervene when one student felt that her peer had insulted her in his comments on her writing. two practices have improved my use of peer review online. first, i provide in-depth instruction and scaffolded oversight. for example, i present one aspect of meyers’ intercultural communication global comparison tool (meyer, 2015) which compares differences across cultures in giving and receiving negative feedback. second, i apply tools that enable flexible yet clear approaches, inviting student choice and leadership. lesson and timing to instruct peer review in any course (speaking or writing), i have developed a playful yet purposeful introductory peer review presentation. this can be presented synchronously or through http://georgiatesoljournal.org/supplementary_files/100_aberle-grasse/100-peer-review.pdf aberle-grasse 77 a video, inviting responses. in a pluri-lingual context, instruction should address possible cultural conflicts; and discuss when to focus on global aspects of writing (organization/clarity of ideas/coherence) and when to drill down for grammar/mechanics. aiming for at least three experiences of peer review per course, i have developed simple rubrics and tools. for the first peer review assignment, i explain and briefly model how to use the rubric. before the second assignment, i invite leadership by asking for any suggestions to change the rubric or even to redesign it (for credit). for the third peer review, students can opt to use the rubric or omit it, giving only holistic feedback. in all three assignments, tools invite students to give audio/visual feedback as well as written, and i elicit feedback from students about the assignment. instructional feedback some instructional monitoring/feedback of peer review, at least at first, is needed both to motivate students and to correct misinterpretations. i aim to give timely and specific feedback, but i want this to be a low-stakes, friendly and peer-driven assignment, so i minimize my teacher-footprint on it. for the first assignment, i read each completed peer review and give completion credit; the following class, i take five minutes to: share a few examples to the whole class, without names, of effective feedback and if necessary, ineffective. for a second peer review assignment, i would only skim each one; in class, i would prompt reflection with the question: what went well with the peer reviews, and are there questions or suggestions? lastly, in a final reflection assignment, students are asked to assess the peer review process: what worked for you as a reviewer and being reviewed? what didn’t work, and how could it be improved? tools rubrics should be simple but should closely imitate the rubric used for grading. tech tools: my preferred method is having students meet synchronously online; they complete the peer review documents, prepared in advance, during their meeting or prior; and then talk together for 5-15 minutes about one another’s work. for an l2 course, every opportunity for multi-modal language use is ideal, as it integrates language skills as well as peer relationships. our lms (canvas) has rubric tools and a peer review app that are versatile; they can be used anonymously/ non-paired or paired with discussion face-to-face online. other options: video/audio tools like flipgrid or voicethread are designed for peer comments, engaging, and user-friendly; a sophisticated tool is peerceptiv (i have not reviewed). conclusion “it’s like to be on a boat, but on a wild ocean, like with no control. it is a rush of emotions and fear, to have no idea what i’m doing.” written by my student regarding l2 academic writing, her metaphor seems apt for all online teaching and learning in 2020: facing distress from within and without, with seesawing emotions we nevertheless aim for a place and seek to arrive there with a group. thoughtfully instructing learning strategies can help everyone in the boat to arrive. returning to critical language pedagogy, linguist coyle (2019) described a vision for “cocreated strategic classrooms…where learners and teachers work in partnership for successful learning to take place” (para. 5). building on freire’s critical inquiry, coyle’s pedagogy emphasizes the social and cultural construct of language that is shaped by and shapes its context. this classroom (online or face-to-face) has the following characteristics: 78 gatesol in action journal 30(1) • it is pluri-lingual and highly collaborative. • teachers and learners co-construct goals and assessments. • self-directional strategies are frequently fostered. genuine connection and effective language learning online can be enhanced by selecting a few key learning strategies and teaching them well. yet the pandemic also invites us to consider a paradigm shift, as coyle and other practitioners of critical pedagogy envision (plonsky, 2019; weaver, 2020). language learning strategies as simple as goal-setting, reflection, and peer review can enable students to take control of their own learning outcomes (my case study reported above; artino & stephens, 2009; mastan & maarof, 2014; nguyen & gu, 2013). they can also open the course to more fluid learning, possible in virtual contexts when instructors and students strategically reflect and communicate about their goals and effective assessment. references ahmed, r. (2020). peer review in academic writing: different perspectives from instructors and students. tesol journal. advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesj.537 artino, a. r., & stephens, j. m. (2009). academic motivation and self-regulation: a comparative analysis of undergraduate and graduate students learning online. the internet and higher education, 12(3–4), 146–151. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2009.02.001 chamot, a. u., & harris, v. (eds.). (2019). learning strategy instruction in the language classroom. multilingual matters. chamot, a. u., & o’malley, j. m. (1994). the calla handbook: implementing the cognitive academic language learning approach. addison wesley longman. cohen, a. d. (1998). strategies in learning and using a second language. longman. cohen, a. d., & griffiths, c. (2015). revisiting lls research 40 years later. tesol quarterly, 49(2), 414–429. http://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.225 coyle, d. (2019). designing strategic classrooms: self-assessment in enabling self-regulated learning. in a. u. chamot & v. harris (eds.), learning strategy instruction in the language classroom (pp. 53–67). multilingual matters. davidson, c. (2020, may 26). the single most essential requirement in designing a fall online course. https://www.cathydavidson.com/blog/the-single-most-essential-requirement-indesigning-a-fall-online-course/ dörnyei, z. (2005). the psychology of the language learner: individual differences in second language acquisition. lawrence erlbaum associates. https://doi.org/10.4324/ 9781410613349 gkonou, d., & oxford, r.l. (2016). questionnaire: managing our emotions for language learning. university of essex. lantolf, j., & thorne, s. l. (2007). sociocultural theory and second language learning. in b. van patten & j. williams (eds.), theories in second language acquisition (pp. 201–224). lawrence erlbaum. lingnan university. (2020, june 07). lu study finds international students’ learning activities all over the world have been seriously disturbed by covid-19 pandemic. https://bit.ly/2sbxryo https://doi.org/10.1002/tesj.537 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2009.02.001 http://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.225 https://www.cathydavidson.com/blog/the-single-most-essential-requirement-in-designing-a-fall-online-course/ https://www.cathydavidson.com/blog/the-single-most-essential-requirement-in-designing-a-fall-online-course/ https://doi.org/10.4324/9781410613349 https://doi.org/10.4324/9781410613349 https://bit.ly/2sbxryo aberle-grasse 79 macarthur, c. a., philippakos, z. a., & ianetta, m. (2015). self-regulated strategy instruction in college developmental writing. journal of educational psychology, 107(3), 855–867. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000011 mastan, m. e., & maarof, n. (2014). esl learners’ self-efficacy beliefs and strategy use in expository writing. procedia: social and behavioral sciences, 116, 2360–2363. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.01.573 meyer, e. (2020). the country mapping tool. https://erinmeyer.com/tools/culture-map-premium/ miller, m. (2014). minds online. harvard university press. mitchell, t. d., & pessoa, s. (2017). scaffolding the writing development of the argument genre in history: the case of two novice writers. journal of english for academic purposes, 30, 26–37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2017.10.002 morris, s. m. (2017, october 27). a call for critical instructional design. https://www.seanmichaelmorris.com/a-call-for-critical-instructional-design/ nguyen, l. t. c., & gu, y. (2013). strategy-based instruction: a learner-focused approach to developing learner autonomy. language teaching research, 17(1), 9–30. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168812457528 norton, b., & toohey, k. (2004). critical pedagogies and language learning. cambridge university press. oxford, r. l. (2017). teaching and researching language learning strategies: self-regulation in context. routledge. plonsky, l. (2019). second-language strategy instruction: where do we go from here? plenary presented at situated strategy use (ssu3), osaka, japan. rose, h., briggs, j. g., boggs, j. a., sergio, l., & ivanova-slavianskaia, n. (2018). a systematic review of language learner strategy research in the face of self-regulation. system, 72, 151– 163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2017.12.002 rubin, j. (1975). what the “good language learner” can teach us. tesol quarterly, 9(1), 41–51. https://doi.org/10.2307/3586011 ruecker, t. (2010). the potential of dual-language cross-cultural peer review. elt journal, 65(4), 398–407. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccq067 traga philippakos, z. a., macarthur, c. a., & munsell, s. (2018). college student writers’ use and modification of planning and evaluation strategies after a semester of instruction. journal of adolescent & adult literacy, 63(2), 301–310. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaal.897 weaver, r. (2020). tiny maneuvers: on changing our instincts as teachers. hybrid pedagogy. https://hybridpedagogy.org/tiny-maneuvers-on-changing-our-instincts-as-teachers/ wigglesworth, g., & storch, n. (2012). what role for collaboration in writing and writing feedback? journal of second language writing, 21(4), 364–374. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2012.09.005 yu, s., & lee, i. (2016). peer feedback in second language writing (2005–2014). language teaching, 49(4), 461–493. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0261444816000161 ______________________________________________________________________________ received: august 14, 2020 | accepted: september 21, 2020 | published: october 29, 2020 https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000011 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.01.573 https://erinmeyer.com/tools/culture-map-premium/ https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2017.10.002 https://www.seanmichaelmorris.com/a-call-for-critical-instructional-design/ https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168812457528 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2017.12.002 https://doi.org/10.2307/3586011 https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccq067 https://doi.org/10.1002/jaal.897 https://hybridpedagogy.org/tiny-maneuvers-on-changing-our-instincts-as-teachers/ https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2012.09.005 https://doi.org/10.1017/s0261444816000161 gatesol in action journal2020, vol. 30(1), pp. 70–79 empowering language learning strategies online issn: 2331-6845 abstract keywords background 1 gatesol in action, fall 2018 issn #2331-6845 welcome from the senior editor by dr. gertrude tinker sachs department of middle and secondary education georgia state university gatesolinaction2020@gmail.com what i learned the summer of 2018: critical reflections of an esol, language and literacy teacher educator this summer i was privileged to have the opportunity to spend time in equity-based training with the create project in atlanta, ga, to study the holocaust with the facing history project at depaul university, to visit the holocaust museum in skokie, illinois and to visit the national memorial for peace and justice and the legacy museum in montgomery, alabama with colleagues and students from georgia state university. finally, yet importantly, i had a chance to visit acoma pueblo, new mexico. i was privileged to have these experiences and i feel obligated to do something with the insights i have been afforded. do you know people? “privilege” comes in many forms because some people have not been afforded opportunities to engage in similar kinds of experiences because it may be that they do mailto:gatesolinaction2020@gmail.com 2 gatesol in action, fall 2018 not know people who could help them to access these activities. do you know people? people who can help you acquire goods and services and access to activities that you otherwise would not have been able to have on your own; goods, services and activities you would have had to “wait in line” for, might not have known about, or could not afford? you are privileged if you know people who know other people who can help you gain insights into places to work or even give you a job or position without having to apply or compete for it. do you know people, especially people in positions of power? when you know people who will help you, you are privileged. when you have the financial resources, you are privileged and when you have the knowledge and skills to access these activities, you are privileged. in addition, yes, there are many other kinds of privileges such as our skin pigmentation, the language(s) we speak, our gender, our class, our country of origin, our cultural background, our education, our abilities, our career or job title and so on. however, the question that haunts me now about these provocative activities this summer is what do i do with these privileges? my first response is to share the experiences with you so that you may be inspired by what i write to take action. individually and collectively, these visits and studies spoke to me of the need for: language and linguistic awareness; critical historical awareness; the development of knowledge, challenging humanity’s injustices and the power of privilege in our ways of being in research, service, curriculum and our teaching. some of these issues are addressed in the papers in this edition which i will get to at the end of this editorial. 3 gatesol in action, fall 2018 equity-based training, atlanta, ga. as an afro-caribbean professor from the bahamas living in the united states, i had very limited awareness of something called “equity-based training.” i knew that there were facilitators who specialized in helping others address systemic racism in the united states but i was not aware of the range or very rich and compelling ways of interrogating systemic racism and the privileging of whiteness. when colleagues from a research project invited me to participate in the week-long sessions (from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.), i was curious and agreed to participate. this work was emotionally shocking and uncomfortable because during previous facilitations on race in the united states, the presenters were always “gentle” and “careful” in awakening attendees to implicit bias with examples of what it looked like in the academy and society. this time, we were forced to confront our own implicit biases “in the skin we live in” as black, brown and white people through the protocols of the san francisco coalition of essential small school (sf-cess). their mission is “to interrupt and transform current and systemic educational inequities to ensure all students have access to personalized, equitable and high performing schools that believe and demonstrate each student can, should and will succeed” (sf-cess, 2018, p.1). through working alone and in large and small groups we were, time and time again, pushed by the facilitators and our peers to “speak our truth, go to the source of knowledge, stay engaged, experience discomfit and pay attention to patterns of participation” (sf-cess, 2018 pp. 11-16). it was very 4 gatesol in action, fall 2018 emotionally draining work every day as i worked on myself and with others to be better human beings striving to transform schools and society. my week at depaul university and the facing history and ourselves (fho) project and symposium on the holocaust was humanizing. we read critical historical texts, listened to lectures and engaged in passionate discussions on scientific racism and anti-semitism and the american response to the holocaust. one experience which was pivotal for this engagement was the visit to the holocaust museum in skokie, il which has been designed for visitors to experience the museum from the personal perspective of the survivors through the display of their artifacts. it is the first museum in the world that utilizes hologram technology to tell the survivors’ stories. we met one of the survivors and had a chance to ask her questions. the work of fho is built on “intellectual rigor, informed civic responsibility, ethical reflection and emotional engagement” (fho, pedagogical triangle). their mission is to “engage students of diverse backgrounds in an examination of racism, prejudice, and antisemitism in order to promote the development of a more humane and informed citizenry” (https://www.facinghistory.org/). like the work of the sf-cess, the fho work was also emotionally draining yet also very much uplifting because you could not leave the museum as a “bystander, doing nothing” but as an “upstander, doing something to make a difference” so that heinous actions of humans against one another would not happen again. my visit with colleagues to the national memorial for peace and justice and the legacy museum, from enslavement to mass incarceration, was riveting and emotionally compelling as well. the work of bryan stevenson (2014) and the equal https://www.facinghistory.org/ 5 gatesol in action, fall 2018 justice initiative (eji) is “committed to ending mass incarceration and excessive punishment in the united states, to challenging racial and economic injustice, and to protecting basic human rights for the most vulnerable in american society” (https://eji.org/about-eji). the national memorial was “conceived with the hope of creating a sober, meaningful site where people can gather and reflect on america’s history of racial inequality” (https://museumandmemorial.eji.org/memorial). the eji believe that: …the history of racial inequality and economic injustice in the united states has created continuing challenges for all americans, and more must be done to advance our collective goal of equal justice for all. the united states has done very little to acknowledge the legacy of slavery, lynching, and racial segregation. as a result, people of color are disproportionately marginalized, disadvantaged and mistreated. the american criminal justice system is compromised by racial disparities and unreliability that is influenced by a presumption of guilt and dangerousness that is often assigned to people of color. (https://museumandmemorial.eji.org/museum). my last summer of 2018 experience was in albuquerque, new mexico where i travelled to acoma pueblo and sky city cultural center haak’u museum. my companion and i learned that, “acoma pueblo, new mexico is more than just a tourist destination. it’s part of new mexico’s cultural heritage, as the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in north america and the 28th historic site designated by the national trust for historic preservation. acoma history is also the story of the southwest, https://eji.org/about-eji https://museumandmemorial.eji.org/memorial https://museumandmemorial.eji.org/museum 6 gatesol in action, fall 2018 from its initial role as the home to the anaasazi people, to the thirteenth century founding of the pueblo, which is still alive and well as a community and touchstone for native americans in the area and nationwide.” http://www.acomaskycity.org/home.html). this visit to acoma pueblo was very educational and spiritual because i learned how much i do not know and appreciate about native americans. i was disappointed to learn from our tour guide that the native language, keres, is not being taught in the schools and according to him, the school curriculum was not specialized for native americans. in this very spiritually moving and beautiful place, my companion and i left with a strong sense of disquiet because there was so much more to learn and more to do to right the wrongs of the past and their ongoing impact on the present. my four experiences this summer speak eloquently and beseechingly to me of my role as an educator in the righting of those wrongs. in our work with english language learners, a marginalized and minoritized group, we need to actively pursue language and linguistic awareness; critical historical awareness; and the development of knowledge about the other as we challenge a culture of humanity’s ongoing injustices through wittingly and unwittingly exercising power and privileges over others. in our equity-based training, a colleague and i identified the following descriptors that ells want to tell educators: • we speak multiple languages and dialects; • we come from different classes, religions, cultures, traditions, etc. • our histories are older than the united states; • we come from various school systems with very high standards; http://www.acomaskycity.org/home.html 7 gatesol in action, fall 2018 • immigrants have contributed to every sector of the u.s., e.g., steve jobs was syrian; california rail system was built by chinese laborers. • talk to us, learn about us, include us, let us use our languages, hear our truth; • talk to us/speak to us in our language; • maximize our presence! you can feel the pain of being an outsider in our words. can you hear us? native speakers of english feel privileged that we speak the language of power in the us and in many international contexts around the world but kracsch (1997) has a different “feel” for “native” speakers. here is what she says: “the native speaker is in fact an imaginary construct-a canonically literate mono-lingual middle-class member of a largely fictional national community whose citizens share a belief in a common history and a common destiny” (kramsch, 1997 p. 363). is that you? i believe not but let us all examine our privileges and not let them obstruct our work towards equity and justice for all. my summer of 2018 has been amazing to put it mildly, i hope yours was too. as i referenced earlier, the need for: language and linguistic awareness; critical historical awareness; the development of knowledge, challenging humanity’s injustices and the power of privilege in our ways of being in research, curriculum and our teaching, our seven papers in this edition, take up this gauntlet. in personal stories and perspectives, choi encourages all of us to be brave if we are mutilingual and to practice translanguaging. choi, a multilingual speaker, writes about her trip to peru and her attempts to learn spanish that were complicated when 8 gatesol in action, fall 2018 her other languages began to interfere. her piece, multilingual self: inspired by a recent trip to peru” is translanguaging in action! in critical viewpoints, jeddi writes her views on racist immigration policies and sentiments and the ways in which these ultimately impact ells in schools. in her piece, “this warrants a visit to the human rights museum,” jeddi critiques government actions in the summer of 2018 and urges educators and everyone to practice equity and to become more welcoming and knowledgeable about people of diverse backgrounds because of the numerous benefits they provide: “diverse skills, experiences, language resources, and worldviews.” lake in his book review of farrell’s (2017), sociolinguistics and language teaching, offers us some food for thought on selecting books that help us to develop our critical views and knowledge in sociolinguistics. our text choices have the potential to influence how educators welcome and teach others with diverse linguistic backgrounds to our classrooms. lake contends that knowledge building can be facilitated through “discussion questions with the potential to open up meaningful discussions” for educators. in our first innovative school-based program and report, leckie writes about a “language experience camp: connecting schools, students and families in southeast rural georgia.” we are very pleased to welcome a school-based report to our publication and we encourage more of them. leckie’s report on a summer camp with “no tests” describes how a team of educators developed and conducted a week-long, theme-based interactive summer camp for els. the camp was developed in response 9 gatesol in action, fall 2018 to educators’ desire to “expand social opportunities for els and their families as well as provide intensive continued language development support.” in from the trenches outside of georgia, mccleod-chambless writes her critical reflections on “learning to teach again, in china.” mccleod-chambless takes us on an exciting intercultural roller coaster ride that is filled with highs and lows, rough spots and smooth coasting pathways all as she learns to live, learn and teach in a new setting. in the process, she becomes a different educator and human being. “boys and girls for others,” is our classroom praxis report. in this piece, jackson provides a detailed description of how she incorporated a critical multicultural approach to integrate social justice in a third grade social studies el classroom. the purpose was to help students become critical thinkers as they tackle real problems to become agents of change in their lives. in our second innovative school-based program and report, paynter and arnett discuss the “benefits of collaboration and the esol teacher and the library media specialist.” they challenge esol educators to capitalize on the resources that library media personnel possess not just for their own professional benefit but also for their students. the authors describe how the media room can become a strong refuge for els outside of their regular classrooms. they model how teachers can work collaboratively to maximize learning experiences for their students. our papers in this edition all speak to empowering our learners; developing teachers’ skills, knowledge, and experiences in a wide array of settings; the importance of learning other languages and being cultural brokers. collectively, all the papers 10 gatesol in action, fall 2018 encourage us to go beyond the basics and, if we truly want to improve the lives of our learners, it starts with us as educators. we must put out more effort to learn about them and their world and to advocate for them in all matters. what a summer it has been! many thanks to our reviewers! we hope you have an awesome fall! 11 gatesol in action, fall 2018 references equal justice institute https://eji.org/ facing history and ourselves https://www.facinghistory.org/ illinois holocaust museum and education center https://www.ilholocaustmuseum.org/ kramsch, c. (1997). the privilege of the nonnative speaker. modern language association, 112(3), 359 – 369. https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/462945.pdf?casa_token=tblorovsxdyaaaaa :-dgfofcqgustcb4zhwumdybv6p1mmekcvbxemqrqskgrsjcsz5hgyxmvlw8bl wdgveizaxduhimpdpvskjofjn9lmik7cnbe6yyvkouhbnahaoj7zwk the national memorial for peace and justice https://museumandmemorial.eji.org/ the san francisco coalition of essential small school (sf-cess) http://sfcess.org/ sky city cultural center haak’u museum http://www.acomaskycity.org/home.html stevenson, b. (2014). just mercy: a story of justice and redemption. new york, ny: spiegel & grau. https://eji.org/ https://www.facinghistory.org/ https://www.ilholocaustmuseum.org/ https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/462945.pdf?casa_token=tblorovsxdyaaaaa:-dgfo-fcqgustcb4zhwumdybv6p1mmekcvbxemqrqskgrsjcsz5hgyxmvlw8blwdgveizaxduhimpdpvskjofjn9lmik7cnbe6yyvkouhbnahaoj7zwk https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/462945.pdf?casa_token=tblorovsxdyaaaaa:-dgfo-fcqgustcb4zhwumdybv6p1mmekcvbxemqrqskgrsjcsz5hgyxmvlw8blwdgveizaxduhimpdpvskjofjn9lmik7cnbe6yyvkouhbnahaoj7zwk https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/462945.pdf?casa_token=tblorovsxdyaaaaa:-dgfo-fcqgustcb4zhwumdybv6p1mmekcvbxemqrqskgrsjcsz5hgyxmvlw8blwdgveizaxduhimpdpvskjofjn9lmik7cnbe6yyvkouhbnahaoj7zwk https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/462945.pdf?casa_token=tblorovsxdyaaaaa:-dgfo-fcqgustcb4zhwumdybv6p1mmekcvbxemqrqskgrsjcsz5hgyxmvlw8blwdgveizaxduhimpdpvskjofjn9lmik7cnbe6yyvkouhbnahaoj7zwk https://museumandmemorial.eji.org/ http://sfcess.org/ http://www.acomaskycity.org/home.html welcome from the senior editor by dr. gertrude tinker sachs department of middle and secondary education georgia state university gatesolinaction2020@gmail.com what i learned the summer of 2018: critical reflections of an esol, language and literacy teacher educator teaching technique karen m. kristensen, graduate student in special education, department of literacy and special education, university of west georgia, carrollton, ga; email kkriste1@my.westga.edu. utilizing readers’ theatre and role-play to engage young english language learners gatesol journal 2022, vol. 32(1), pp. 71–75 doi:10.52242/gatesol.130 issn: 2331-6845 karen m. kristensen university of west georgia abstract students whose primary native language differs from the language taught in their school require specialized instruction and creative teaching strategies. readers’ theatre is an evidence-based practice that builds language skills in english language learners. this technique was used in a diverse kindergarten classroom to increase oral fluency and vocabulary. social and literacy skills were also targeted. this paper examines the benefits of using role-play and specifically readers’ theatre as an approach to teaching english language learners. keywords language learners, readers’ theatre, role-play, fluency, vocabulary, social skills, literacy skills background and classroom context readers’ theatre was implemented in a public-school kindergarten classroom in atlanta, georgia. the purpose was to build language skills for english language learners (ells). learners in this class included 13 students who were ells and 11 whose first language was english. three students in the class had learning accommodations through an individualized education program (iep). one student with an iep had limited english proficiency (lep). the students requiring language support were from central and south american countries as well as asian countries. expressive and receptive language skills varied among all students. for example, a few ells in the class had more exposure to spoken and printed english. most students lived in households where spanish or bengali were the primary spoken languages. these students had limited exposure to the english language. the approach of using readers’ theatre and role-play was found to have positive benefits for the ells. rationale role-play is appropriate for pk–2 classrooms across the globe. this technique has been utilized in many early learning settings (banerjee et al., 2015). students with lep require effective instruction to allow them to achieve the same learning standards as their peers whose native language is english. high-quality strategies are necessary for these students to access the curriculum (gonzalez et al., 2011). according to owens (2020), classrooms in georgia serve the eighth-highest number of ells in the united states, driving home the need for this specialized instruction. the technique of role-play can be used with many learning activities for primary students. this strategy is not exclusive to solely ell or primary students. all learners can benefit from roleplay. villafuerte et al. (2018) implied that learners practicing language skills with role-play are mailto:kkriste1@my.westga.edu 72 gatesol journal 32(1) more willing to participate in cooperative learning. the literature suggests that learning through play is an integral part of early learning development. however, in practice, teachers do not allot adequate time for play (keleş & kalıpçı-söyler, 2013). step into any primary classroom and one will find when students are presented with material that is engaging and fun, they are learning. oral fluency is a language goal that should be addressed with students learning a new language. expressive language is often challenging among young learners making it more difficult with young ells. one effective way to ensure student success is to have a clear and posted objective in the classroom. students need to understand what their learning target is. this is achieved by reading the objective. it is also helpful to have the students repeat or read the objective(s) as well. upon closing the lesson, the teacher should review the learning target by giving a formative assessment. this can be done by discussing what they learned or asking students to explain what they learned on an exit ticket. objectives should align with state or local content standards (himmel, 2012). vocabulary development is considered crucial for students who are learning a second language. hunt and feng (2016) stated ell students need direct instruction in vocabulary. the reading strategy of using context clues alone to determine the meaning of a word may be inappropriate for students with lep. this is due to the high number of new words they are reading. hunt and feng also link vocabulary knowledge to an increase in listening and reading comprehension. before reading occurs, a teacher may pre-teach vocabulary with a picture walk. one new word can be focused on using the frayer model, which provides a definition, example, non-example, and picture—a method that has been shown to assist with vocabulary growth (i̇lter, 2015). students need explicit vocabulary instruction, such as discussing new words as they arise during reading. after this direct instruction, teachers can provide opportunities for using the new words. students can sing, dance, and reenact scenes to build their fluency. multimedia is a way to increase vocabulary as well. audio and visual clips that focus on newly learned vocabulary can be utilized to support retention (hunt & feng, 2016). social skills can be increased with the use of role-play. social stories, often used with students with autism (crozier & sileo, 2005), can be utilized for students with lep. both types of learners have deficits in language, though students with lep have language deficits caused by lack of exposure. using a social story that incorporates role-play with an ell serves to increase language skills during social interactions. this in turn will help build confidence during spontaneous interactions and boost oral fluency. one can also draw the conclusion that students with lep who may be exhibiting behavioral deficits could benefit from this strategy as well. furthermore, literacy skills are targeted during role-play. this domain of learning is considered critical for ells as teaching and learning occurs in english. the discrepancy in achievement for students with lep and native speakers is alarming, and the learning gap widens over time (banerjee et al., 2015). one strategy is to use curriculum-based readers’ theatre. this method can assist with fluency, retention, and comprehension. it is also a cross-curricular approach (uribe, 2019). guidelines for implementation there is a plethora of resources for teaching ells using the role-play strategy. while it is crucial to investigate evidence-based practice specific to students with lep, teachers can also consider broader resources. the early childhood education journal includes articles on effective pedagogy for families and teachers of young children ages birth–8 years (e.g., see banerjee et al., 2015). resources that emphasize strategies for students with special learning needs can be utilized for kristensen 73 teaching students with lep. the two groups intersect based on their need for specialized instruction. teaching exceptional children is a prominent journal in the field of special education that includes articles with strategies to support ells. this publication provides practitioner articles which break down different learning techniques to use in the classroom (e.g., see crozier & sileo, 2005). in addition, the council for exceptional children (2022) website contains resources for ells and students with disabilities. the learning for justice (2021) website offers a specific resource guide to implementing the strategy of readers’ theatre in classrooms. youtube has videos of readers’ theatre being implemented in classrooms and learning modules for professional development. here are three such videos that stood out:  first grade reader’s theatre: little red riding hood (miss sara’s class online, 2021)  introduction to readers’ theatre for efl classrooms (american english, 2018)  readers’ theatre model lesson (any given child sarasota, 2017) the following is a summary of how readers’ theatre was implemented in the kindergarten class mentioned at the beginning of this article. the summary below can be utilized as a step-bystep guide to use readers’ theatre to increase language acquisition and proficiency among ells in the primary grades. 1. on monday, students were told they would be participating in a performance by bringing a story to life. the teacher read the learning objective: “students will be able to increase their speaking skills by acting out a story.” it was explained there were four acting parts, and students would work together in pairs to practice. the teacher also told the students they would be partaking in a “theatre celebration” at the end of the week to reward their hard work. this would include popcorn, juice, and an animated movie version of the book. (the book chosen for this specific unit was where the wild things are [sendak, 1963].) 2. before reading, a picture walk was used to get students familiar with the story and make predictions. one student responded, “the little boy was not happy.” another student said, “it looks like his dream.” this time was also utilized to teach unfamiliar vocabulary. the teacher used the frayer model to dissect the word “mischief.” students came up with a definition, picture, example, and non-example. 3. the story was read aloud to students while the teacher modeled expression and fluency. she also paused to check for understanding. 4. after reading, the class did a story retell by examining the characters, setting, problem and solution. a character map was used to describe max. students said max was “bossy” but had a “good imagination.” 5. students were paired and put into three groups. each group had eight students, and partners were assigned the roles of max and narrators 1, 2, and 3. students who required more support were double cast with readers who required less support. this included three students with ieps and eight ells. this allowed these students to build confidence with oral fluency throughout the week. https://exceptionalchildren.org/topics/english-language-learners https://www.learningforjustice.org/classroom-resources/teaching-strategies/responding-to-the-readaloud-text/readers-theater https://youtu.be/zdyutbrr3oy https://youtu.be/utwd8tf_kwq https://youtu.be/ef_acbs42ic 74 gatesol journal 32(1) 6. the script was read aloud every day at the beginning of the reading block. this served to model pronunciation and expression. the teacher worked with each group during guided reading monday through thursday. groups were provided an enlarged script to practice their speaking parts. the teacher had students highlight their lines and modeled each speaking part. the teacher read the first few words or lines, depending on the level of support, and students repeated them while reading the script. partners choral-read their lines together. the book was utilized to give visual support and aid in comprehension. students were asked how max should look and feel. the teacher used formative assessment during small-group sessions to evaluate student progress. she was able to observe and help when students needed assistance with pronunciation or remembering a line. on thursday, an oral fluency rubric was utilized to assess mastery of the learning objective. eighty percent accuracy of the spoken words indicated mastery of the objective. students who scored below 80% were identified so the teacher could work with them targeting these skills. 7. students worked in literacy centers throughout the week. one center included making a crown like max wore in the book. the other centers were comprised of a rhyme sort, character attributes match, and a sequencing activity. the paraprofessional assisted with independent group activities. when students were off task, the teacher reminded them of the theatre celebration they were going to have at the end of the week. a couple of students were allowed to take sensory breaks during work periods. the teacher also provided brain breaks for the whole class during group transitions. 8. on friday, the room was set up to accommodate a stage-like setting. tape on the floor marked where the actors would stand during their performance. each group presented while the other two groups were the audience. students who were comfortable performed their part solo while some preferred to remain partnered. 9. as an extension, students discussed if the objective was met. the teacher asked students what they did well and what could be improved. based on their abilities, students wrote and/or drew a picture about their favorite part of the story. conclusion readers’ theatre can be used to increase language proficiency in the domains of oral fluency, vocabulary development, social interactions, and literacy skills. though developed for a specific audience of pk–2 ell students, role-play is appropriate for learners of any age or varied abilities. readers’ theatre can also be adapted for all literature genres and content areas. the guidelines shared in this teaching technique article can help young ells engage in meaningful learning experiences while also increasing their language skills. references american english. 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https://gbpi.org/english-learners-deserve-more-an-analysis-of-georgias-education-for-speakers-of-other-languages/ https://gbpi.org/english-learners-deserve-more-an-analysis-of-georgias-education-for-speakers-of-other-languages/ https://doi.org/10.1080/10573569.2018.1526726 https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.0806.01 gatesol journal2022, vol. 32(1), pp. 71–75 utilizing readers’ theatre and role-play to engage young english language learners doi:10.52242/gatesol.130 issn: 2331-6845 teaching techniques melody pao is a recent graduate of the middlebury institute of international studies at monterey, ca, where she majored in teaching foreign language/tesol. she currently serves as a freelance language instructor for french and english both on her own and at the following institutions: alliance française of portland, the alliance française of chicago, and chateng; email mpao@miis.edu. communicating in the face of racism: infinitive v. gerund verbal complements in english gatesol in action journal 2020, vol. 30(1), pp. 80–90 issn: 2331-6845 melody pao alliance française of portland abstract as covid-19 continues to spread across the country, asian americans and asian immigrants have experienced an increase in racist attacks. this paper presents a lesson plan that is intended to help english as a second language (esl) learners of east asian origin communicate in the face of racial discrimination. in addition to outlining this teaching technique, the article provides a linguistic analysis of the lesson plan’s grammatical focus: the distinction between infinitive and gerund verbal complements. the author argues that the bolinger principle, a theory that articulates the reasoning behind this distinction, provides an effective and meaning-informed teaching strategy for teaching infinitives and gerunds. the purpose of the article is to offer guidance for teachers who may wish to use this form-focused technique in their own classrooms. keywords esl, racism, asian immigrants, infinitive complements, gerund complements, bolinger principle background covid-19 has laid bare the deep systemic inequities that pervade our society. as illustrated through the black lives matter movement, language shapes how we perceive and confront social justice issues (avineri et al., 2018). in the wake of the global pandemic, asian americans and asian immigrants have reported a surge in racist attacks and hate crimes in the united states (nawaz, 2020; ruiz et al., 2020). remarks referring to covid-19 as the “chinese virus” and the “kung flu” are often seen as examples of attempts to normalize anti-asian xenophobia (kambhampaty, 2020, para. 2). therefore, it is important to support this particular group of esl learners in the face of bigotry. the featured lesson plan is designed to help esl students of asian descent learn how to communicate in response to racial discrimination. the grammatical focus of the lesson is the distinction between infinitive and gerunds. this nuance tends to confound esl/efl learners, especially from east asian countries, who may choose the incorrect form due to cross-linguistic influence from their native languages (larsenfreeman et al., 2016, p. 679). it is thus essential that esl/efl teachers fully comprehend the difference in order to explain it to students and address any related errors. while infinitives and gerunds can be used in several ways, this paper will focus solely on examples containing verbal complements. according to bolinger (1968), verbs that express unrealized possibilities generally go with infinitives, whereas verbs that refer to actual events tend to collocate with gerunds (p. 127). in this paper, i posit that this idea known as the bolinger principle provides an effective teaching strategy for identifying verbs that take infinitives and those that require gerunds. first, i will mailto:mpao@miis.edu pao 81 present the target teaching context and articulate a rationale for the lesson plan. in the subsequent linguistic analysis, i will discuss operational definitions of complements, infinitive complements, and gerund complements, and describe how to draw learners’ attention to those forms and their meanings. the purpose of this article is to provide guidance for instructors who may wish to implement this technique in their respective teaching contexts. description of the teaching context this lesson plan was designed for adult students taking an esl customer service class at the boston chinatown neighborhood center (bcnc), a center that offers resources and programs for immigrants and their families in the boston chinatown community. most bcnc members come from chinese-speaking regions (e.g. mainland china, taiwan, hong kong), but the center welcomes immigrants of any nationality. all students taking this class wish to improve their english proficiency so they can increase their chances of landing jobs in customer service and succeeding in the workplace. the lesson plan has been written so that it can be delivered in person or online. more details on the context are provided in appendix a. the grammatical focus of this lesson is particularly relevant for chinese english language learners, as they often find it hard to differentiate between infinitives and gerunds. based on a corpus-based study of chinese college students (xia, 2012), the most common error was using an infinitive without the to and in places where a gerund should be used. these types of errors may result from negative cross-linguistic transfer, as chinese verbs do not alter in form when used as a verbal complement. it is thus imperative that esl students at bcnc learn the difference between infinitives and gerunds, which poses challenges for many native chinese speakers. lesson plan rationale and guidelines the lesson takes a learner-centered approach to instructional design, which “prioritizes the uniqueness of every learner” (cornelius-white & harbaugh, 2010, p. xv). while planning the lesson, i adopted a “pedagogy of particularity,” which means that language instruction should be customized to a specific group of learners (kumaravadivelu, 2001, p. 538). the grammar focus is the difference between infinitives and gerunds, a source of confusion for many chinese english language learners. the lesson objectives demonstrate an awareness of students’ motivations for learning english as well as the real-life challenges they currently face because they are asian. at the beginning of the lesson, learners share their own definitions of racism and discuss how racist attitudes might emerge due to covid-19. then, they read excerpts from an article on asian americans’ experiences of racism in the wake of the pandemic (kambhampaty, 2020). the use of an authentic text helps the instructor abide by the principle of learner-centered instruction, as it is representative of reading material that students would encounter in real life and would be interested in exploring (brown & lee, 2015, p. 410). the article sheds light on a relevant and timely topic that pertains not only to their learning goals, but also their identities as immigrants of asian descent. catered to learners’ interests, the lesson aims to help students grasp the main ideas of an article on racism and understand the difference between infinitive and gerund complements (see appendix a for all lesson objectives). in order to measure students’ progress towards achieving the learning outcomes, the lesson design features several means of assessment. during the first “through” phase, students discuss the article in a jigsaw activity, an information gap task that allows them to process key details from the reading (pica, 2008, p. 529). based on example sentences from the text, they identify a pattern for using infinitives and gerunds and then compare their hypotheses with their classmates. this task thus adheres to the focus-on-form approach, 82 gatesol in action journal 30(1) which draws learners’ attention to linguistic elements as they arise in meaning-based lessons (ellis, 2008; long, 1991). collectively, the class determines a pattern, which ideally should describe the bolinger principle: gerunds generally describe actions that are real and actually happen, while infinitives generally describe unfulfilled or completed outcomes (bolinger, 1968). their performance in the subsequent activity should indicate whether they were able to apply the pattern in context. the second “through” phase is focused on developing effective communication strategies against racial slurs and discrimination. in groups, learners will reflect upon a given scenario that they may encounter in daily life or in the workplace, such as a passerby who yells at them “go back to china!” or a client who refuses their service due to their race. through these discussions, they will determine how they would want to convey those messages. when they report on their decision, their classmates give them feedback on their proposed solution. they also answer questions from their teacher and peers that elicit the use of infinitives and gerunds (e.g., “what did you decide to do?” or “what should you avoid doing in this situation?”). during this activity, the teacher should take note of any errors that should be addressed. at the conclusion of the lesson, students complete exit tickets, which not only serve as a means of self-assessment, but also indicate to the teacher how much learning has transpired (frey & fisher, 2011, p. 46). linguistic analysis: complements the meaning of complements is implied in the word itself: they complete a given expression. according to larsen-freeman et al. (2016), complements can be defined as, “constituents needed to complete the meaning of a verb, an adjective, or sometimes a noun” (p. 679). verbal complements include the following broad categories: that-clauses, infinitive complements, and gerund complements (larsen-freeman et al., 2016). examples of each complement type are provided below: that-clause: tsui responded that he was chinese american. infinitive: she stopped to adjust her mask. gerund: i avoided taking the bus or the subway. all examples in the linguistic analysis are taken from kambhampaty (2020), the article on racism featured in the lesson. while the term complement is not mentioned in the lesson, it is important for students to understand how infinitives and gerunds complete the meaning of a verb. for instance, if the sentence i avoided taking the bus or subway were rewritten as i avoided, it would be considered incomplete. the next two sections will define and illustrate the grammatical functions of infinitive and gerund complements. infinitive complements infinitives are non-finite; in other words, they are not limited by tense, person, or number (larsenfreeman et al., 2016). they are the base form of a verb; they can be bare infinitives (e.g. read) or to-infinitives (e.g. to read). infinitive complements can be considered clauses in that they possess both a subject and a verb (larsen-freeman et al., 2016, p. 685): her images inspire people to at least acknowledge their experiences. within the infinitive complement, the subject is people and the verb is acknowledge. during the first “through” phase of the lesson, students examine sentences that use what larsen-freeman et al. (2016) classify as attempt and advise subtypes of infinitive complements (p. 684). the attempt-type verbs are intransitive and do not have objects pao 83 (e.g., we try to look at the larger picture). in contrast, advise-type verbs are transitive and require objects when they appear with infinitives (e.g., older family members told her not to involve herself in “black-white battles”). the advise-type can also be characterized as “manipulative” verbs, such as “ask, make, tell, order,” which tend to take infinitive complements (los, 2015, p. 3). the agent of the main verb “manipulates the behavior” of the object so that it performs the complement verb (givón, 1980, p. 3). by looking at the examples above, students will observe that infinitive complements are often used to describe the outcome of an action. gerund complements similar to infinitives, gerund complements are tenseless clauses that complete the main verb. gerunds derive from verbs and end in -ing (e.g., reading). the -ing of a gerund is “an affix that attaches itself to a verb stem” (larsen-freeman et al., 2016, p. 689). gerund complements are considered clauses, because they possess an identifiable subject and a verb: i avoided taking the bus or the subway. in this example sentence, which appears in the first “through” phase of the lesson, it is understood that the subject of the complement is also i. gerund complements share characteristics of noun phrases that can serve as subjects and objects of sentences (larsen-freeman et al., 2016). in the sample sentence, taking the bus or the subway is the direct object of the main verb avoid. this statement can be confirmed by the possibility of pseudo-clefting: what i avoided was taking the bus or the subway. as duffley (2000) explains, the gerund “evokes the whole of the event’s interiority” (p. 225). in other words, the gerund refers to the entirety of an event, and not just some part of it. the bolinger principle: infinitive v. gerund complements in this section, i will expand upon these definitions of the infinitive and gerund complements by introducing the bolinger principle. this theory has been an important resource for language researchers and teachers alike, as it has been cited in previously published works on complementation (duffley, 2000, 2006; larsen-freeman et al., 2016; rudanko, 2010; vawser, 1988; yidi, 1997) and has been used as a meaning-informed strategy to teach intermediate and advanced esl/efl learners the difference between infinitives and gerunds. according to bolinger (1968), the distinction between infinitive and gerund complements is not arbitrary, for the complement types “contrast in meaning” (p. 122). verbs such as command, expect, hope, struggle, etc. express “unrealized possibilities” and tend to take infinitive complements (bolinger, 1968, p. 127). in other words, these verbs denote potential or unfulfilled outcomes, as in, the u.s. struggles to combat a global pandemic. verbs such as appreciate, defend, deny, enjoy, keep, etc., refer to “actualities or possibilities conceived as actualities” and usually require gerunds (bolinger, 1968, p. 127). these verbs trigger actions in the complement that are real and vivid (larsen-freeman et al., 2016, p. 693), as in, the man kept coming closer and closer to tsui. in the lesson plan, students will find a pattern for using these forms based on sentences that contain either infinitive or gerund complements. however, teachers should keep in mind verbs that collocate with both complement types as well as the distinction between these complements with respect to time and subject control (see appendix b). while the theory has its limitations, it alleviates the cognitive load of learners in that they do not have to memorize which verbs go with which complement type. in short, the bolinger principle supplies teachers with a meaning-informed reason for clarifying the difference between these two complements and thus enables instructors to plan lessons that keep meaning in focus. 84 gatesol in action journal 30(1) conclusion designed for immigrant esl students at the bcnc, the lesson plan aims to equip english language learners with communication strategies for combatting racism. while the lesson plan was developed for a specific audience, it can be adapted to suit the needs of any adult learning population. the accompanying linguistic analysis explains the difference between gerund and infinitive verbal complements and highlights the merits of the bolinger principle as a teaching strategy. hopefully, readers will find this paper a useful guide for planning a form-focused lesson that addresses racial tensions of our time. references avineri, n., graham, l. r., johnson, e. j., riner, r. c., & rosa, j. (eds.). (2018). language and social justice in practice. routledge. bolinger, d. (1968). entailment and the meaning of structures. glossa, 2(2), 119–127. brown, h. d., & lee, h. (2015). teaching by principles: an interactive approach to language pedagogy (4th ed.). pearson education. cornelius-white, j. h. d., & harbaugh, a. (2010). learner-centered instruction: building relationships for student success. sage publications. https://doi.org/10.4135/ 9781483349183 davies, m. (2008-) the corpus of contemporary american english (coca): one billion words, 1990–2019. https://www.english-corpora.org/coca duffley, p. (2000). gerund versus infinitive as complement of transitive verbs in english. journal of english linguistics, 28(3), 221–248. https://doi.org/10.1177/00754240022005018 duffley, p. (2006). the english gerund-participle: a comparison with the infinitive. peter lang. ellis, r. (2008). explicit form-focused instruction and second language acquisition. in b. spolsky & f. hult (eds.), the handbook of educational linguistics (pp. 437–455). blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470694138.ch31 frey, n., & fisher, d. (2011). the formative assessment action plan: practical steps to more successful teaching and learning. ascd. givón, t. (1980). the binding hierarchy and the typology of complements. studies in language, 4(3), 333–377. https://doi.org/10.1075/sl.4.3.03giv kambhampaty, a. p. (2020, june 25). i will not stand silent: 10 asian americans reflect on racism during the pandemic and the need for equality. time magazine. https://time.com/5858649/ racism-coronavirus/ kumaravadivelu, b. (2001). toward a postmethod pedagogy. tesol quarterly, 35(4), 537–560. https://doi.org/10.2307/3588427 larsen-freeman, d., celce-murcia, m., frodesen, j., white, b., & williams, h. a. (2016). the grammar book: form, meaning, and use for english language teachers. national geographic learning, heinle cengage learning. long, m. (1991). focus on form: a design feature in language teaching methodology. in k. de bot, r. ginsberg, & c. kramsch (eds.), foreign language research in cross-cultural perspective (pp. 39–52). john benjamins. los, b. (2015). a historical syntax of english. edinburgh university press. nawaz, a. (2020, april 1). asian americans report rise in racist attacks amid pandemic. pbs newshour. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/what-anti-asian-attacks https://doi.org/10.4135/%209781483349183 https://doi.org/10.4135/%209781483349183 https://www.english-corpora.org/coca https://doi.org/10.1177/00754240022005018 https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470694138.ch31 https://doi.org/10.1075/sl.4.3.03giv https://time.com/5858649/racism-coronavirus/ https://time.com/5858649/racism-coronavirus/ https://doi.org/10.2307/3588427 https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/what-anti-asian-attacks pao 85 pica, t. (2008). task-based instruction. in n. van deusen-scholl & n. h. hornberger (eds.), encyclopedia of language and education, vol. 4: second and foreign language education (2nd ed., pp. 71–820). springer science/business media. rudanko, j. (2010). explaining grammatical variation and change: a case study of complementation in american english over three decades. journal of english linguistics, 38(1), 4–24. sage publications. https://doi.org/10.1177/0075424209335495 ruiz, n. g., horowitz, j. m., & tamir, c. (2020, july 1). many black and asian americans say they have experienced discrimination amid the covid-19 outbreak. pew research center. https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2020/07/01/many-black-and-asian-americans vawser, j. m. (1988). an experiment testing the bolinger principle to teach infinitives and gerunds (publication no. 3853) [master’s thesis, portland state university]. pdxscholar. https://doi.org/10.15760/etd.5737 wierzbicka, a. (1988). the semantics of grammar. john benjamins. xia, l. (2012). a corpus-based study of the infinitive errors made by chinese college students. english language teaching, 5(6), 154–157. https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v5n6p154 yidi, w. (1997). higher verbs and their nonfinite complements. journal of english linguistics, 25(3), 241–249. sage publications. https://doi.org/10.1177/007542429702500306 https://doi.org/10.1177/0075424209335495 https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2020/07/01/many-black-and-asian-americans https://doi.org/10.15760/etd.5737 https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v5n6p154 https://doi.org/10.1177/007542429702500306 86 gatesol in action journal 30(1) appendix a: lesson plan outline setting: boston chinatown neighborhood center (bcnc), a community center that offers resources and programs to immigrants and immigrant families. a majority of bcnc members are from chinese-speaking regions (e.g. mainland china, taiwan, hong kong), but the center is open to all immigrants from around the world. this lesson is designed for an esl customer service class, which the bcnc offers for free to any members of the boston chinatown community. learner background information:  class size: each time this class is offered, the class size varies, but the size is usually small, about 10 students.  age: there is a wide range. learners may be in their mid-twenties to late fifties. the average age varies by class, and bcnc does not offer any statistics, but based on an educated guess, the average age is about early forties.  esl context: many students come from china (usually mainland), but not all learners have the same l1. there is a wide range of proficiency levels (novice-high to intermediate-mid), which are determined by the proficiency test bcnc administers to entering students. learners all read and write simple sentences in their l1. they all understand simple sentence structure. with respect to the average number of years learning english, the bcnc does not report statistics on their website, but the range can be from a few months to a few years of formal schooling. time: 90 minutes materials and equipment:  “i will not stand silent” article from time magazine (kambhampaty, 2020)  computer  whiteboard and markers (if in person)  projector (if in person), powerpoint slide  internet connection, zoom meeting room (if online) objectives: learners will be able to:  grasp the main ideas of a text about racist incidents, by discussing them and reporting on them with their peers.  articulate their opinions on racism and racist incidents, by discussing real-life events with their peers.  identify verbs that take on infinitive and verbs that take on gerunds by comparing example sentences with infinitives and gerunds.  identify a pattern for the use of infinitives and gerunds, first by writing the pattern individually and then comparing their hypotheses together as a class.  develop effective communication strategies against racial slurs and discrimination, by discussing them in groups.  report on these strategies by presenting them to the class and answering questions that elicit the infinitive and gerund forms. lesson plan: (1) “into” phase: defining racism (10–15 mins.)  check in with learners to see how they are doing and invite them to share any news, orally or in the chat if the lesson is on zoom. pao 87  trigger warning: warn students that this lesson will focus on a sensitive topic: racism. remind students that this is a safe space, where we can support one another and engage bravely and empathetically with challenging material.  ask learners: “what does racism mean to you?” learners are invited to write their ideas on the whiteboard (physical or virtual). offer assistance if learners are stuck or need help finding the words.  ask learners: “what racist attitudes might people have during the pandemic? give a specific example.” learners share orally their responses to this question. (2) “through” phase: reading about experiences of racism (20–30 mins.)  for this jigsaw reading activity, learners read a brief excerpt of the article from time magazine “i will not stand silent: 10 asian americans reflect on racism during the pandemic and the need for equality.” learners are divided into groups or breakout rooms based on the section they read. for example, group a reads about justin tsui’s story, group b reads about jilleen liao’s and so on. within each group, learners discuss what happened in their assigned story. they will answer the following questions: o what happened to [insert name of asian american who is telling the story]? o how is this incident racist? o how did s/he feel or react to this incident? circle among groups/breakout rooms and listen to their conversations. offer assistance as needed if learners do not understand certain words or phrases in the text.  in the second phase of the jigsaw reading activity, learners change groups so that within each group, each learner will have read a different section of the article. learners report to classmates what happened in their respective stories. when it is their turn to listen, learners are encouraged to ask their peers questions about their stories. circle among groups/breakout rooms and listen to their conversations. offer assistance as needed.  come back together as a group. ask learners what they think about these incidents and whether they have had similar experiences. model and provide useful phrases for expressing opinions (e.g., “i think that . . . ”, “in my opinion, . . . ,” or “i agree/disagree with . . .”). learners share their thoughts in response.  draw learners’ attention to the following sentences or phrases, which are taken from the article: o the u.s. struggles to combat a global pandemic. o we try to look at the larger picture. o the man kept coming closer and closer to tsui. o choi felt that he needed to speak up. o i avoided taking the bus or the subway. ask learners these questions based on the example sentences: o which verbs in bold are followed by to + infinitive? o which verbs in bold are followed by the -ing form?  ask learners to come up with a pattern for using gerund and infinitive forms, first by writing it down individually. then, learners compare their hypotheses with one another. collectively, we identify a pattern for using gerund and infinitive forms. the pattern may look something like this: “gerunds generally describe actions that are real and actually happen, while infinitives generally describe unfulfilled or completed outcomes.” (3) “through” phase: how do you communicate in response to racial slurs and discrimination? (20–25 mins.)  learners are divided into groups or breakout rooms. each group is given one of the following scenarios, which are inspired by true events, as reported on stop aapi hate reporting center: o as you are walking in the street, someone yells at you: “go back to china!” o a client refuses to be serviced by you, because you are asian. o someone throws a glass bottle at you and calls you “you f—king chink!” https://time.com/5858649/racism-coronavirus/ https://time.com/5858649/racism-coronavirus/ https://time.com/5858649/racism-coronavirus/ http://www.asianpacificpolicyandplanningcouncil.org/stop-aapi-hate/ 88 gatesol in action journal 30(1) o you overhear a coworker say that the increase in covid-19 cases is due to residents in chinatown. each group will consider the following: what means of communication can you use to communicate these messages? what would you like to say or write? let students know about stop aapi hate, a website for reporting hate crimes.  in groups or breakout rooms, learners will brainstorm, by discussing with each other and taking notes, what is the most effective way to communicate the message. circle between groups and offer guidance if learners are unsure or stuck.  as a whole class, each group will answer the following questions that elicit the use of infinitive and gerund complements: o what is the scenario? o what did you decide to do? why? o what should you remember to do in this situation? o what should you avoid doing in this situation? while each group is reporting to the class, pay close attention to their discourse to see if they are using the infinitive and gerund forms correctly, and take note of any errors that should be addressed. with learners’ permission, audio record their reports. when it is not their turn, the other groups should listen attentively so that they can give feedback afterwards (what do you think of the solution? what are other factors to consider?). (4) “beyond” phase: exit ticket (5–10 mins.)  ask students what we learned in class today and how they will use what we learned in the future. students can choose their preferred means of communication for the exit ticket (e.g. say verbally to teacher, write an email, type in the chat).  for homework, they will write their own reflection on a racist incident that they have witnessed or experienced. they will also listen to the audio recordings of their reports, and identify and transcribe all the infinitive and gerund forms. pao 89 appendix b: nuances and limitations of the bolinger principle verbs that take both infinitives and gerunds while the lesson does not include verbs that take both infinitive and gerund complements, it is important to note that, in cases of overlap, a clear difference in meaning is often implied: i forgot to pay the bills.1 i forgot paying the bills. in the sentence with the infinitive, the bills were not paid due to forgetfulness, whereas in the sentence with the gerund, the person paid the bills but forgot about it afterwards. however, larsen-freeman et al. (2016) acknowledge that the bolinger principle only partially explains the difference in meaning for verbs that collocate with both complement types (p. 694). the temporal distinction: infinitive vs. gerund complements based on the bolinger principle, it is tempting to define the distinction between infinitive and gerund complements in terms of time. this distinction can be ambiguous, since neither complement type is marked by tense. according to larsen-freeman et al. (2016), verbs that take gerunds encode actions in the complement that are “ongoing in the present or completed in the past,” whereas verbs that take infinitives “encode future projections” (p. 693). however, as duffley (2000, 2006) points out, this distinction is not so clear-cut. scholars have often interpreted the gerund as simultaneous with the verb that it complements (wierzbicka, 1988). duffley (2000) questions this interpretation and argues that the gerund is “capable of evoking an event that is temporally before, after, or contemporaneous” with respect to the main verb (p. 223). in the sentence, i remember working with him on it, the gerund refers to a past action. the gerund complement can also allude to future or potential events, as in, i am considering working with him on it. in the sentence, i am enjoying working with him, the gerund complement happens at the same time as the main verb enjoy. duffley (2000) explains that it is “the lexical content of the [main verb] that implies whether the -ing’s event is prior, contemporaneous or subsequent” relative to the principal action (p. 229). for the example of i remember working with him on it, the meaning of the main verb remember suggests that working with him occurred in the past. it is thus important to evaluate on a case-by-case basis the timeframe of the gerund complement with respect to the main verb. by contrast, infinitive complements refer to the end goal or result of the main verb. as bolinger (1968) asserts, infinitives often signify hypotheses or future possibilities. according to duffley (2000), the preposition to implies movement leading to a terminus; the notion of movement here is understood in terms of time (p. 234). in the example sentence, the bystander threatened to report the incident, the action of reporting the incident is a step that the bystander has threatened to take. however, a complete view of infinitive complements should consider examples such as the following: he then proceeded to cut in front of her. this sentence implies the realization of the infinitive’s event. the infinitive complement can still be interpreted as a future event relative to the main verb. thus, infinitive complements allude to outcomes of the principal action, whether they be unfulfilled or realized. subject control: infinitive vs. gerund complements the distinction between infinitive and gerund complements can also be analyzed through the lens of subject control. as explained in the definitions section, both complement types are considered clauses, because they have an identifiable subject and a verb. identifying the noun phrase that governs an infinitive or a gerund complement is known as the concept of subject control (duffley, 2000, 2006). according to duffley (2000), the subject of the main verb and that of the infinitive complement are always the same, whereas the gerund complement can either refer to the subject of the sentence or to a different entity. in the sentence, schools stopped offering in-person classes this year, it is understood that schools are the subject of both the main verb stop and the gerund complement. however, in the sentence, the governor recommends wearing 1 these examples were found in the corpus of contemporary american english (davies, 2008–) . 90 gatesol in action journal 30(1) masks in public, it is implied that the recommended act of wearing masks is to be carried out by everyone in the state, not just the governor. similar to timeframes, the known subject of a gerund complement depends on the meaning of the verb. while the analysis of duffley (2000) on gerund complements is accurate, his assertion on infinitive complements and subject control does not apply to all cases. contrary to his findings, the infinitive complement does not always imply co-referentiality with the subject of the sentence. based on an earlier example, older family members told her not to involve herself in “black-white battles,” it is older family members who impart advice and it is she who may involve herself in “blackwhite battles.” when helping learners distinguish between infinitive and gerund complements, teachers should consider the question of subject control, which adds another layer of nuance to a complex grammatical concept. ____________________________________________________________________________ received: august 15, 2020 | accepted: september 21, 2020 | published: october 29, 2020 gatesol in action journal2020, vol. 30(1), pp. 80–90 communicating in the face of racism: infinitive v. gerund verbal complements in english issn: 2331-6845 abstract keywords 1 gatesol in action, fall 2018 issn #2331-6845 benefits of collaboration between the esol teacher and the library media specialist by kelly paynter department of educational resources jacksonville state university kpaynter@jsu.edu stacey arnett cobb county school district stacey.arnett@cobbk12.org with class sizes, administrator expectations, and general workloads increasing, esol teachers can feel overwhelmed. this article describes the benefits that esol teachers may experience when collaborating with school library media specialists (lmss) regarding the differentiation of instruction, collaborative planning of lessons, technology integration, and student relationships. keywords: school libraries; teacher collaboration; iel students; english language learners (ells) introduction the esol teacher has many of the same roles as traditional classroom teachers: instructor, manager, guardian, leader, social worker, psychologist, coach, servant, and learner (howard, 2015). in addition, the esol teacher must cope with a variety of mailto:kpaynter@jsu.edu mailto:stacey.arnett@cobbk12.org 2 gatesol in action, fall 2018 unique issues specific to the needs of multinational students who differ in academic ability, native language, language proficiency levels, exposure to technology, emotional needs due to culture shock or political environment, and cultural expectations. particularly in the era of class size waivers, in which an esol teacher may have many more than the “maximum allowed” number of students on his/her caseload, the job can feel overwhelming at times. the esol teacher, however, has a potential advocate and helpmate, one that s/he may not have considered approaching—the library media specialist (lms). the lms can help the esol teacher juggle daily demands through methods such as coteaching, technology assistance, and co-assessment (bogel, 2009; johnston, 2013). our article seeks to describe the synergy that can be achieved between the esol teacher and the lms with discussions regarding pupil-to-teacher ratios, differentiation of instruction, collaborative planning of lessons, technology integration, and student relationships. we discuss what research states about high-quality teacher-to-lms relationships as well as the personal experiences of the authors, both of whom collaborated numerous times over the years in which they worked together at sprayberry high school in marietta, georgia. we consider our partnership to have been successful, rewarding, and downright fun, and we are honored to share some of the highlights of our eight-year-long working relationship. reduction in pupil-to-teacher ratio since the great recession of 2008, k-12 class sizes have continued to rise. many states, including georgia (gadoe, 2012) have sought waivers, or “flexibility resolutions,” to no child left behind requirements; unfortunately, one of the waivers 3 gatesol in action, fall 2018 frequently implemented is a dismissal of the maximum number of students that can be placed in an esol classroom. in 2007-2008, the teacher-to-student ratio was 1:11 for k-3 classrooms; 1:14 for grades 4-8; and 1:18 for 9th-12th grades (gadoe, 2007). with the applicable waivers for districts across the state, teachers can expect to add at least five students to the generally accepted class sizes for an esol class. this is due greatly to the fact that the waiver numbers are based on district averages for class sizes (gadoe, 2007). fortunately, the lms can help the esol teacher slash the teacher-to-pupil ratio in half. every time the esol teacher brings his/her class to the library and involves the lms in a lesson, this presents an opportunity for the students to utilize the assistance of another adult to answer questions about content, technology, or language. thus, this promotes further opportunities for incorporating sheltered instruction observation protocol (siop®) components such as target language interaction and individualized scaffolding (echevarria, vogt, & short, 2008). research supports the idea of the esol teacher collaborating with specialists in the building in this manner to help increase english language learner (ell) students’ language, literacy, and social needs (hersi, horan, & lewis, 2016). most libraries have a paraprofessional or clerk; these individuals can also be invited to join in the lessons as another friendly adult who can answer questions. similarly, in middle and high schools, some students may be assigned to the media center for one period per day as library aides; these students can also serve as valuable helpers to ells during lessons, acting as a one-on-one buddy or walking among all students, answering questions as needed. 4 gatesol in action, fall 2018 differentiation of instruction as noted above, the lms can help provide additional person-power when esol classes visit the library. a more specific application of this is the added differentiation of instruction (parrott & keith, 2015) that can occur when two certified educators work together to benefit ells. by incorporating the various models of co-teaching, the esol teacher and lms are able to employ various models when working with the ells. for example, the esol teacher can divide the class into two groups, and the lms can work with one group on topic a while the esol teacher remediates the second group on topic b (honigsfeld & dove, 2010). the library can be set up in stations through which the ells rotate; some stations (such as those requiring computer-based work) can be self-guided by the students, and others can be staffed by the lms and esol teacher. instead of differentiating to one small group at a time, while leaving the rest of the class to work individually, the lms can help the esol teacher provide individualized instruction to more students simultaneously. since all people are unique, the lms may explain things differently than the esol teacher and provide another bridge to understanding for ells (peirce, 2008). of course, both the lms and esol teacher are busy individuals, so such collaborations should be planned together in advance to ensure a productive, meaningful environment. another way the lms can help support instruction for ells is s/he can purchase books, e-books, audiobooks, databases, language-learning software, and subscription websites tailored to their needs (melillo, 2007). for example, many ells process english-language materials at a very low reading level until their language proficiency increases. many books on their reading level are tailored toward younger students, so 5 gatesol in action, fall 2018 the subject matter may not interest the students, or the books appear to be for young students and the ells are embarrassed to read them (hadaway, vardell, & young, 2002). the lms can order high-interest, low-reading-level books (known as hi/lo in library vernacular) for the media center’s collection so that students have exciting books to check out when they visit (morin, 2013). the lms can also pull books or electronic resources for the esol teacher that align to specific lexile levels, fountas & pinnell letters, or curricular standards. in addition, the lms can take an active role in the differentiation of instruction by acting as a co-teacher or small group leader, under the direction of the esol teacher. by collaborating in advance, the two educators can determine each person’s role. technology expertise most school library licensure programs offer classes that provide extensive training in technology integration and troubleshooting. chances are, the lms at any given school has at least an above-average awareness of emerging technology tools (e.g. coding/computational thinking, powerpoint alternatives, web design, web 2.0 sites, makerspaces/engineering/robots) and an understanding of common technical problems that may arise when teachers integrate technology into their lessons (johnston, 2013). some esol teachers may be leery of or feel uncomfortable with educational technologies; they can reach out to the lms for help (morin, 2013). for example, the esol teacher can instruct the students on a lesson’s topical content and ask the lms to teach the students how to use a particular technology tool to demonstrate mastery of that standard (hoppe, 2013). when there is only one esol teacher in a school building, the lms can become a great resource for new ideas of 6 gatesol in action, fall 2018 ways to integrate technology into teaching. librarians can act as keys to technology integration for initiatives such as bring your own device (byod), google apps for education, or 1:1 initiatives (kuzo, 2015) while implementing best practices such as the technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge (tpack) framework into instruction (mishra & kohler, 2006). sobel and grotti (2013) note that tpack can “be particularly valuable to librarians, who are heavy users of technology, and can provide a structure that can help librarians to critically examine technologies being considered for integration” (p. 255). the lms can also learn from the esol teachers, many of whom are very technology savvy. since the lms has such a centralized job, working with many teachers, administrators, and students across the school, the lms can benefit from technology-knowledgeable esol teachers and in turn suggest innovative programs and techniques to others around the school. due to time constraints and the physical layouts of schools, teachers often become very departmentalized or grade-level focused, and the lms can help serve as a bridge between the esol teacher and other personnel. synergistic partners while working together, the lms and esol teacher may discover some mutual benefits to their partnership. for example, the lms may have familiarity with the language, culture, etc. of specific ell(s) with whom the esol teacher is struggling. kelly previously worked at a school that had a high concentration of students from china, japan, and korea and thus brought to sprayberry a solid background of the needs of newly immigrated students from those countries. the lms, when working with the esol population, becomes exposed to different languages and cultures; this in turn 7 gatesol in action, fall 2018 helps him/her choose materials for the library that accurately reflect the student population. at sprayberry, kelly now worked with many students from brazil and thus learned more about that country’s culture and the portuguese language. as the ell population observes this synergistic partnership and grows comfortable interacting with the lms, the ells not only gain another advocate but begin to actively seek out the lms as another adult resource (adams, 2010). the lms and esol teacher can work together on shared initiatives such as grant writing for materials like software or headphones that can benefit all students who visit the library. since the lms works with most departments in the school, s/he can let the esol teacher know what other departments are doing. for example, by observing the accommodations that special education teachers utilize for their students, the lms can suggest these ideas to the esol teachers, whose students may benefit from similar accommodations. the ell population is unique and requires teachers with specialized training, and while good teaching for native speakers is not necessarily good teaching for ells (harper & de jong, 2004), all educators can benefit from collaboration with and observation of successful teachers in their schools. the lms also can assist teachers of advanced placement or honors courses with a new technology or with the implementation of project topics related to the esol teacher’s curriculum. the lms may suggest authentic or problem-based assessments (bogel, 2009) to the esol teacher that s/he might not have considered that may aid in showing student growth and mastery. student relationships outside the classroom one of the most fun byproducts of the esol teacher collaborating with the lms is the relationships that can be formed outside of the esol classroom. when the esol 8 gatesol in action, fall 2018 teacher brings pupils to the library frequently, they get to know the library staff well, which gives the students access to other friendly, helpful adults in the building (carlyle, 2013). depending on how a school structures its esol programs, some students may be with their esol teacher for much of the day, so providing these students with comfortable contact points outside of the esol classroom may make them feel more connected to the school culture. the students may come to feel that the library is their “second home” and can use its facilities outside of class time or begin participating in library initiatives like book clubs or reading incentives. as noted above, some middle and high schools have student library aides; ells can be placed in these positions to gain english proficiency and confidence as well as provide a friendly face for other ells in the library. bordonaro (2006) observed similar librarian/ell relationships in her institution’s library, noting that: the esl students described how they used the library as a study hall for both individual and group work, as a repository for both academic and recreational material, as a place to receive instructional assistance from librarians and other students, and as a social center for both planned and unplanned socializing. connecting all of their self-described uses of the library was the desire on the part of the participants to improve their english language skills. participants viewed the library as a place that affords them an opportunity to improve their english in the four language skills areas: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. (p. 520) 9 gatesol in action, fall 2018 the model in action stacey has served as the intensive english language (iel) teacher at sprayberry in marietta, georgia for over 10 years. she works with newly arrived students who speak a variety of languages (frequently portuguese, korean, spanish, vietnamese, arabic, and farsi) and serves as their primary instructor for core classes until they gain enough proficiency on the access test to move into less intensive esol and/or traditional high school classes. kelly, before becoming a college professor, worked at stacey’s school as the lms. the two collaborated frequently and co-taught and co-assessed numerous lessons, using programs such as biteslide, photostory, weebly, spiderscribe, and powtoon. stacey, as a technology innovator, frequently discovered promising emerging technologies to use with her students; similarly, kelly often asked stacey’s classes to be the “guinea pigs” for new programs or initiatives that she wanted to try. stacey worked with school administrators to place some ells in the library as student aides; kelly then helped those students with language and social skills (bordonaro, 2006) and personally witnessed these students blossom in the role. one former student, hong (a pseudonym) stated, “working in the library helped me to improve my english and feel more confident about speaking to others.” before hong’s experience working in the library, hong was frequently bitter and angry and did not want to be around people. kelly’s prior experience at a school that had a large percentage of students from korea, japan, india, and pakistan helped her to establish relationships with students from similar backgrounds at sprayberry. kelly enjoyed getting to know the iel students and with stacey’s simultaneous encouragement, pulled some of them into 10 gatesol in action, fall 2018 library activities such as reading bowl and read across america (dr. seuss’ birthday celebration). kelly and stacey frequently co-authored grants and made purchasing decisions together, such as headphones with attached microphones (to listen to readaloud databases and practice speaking via web 2.0 tools); books that supported curricular needs; and non-english-language materials. although kelly has now taken a job in higher education, stacey continues to collaborate with the current lms at sprayberry and involve her students heavily in library initiatives. conclusion esol teachers have jobs that are difficult but rewarding. one of the core tenets of a lms’s job is to reach out to other educators to build collaborative, collegial relationships that increase student achievement. it is the hope of the authors that esol teachers and lmss will consider working with each other if they have not yet done so. esol teachers may find that they have willing allies just down the hall who will champion, befriend, and help to instruct the ells, and the lmss may find themselves greatly enriched by their experiences with both the esol teachers and the ell students. in addition, student achievement may increase in the areas of reading, speaking, writing, and listening (bordonaro, 2006) because of the combined efforts of these educators working together. for those esol teachers and lmss who are already working together— congratulations! you are to be commended for your willingness to utilize available resources and personnel for the benefit of your students. we challenge you to take your relationship to the next level by examining further ways in which you can benefit each other and ell students; presenting together about your successes at esol and library 11 gatesol in action, fall 2018 related conferences; sharing your strategies with teachers, administrators, and school board members; and submitting your best practices to practitionerand researchfocused professional journals. 12 gatesol in action, fall 2018 references adams, h. r. 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(2013). how school library media specialists support reading and information literacy skills instruction for english language learners (doctoral dissertation, georgia state university) (order no. 3583654). available from proquest dissertations & theses global. (1609014034). http://scholar.google.com/scholar?cluster=4833908126621332237 14 gatesol in action, fall 2018 parrott, d. j., & keith, k. j. (2015). three heads are better than one: librarians, reading specialists, and classroom teachers in the learning commons. teacher librarian, 42(5), 12-18. peirce, n. (2008). libraries and new americans: the indispensable link. nation's cities weekly, 31(15), 2. sobel, k., & grotti, m. g. (2013). using the tpack framework to facilitate decision making on instructional technologies. journal of electronic resources librarianship, 25(4), 255-262. doi:10.1080/1941126x.2013.847671 benefits of collaboration between the esol teacher and the library media specialist by kelly paynter department of educational resources jacksonville state university kpaynter@jsu.edu stacey arnett cobb county school district stacey.arnett@cobbk12.org with class sizes, administrator expectations, and general workloads increasing, esol teachers can feel overwhelmed. this article describes the benefits that esol teachers may experience when collaborating with school library media specialists (lmss) r... article mackenzie bristow is the director of english language support programs and global engagement at emory university, atlanta, ga; email mackenzie.bristow@emory.edu. nexus analysis as an approach to navigate change gatesol in action journal 2020, vol. 30(1), pp. 3–15 issn: 2331-6845 mackenzie bristow english language support programs and global engagement, emory university abstract spring 2020 ushered a new set of educational challenges for english language program administrators (elpas) ranging from the covid-19 pandemic to social and racial injustices experienced by staff, faculty, and learners. recognizing the lack of materials to support elpa professional development, this article introduces the theoretical and methodological approach of nexus analysis as a possible approach for administrators when navigating complex educational ecosystems. along with a review of literature that describes the role of elpas and their associated duties, this article positions the actions of language program administration, which range from policy creation to ordering supplies, as mediated by outside factors on the societal, community, and individual scale. following this, the nexus analysis methodological approach of engagement, navigation, and change is reviewed and generalized to educational settings. to conclude, past research studies that have used nexus analysis are reviewed with the aim to connect with familiar elpa management scenarios and practical considerations unique to our current time in history. keywords english language program management, english language program administrators, nexus analysis background english language program administrators (elpas) are no strangers to change nor the impacts that geopolitical forces can have on the stability of a successful school or program. many would argue, however, that u.s. elpas are experiencing a new level of instability with the trifecta of covid19, racial injustice, and government policies that have attempted to restrict international student mobility or force f-1 students to attend in-person classes to maintain their status despite the health consequences. while government policies reacting or mitigating the public health response to covid-19, police brutality, and immigration seem to be changing daily, elpas face immediate and long-term questions as a result. how do we use our own past experience as well as those from faculty, learners, and our community to navigate the current situation? how do we manage our language programs that in the past relied heavily on face-to-face interactions and networking to achieve aims to a situation now mediated by remote platforms? how do we address the institutional and societal ideas circulating as a result of top-down policies and proclamations about our students that ultimately impact our classrooms? although these exact questions arise out of our new context, they highlight a familiar educational ecosystem and real-life challenges that exist within english language learning environments across scales and time (blommaert, 2007; pennington & hoekje, 2010). in this article, i will provide an overview of english language support programs (elsps), and the elements that elpas in leadership positions often have to consider in order to understand their role within their educational context or ecosystem. following this discussion, i will introduce the theoretical framework of nexus analysis (scollon & scollon, 2004), an approach that aims to mailto:mackenzie.bristow@emory.edu 4 gatesol in action journal 30(1) understand how semiotic resources mediate action, that can be used to navigate rapidly changing educational environments. to conclude, i will provide example studies that attempt to address navigating new educational policies, program management, and teacher professional development that elpas could use in their own practice. english language program administration guidance on what skills an elpa must build through professional development as well as the factors that contribute to a successful language program has been understood primarily through business and psychology literature (coombe et al., 2008; white et al., 2008). suggestions from these publications encourage language program administrators to deepen their understanding of manager duties such as human resources, marketing, sales, financial management, along with academic management to varying degrees based on the particular context. although not true in every case, many new elpas find themselves filling multiple roles simultaneously (e.g., admissions officer, facility manager, accountant, and teacher) with little time to self-reflect. to manage this difficult balance, elpa professional development literature suggests primarily topdown solutions for elpas but often overlook the influence of individual stakeholders and interpersonal communication within the program that shapes the educational environment (pennington & hoekje, 2010; walker, 2011; white et al., 2008). even rarer within the professional development material for elpas is literature addressing individual leadership experiences or learned assumptions about managing and supervising that might guide the decision-making process of elpas. the elpa professional development literature does provides some useful tools for longterm strategic planning through general business leadership discourses, but rarely addresses the lived experiences of elpas who must move between multiple roles on a given day while responding to immediate and significant world events and policies that impact operations. due to the variety and types of elsps, elpas understand that they may need to modify their management approach based on the audience an elsp serves (e.g., immigrants, professionals, or pre-college or matriculated international students); the leadership skill set becomes even more complex when the school itself is a mix of audiences and must provide both supportive (elsp course in parallel with core courses) and intensive (only elsp courses) programs (bhowmik & kim, 2018). in addition to these complexities, rarely does that literature address the cultural, racial, or economic experiences of the students and staff that could impact the program. financial factors may also influence an elpa’s experience as the language program may be entirely reliant on student tuition; thus, making the program’s success vulnerable to the recent geopolitical forces and the pandemic. beyond the students served and financial structure, an elpa’s management experience can be dictated by the position of the program within its given institution as an elsp may exist as part of an academic department like an applied linguistics department, or situated in a student service office, writing program, or as a stand-alone unit (bhowmik & kim, 2018; eaton, 2017). this variety has created a very unique community of practice for elsps (lave & wenger, 1991), but also has led to uneven understandings of what elsps do (kaplan, 2003; pennington & hoekje, 2010) and where they belong. in contrast, elpss often know where their program and students stand in relation to their institution. they are also aware that the events that take place either outside or within their schools on a given day are by nature multidimensional and are often experienced simultaneously by the individuals in the school community (e.g., students, teachers, administrators), the program and its relation to other units in the school or university, and the local and global community (hult, 2017; bristow 5 larsen-freeman & cameron, 2008; pennington & hoekje, 2010), but find little guidance on managing this convergence of influences. connecting multilingual speakers to the greater world is not a new idea for those interested in language and education. haugen’s (1972) work positioned languages as a central component to an ecosystem while fill and mühlhäusler (2001) expanded on the interconnectedness of languages and the necessity to maintain endangered languages to support a healthy ecosystem. institutions of higher education or language programs can also be analogous to an ecosystem as suggested by dafouz and smit (2016) who recognize a multilingual university has features that include a “dynamic interrelatedness between the relevant languages (functions and forms) and their academic habitats, not least because these contain, and are constructed by, academics, students, and administrators in their actual and virtual university spaces” (pp. 400– 401). if this perspective is adopted, elpas can deepen their understanding of what influences the administration of their language program to include not only top-down policies or societal issues, but also the experiences of faculty and learners and their interactions. one way elpas can approach the co-construction of institutional ecosystems is through the concept of scales. the notion of scales is often attributed to blommaert (2007) who suggested they were an excellent metaphor to explore how social events and processes move and develop. for instance, and related to our current context, a student attempting to complete a language learning assignment during a remote class can be connected to potentially related dimensions such as the work environment where the student is situated, the emotional and mental states of the student, and their classmates, and the initial university policy to move all classroom learning online among others (see also dafouz & smit, 2020; hult, 2017; larsen-freeman & cameron, 2008; martin-jones et al., 2016). it is then through the appreciation of the institutional ecosystem and a multiple scale perspective that one can make connections across the organization the elsps exist in and how elpas’ decisions are mediated. as described by pennington and hokje (2010): language program leadership is situated in the context of a globalized world and complex and rapidly changing educational environments. the context of language program leadership is described in relation to the spread of english, the increase in international exchange, the language program as a community of practice, [and] the multiple functions of a language program. (p. 3) theoretical perspectives of nexus analysis given that we understand elsps exist in an institutional ecosystem, and those administrating the programs not only participate in the co-construction of the program but are often the major decision-makers (liddicoat, 2016), nexus analysis (na) can be a useful approach in general and considering our current time in history. na was developed by scollon and scollon (2004), to observe the connection between action, specifically social action (human actions that might be physical, verbal, visual, written, or multimodal), and the factors that mediate them (e.g., classroom size, meetings, signage, policies, orientation videos) that together ultimately guide results. even a private action like an elpa sitting in her office alone typing out a response to an email can be included and seen as socially situated carrying its own set of values and role in the meaning-making process (hult, 2017; scollon & scollon, 2004; wells & wong, 2012). the factors that can mediate a social action become more apparent when we imagine how our elpa’s experience might change if rather than writing an email she picked up the phone, had a face-to-face conversation, or more currently relevant, joined a zoom call to provide her response. this highlights the aim of na, where it is not the text that is of interest, but “rather how language and other semiotic and material tools are used to mediate action” (lane, 2014, p. 1). 6 gatesol in action journal 30(1) according to scollon and scollon (2004), any social action is always mediated by three intersecting levels of discourse: discourses in place, the interaction order, and historical body. here discourse is understood not just as written or spoken language, but meaning systems that include historical, institutional, socially shared habits, behaviors, and perceptions (dafouz & smit, 2016; lane, 2014; scollon & scollon, 2004), or what gee (2011) refers to as discourse with a capital d to capture the complex multimodal semiotic system enacted by individuals. it also happens that these three discourse levels correspond to the different scales of influence. starting at the largest scale, discourse in place includes all societal discourses that are present (scollon & scollon, 2004) and are considered in-place because they are situated contextually to mediate the social action under study (blommaert & huang, 2011; hult, 2015; scollon & scollon, 2004). this scale taps into both explicit and non-explicit discourses that have become norms for a given society ranging from the physical configurations of a space (classrooms, offices, lecterns) to the larger assumed social views on a topic (education policy, race, class, gender; hult, 2017; palviainen & mård-miettinen, 2015; scollon & scollon, 2004). to analyze this level of discourse, approaches associated with critical discourse analysis can be useful (hult, 2015). for language programs, actions mediated by discourses in place could include the accepted norms and ideas around admissions, hiring practices, or program handbooks. these could also include language specific topics such as the notion of standard english, the materials and curriculum used by the language school, and placement tests. the second level of discourse is called interaction order and represents the community scale. when developing this approach, scollon and scollon (2004) pulled heavily from the work of goffman (1983) who focused on the power dynamics or mutual relations between individuals over different social situations (goffman, 1983; kuure et al., 2018). an example of this might be observed when a group of instructors discuss a challenging classroom lesson. factors such as familiarity, seniority, collegiality all could potentially contribute to the power dynamics between the individuals and co-construct the conversation (lane, 2014). other, more damaging, examples could include the negative interactions asian students experienced when covd-19 hit the united states (noel, 2020). na researchers suggest locating a site, like a meeting room or classroom and employing the tools from the ethnography of communication (hymes, 1974) in order to observe how individuals foreground or background ideas (scollon & scollon, 2004). ultimately, the interaction order can reveal how individuals have different levels of influence depending on the situation and in relation to the context of the interaction (shohamy, 2006). the final level of discourse is historical bodies that represents the individual scale including past experiences, memories, and the accustomed practices of the participants. within this scale, it is observed that “different people may play the same role differently” (scollon & scollon, 2004, p. 13) as they approach the situation with different experiences. when engaging in any social action, individuals may face unique contexts but always bring with them habitual ways of acting and thinking that are influenced by their past experiences. to access this scale, researchers should tap into introspective data and may use tools like ethnographic interviewing or surveys to obtain it (hult, 2015). for elpas, the historical bodies might reveal itself through unnoticed actions, such as the habits that guide individuals to act as a student or know how a school is run “without seemingly being told what to do” (scollon & scollon, 2004, p. 13) or equally reveal inequalities in access to educational systems. however, at the same time, the final result of a social action is at least, in part, a product of an individual’s efforts with the potential to impact society suggesting a level of agency within this scale (hult, 2017; lane, 2014; nishida, 1958). bristow 7 as one might assume, a social action is best understood by observing how all three scales intersect within the social system or a “nexus of practice” (hult, 2017; lane, 2014; scollon & scollon, 2004) as represented in figure 1 below. figure 1 nexus of practice for social action note. adapted from nexus analysis: discourse and the emerging internet (p. 154), by r. scollon and s. w. scollon (2004), routledge. language program management is a series of doings (reserving classrooms, attending meetings, hiring and training new instructors, writing and implementing policy) and each of these actions are mediated by societal and institutional norms, the interaction of our students and faculty, and the personal experiences of the elpa and individuals involved. many times, an elpa will take action to resolve a quick issue, but each task is understood to be accumulative undertaken to manage and improve the program, and ultimately the students’ experience. those who do na often choose to study practical matters and practical problems that individuals need to solve aligning well with the daily expectations and pressures an elpa often feels to get things done and deliver (jones, 2012; scollon & scollon, 2004, 2009). in practical terms this could be any type of action from ordering supplies to demonstrating student performance to supervisors. to add to the appeal for elpas, na is based on the desire to improve a situation, so it naturally aligns with the ongoing needs analysis required to run good language programs. elpas know that the students that elsps serve and the type of programs we run have always been situated amongst challenging social issues (e.g., immigration, educational access, and linguistic hegemony) and elpas may find themselves in the role to mitigate those challenges. na practitioners suggest when adopting an na approach, one is often engaged or driven by a social problem with a desire to solve it (jones, 2012; lane, 2014; scollon & scollon, 2004). this positions na as an approach with tendencies towards critical discourse analysis (fairclough, 1993; flowerdew & richardson, 2018); which could address the pressures resulting from the current 8 gatesol in action journal 30(1) pandemic and lack of social justice currently experienced outside and in the elsp. in the next section, i will review how to conduct an na as well as previous studies that illustrate the benefits. nexus analysis and managing change na researchers recommend one should engage in a na when faced with dynamic, complex education problems (hult, 2015; scollon & scollon, 2004). nas are traditionally accomplished through qualitative traditions from interactional sociolinguistics, linguistic anthropology, and critical discourse analysis (hult, 2017; lane, 2014; scollon & scollon, 2004). scollon and scollon (2004) recommend three stages to conduct a na study: engagement, navigation, and change. the engagement stage is characterized by five steps (scollon & scollon, 2004, p.154): 1. establish the social issue 2. find the crucial social actors 3. observe the interaction order 4. determine significant cycles of discourse 5. identify the zone of identification a detailed description of these steps is in scollon and scollon (2004) on pp. 153–159. specifically, the engagement state is a period for an na researcher to identify a topic that they are passionate about or one that needs to be solved, gain access to the context, identify participants (social actors), locate important discourses, and gain an understanding of the context through activities such as participating in casual conversations with participants, deepening relationships with stakeholders, attending to the local and national news and so on in order to discover language program development itself (hult, 2017; lane, 2014; wells & wong, 2012). according to scollon and scollon (2004), the engagement phase can take up to two months to complete. it could be argued, however, that an elpa is already a full member of his or her community and may have already identified areas in need of improvement, and the particular participants involved truncating the time needed for the engagement phase. the next stage identified by scollon and scollon (2004) is navigating the nexus of practice, or the social system in place. the concept of nexus of practice is similar to what social-cultural theorists would call a community of practice (lave & wenger, 1991) except that since na is focused on social action, any actor could be a member of the system even if they are not directly involved (eckert & mcconnell-ginet, 1992; lane, 2014; scollon & scollon, 2004). as na is centrally an ethnographic tradition, navigating the nexus of practice can take up to eight months (see full description scollon & scollon, 2004, pp. 159-177). at this stage, a researcher navigates the nexus to observe how the three types of discourses (discourses in place, interaction order, and historical bodies) flow through a social action. this can be done through collecting data at each scale using participant observation, critical discourse analysis, interviews and surveys, video and images, and journals to name a few. once collected, a researcher may observe how the discourses occur and intersect across at any moment or evolve and change over time. na is also interested in how discourses mediating those actions are taken up and shifted as they move between written, spoken, and other semiotic tools. this calls on researchers to look at how respective cycles develop within the nexus of practice or intersect with a moment of social action (hult, 2015, 2017; scollon & scollon, 2004). in either case, the goal of an na is to map the cycles of the people, places, discourses, objects, and concepts that circulate through the moment when the social action takes place (scollon & scollon 2004, p. 159) and discover “anticipations, time scales, or transformations and resemiotizations” (p. 170). the observation of connections between texts, or intertextuality (duff, 2002; kristeva, 1980), connections between discourses or interdiscursivity bristow 9 (bhatia, 2010), and finally resemiotization where discourse can transform across “events, spaces, times, modes and media” (scollon, 2008, p. 241) illustrated in the work of iedema (2003). the final stage is changing the nexus of practice. change comes about both naturally and as a result of the researcher revisiting their original motivations for engaging with the nexus of practice (lane, 2014; scollon & scollon, 2007; soukup & kordon, 2012). the change stage also should reflect the original motivation for conducting an na that may be rooted in an attempt to solve a social issue or challenge. as a result, na is often characterized as an approach that is either activist or “a project to promote social change” (kuure et al., 2018, p. 76). the daily and longterm social actions are numerous for elpas and may include creating and implementing policy, overseeing curriculum development, negotiating a budget, and often teaching (coombe et al., 2008; pennington & hoekje, 2010; white et al., 2008) with each representing a potential nexus point that is mediated. now that the central theory of na has been introduced, several past studies illustrate how na reveals the benefits of the approach and how it can assist in navigating new educational policies, program development, and teacher professional development. navigating education policies most elsps have their own educational policies crafted to manage multilingual students such as placement testing and subsequent required courses (finn & avni, 2016; menken, 2008); however, it is also well understood that policies originating from outside the school, both explicit and de facto, can impact educational settings in general (hult, 2014; shohamy, 2006; wiley & garcía, 2016). social and institutional policies such as social distancing, remote learning, visa regulations, as well as media coverage of the police and protests can have an impact on language programs, the learning environment, and the individuals. often, as a result, elpa’s may find themselves needing to react and shape new policies for their particular context and program. if an na approach is adopted, an elpa may be better positioned to understand their own role as agents of policy creation while identifying and addressing the various mediated discourses at play (fenton-smith & gurney, 2016; liddicoat, 2016; menken & garcia, 2010; shohamy, 2006). at times, the ability of elpas to moderate or change policy may be limited. this was surely the case when most universities transitioned to online learning. at the same time, however, the current challenges for educational institutions provide elpas an opportunity to reflect on their own agency as well as those within their program in shaping policy (baldauf & chua, 2012; fenton-smith & gurney, 2016; liddicoat, 2016; menken & garcia, 2010). an example of this can be found in källkvist and hult (2016), who investigated a swedish university’s language planning process related to english-swedish parallel language. in this context, swedish universities were called upon to establish language policies for their respective institutions to enact an english language policy set forth by the swedish national government (discourses in place). the researchers gathered data such as meeting notes and official government documents (discourses in place), the interaction of the participants during the meetings (interaction order), and information about participants professional experiences and the individual statements made by participants during the meetings (historical body). using ethnographic and discourse analytic approaches, the researchers observed how the language new policy was co-constructed by three different scales of discourse. since elpas are often managing meetings or invited to meetings the källkvist and hult (2016) study highlights how elpas could take a more critical eye towards how top-down policies or initiatives evoke action by participants and then change shape over time and across genres (e.g., from written to spoken back to written) as well as the roles individuals play in applying and 10 gatesol in action journal 30(1) evolving the language to describe policies through process of resemiotization and co-construction (hult, 2015; scollon, 2008). in their own context, elpas facing policy changes observing how individuals are describing new policies or modifying them through their interactions (like returning to campus or social distance guidelines) and shifting them to fit needs or localized contexts will assist in identifying potential future challenges or opportunities for success. managing elsps pennington and hoekje (2010) suggest that the real work of an elpa is their ability to leverage the available resources to achieve the aims of the program. a few studies addressing the complexities of managing an elsp as social action have been conducted, but mostly within the context of international university partnerships (bristow, 2020; dafouz & smit, 2016, 2020); however, they still address the experiences of elpas including obtaining space or supplies, hiring instructors, or leveraging a network (johnston & peterson, 1994; pennington & hoekje, 2010). currently, how elpa identify resources and what mediates them has changes since most programs have budgets set at zero with classes continuing remotely or in-person with personal protective gear. despite these changes, elpas can still recognize their programs as encompassing diverse and multilingual learners and teachers who continue to benefit from administrative support that recognizes their needs. in the past, an elpa may have considered how the physical space of the elsp supported and welcomed learners. as na recognizes meaningful communication goes beyond what is written and spoken, elpas may benefit from pulling from studies that describe multilingual physical learning or living environments such as dressler (2015) and pietikäinen et al. (2011), who leveraged approaches from linguistic landscape along with na. in both these respective studies, researchers took photographs of the physical signage in a bilingual school and town, respectively, and analyzed the interaction order of the languages uncovering what language was privileged over another. ultimately these studies mediated understandings of linguistic representation and emotional wellness for the students and communities. addressing the multimodal physical and visual resources that shape the language learning environment (dooly, 2017; norris, 2004) could be applicable for elpas who want to understand how their elsp currently represents the diversity of their learners. this could be done through photographing the physical or online classrooms to analyze what images or languages are being forefronted. this would assist in understanding the current visual or linguistic choices made in the school or classroom and can help elpas and faculty develop new, inclusive visual choices (such as enabling virtual backgrounds or logos on powerpoints) to represent the physical presence of the school and/or select images that represent the diversity of its faculty and student body. at the same time, with technology and technological access being the main resource during the pandemic, an elpa must be aware of individual needs. scollon and scollon’s (2004) original work establishing na reveals the authors’ experiences using computers to facilitate technologyassisted classes in alaska in the 1980s. focusing primarily on native american populations, scollon and scollon (2004) identified the various discourses mediating the introduction of electronic educational experiences on university students through analyzing legal and educational documents, participant-observation, and interviews. as a result of their research, they noted factors such as background, economic status, language, and culture (all mediating discourses) greatly influenced the success of the students. bristow 11 although most elaps already take the time to listen to challenges faculty and students are encountering challenges with working from home or teaching/learning with protective equipment, they may miss solutions by only focusing on one mediating factor. through following a more systematic approach, such as na, that observes the intersection of the institutional policy, classroom interaction, and individual present and past experiences better solutions may arise. teacher development elpas who provide the time and support for teacher professional development find na can support change and explore the intersection of the individual, beliefs, and practice (hult, 2018; koivistoinen et al., 2016; kuure et al., 2018; räisänen & korkeamäki, 2015). many elpas find themselves intrinsically involved with introducing or implementing a new curriculum without much guidance on how to support the individual needs of the faculty. räisänen and korkeamäki (2015) provide one example of a faculty-led self-development practice driven by a top-down curriculum change in finland. here, the first author analyzed her own experience in implementing the new required teaching approach through a nexus of classroom room interactions (interaction order), self-reflection on curriculum (historical bodies), and expectations of traditional classroom teaching in contrast to new teaching practices (discourses in place). over a year, through journaling and analyzing video recordings of the classroom, the instructor documented her transformation of old practices to new which included altering the physical layout of the classroom and favoring new approaches in teaching. the journaling in particular was useful for the instructor as it helped her uncover opinions and expectations around teaching that had been built over years (historical body). current classroom practices embodied by elsp faculty are challenged by all new technology and class delivery (dooly & sadler, 2013; kuure et al., 2018) brought on by covid19. providing time for instructors to engage in professional development through journaling or analyzing video is not that uncommon, but elpas can take this process a step further through observing and listening to what discourses may be mediating the instructors’ experience of teaching in the current context. through addressing all three scales, the elpa may be able to support professional development process more fully and understand why a particular skill might take longer to master. conclusion although nexus analysis is not the only way to navigate change, it provides elpas with the framework to address practical problems and identify solutions that reflect the local context. elpas are already full members of their nexus of practice and are motivated to introduce positive change within their organization making them excellent na practitioners. once engaged, and elpa can identify the mediating forces within top-down policies, the interaction of the individuals, their own agency and leadership role, and the past experiences of colleagues that intersect within an array of social actions embedded with the language program. although this article covered several tasks that an elpa must address, navigating education policies, managing eslps, and teacher development, there remains ample room for elpas to learn from na in order to identify what discourses might mediate decision-making processes and professional development. through a process like na, and elpa may discover a tool that can help describe their own experiences as well as analyze their programs to find balanced solutions and co-construct beneficial changes with colleagues, faculty, and learners for their program as a whole. 12 gatesol in action journal 30(1) references baldauf, r. b., & chua, c. s. k. 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(2016). language policy and planning in language education: legacies, consequences, and possibilities. the modern language journal, 100(s1), 48–63. https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12303 ___________________________________________________ received: august 17, 2020 | accepted: september 21, 2020 | published: october 29, 2020 https://doi.org/10.1515/jelf-2012-0021 https://doi.org/10.1515/jelf-2012-0021 https://doi.org/10.1080/13596748.2011.630919 https://doi.org/10.1002/%209781405198431.wbeal1313 https://doi.org/10.1002/%209781405198431.wbeal1313 https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12303 gatesol in action journal2020, vol. 30(1), pp. 3–15 nexus analysis as an approach to navigate change issn: 2331-6845 from the editors teaching with intentionality: language educators as transformative intellectuals and reflective practitioners gatesol journal 2022, vol. 32(2), pp. 1–2 doi:10.52242/gatesol.178 issn: 2331-6845 david l. chiesa university of georgia robert a. griffin university of west georgia abdulsamad y. humaidan university of illinois urbana-champaign ethan t. trịnh georgia state university the fall 2022 issue of gatesol journal provides its readers with insights into how language educators could create meaningful learning experiences for their students. the papers are connected with the core idea that language educators are vested in intentionally using pedagogical approaches that could have an impact on how and what students are learning. the papers position language educators as both transformative intellectuals (i.e., educators who strive not only for educational advancement but also personal transformation) and reflective practitioners (i.e., problem-solvers possessing “the ability to look back critically and imaginatively, to do causeeffect thinking, to derive explanatory principles, to do task analysis, also to look forward, and to do anticipatory planning” [kumaravadivelu, 2003, p. 10]). this issue will showcase teachers’ intentions through their roles as transformative intellectuals and reflective practitioners. language educators as transformative intellectuals the primary goal of a language educator who can be seen as a transformative intellectual is one of a change agent, who strives to maximize sociopolitical awareness through problem-posing activities. in the opening article, day and prado ask their readers to reconceptualize advocacy in tesol to take the focus off the educator and onto the learner so students gain a sense of ownership and empowerment through self-advocacy. they explain that it is our “job as teachers and practitioners [to] not only teach language development, but to lead students to find their own voice, so they can speak up, to be their own advocate, and change the world” (p. 12). in doing so, day and prado utilize test et al.’s (2005) framework for self-advocacy, which consist of four primary components for instruction: knowledge of self, knowledge of rights, communication, and leadership. from test et al.’s (2005) framework, day and prado develop four lessons as a unit plan to be utilized in promoting self-advocacy. they take transformative roles as language educators because they view pedagogy not only for language learning but also as opportunities for transforming students’ lives both inside and outside the classroom space. language educators as transformative intellectuals not only support their students to gain a sense of ownership of their learning, but they also think in terms of developing both the emotional and logical sides of their students. holman addresses these different sides in her article “theatre as a means for teaching a second language.” she explains when we teach language through theatre, educators create a classroom that mimics the real world, which can provide a safe rehearsal 2 gatesol journal 32(2) for real world scenarios that is as close to reality as possible: “this creation of a rehearsal space eases fears about using the [target language] in interactions with more proficient speakers and encourages them to take risks in this safe space. the creative nature of drama also establishes a more relaxed class environment where the rest of the class (the audience) may reward risk-taking that results in playful, humorous language or mistakes with laughter” (p. 24). holman’s discussion emphasizes how theatre can create a supportive environment that could allow for risk-taking to occur. language educators as reflective practitioners the primary goal of a language educator who is seen as a reflective practitioner is one of a facilitator, where the primary orientation to teaching is grounded in an integrated approach within classroom spaces. the remaining three articles in the fall 2022 issue showcase language educators as reflective practitioners because the authors examine, frame, and attempt to solve the dilemmas of classroom practices in tesol. vicentini, de oliveira, and gui’s pedagogical practices piece reflects upon the vast amount of online learning tools available to language educators since the emergence of the covid-19 pandemic, particularly tools that support a genre-based approach to writing instruction using the teaching-learning cycle (tlc): deconstruction, joint construction, collaborative construction, and independent construction. by presenting specific technology for each of the phases of the tlc, vicentini, de oliveira, and gui aim to discuss how technology can be integrated into genre-based writing instruction in both face-to-face and online environments. their discussion and technological suggestions are grounded in their research in elementary, secondary, and tertiary classrooms. liu’s article entitled “have you tilted? promote student success by tilted assignments” and beard’s “using a modified jigsaw strategy in the sheltered multilingual learner classroom to teach genetics vocabulary” are teaching technique manuscripts that reflect upon the learning experiences of the multilingual population and how to better support them to complete assignments and tasks. liu introduces transparency in learning and teaching (tilt), which is a teaching technique aimed to promote student success. in doing so, liu not only explains the technique but provides guidance on creating tilted assignments. similar to liu, beard explains ways that science content teachers can support the multilingual population. she highlights a successfully implemented modified jigsaw vocabulary activity, which utilizes cooperative learning, graphic organizers, and peer-to-peer engagement in a sheltered multilingual secondary science class. in addition, beard argues that “this strategy can be modified and used across content disciplines and grade levels, and abilities” (p. 51). references kumaravadivelu, b. (2003). beyond methods: macrostrategies for language teaching. yale university press. test, d. w., fowler, c. h., wood, w. m., brewer, d. m., & eddy, s. (2005). a conceptual framework of self-advocacy for students with disabilities. remedial and special education, 26(1), 43–54. https://doi.org/10.1177/07419325050260010601 ___________________________________________________________________ published: october 26, 2022 https://doi.org/10.1177/07419325050260010601 gatesol journal2022, vol. 32(2), pp. 1–2 doi:10.52242/gatesol.178 issn: 2331-6845 article joel mobley, graduate student, department of early childhood through secondary education, university of west georgia, carrollton, ga; email jmobley6@my.westga.edu. dr. natasha ramsay-jordan, assistant professor, department of early childhood through secondary education, university of west georgia, carrollton, ga; email nrjordan@westga.edu. highlighting supportive reading comprehension practices for english language learners in virtual classrooms gatesol journal 2022, vol. 32(1), pp. 60–70 doi:10.52242/gatesol.124 issn: 2331-6845 joel mobley university of west georgia natasha ramsay-jordan university of west georgia abstract covid-19 has, at least temporarily, reshaped the teaching and learning environment. virtual learning classrooms have replaced physical classrooms and require teachers to think of new and creative ways to keep students motivated to learn. understandably, these thoughts for creative teaching strategies are critical when considering changing demographics in student populations and existing linguistic barriers more commonly found in english language learners (ells). to this end, the purpose of this paper is to discuss how within the virtual learning environment, meaningful interactions, student motivation to learn, vocabulary instruction, the partnership model, and graphic organizers remain important factors impacting ells’ reading comprehension. the paper culminates with implications for the professional development of teachers and school administration. keywords support strategies, virtual learning, english language learners introduction many educators are finding themselves in unfamiliar circumstances resulting from the covid-19 pandemic. the unprecedented new social distancing practices and other preventive measures have presented many challenges for k–12 teachers, students, and parents. particularly for english language learners (ells), the separation from native english-speaking students has impacted opportunities to improve reading comprehension. virtual environments often limit opportunities for more positive support networks that ells might otherwise find in traditional school settings (moser et al., 2021). given the importance of reading comprehension for overall academic success, there is an increasing need to understand separation from peers as an important factor contributing to ells’ reading comprehension (zhang, 2017). a clear understanding of the nature of this shift can inform future virtual teaching and learning. this paper reviews the importance of and calls attention to how meaningful interactions, student motivation to learn, vocabulary instruction, the partnership model, and graphic organizers all have positive learning outcomes for the reading comprehension of ells. moreover, while many teachers will likely continue to use strategies from mailto:jmobley6@my.westga.edu mailto:nrjordan@westga.edu mobley & ramsay-jordan 61 pre-covid traditional face-to-face classrooms, more discussions about the benefits of the utility of these strategies in a virtual classroom setting are needed. reading comprehension can be thought of as the product of decoding words and linguistic comprehension to make connections to what is read and already known (goldenberg, 2013). for many ells, a highly caring or well-organized classroom inclusive of social interactions with their english-speaking counterparts assists with making important connections necessary for academic success (banse & palacios, 2018; cummins et al., 2012). according to banse and palacios (2018), highly caring classrooms where students feel safe to interact with nonimmigrant students provide a context that specifically bolsters ells’ motivation to learn and their english language arts (ela) achievement. for example, a highly caring teacher may encourage ells to collaborate with english-speaking peers to advance their learning during ela and reading comprehension assessments, resulting in higher performance. similarly, a teacher with a well-controlled classroom may provide ells with the time and space they need to connect with other students in the classroom to learn ela content deeply, creating a context in which ell students can thrive. indeed, many of the reading comprehension challenges for ells have been exacerbated by the virtual classroom and the limited access to english speakers. before the pandemic, research over the past 10–15 years converged on some basic understandings about reading comprehension struggles for ells. these reading comprehension obstacles for ells often included problems with academic language skills (e.g., academic vocabulary, morphology, syntax) needed to understand complex texts across content areas in school (goldenberg, 2013) and literacy skills (proctor et al., 2020). unsurprisingly, for some ells, combating these reading comprehension obstacles involves meaningful interactions with english-speaking students. however, with school closings and virtual classrooms, many ells find themselves isolated from their peers and teachers, which presents limited opportunities for peer-mediated approaches to learning. even as schools reopen, virtual learning remains a dominant mode of instruction in many schools, with some school districts conducting alternative instructional schedules, such as alternating days of face-to-face and virtual learning (mccray & tagami, 2021). this change in the traditional classroom setting has made it more challenging for students to stay engaged in academic tasks. thus, teachers must be creative to engage students in the virtual classroom. as a teacher of ells, the first author has engaged in discussions with other teachers of ells who talk about the significant challenges the online environment has posed in keeping their students motivated than would be the case with in-person classes. in the first author’s discussions with many teachers, it is clear that the struggle to get consistent engagement has become exhausting, and students are virtually fatigued. in addition to lack of engagement, many ells face technological barriers to learning in virtual settings (e.g., lack of access to technology such as laptops, software, or high-speed internet). to help combat technology barriers, many districts, including the district the first author serves, have provided chromebooks and partnered with internet service providers to ensure each student has the basics. still, students may not be tech-literate in many cases, which has created an added dimension of instruction for which teachers are now responsible. these compounding difficulties and challenges have contributed to a loss of direct instruction on reading comprehension that these students would have gotten in the traditional education setting. when the fatigue from virtual instruction is coupled with learning a new language, learning for ells is compromised. the change in modality also adds cognitive and emotional adjustment, inclusive of feelings of anxiety for far too many ells (moser et al., 2021), so separation remains a concern. 62 gatesol journal 32(1) understandably, social interactions with peers remain significant to students’ teaching and learning process (cho et al., 2018), further amplifying the problematic nature of virtual learning. for ells, who benefit from interactions with native-english-speaking students, isolation could mean an impediment to their success (daniel et al., 2016). teacher recognition of ells’ language needs and exceptionalities is important given such awareness is key to providing supports to ells. understandably, ells with learning disabilities or different exceptionality categories will need additional aid in mastering reading comprehension and understanding (o’connor et al., 2017). what follows is a brief discussion about what teachers in virtual classrooms could do to address the needs of ells. specific strategies to bring about positive teacher-student relationships for student motivation and vocabulary development are discussed. the use of graphic organizers, students’ prior knowledge, and other strategies are also highlighted. the first author, a secondary educator, used these strategies in his classroom as effective ways of teaching and learning with ell. these strategies should not be exclusive to teachers of ells but rather a routine practice among general education teachers. importance of student motivation during virtual instruction student motivation is a significant part of student learning experiences (bagceci & cinkara, 2013). the academic journey and potential accomplishments for students motivated to learn are more accessible and rewarding (hwang & duke, 2020). in fact, motivation for many students is a cornerstone of learning many of the valuable skills and strategies that will empower them academically. in terms of ells, motivation to learn is a critical part of working toward reading comprehension. like most other learners, ells with higher intrinsic and extrinsic motivation levels are more aware of and more willing to try reading comprehension strategies that they are taught. because many of these reading strategies might include questioning to dig deeper or making inferences, motivational factors play an essential role in a student’s language learning process, both qualitatively and quantitatively (pavel, 2020). without motivation, students are less likely to see gains in language and academic achievement, making them less likely to improve their reading comprehension. teacher practices for improving student motivation for learning can include positive self-talk and creating a positive online environment (jozwik et al., 2019). for ells, such teaching practices can increase academic performance in reading comprehension (bagceci & cinkara, 2013). improving student motivation hinges on teachers’ ability to understand and build relationships with their students (pavel, 2020). improving bilingual students’ motivation can include emphasizing positive self-talk. positive self-talk can be done simply by scripting modeling of positive self-talk in the lesson plan, such as “i can” statements (jozwik et al., 2019). script talk inclusive of positive affirmations during virtual learning can change the way students view their progress and their ability to perform (andrade, 2014). additionally, teachers should regularly encourage students to speak positively about their skills and ability to learn new material (pavel, 2020). students may easily feel overwhelmed and depressed in a virtual learning environment (o’connor et al., 2017), but teachers encouraging their students to speak positive affirmations can improve their results. many school districts have implemented mandatory social-emotional learning (sel) instruction as a mandatory part of students’ daily routine. this mandatory sel instruction is an excellent time for teachers to model and require students to engage in positive affirmations. the first author conducts sel instruction during the first 10 minutes of each class. there are synchronous virtual instructions via zoom mondays through thursdays. part of the sel curriculum teaches students through scenarios and discussions about overcoming difficult mobley & ramsay-jordan 63 situations while working in an environment with positive affirmations. these discussions happen through students using their microphones and through chat messages. the first author wants his students to operate in the growth mindset that “i can learn,” “i will learn,” and “i can do hard things.” so as their classroom teacher, he models these positive affirmations in zoom sessions. one of his favorite ways to engage students in these positive discussions is through an activity he calls “what i now know and can do.” using the current pandemic and the many changes and adaptations to education, he shares with students what he now knows because of the pandemic. that is, he intentionally focuses on the positives the pandemic has brought to education. he then asks students what they have learned considering the pandemic. this focus on advancements usually generates exciting discussions because students feel empowered by their new knowledge and experiences. one method that has motivated and kept students interested in learning the content in the first author’s virtual classroom is creating a positive online learning environment through rich discussions. to promote an open, supportive, and respectful online environment beyond the required discussion board, the first author creates a discussion area in the online platform where all students can introduce themselves and post their questions throughout the semester. both students and the first author post replies and answers to the discussion board. this engagement in discussion provides a context reminiscent of the question-and-answer sessions that occur naturally in traditional face-to-face classrooms. like face-to-face instruction, building positive relationships with students helps keep them excited and motivated to learn. particularly in the online classroom, the first author has found maintaining a positive learning environment lets students know their teacher cares. for his ells, getting to know each of them individually through introductory posts and continuous discussions helps the first author identify ways to assist his ells and keep them motivated to learn. typically, the first author assigns students to smaller breakout groups within the virtual classroom and poses questions. the questions are designed to get to know the students and include questions about their academic and personal interests, including the day and month of their birth, favorite foods, music, and dance, to name a few examples. as the classroom teacher, the first author seeks opportunities to learn about his students’ interests outside of school and acknowledge their perspectives about various educational, social, and political topics. the first author uses students’ contributions to fuel student-to-student, student-to-teacher, and teacher-to-student dialogue and is deliberate in remembering students’ responses so that he can follow up with students later. this strategy of building student motivation through establishing positive teacherstudent relationships has helped the first author in his virtual classroom by showing students he cares about them as individuals. for the first author, building relationships with students is the easiest way to create a positive learning environment. he has found it is much easier to get students to work hard when there is a positive teacher-student relationship. engaging in conversations relevant to students is a strategy that builds a nurturing environment, improves students’ motivation, and invites future participation from ells (pavel, 2020). the importance of motivation cannot be overstated, and for teachers of ells, finding ways to spark learning is a critical part of working toward reading comprehension (pavel, 2020). finding ways to support, motivate, and engage ells through reading comprehension strategies—including linguistic diversity, vocabulary instruction, partner discussion, and graphic organizers—remains vital (mancilla-martinez et al., 2020). what follows are brief discussions about how vocabulary instruction, partner discussion, and graphic organizers work to improve the reading comprehension of ells. for each section, strategies from the first author’s classroom are shared. 64 gatesol journal 32(1) vocabulary instruction to support ells when the goal is to improve ells’ reading comprehension, vocabulary development is a foundational skill (taboada & rutherford, 2011). vocabulary instruction is essential for all students to improve their reading comprehension ability (mancilla-martinez et al., 2020). however, the long-term strategy of developing students’ reading comprehension through conceptual knowledge of academic vocabulary is especially advantageous for ells (taboada & rutherford, 2011). thus, teachers who incorporate vocabulary into their academic instruction support ells in remarkable ways. far too many ells continue to lag in their language and vocabulary skills and acquisition (sorenson duncan et al., 2021). students beginning the year with low english-word-reading skills are at a disadvantage when asked to read for understanding (mancilla-martinez et al., 2020). therefore, these students will need additional instruction in vocabulary and word reading skills for reading comprehension. teachers of ell students need to ensure that students understand the vocabulary used in their assigned texts. all students need explicit vocabulary instruction, but the practice remains a highly beneficial strategy for ells (taboada & rutherford, 2011). many researchers have acknowledged all aspects of ell instruction should include intensive vocabulary instruction (hall et al., 2019). fortunately, there are many online resources students and teachers can access to help develop academic vocabulary and ultimately reading comprehension for ells. in many school districts, programs such as lexia® core5® reading (henceforth referred to as lexia) have been purchased to assist teachers in the teaching and learning of ells. lexia is a program used as a supplemental learning tool in the first author’s school district. using lexia, teachers assign students pretests, and the lexia program in turn creates an individualized learning plan with modules for each student to work through individually. lexia then provides teacher feedback and accompanying lesson options based on students’ performance on topics or units. using programs like lexia, teachers can assign homework to help ells develop their vocabulary. expectedly, these programs should not be used as a replacement for explicit instruction by the teacher (sorenson duncan et al., 2021). the first author often uses data generated by lexia to drive his instruction and meet the needs of students. more specifically, the data assist teachers with assigning homework that targets students’ areas for improvement and delivering one to two lessons weekly. thus, as a supplement, programs such as lexia, in addition to the detailed instruction teachers provide, remain beneficial for the improved reading comprehension of ell students who receive language instruction and support. the use of visuals to support instruction is a valuable strategy the first author uses with ells. presentation tools like google slides, nearpod, or pear deck can be used to display vocabulary words with a corresponding image. presentation tools like these help teachers keep students engaged in learning. google slides makes it simple for teachers to create interactive presentations with easily shared information with students. nearpod allows teachers to solicit students’ responses to open-ended questions where students can type or draw their responses. nearpod also allows students to work independently or collaboratively by bringing all the students together in one classroom yet affording each student their personal space where the teacher can give them personalized feedback. nearpod also allows for peer review of student responses because students can see each other’s work. as for pear deck, it is a fast way to transform presentations into classroom conversations. the first author typically asks students to copy definitions and draw accompanying pictures based on the vocabulary words during classroom instruction. he also uses pear deck to leave audio instructions, descriptions, and examples of the vocabulary for students to hear while working on the prompts for assignments. the pear deck flashcard factory helps students design and draw their vocabulary word images, which assist with mobley & ramsay-jordan 65 reading comprehension. the first author has found the flashcard factory to be transformative for how ells in his classroom engage with vocabulary. flashcard factory allows the first author to pair ells with native-english-speaking peers. together, students work to create dynamic and engaging flashcards. by pairing students to collaborate, students can illustrate and define terms. this think-pair-share approach that the flashcard factory offers helps make learning vocabulary for ells an active and social experience. the pear deck flashcard factory strategy has helped the first author’s students retain the vocabulary learned by creating a visual connection with the terminology and building on prior knowledge. the use of the pear deck flashcard factory adds to the general understanding that although the words might change between two languages, the images do not. the partner discussion model to support ells unfortunately, one of the most significant disadvantages to virtual instruction is the lack of regular interactions students have with peers. with the covid-19 pandemic, many ells are not receiving essential social interactions they usually get from their peers, leading to continuous loss of opportunities to improve their reading comprehension and language skills. in many ways, peer interaction helps to improve ells’ reading comprehension and other supports in the classroom (zano, 2020). for example, when readings of texts become complicated for ells to understand, the oral language or readings from their english-speaking peers could prove helpful (sorenson duncan et al., 2021). in a traditional classroom, these peer-to-peer interactions could be seamless, affording ells with opportunities to gain understanding from their peers in face-to-face interactions that might otherwise be challenging in a somewhat isolated environment such as the virtual classroom (mancilla-martinez et al., 2020). fortunately, there are ways for teachers to help improve this missing aspect from the online environment. like previously mentioned approaches to motivating ells through discussion, the first author has found that using an instructional tool like flipgrid has worked well to garner partner discussions. flipgrid can be used to have students post a video response to a prompt like a discussion board. instead of the traditional discussion boards where students use text to respond to classroom discussions, students use flipgrid to create short video responses. the short video responses from students can be a response to an original question or a response to classmates. within their responses, students can ask clarifying questions and share their understanding of the reading. for ells, the flipgrid interaction could serve two purposes. the first is ells learn from other students as they discuss the course content. second, ells get additional practice speaking and listening to english in the academic environment. this strategy fosters participation and enhances the quality and depth of overall discussion (zano, 2020). another effective strategy teachers could utilize in virtual classrooms is breakout groups. like traditional classroom settings, where students work together in groups, which often help ells understand assigned reading materials (mancilla-martinez et al., 2020), online software such as zoom and other video conferencing applications typically allow teachers to create breakout groups. thus, teachers in virtual classrooms can assign students to small workgroups, much like they would in a classroom environment and allow students to collaborate with their peers. breakout rooms can be created for any part of a lesson. the first author typically has preassigned groups for initial group discussions to help students scaffold the text and flesh out the expectations of assignments and randomized groups for a post-reading activity. the breakout groups for initial discussions are based on students’ reading comprehension abilities. students are often grouped in mixed ability pairings of three to four students, which has worked well in the first author’s 66 gatesol journal 32(1) classroom. after the initial discussions, students return to whole-class discussions to share out. afterward, a randomized breakout group is formed for a post-activity discussion. students are given discussion questions as a guide during the randomized breakout room sessions for the postreading activity. the randomized breakout room usually affords students opportunities to reflect on the lesson and make connections. although not the traditional way of interacting with their peers, virtual small groups can help ells connect to assigned readings and their peers in personable ways while building on reading comprehension. notably, small group settings could work for any subject. so, for example, after reading a classroom assignment or course text, teachers could use the partner discussion model, in which students in the class discuss and check for reading comprehension with a partner. ells are sometimes hesitant to speak in a whole-class setting but are more willing to talk with a partner (carrison & ernst-slavit, 2005). working with a partner in analyzing the text allows ells to gain confidence in speaking about texts and can motivate them to make connections and share compelling information (zano, 2020). ells’ connection to assigned readings could assist with their reading comprehension and sharing during discussions. this approach is relatively easy to implement in the virtual classroom (carrison & ernst-slavit, 2005). small groups afford ells opportunities to build relationships with their peers and acquire language skills they might not feel comfortable doing in a whole class setting (cho et al., 2018). teachers should recognize ells can build their reading comprehension skills and learn as much, if not more, from their peers as they can from their instructors (sorenson duncan et al., 2021). when teachers provide all students with open-ended questions and conversation starters, ells in small groups with english speakers can better read, comprehend, and discuss assignments. one advantage of the small group setting with discussion questions is other students help to facilitate language acquisition and vocabulary development, which can improve ells’ reading comprehension (mancilla-martinez et al., 2020). this partner discussion model, which is vital to reading comprehension in the traditional classroom experience, is crucial during the recent virtual learning experience. graphic organizers to support ells fortunately, like the partner discussion model, graphic organizers work well to improve the reading comprehension of ells both in traditional and online classrooms (acosta, 2019). graphic organizers can work in multiple ways to improve the reading comprehension of ells. for example, graphic organizers can help students to identify relationships and make connections for reading comprehension. for ells in particular, graphic organizers can promote their strategic reading, improve their ability to classify the content of a passage, help them locate supporting information, and enhance their ability to gain meaning or comprehend text (praveen & rajan, 2013). educators of ells can also utilize graphic organizers as an informal assessment tool to see what information their ells are pulling from the text (zano, 2020). many teachers already use graphic organizers as part of their instructional practices. graphic organizers offer visuals for students to help build relationships and understanding of content. one such graphic organizer the first author often uses is a what i know, what i want to know, and what i learned (kwl) chart. kwl charts work well both in traditional and online classrooms. in the online classroom, kwl charts are particularly effective for ells to help them access prior knowledge and summarize their learning. teachers could ask ells to use google documents to create kwl templates both individually and collaboratively for virtual teaching and learning. students could also be supported in creating a kwl template suitable for reading and mobley & ramsay-jordan 67 vocabulary content. using the kwl chart ells create, teachers can engage them in learning, reviewing lessons, or help guide and support ell students’ reading comprehension. teachers can also create a google jamboard in the virtual environment where all the students collaborate to fill out the graphic organizer or chart. when using jamboard to create graphic organizers, it is helpful to upload a picture of the graphic organizer as a background, ensuring that students cannot change or edit the graphic organizer. teachers should encourage students to write or type information onto the graphic organizer. the first author has found that by keeping the original picture of the graphic organizer intact, students can compare and share their interpretation and comprehension of the lesson. this process of using the jamboard is like how one uses a whiteboard or chart paper in a traditional face-to-face classroom. it allows students to work together to generate ideas. canva is another tool the first author uses. teachers can use canva to create graphic organizers in the virtual classroom. teaching and learning with canva are done in real-time with students. teachers can use canva to create interactive presentations that invite students to add to the lessons individually or as a group. students can ask questions, leave feedback, and get support from other students. teachers and students can also add visual content to questions and answers during lessons. canva also allows teachers to access and use an array of content-specific templates. teachers can scaffold the work into chunks based on the content and provide students with specific tools with the content-specific templates. the first author specifically uses canva for scaffolding activities with students. for ells’ reading comprehension, teachers could use canva templates to scaffold lesson activities that include a scaffolding session during the initial discussions and breakout rooms. as teachers meet with each breakout group, they can preview the text and highlight key vocabulary terms or encourage students to chunk the text then read and discuss. scaffolding is a support teachers provide students as they work toward an understanding of a concept. in the first author’s classroom, scaffolding works particularly well for ells paired with native-english-speaking peers and when the pairs are based on mixed ability. the first author has found mixed-ability pairings work best when pairing a high-performing student with a medium-high-performing student or a low-performing student with a low-medium-performing student. understandably, when pairing students with significantly different skill sets, students may become frustrated. however, this frustration can be productive perseverance when conducted in highly caring classrooms (banse & palacios, 2018). graphic organizers, pictures, and charts can all serve as scaffolding tools. the first author has found scaffolding lessons for use with graphic organizers remain a valuable strategy for helping to improve ells’ reading comprehension because it supports students working collaboratively with their native-english-speaking peers to generate ideas and concepts. graphic organizers are an excellent way for students to visualize the text and read the pictures in the organizer so teachers can see where there is a lack of comprehension (acosta, 2019). even more, graphic organizers can be a great informal assessment tool to inform what vocabulary or background knowledge teachers may need to address and allow for the educator to understand where ells’ reading comprehension might require support. teachers engaging with teaching and learning within the virtual classroom can use graphic organizers in multiple ways (zano, 2020). they can require students to complete graphic organizers as homework on specific text materials to gauge ells’ reading comprehension. additionally, teachers could assign the completion of graphic organizers to students as small group work. working in small groups could help ells interact and learn from their peers (praveen & rajan, 2013). gaining confidence from contributing 68 gatesol journal 32(1) to their groups and receiving positive feedback from teachers could create a positive learning environment for ells and increase their motivation (cho et al., 2018). conclusion as educators around the country grapple with the new realities of educating students during a global pandemic, the complexities and stakes are most pronounced with our most at-risk student populations, such as ells. these new realities present clear imperatives for the professional development of teachers and school administrators. first, professional development to assist teachers in supporting ells’ diverse learning styles and levels in an online learning environment is needed. understandably, ells have varying amounts of prior knowledge of academic, technology, and reading skills. the range of prior knowledge could be underdeveloped or nonexistent depending on students’ personal history (cho et al., 2018). the variation in ells’ knowledge, coupled with the unforeseen challenges of a pandemic and the move to virtual learning environments, has undoubtedly caused some of these students not to progress as much as they would have during traditional in-person instruction (daniel et al., 2016). second, with the understanding ells come from various backgrounds that have influenced their reading, vocabulary, and language development, all of which affect their reading comprehension abilities (mancilla-martinez et al., 2020), school administrators will need to invest in the purchase of software that could assist with the complexities of virtual learning experiences for ells. there remains a challenge of verbal comprehension in the virtual environment in which many ells find themselves. this challenge in verbal comprehension is even more problematic for school districts that rely on live or recorded video instruction formats that place a high degree of importance on oral comprehension. this heavy reliance on oral comprehension in the virtual environment creates disadvantages for ells who may have less-developed verbal comprehension skills, which is also linked to reading comprehension (sorenson duncan et al., 2021). this conundrum about verbal language versus text highlights the need to learn more about how the covid-19 pandemic and virtual learning have impacted ells’ education. third, when teachers use multiple methods to teach ells, many students’ reading comprehension skills increase (acosta, 2019). multiple methods inclusive of cognitive and practical skills (barber et al., 2015) afford teachers of ells with opportunities to enhance reading comprehension. teachers’ use of multiple evidence-based strategies to improve ells’ reading comprehension should involve strategies that address skill acquisition and language development (acosta, 2019). for example, teachers could couple the partnership model inclusive of peer grouping and graphic organizers along with vocabulary instruction techniques to improve ells’ reading comprehension. the more tools ells must use, the better their chances are for improving reading comprehension. more so, the utility of multiple teaching strategies could help teachers manage the needs of ells (galloway & uccelli, 2019). this awareness is crucial to improving students’ development of other skills—enabling ells to improve reading comprehension and language acquisition. references acosta, k. 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(2011). developing reading comprehension and academic vocabulary for english language learners through science content: a formative experiment. reading psychology, 32(2), 113–157. https://doi.org/10.1080/02702711003604468 zano, k. (2020). reading comprehension strategies of the efal learners in the fet phase: teacher perspectives. e-bangi journal, 17(7), 1–12. zhang, y. (2017). supporting english language learners in social studies: language-focused strategies. social studies, 108(5), 204–209. https://doi.org/10.1080/00377996.2017. 1354808 ____________________________________________________________________________ received: february 21, 2021 | accepted: august 3, 2021 | published: april 18, 2022 https://bit.ly/3w7cpbn https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2020.102431 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2020.102431 https://doi.org/10.1177/0731948717698537 https://doi.org/10.1177/0731948717698537 https://doi.org/10.26424/philobib.2019.25.1.08 https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v6n2p155 https://doi.org/10.1002/rrq.258 https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000545 https://doi.org/10.1080/02702711003604468 https://doi.org/10.1080/00377996.2017.1354808 https://doi.org/10.1080/00377996.2017.1354808 gatesol journal2022, vol. 32(1), pp. 60–70 highlighting supportive reading comprehension practices for english language learners in virtual classrooms doi:10.52242/gatesol.124 issn: 2331-6845 article margaret ashton, graduate student, department of teacher education, berry college, rome, ga; email margaret.ashton@vikings.berry.edu. dr. eliana hirano, associate professor of applied linguistics and tefl minor coordinator, department of teacher education, berry college, rome, ga; email ehirano@berry.edu. the perceived metalinguistic and cognitive influences of bilingual education gatesol journal 2021, vol. 31(1), pp. 3–16 doi:10.52242/gatesol.120 issn: 2331-6845 margaret ashton berry college eliana hirano berry college abstract despite the substantial body of academic research regarding the metalinguistic and cognitive effects of bilingual education, most of the literature reports on large-scale experimental studies (e.g., bialystok et al., 2010) while little is known about how individuals who have participated in bilingual programs view their learning outcomes. the objective of this study was to investigate whether there are trends in the self-perceived outcomes of bilingual immersion education on people who have spent at least four years in a bilingual educational setting. ten individuals who met this criterion were interviewed and the audio recordings of their interviews were transcribed and analyzed inductively to allow themes to emerge from the participants’ words. findings indicate there were identifiable themes in how participants perceived their education and the amount of time and specific grade levels spent in bilingual programs tended to correspond with certain participant response patterns. this study has implications for the many emerging georgia dual language immersion programs and their recruitment strategies. keywords bilingual education, dual language immersion, metalinguistic ability, cognitive ability introduction in the past decade or so, there has been a growing number of dual language programs in georgia. according to a 2014 article in the atlanta journal constitution (farlow, 2014), the then-georgia state superintendent set a goal of having 20 dual language immersion (dli) programs in georgia public schools by 2020—a goal that has now been surpassed, with over 70 dli schools listed on the georgia department of education (2021) website. the push for bilingual immersion programs has been largely motivated by economic factors, as there are tens of thousands of georgians who are employed by the many foreign companies that have put down roots in the state (broady, 2019). besides an economic advantage, bilingual immersion education, henceforth referred to as bilingual education, has been shown to promote the development of metalinguistic and cognitive abilities (e.g., friesen & bialystok, 2012; mustard, 2010). despite the evidence suggesting this type of education has generally positive effects beyond language development (bialystok et al., 2010), little is known about how individuals who have participated in bilingual programs view their learning outcomes. simply engaging in an academic program that purportedly has certain effects mailto:margaret.ashton@vikings.berry.edu mailto:ehirano@berry.edu 4 gatesol journal 31(1) does not guarantee one recognizes the manifestation of those effects in oneself. consequently, there may be a discrepancy between research findings from large-scale quantitative studies on the effects of bilingual education and individuals’ perception of the outcomes of their personal experiences. the objective of this study, therefore, is to investigate how people who have attended a bilingual school perceive the influence of this type of education on their metalinguistic and cognitive abilities. understanding metalinguistic ability metalinguistic ability, one of the two main concepts explored in this article, is best understood as “the ability to think about and reflect upon the nature and functions of language” 1 (gombert, 1990, p. 2). research shows clear evidence metalinguistic ability in bilingual children does indeed differ from that of their monolingual counterparts. according to friesen and bialystok (2012), bilingual children tend to have a better understanding of the arbitrary nature of language. this phenomenon holds true for both bilingual children who have received a formal bilingual education and for those who have not, as such a concept could become obvious through simple personal reflection on one’s own language use. as a result of their everyday experience, bilingual children are habitual codeswitchers who tend to understand the relationship between sound and meaning is arbitrary; namely, words and concepts are not intrinsically connected. these individuals are, therefore, not bound by one lexicon and must therefore make decisions about which lexicon to use according to what is situationally appropriate (hoff et al., 2011). by contrast, monolingual children lack the advantage of interacting with another lexicon, which renders them less likely to develop the capacity to conceptualize the expression of ideas in any way other than through the sole language they speak. to illustrate with a hypothetical example, a french-english bilingual child uses the word flag in conversation with her anglophone mother, thus choosing the appropriate english word based on the language of her interlocutor. the child knows, however, she could have just as easily used the word drapeau with a francophone interlocutor. since she has two different lexica from which to choose, she would be more likely to have internalized the arbitrary nature of language compared to a monolingual child who knows only one word to represent the concept of a flag. this hypothetical child could be as young as a toddler and could be a sequential or a simultaneous bilingual learner. what matters as far as bilingualism goes is such a child can draw from both languages, as he or she has vocabulary available in both lexica. increased metalinguistic awareness in students in bilingual programs has also been shown to have a positive effect on these students’ ability to apply logic and reasoning to language. for example, ter kuile et al. (2011) conducted a study that tested the ability of students to decipher an unknown written language and found bilingual students performed significantly better than monolingual students. the success of bilingual students on this metric of metalinguistic ability indicates bilingual education provides advantages beyond fluency in another language. understanding cognitive ability cognitive ability is the other main concept explored in this article. although people are born with a base level of genetic coding that affects performance in various areas, such as physical strength and general cognitive ability, the factors that can influence a person’s abilities are not limited to innate, inherited traits (mitchell, 2018). this interplay between nature and nurture is the fertile ground from which a significant proportion of current psychological and neurological research springs. education is one such environmental factor. there is substantial evidence the education a 1 this definition was translated from the french original into english by the first author. ashton & hirano 5 person receives can have a profound and lasting effect on the neurological pathways of the brain, with bilingual education, more specifically, having been shown to be a powerful tool for enhancing cognitive ability (mustard, 2010). cognitive abilities relevant to bilingual education include linguistic problem-solving skills, non-linguistic problem-solving skills, and general cognitive skills outside of problem-solving. while linguistic problem-solving skills are associated with learning a new language, their nonlinguistic counterpart encompasses diverse abilities related to math and spatial reasoning. general transferable cognitive skills unrelated to problem-solving include a range of abilities such as sustaining attention, using working memory, understanding the perspectives of others, and exercising executive control. as used by bialystok and her colleagues (2010), the term executive control refers to the ability to focus one’s attention and efforts on a given task. research has demonstrated bilingual children are not as easily distracted by irrelevant information as their monolingual counterparts, as they are particularly adept at non-verbal conflict tasks that require the ability to concentrate on one aspect of the task while blocking out irrelevant information from another (barac & bialystok, 2012; bialystok et al., 2010). time spent in program high levels of formal bilingual education as well as extensive exposure to both languages in everyday situations are the main determinants of the degree to which an individual can use both languages (bialystok & poarch, 2014). in other words, it is these two factors that ultimately dictate the general degree of bilingualism an individual achieves. along the same lines, increased bilingualism as an isolated factor has been linked to better outcomes in both metalinguistic development and cognitive ability. this fact points to bilingualism as the source of these increased functions, rather than some other, unaccounted for factor (bialystok & poarch, 2014). as a result of having to filter through information in two languages, bilingual children also display better overall executive control when performing tasks of cognition (barac & bialystok, 2012; bialystok et al., 2010). a common line of inquiry among researchers is to wonder to what degree students must be bilingual in order to reap cognitive benefits. although there is no specific point at which students suddenly begin to increase their cognitive abilities, it has been shown as children become increasingly bilingual and have more experience in a bilingual education environment, their performance on nonverbal executive control tasks improves. this improvement in cognitive function has been shown by studying students throughout their progression in english/french/hebrew bilingual education (barac & bialystok, 2012; bialystok et al., 2010). objective of this study the metalinguistic and cognitive benefits of bilingual education are well-documented in the largescale experimental studies discussed above. in these quantitative studies, participants of a wide range of age and language backgrounds are usually brought into a laboratory where they engage with various tasks aimed at assessing their metalinguistic and cognitive abilities compared to monolingual control groups. it is largely unknown, therefore, whether individuals who had the opportunity to participate in bilingual programs are themselves aware they have reaped the benefits touted by that line of research. in light of this gap in the literature, the objective of this study is to investigate whether there are trends in the self-perceived outcomes of bilingual education on people who have spent at least four years in a bilingual educational setting. in pursuit of this objective, the following guiding research questions underpinned all decisions made in this study: 6 gatesol journal 31(1) 1. how do individuals who have received at least four years of bilingual education perceive the influence of this education on their metalinguistic abilities? 2. how do these individuals perceive the influence of this education in regard to their cognitive abilities? methodology this study focuses on participants who attended a minimum of four years of bilingual education, specifically on their perceptions of the influence of this education on their metalinguistic and cognitive abilities. considering the exploratory and emergent nature of this investigation, a qualitative approach to research (creswell, 2003) was chosen. there was a total of 10 participants, who were recruited through flyers distributed on a small liberal arts college campus and through snowball sampling (dattalo, 2008). the participants did not have to be students at this college. the requirement for participation was a minimum of four years in bilingual education, more specifically, in an immersion program in which two languages were used to learn core curricula. the requirement of four years, albeit somewhat arbitrary, was chosen for two reasons: if a participant attended a bilingual high school, four years would encompass the complete program. at the same time, lowering the requirement could have resulted in participants who were only briefly associated with a bilingual program, which may not have allowed for insightful reflections. data were collected using semi-structured one-on-one interviews (fontana & frey, 2000). the interview questions in the appendix were designed to explore participants’ perception of the metalinguistic and cognitive outcomes of their bilingual education experience. questions concerning the metalinguistic aspects of linguistic thought were meant to spur participants to discuss the degree to which they consciously process grammar and vocabulary, as well as whether they believe their bilingual education has contributed to how they process these components of language. specifically, these questions were designed to explore the perceived influence of participants’ bilingual education on the processing of grammar and vocabulary, vocabulary size, and vocabulary recall. questions regarding participants’ perceptions of the influence of bilingual education on their cognitive abilities explored their ability to learn another language, their problem-solving skills, and other transferable cognitive skills. interviews started by obtaining participants’ written consent and were conducted in person, except in the case of the canadian participants, who were interviewed via video call. interviews were audio-recorded and subsequently transcribed verbatim, lasted an average of 17 minutes, and were conducted in english by the first author. the data produced in the interviews were analyzed inductively and recursively following a grounded theory approach (bernard & ryan, 2010; strauss & corbin, 1990) in order to identify emergent themes. as bernard and ryan (2010) explained, grounded theory is well suited for “analyzing interview data about how people experience the mundane and the exotic, the boring and the enchanting moments of life” (p. 269). in addition, according to thomas (2006), the use of inductive analysis allows “research findings to emerge from the frequent, dominant, or significant themes inherent in raw data” (p. 238). the first author was the primary analyst, and she used memo writing (hesse-biber & leavy, 2011) extensively to identify emerging themes and make connections between literature and participant responses and between the participant responses themselves. in grounded theory, the literature can be used to provide concepts (such as, in this case, metalinguistic and cognitive abilities) that are checked against actual data and to stimulate questions (strauss & corbin, 1990). the transcripts were analyzed and coded at the paragraph and sentence levels. the second author read all transcribed interviews and met weekly with the first ashton & hirano 7 author to discuss the analysis. both authors are bilingual, although neither attended a bilingual school. it should be noted this study was conducted in compliance with the rules and regulations for the protection of human subjects, and its design was approved by the institutional review board of the college where both authors are affiliated. educational background of participants the table below summarizes the 10 participants’ key information. they come from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds, representing three nationalities (american, canadian, and haitian) and a range of length in a bilingual education setting. it should also be noted that although some students participated in study abroad programs that involved their l2 or other languages, all were or are currently being educated at english-speaking colleges. table 1 the participants pseudonym degree of bilingualism in the home country where bilingual education took place grades in bilingual ed. setting (# of years) degree of bilingualism in educational setting languages of bilingual ed. daniel créole and french, more créole) haiti k–12 (13 years) significantly more french than créole l1: french and créole marie créole and french, more créole haiti k–12 (13 years) significantly more french than créole l1: french and créole shannon mostly english, some french united states of america k–3 (4 years) mostly french, some english l2: french l1: english jane mostly english, some spanish united states of america 9–12 (4 years) 30% spanish 70% english l2: spanish l1: english cameron english only united states of america 7–12 (6 years) 50/50 split l2: spanish l1: english bridget english only united states of america 9–12 (4 years) ⅓ spanish ⅔ english l2: spanish l1: english alexandra* english only canada k–2 3–7 8–10 11–12 (13 years) 100% french 80% french 20% english 50/50 split 25% french 75% english l2: french l1: english 8 gatesol journal 31(1) hannah* english only canada 6–7 8–10 11–12 (7 years) 100% french 50/50 split three classes in french, the rest in english l2: french l1: english sophie* english only canada 6–10 11–12 (7 years) 100% french 50/50 split l2: french l1: english luke* english only canada 6–7 8–12 (7 years) 100% french 50/50 split l2: french l1: english note. an asterisk (*) indicates participants who have already graduated with a four-year degree. alexandra also holds a master’s of teaching. all other participants are currently undergraduate students in college. findings analysis of the interview transcripts revealed several reoccurring themes that characterized the participants’ perceptions of the outcomes of their bilingual education. this section will first address key findings related to rq1 (metalinguistic abilities) and rq2 (cognitive abilities). we will then consider the amount of time participants spent in their bilingual programs, which was found to be an important factor to consider when analyzing the quality and way in which participants answered the interview questions. finally, we will present data on one specific participant whose responses differed significantly from those of her peers and will speculate why that might have been the case. metalinguistic ability all participants affirmed their bilingual education contributed to the way they process grammatical concepts in general, which indicates participants’ education may have increased their metalinguistic awareness of grammar. their perception of the degree and nature of this contribution, however, was variable. alexandra, for example, was unable to articulate exactly how her education affected her grammar but was sure it did. cameron, shannon, and luke were reserved in their responses, using words like “sort of,” “a bit,” and “probably” when describing the generally positive influence their bilingual education had on their grammar. bridget, marie, jane, daniel, and sophie were more confident and precise in their descriptions. bridget described herself as more “aware” of grammar. marie credited her education with giving her a “method” with which to understand grammar. jane, whose first language is english, thought she gained a better understanding of english grammar “terms” and “verb forms.” daniel thought his french and créole education made him more cognizant of grammatical rules. sophie perceived both negative and positive outcomes: there’s lots of grammar differences between french and english, and so i still, even though i haven’t been in french immersion for 10 years now, i still make some of those errors in english. like, putting the dollar sign on the wrong side it’s like . . . these are all things that i still have to think about because during like those pivotal years when you’re doing a lot of writing, i did that, and so there i think there are some negative consequences of . . . not consequences, but effects of having done that, in terms of my grammar. ashton & hirano 9 she then went on to say the positive outcome was the general grammatical awareness she may not have developed without her “in-depth” bilingual grammar education. besides an influence on how they process grammar in general, all participants, except for daniel, stated their bilingual education influenced their knowledge and use of vocabulary and/or grammar in their l1, specifically. most participants perceived this influence to be positive. three participants (hannah, sophie, and shannon) indicated common roots and cognates between their native language and their l2 made it easier to decipher words in their native language. luke summed up his thoughts by saying his bilingual education helped with “language in general.” alexandra saw delayed positive effects of her bilingual education on the grammar of her native language when she continued her study of her l2 and began an l3, german, at the college level. she said, “i’m sure it helped on some levels of just understanding, like, some of the grammar in german, just because in english, i don’t think about grammar at all.” she is unsure, however, if there has been an influence on her l1 vocabulary. both hannah and cameron consider themselves more aware of grammatical structures in their native language, and hannah has caught herself applying french word order to english. while shannon perceived no influence of her bilingual education on her l1 grammar, bridget perceived no influence on her l1 vocabulary. daniel, who was educated in both of his native languages, french and créole, expressed since he already spoke both languages at home and at school, he could not see the influence of his education on these languages. marie, who was also educated in her two l1s, thought her bilingual education helped her to use more precise vocabulary, as she has more words from which to choose and is aware of nuances of meaning. however, she stated since both languages were native to her, her bilingual education did not have an influence on her knowledge of the grammar of these languages. cognitive ability in investigating the perception participants had of the outcome of their bilingual education on their cognitive skills, their thoughts on how well they were able to learn additional languages revealed varied experiences. bridget and marie both credited their bilingual education with having facilitated their attempts with a third language. they cited having a better understanding of grammar (marie) and having general experience with language learning (bridget) as reasons for their success with another language. luke learned some spanish while he was still enrolled in his french and english bilingual program and said the similarities between french and spanish rendered his bilingual background “pretty helpful” for tackling spanish. jane and cameron have not attempted to learn another language since exiting the bilingual programs in which they were enrolled but were confident their bilingual background would give them an advantage in future foreign language endeavors. jane thought the spanish she learned through her bilingual education would help her decode cognates in other romance languages, such as italian, french, and portuguese. other participants found it challenging to learn another language after being enrolled in bilingual programs. hannah and alexandra, in particular, struggled when they took language classes during their undergraduate degree programs, although they learned english and french in their k–12 schools. alexandra described her shock when her german class became increasingly difficult, saying, “i realized how difficult it actually is to learn a language and how hard it is and how i don’t, like, have some natural gift at learning languages.” she then explained it was this experience that made her realize she only learned french easily because she was immersed from such a young age. both participants expressed concern their background made them overconfident in their language abilities. hannah summed up her thoughts on the subject: 10 gatesol journal 31(1) i definitely think it made me overconfident in my ability to learn another language. there was such a huge difference in being like tossed into another language in formative years versus being like 20 and trying to learn something at just such a different pace in such a different environment. sophie had mixed feelings, saying she was able to read and write in italian with more ease because of linguistic similarities to french. overall, she still labelled her attempt at a third language as having “failed” and cited interference from french as a primary reason for this failure. it should be noted hannah, alexandra, and sophie were in bilingual programs for at least half of their education. while participants were able to clearly recall their experiences learning additional languages, they had difficulty elaborating on other ways in which their bilingual education may have affected their cognitive ability. none of the three participants who were immersed in bilingual programs throughout their entire k–12 education could think of how their education related to their problem-solving skills. other participants, however, readily formed articulate responses stating their education had a positive influence. for example, cameron, a participant who was in a grades 7–12 program, was quick to explain when it came to problem-solving skills, her bilingual education “helped a lot,” as she can “read the behaviors in a situation to . . . basically find the best solution.” bridget, who was in bilingual classes from grades 9–12, gave a lengthy response explaining the ways her bilingual program gave her tools that help her to solve linguistic problems using context clues and “get across” what she means even when she does not know the exact word she needs. by contrast, two of the participants who spent their entire k–12 education in a dual language immersion (dli) program, alexandra and marie, were quick to conclude their education had no discernable influence whatsoever while daniel, also a k–12 participant, described the question regarding problem-solving as “really hard” before proceeding to take a long pause followed by saying he developed better general language-learning skills because of his education. responses followed a similar pattern regarding transferable cognitive skills outside of problemsolving skills, with cameron saying her skills were “definitely” improved, and she is “more analytical,” a perception shared by other participants who were not enrolled in bilingual education from k–12. time spent in program there was a general trend that the participants who spent the most time in a bilingual setting struggled to think of specific examples that demonstrated how their bilingual education may have influenced them. in particular, these participants were the same ones who tended to see little to no connection between the development of problem-solving skills and transferable cognitive skills outside problem-solving skills and their bilingual education. as mentioned above, the canadian participants generally struggled to articulate the influence of their bilingual education on their metalinguistic and cognitive abilities. three of the four canadians were in bilingual programs for grades 6–12 (hannah, sophie, and luke), and alexandra’s entire k–12 education was bilingual. in response to interview questions about the outcomes of their education, hannah and alexandra both gave responses that included the words “i’m sure,” within the context of responses that were not at all sure. for example, hannah used each of the following sentences as part of her responses to three different questions: (a) “i’m sure it was,” (b) “i’m sure that they are there,” and (c) “i’m sure that it has.” she employed words and phrases of uncertainty like “probably,” “i don’t know,” and “i don’t really remember” to qualify the rest of the responses containing the “i’m sure” ashton & hirano 11 phrases. hannah also said the word “probably” 15 times, whereas the mean frequency of this word across all 10 participants was 6.6 occurrences per transcript. luke gave similarly unclear answers to several questions, using the word “probably” eight times. when asked about the influence of his bilingual education on his native language, luke replied, “i’m not sure how it necessarily impacted my understanding of english, rather than like just language in general.” other participants did not use phrases conveying uncertainty to the degree hannah, sophie, and luke did and responded with more clarity throughout their interviews. in addition to their general uncertainty regarding the exact nature of their bilingual education’s outcomes, some canadian participants said they did not think their bilingual education had any influence on their thinking. participants expressed difficulty tracing the origin of their skills and abilities to their bilingual education. for example, three of the four canadian participants struggled to answer the question: do you believe your bilingual education has contributed to the way you understand and process grammatical concepts? as discussed above, two of these three stumbled through giving some sort of response but hedged their answers with words like “i don’t know” and “probably.” alexandra replied more straightforwardly saying, “i’m not really sure how it’s done that.” she went on to elaborate since she was always in the bilingual program, she feels like she “has only ever understood and processed it (grammar) that way.” sophie was the only canadian participant who did not generally flounder while articulating the outcomes of her bilingual education. shannon’s case out of the 10 participants, shannon seemed to be the most reluctant in answering the interview questions. in particular, she found it difficult to credit any of her cognitive or metalinguistic abilities to her bilingual education. the most distinguishing factor in her experience, compared to the other participants’, is she is the only one who did not participate in a bilingual education program as a high school student. many of her replies included words like “hard to say” (repeated four times) and “probably” (repeated 18 times). she repeatedly explained it was hard to be sure the origin of her skills was, in fact, her early participation in a bilingual program. she also indicated since she has gone through many experiences in both her education and general life since exiting her bilingual program, it was difficult to definitively attribute various outcomes to her bilingual program. although she is now “definitely very conscious” of the grammar of what she is writing, she does not feel she can attribute this consciousness to her bilingual education. discussion the analysis of the interviews unveiled trends in how participants perceive the influence of their bilingual education on their metalinguistic and cognitive abilities. some of these trends align more closely with the established literature than others, but all require further discussion. to begin, bilingual programs have been shown to affect students’ ability to apply logic and reasoning to language (ter kuile et al., 2011). since this effect applies to language in general it should, in theory, work for any language these students choose to learn. the participants in this study, however, had mixed perceptions on how their bilingual education influenced their ability to learn another language. several participants’ experiences aligned with the literature, as they used cognates and pattern recognition to help them reason through new languages. these participants felt their bilingual education facilitated the language-learning process. on the other hand, some participants perceived their bilingual programs hindered their progress learning another language due to 12 gatesol journal 31(1) confusion between the l2 and the new language and promoting a detrimental sense of overconfidence in one’s language-learning abilities. according to research, spending more time in bilingual programs increases exposure to the l2 and ultimately enhances program participants’ degree of bilingualism, metalinguistic development, and cognitive ability (bialystok & poarch, 2014). despite this fact, participants who were in bilingual programs throughout their k–12 education had the most difficulty pinpointing the benefits they reaped besides a high level of bilingualism. alexandra, sophie, and daniel, for example, struggled to talk about the outcomes of their bilingual education on non-linguistic skills likely because they have no basis for comparison, never having been to a monolingual educational context. as alexandra said, “i didn’t really recognize that i was learning.” it is possible these participants have reaped the metalinguistic and cognitive benefits the literature indicates they should have, but they are unable to recognize them. imagining how one’s mental processing could have been different if developed in a context completely devoid of the bilingualism that was always an integral part of one’s education would be a challenge for many. if not made aware of these benefits, it can be nearly impossible to trace their development. by contrast, individuals who were immersed in their l2 later may have had a better basis for comparing the influence of their bilingual education on both their linguistic and non-linguistic skills. jane and bridget, for example, joined a bilingual program in ninth grade, which may account for the ease with which they responded to most questions. at ninth-grade, students would have approximately 14 years of monolingual life experience from which they could draw when assessing the outcomes of their bilingual programs. additionally, high school students are more cognitively developed than younger students, which means these participants would have entered the bilingual phase of their education at a time when they were better equipped to make judgements and comparisons, as well as develop an awareness of language rules. participants who entered their programs in elementary or middle school would not have begun the bilingual phase of their education with the same critical-thinking tools that come with increased cognitive maturity. concluding remarks in sum, this study revealed several patterns in participants’ perception of how their bilingual education influenced their thinking. there were a few strong commonalities all participants shared, such as none of them wished they had withdrawn from their bilingual programs and believed these programs contributed to the way they process grammatical concepts. almost all participants stated their bilingual education had an influence on the vocabulary and grammar of their native languages. participants who spent the longest amount of time in their programs struggled to articulate the specific benefits their education had in relation to both their cognitive ability and their ability to learn a new language. the participants’ perception of how their bilingual education affected their ability to learn another language was mixed. some thought their previous experience with language learning was beneficial, while some participants who had been in bilingual programs the longest explained they were overconfident in their language-learning abilities and struggled with other languages. the findings from this study bear implications on the growing efforts of dual language immersion (dli) programs in georgia. understanding how to communicate effectively with prospective and current georgia dli families is crucial for ensuring the continued growth of these nascent programs. although such programs are a good investment for the department of education on paper, recruiting families to enroll their children and follow through with that commitment requires a public relations campaign that communicates the multitudinous personal benefits that ashton & hirano 13 are at least as enticing as the economic forecasts of how students can fit into the future labor market. one way of assisting families in their decision of whether this type of education is the right fit for their children is by highlighting research on the various impacts of bilingual education. despite the academic literature indicating bilingual programs provide many advantages, students in this study showed they might fail to perceive these benefits clearly. to enhance students’ perception of the benefits of a bilingual education, dli faculty and staff should be encouraged to work intentionally to raise students’ awareness of their program’s research-proven assets. armed with a more precise understanding of how they have been positively influenced, students who experience bilingual education for all or most of their k–12 schooling could be turned into the strongest advocates for the promotion and promulgation of their programs. in particular, it could be helpful to familiarize students with the non-linguistic outcomes of their education, such as enhanced problem-solving and other cognitive skills. it was clear from this study the participants who had the longest, most extensive bilingual education experience struggled to come up with concrete examples of how their education related to non-linguistic skills. by emphasizing the cognitive benefits of bilingual education not directly related to language skills, such as problem-solving skills, schools could make their programs more attractive to families who might otherwise choose different academic paths for their children. people who do not consider themselves linguistically gifted or even particularly keen on being fluent in another language would have new reasons to consider trying programs that would not normally appeal to them. it would be up to schools and other educational agencies to use student advocates to promote their immersion programs from this new and more complex perspective. there are different ways this topic can be expanded, as a better understanding of the underlying reasons for the patterns identified in participant responses could aid schools in their efforts to communicate the positive aspects of bilingual education to parents, students, and prospective families. one avenue for expansion regards the finding that participants had varied perceptions of how their bilingual education affected their ability to learn another language. in particular, the difference in responses between students who had been in immersion education for a long time and those who had not was stark. several of the individuals who spent a long time in bilingual programs expressed they were overconfident in their linguistic abilities. further research concerning the origin of this overconfidence and how to address it could help schools to give their students more realistic expectations of the work future language-learning endeavors may require. students would be armed with the knowledge they need to tackle other languages without becoming discouraged or disappointed in themselves for not being, as alexandra put it, “amazingly gifted in languages.” although the findings of the current study shed some light on the perceptions participants have of the influence of bilingual education on their metalinguistic and cognitive abilities, it is important to acknowledge there were only 10 participants, whose education took place in one of three countries. future studies exploring the experience of students from other countries are certainly warranted. in addition, while we avoided terms in interview questions participants may not be familiar with, such as “metalinguistic ability,” we kept phrases such as “problem-solving skills,” which participants may not have been able to immediately relate to their experiences in order to provide an insightful answer. as mentioned above, the lack of awareness shown by the participants who were in bilingual programs for the longest time regarding metalinguistic and cognitive skills should be of great interest to schools. if students are unable to attribute their skills to their education, they will be poor ambassadors for their programs. further research on this topic could be helpful in determining 14 gatesol journal 31(1) the cause of this difficulty, which would, in turn, give schools the tools they need to address the problem and, eventually, schools could develop long-term strategies for creating and maintaining awareness of the benefits of their bilingual programs. references barac, r., & bialystok, e. 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(1990). basics of qualitative research: grounded theory procedures and techniques. sage. ter kuile, hagar, veldhuis, m., van veen, s., c., & wicherts, j. m. (2011). bilingual education, metalinguistic awareness, and the understanding of an unknown language. bilingualism, 14(2), 233–242. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1366728910000258 thomas, d. r. (2006). a general inductive approach for analyzing qualitative evaluation data. american journal of evaluation, 27(2), 237–246. https://doi.org/10.1177/109821400528 3748 ____________________________________________________________________________ appendix: interview questions metalinguistic ability 1) during your bilingual education, was there an emphasis on explicit instruction in grammar? (wait for response before moving on to the next part of the question.) if so, how do you feel this explicit instruction influenced your understanding of grammar? if not, what was the method for learning grammar? how do you feel this method influenced your understanding of grammar? 2) when you speak, to what degree do you consciously process the grammatical aspects of what you are saying? please give examples, if possible. 3) when you write, to what degree do you consciously process the grammatical aspects of what you are writing? please give examples, if possible. 4) do you believe your bilingual education has contributed to the way you understand and process grammatical concepts? please elaborate. 5) do you believe your bilingual education has contributed to the way you understand and process vocabulary? please elaborate. item 6 is for individuals whose bilingual education was at least partially conducted in a language other than their native language: 6) what impact did learning a second language have on your understanding of the grammar and vocabulary of your native language or languages? please give examples, if possible. cognitive ability 1) have you learned or attempted to learn another language since exiting the bilingual program in which you were enrolled? (wait for response before moving on to the next part of the question.) https://doi.org/10.1017/s1366728910000258 https://doi.org/10.1177/1098214005283748 https://doi.org/10.1177/1098214005283748 16 gatesol journal 31(1) if so, what effect do you think your bilingual education had on your ability to learn another language? what is the basis of your reasoning? if not, what effect do you think your bilingual education would have on your ability to learn another language? what is the basis of your reasoning? 2) do you think your bilingual education helped you to develop transferable cognitive skills outside of language learning? if so, please elaborate. 3) what impact do you believe your bilingual education has had on your development of problemsolving skills? please elaborate. 4) what impact do you believe your bilingual education has had on the size of your vocabulary in your native language/languages? please explain your reasoning. 5) is there one language in which you mentally retrieve vocabulary more easily? for example, i can think of the specific words i want to use more easily in english than i can in french. ____________________________________________________________________________ received: january 31, 2021 | accepted: june 15, 2021 | published: july 30, 2021 issn #2331-6845 shedding light on misconceptions: an act of advocacy by dr. jamie harrison department of curriculum and teaching esol education program auburn university jlh0069@auburn.edu as the english learner population in u.s. schools continues to grow and accountability measures add further pressure to teachers in schools, the role of the esol teacher is increasingly becoming one of advocate. misconceptions about immigration and documentation, learning and speaking english, and teachers and teaching have been documented and countered, and taking action as esol teachers about these misconceptions is an initial step of advocacy for esol teachers. working in collaboration with mainstream teachers means esol teachers need to be aware of common misperceptions about english learners. knowing the misconceptions and reality of many of these issues allows the esol teacher to take a proactive stance in collaborative relationships with teachers and professional development opportunities. keywords: english learner, misconceptions, advocacy introduction english learners (el) in american schools make up 9.3 percent of the total student population, with seven states identified as having 10 percent or higher els enrolled in public schools (u.s department of education, 2017). els attend public schools in both 1 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 mailto:jlh0069@auburn.edu urban and rural areas (u.s department of education, 2017), and els’ academic progress lags behind their native-english speaking counterparts with over 75% of eighth grade els across the country scoring below basic on state mandated tests (samson & collins, 2012). statistics suggest the el population in the state of georgia to be seven percent of total school enrollment, which is up from four percent in 2004 (beaudette, 2014). however, the education of teachers about english learners has not kept pace with the continued growth of this student population (samson & collins, 2012). in addition to this paucity of training, continued perpetuation of misconceptions about english learners and language learning has the potential to affect teachers and students at the classroom level. eisenhart, shrum, harding and cuthbert (1988) summarize definitions of belief as found in the literature to be a “proposition, or statement of relation among things accepted as true,” (p. 53), and while beliefs about english learners may not always be congruent, they are the foundation for action in the classroom. individual beliefs and values of teachers are essential in the shaping of objectives, goals, curriculum, and instructional methods (yero, 2002). conceptualizations, and in contrast, misconceptualizations are among the wide range of terms used in education belief research (smith, skarbeck, & hurst, 2005) to explore the beliefs of teachers on topics ranging from curriculum, standards, and accountability to beliefs about teachers, students and learning (borg, 2003). misconceptions about english learners continue to inform local, state, and even national policy discussions. dispelling these misconceptions is now an act of advocacy by esol (english to speakers of other languages) teachers for els and the national 2 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 association of educators includes organizing and educating others as one step in el advocacy (national association of education, 2015). educational reform embodied in the every student succeeds act (essa) of 2015 and current political rhetoric (valverde, 2016) continue to push english learners and immigrants into the spotlight of public debate. identifying myths and misconceptions and uncovering the truth is only one step in this advocacy process, and there are lists already generated that inform us about common myths (rusul arubail, 2015; fact sheet no. 15 16, 2015). additionally, research by harper and de jong (2004) outline common misconceptions held by teachers, and reeves’ (2006) research highlights key inaccurate beliefs held by teachers about els. the following list of misconceptions is derived from a variety of sources (rusul arubail, 2015; fact sheet no. 15 16, 2015; harper & de jong, 2004; reeves, 2006) as well as personal experience talking and working with a variety of teachers over the years. the act of dispelling misconceptions is a crucial step of esol teacher advocacy for els. this article will outline common misconceptions, contextualize them within the current education and immigration climate, and offer practical guidance for taking action on behalf of els. misconceptions about immigration and documentation immigrants are all english learners. immigration permeates political discussions today with over 700,000 hits in a basic google search for ‘undocumented immigration news 2017,’ and many of these discussions include issues related to immigrants in public schools. yarborough (2017) reports on a ballot initiative in san bernardino, california to ban undocumented immigrants from public schools. while this initiative was struck down, the heritage foundation, a leading conservative political 3 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 action group, publishes anti-immigration commentary (wood, 2014) meant to exploit fear and misunderstanding about this marginalized group. misconceptions about what qualifies a designated status of ‘english learner’ in public schools is one of a variety of complex misunderstandings about immigrants. an english learner is defined by the u.s. department of education as someone who was not born in the united states or speaks a native language other than english, or whose home environment predominantly uses a language other than english (migration policy institute, n.d.). roughly one in four students (12.5 million) enrolled in u.s. public schools are children of immigrants (batlova & mchugh, 2010), yet only an estimated 9.3 percent of the u.s. public school population are classified as el (u.s. department of education, 2017). these numbers suggest that many children who come from immigrant families either spoke english when they arrived, have learned english well enough to completely exit the esol program, or are unidentified. whichever is the case, reminding administrators and teachers about the requirement and value of the home language survey is an act of advocacy for els. the home language survey is a tool for initial identification of els enrolling in school systems. without this as a baseline, damaging assumptions about language ability based on skin color or ethnic background made by untrained school personnel may impede student academic success. all english learners are immigrants. on the other hand, in spite of the u.s. department of education definition, many students classified as english learners were born in the united states, making them u.s. citizens. zong and batlova (2015) report that more than half of those designated english learner of ages 5 to 17 are u.s. born. 4 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 nevertheless, being born in the united states does not ensure english is spoken in the home and one in five u. s. residents speak a language other than english at home (ziegler & camarota, 2014). furthermore, of the nearly 62 million foreign-language speakers in the united states, 44 percent are u.s. born (ziegler & camarota, 2014). learning a language is complicated and many factors influence english acquisition even when the language of instruction and the surrounding society is english. schumann’s theory of social distance suggests that many factors contribute to acculturation and likewise, second language acquisition (schumann, 1978). teachers who make assumptions about a students’ immigration status are violating that student’s privacy and potentially creating obstacles for that student’s successful navigation of the educational system. a strong ‘english-only’ movement in the united states is evident with h.r. 997 and s. 678, known as the english language unity act of 2017, recently introduced in congress (chairman mauro mujica, 2017), and there is a history in the united states of conflating knowing english with citizenship (schiffman, n.d.). reminding teachers that citizens of the united states are not required to speak english can be an act of advocacy for els. knowing english can make life easier and provide more economic opportunities for those living in the united states (zong & batalova, 2015), but assuming that all speakers of english as a second language are immigrants and not citizens does not assist in this process. english learner immigrants are undocumented. legal status is included in most immigration debates with attorney general jeff sessions insinuating a broad connection between undocumented immigrants and criminal activity (galvan, 2017); yet many researchers have demonstrated that there is no connection (ewing, martinez, 5 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 rumbaut (2015). there are an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the united states (zhong & batlova, 2017), and approximately 5.1 million children under the age of 18 lived with at least one undocumented parent during 2009 – 2013 (zhong & batlova, 2017). of these children, 4.1 million were u.s. citizens (zhong & batlova, 2017). plyler v. doe (1982) asserted that immigrant children have a right to a public education regardless of documentation status. this decision has held over thirty years that schools not only must provide an education to undocumented students, but are not permitted to request any proof of citizenship, thus in a sense providing a safe haven from deportation. several states since then have taken action to circumvent this ruling by passing local and state policies regarding enrollment documentation requirements (american immigration council, 2012). ultimately, these measures were struck down at various levels with legal action. the 2016 presidential election heralded a renewed zest among anti-immigration supporters regarding the notion of deporting undocumented immigrants, and president donald trump included immigration reform as part of his campaign platform (on the issues, 2016). teachers interested or in need of advocating for els on this topic can remind officials that schools are protected by family educational rights and privacy act (ferpa) laws from divulging any information contained in school files that might provide evidence of documentation status (u.s. department of education, 2014). this allows the school personnel to continue with their charge of educating all children and keeps them from distractions that might waste academic time for students. many other actions in support of undocumented students are outlined in immigrant and refugee 6 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 children: a guide for educators and support staff published by the american federation for teachers (2016) which can be downloaded for free from https://www.nilc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/ice-raids-educators-guide-201606.pdf. misconceptions about speaking and learning english classroom academic success requires fluent english. english learners come to u.s. classrooms with a wide range of knowledge and abilities in their own native language, english, and other academic subjects. the range is a result of many factors including schooling experiences in home country, language(s) spoken at home, aptitude, and motivation. many mainstream teachers insist that they will not be able to teach students who are not fluent in english; however, research suggests that els can be academically successful when content teachers apply seven basic principles of effective teaching (center for applied linguistics, 2014). the every student succeeds act (2015) includes english learners as a priority in system wide assessments, and states are given the freedom to enact local policy regarding assessment of school and student progress. it is not acceptable to relegate els, regardless of their language proficiency level, to english language instruction that is not adequately infused with rich, academic language and grade level content area exposure (chamot & o’malley, 1994). furthermore, content area teachers must be equipped with appropriate knowledge, skills, and understandings about language acquisition, the demands of academic language, and effective practices of scaffolding for el success (echevarria, vogt, & short, 2012; samson & collins, 2012). 7 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 https://www.nilc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/ice-raids-educators-guide-2016-06.pdf https://www.nilc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/ice-raids-educators-guide-2016-06.pdf requiring els to speak english before learning academic content is a legal issue that has already been overturned in court. lau v. nichols (1974) found that schools must provide english instruction without compromising academic progress. in other words, it is unconstitutional to not provide grade level academic content and material to students in a comprehensible way. with proper sheltered and scaffolded learning opportunities, all levels of els can be successful in academic settings (diaz-rico & weed, 2002; ovando collier, & combs, 2003). furthermore, the high-stakes testing and accountability environments require this academic rigor to be infused with english learning. that is, academic learning requires acknowledgment of the language embedded in the content (o’hara, pritchard, & zwiers, 2012). esol teachers wishing to advocate for els around this topic can suggest professional development training opportunities that include relevant second language acquisition information, processes of identifying the language of the standards and objectives, and opportunities to develop scaffolded assignments. the center for applied linguistics offers a video and downloadable list of its seven principles of effective instruction for els at http://www.cal.org/solutions/resources/video/seven-principles-video.html. it only takes one to two years to achieve fluency. reeves (2006) reported that mainstream teachers believed it took only one to two years to achieve fluency in english when immersed in an english-only setting. this misconception stems from an assumption that because a student can converse easily with adults and peers, they are capable of doing academic coursework at the same level as native speaking peers. samson and collins (2012) consider second language acquisition processes a key understanding that teachers of els must have. advocacy actions esol teachers can 8 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 http://www.cal.org/solutions/resources/video/seven-principles-video.html take in this arena include posting information about important aspects of second language growth and development in teacher work rooms or faculty listservs. one key piece of information includes the difference between basic interpersonal communication skills (bics) and cognitive academic language proficiency (calp) (cummins, 2008). bics refers to the language needed for social interaction, and calp refers to the academic, content-specific, metacognitive language needed to perform successfully academically. cummins (1981) suggests an iceberg model of language acquisition, calp is what lies below the surface of the water; it is the hidden language needs of the el. while a student may appear to be proficient in english, many teachers are actually only observing bics (which would be the tip of the iceberg that appears above the surface of the water). another essential understanding about second language acquisition is the progression most learners follow in acquiring a second language from the early silent stage to advanced (freeman & freeman, 2001). wida (2014) highlights these stages within their can do descriptors document, and levine, lukins, and smallwood (2013) have developed a set of ‘go-to’ strategies that map directly to the can do descriptors – an easy way to introduce teachers to the value of knowing el language levels. mainstream teachers will also benefit from knowing that english learners progress at varying rates in different language domains. for example, a student’s listening or speaking skills may be at a higher level than their written or reading skills. due to these differences between interpersonal communicative language and academic 9 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 language, research suggests it can take five to seven years to learn a language to the academic level of same-age peers (hakuta, butler, & witt, 2000). knowing the factors that influence el academic performance can provide esol teachers with appropriate responses to teachers who ‘suspect’ their els speak more english than they are demonstrating. formal schooling in the native language and socioeconomic status are the primary influences on el language acquisition (center for public education, 2007) and often teachers are unaware that many els arrive in the united states with limited formal schooling. students with limited or interrupted formal education (slife) are a subset of els who arrive in the united states with very little formal education for a variety of reasons including poverty, geography, limited transportation, work expectations, natural disasters, and political and civil unrest (wida, 2015). providing information to teachers about key elements of culturally responsive teaching can be a starting point in working with schools seeking to support slife (decapua, 2016). mainstreaming should occur only after minimum level of fluency achieved. while seventy-two percent of respondents in a survey conducted by reeves (2006) agreed or strongly agreed with the statement, “i would welcome the inclusion of esl students in my class,” a strong agreement with the statement that els should not be mainstreamed until minimum attainment levels have been reached was also reported (reeves, 2006). this indicates perhaps a fear of low-proficiency els and their impact on mainstream classrooms or a lack of understanding of the language acquisition process and the benefits of high academic rigor for els. in actuality, with proper support, els can benefit greatly from being mainstreamed with native-english speaking 10 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 peers at the appropriate academic level. rich opportunities for interaction in english combined with the expertise of content area specialists can support els in not only language acquisition, but also content mastery. one tool that takes an additive stance toward els and offers a realistic portrayal of linguistic capabilities at various levels, are the can do descriptors (wida, 2014). these provide teachers of all grade levels a guide to reasonable expectations of student ability. rather than frame discussions with teachers around what els can’t do, offering this tool to teachers can change to nature of the conversation while also providing valuable information. students should speak only english in school. over half of the respondents in reeves’ (2006) study reported the belief that students should avoid using their native language while at school. teachers who believe this are not aware that a focus on immersion in english, with little acknowledgement of the student’s native language, can have detrimental effects on first and second language development (johnson, 2008). furthermore, many teachers assume that exposure and interaction in the target language will result in acquisition of that language (harper & de jong, 2004). unfortunately, as noted by harper and de jong (2004) this assumption does not consider the complexities of teaching and learning academic language nor, in fact, the absence of rich language interaction among students in mainstream classrooms. esol teachers can and should work to dispel this myth actively due to its detrimental effects. not only is it not supported by language acquisition theories, but it also works to undermine a student’s sense of self in the school community. encouraging multilingual signs in school buildings along with bilingual books is one active step esol teachers 11 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 can take to promote a school culture that embraces the linguistic diversity of its students. additionally, recognizing the importance of translanguaging for multilinguals can add a level of cultural competence to school climate. a vast topic and discussion that spans multiple theoretical fields, translanguaging can be understood as a learner’s use of and reliance on all languages in his or her repertoire for multiple purposes and in a variety of contexts (lindahl, 2017). understanding the value of translanguaging for english learners who come to classrooms with a wide range of linguistic experience can open opportunities for both the language teacher and the mainstream teacher to support els in a more holistic way. speaking up for els to teachers who might otherwise like to ask els to “check their l1 at the classroom door” (lindahl, 2017) is an act of advocacy that esol teachers can take in schools to support their students. learning english looks the same for all els. teachers in harper and de jong’s study (2004) believed that all els learned english in the same way and at the same rate. this concept of a universal process of language learning rests in the assumption that learning a second language follows the same trajectory as learning a first language and that all els go through similar learning processes and have similar learning needs (leung & franson, 2001). furthermore, teachers assume that all students arrive with the same level of formal education and the same levels of fluency in their native languages. however, there is no one size fits all definition of the immigrant student and there are numerous factors that influence the rate at which an english language learner acquires english (echevarria, vogt, & short, 2012). for example, there is a significant difference between the schooling experiences of els who were born and raised in the united states and those who have immigrated to the united 12 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 states during their schooling years. the schooling experiences and challenges of immigrant youth in the united states have been widely documented (suarez-orozco, suarez-orozco, & todorova, 2009; valdés, 2001; valenzuela, 1999). many factors influence the rate of language acquisition, and acquisition across the domains of listening, speaking, reading and writing is not uniform. knowing students’ literacy backgrounds, and keeping in mind age and motivation can help teachers understand the unique learning needs of their students. esol teachers can expand the depth of information provided to teachers about the els they serve through initial conferences, formal workshops, and informal discussions at the lunch table. misconceptions about teachers and teaching the esol teacher teaches english, the mainstream teacher teaches content. the growing number of els and continued pressure for all students to make yearly academic progress means the esol teacher can no longer be considered the sole teacher of els. the role of the esol teacher and the mainstream teacher in the education of els is expanding to include more opportunities for collaboration (martinbeltrán & peercy, 2012). there are many program models that support language instruction for els, but schools and districts are often constrained by budgets to make the best choices for els. the georgia department of education supports pull out, push in, cluster centers, resource centers, sheltered instruction, and scheduled class periods of esl instruction, each having advantages and disadvantages (georgia department of education, 2015). the pull out program model, common in elementary and middle schools, takes els away from the mainstream classroom for small group english language instruction. while this program model is still very common in many school 13 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 districts and schools, it does not support best practice for the growing numbers and emerging needs of english learners in this high-stakes era of common core (tesol international association, 2016). strict standards and accountability measures have placed new emphasis on the language of academic content. with this in mind, the role of the esol teacher is shifting to that of co-teacher and advocate (staehr fenner, 2014), and it is imperative that all teachers consider themselves language teachers. offering sheltered instruction in the content areas is one way to support els and ensure access to the same academic content as their same age peers while simultaneously developing language skills. other ways include the esol teacher pushin or co-teaching model to support mainstream teachers in effectively scaffolding content for el academic success (tesol international association, 2016). working as a collaborator with mainstream teachers offers academic support for els with embedded professional development for content area teachers. esol teachers who find themselves in a school environment that is not promoting collaboration with mainstream counterparts can advocate for els by working with administration and leadership teams to facilitate schedules and collaborative teaming with mainstream teachers in support of el academic success. good teaching is the same for all learners. harper and de jong (2004) reported the teachers in their study to believe that good teaching is the same for both native and non-native english speakers. furthermore, one popular way of appealing to mainstream teachers regarding expanding their range of techniques to include strategies that support english learners is to explain that many of the strategies used to support els will, in fact, support many other types of struggling learners. indeed, some 14 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 research indicates this might be the case (echevarria, richards-tutor, canges, & frances, 2011; echevarria, richards-tutor, chinn, & ratleff, 2011). nevertheless, there are specific attributes of effective instruction targeted directly to els in mainstream classrooms that must be clearly understood if proper instruction of els is to take place. the every student succeeds act (2015) mandates that state and national standards be used to determine appropriate instruction and assessment for all students. however, these standards and guidelines do not take into account the wide variety of linguistic needs of els in mainstream classrooms (harper & de jong, 2004). assuming that there is one best way of teaching, it cannot be inferred that all students will equally benefit from the same strategies. for example, a well-designed student-centered activity, complete with group work and rubric assessments, does not ensure access to the language necessary to successfully complete the activity or assignment. research suggests the components of effective instruction for els are focused on: a) academic language, literacy, and vocabulary; b) background knowledge and culture; c) comprehensible input and language output; d) classroom interaction; e) higher order thinking and the use of learning strategies (levine, lukens, & smallwood, 2013). esol teachers can encourage mainstream teachers to purposefully plan for el support and scaffolding at various levels of language proficiency. incorporating academic language support, comprehensible input, and instructional scaffolding at appropriate levels moves good teaching to appropriate, equitable teaching. comprehensible instruction is enough. comprehensible instruction, such as providing non-verbal support, graphic organizers, and hands-on activities, is an 15 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 important aspect of working with els, but it is not all teachers must do to provide effective instruction for els (harper & de jong, 2004). gay (2010) defines culturally responsive teaching as, “using the cultural knowledge, prior experiences, frames of reference, and performance styles of ethnically diverse students to make learning encounters more relevant to and effective for them” (p. 31). meaningful engagement through building and activating prior knowledge, integrating opportunities for rich language interactions, and acknowledging and encouraging the influence of students’ l1 on their learning are important aspects of effective teaching of els. eighty-two percent of teachers in american classrooms in 2011 – 12 were white (goldring, gray & bitterman, 2013) and most teachers are monolingual (culture in the classroom, n.d), and institutes of higher education continue to train a predominantly white, female cadre of teacher candidates (deruy, 2016). thus, as demographic trends show the student population is less white (crouch, 2012) and el student populations continue to grow (u.s. department of education, 2016), infusing curriculum and pedagogy with culturally responsive teaching principles goes beyond the mere expectation that academic classroom input is comprehensible. furthermore, comprehensible input, while important, does not necessarily mean that the el will be able to use english to perform academic tasks. knowing and understanding the language of academic performance within a subject area is essential to meeting the academic needs of els (harper & de jong, 2004). for example, teaching students the language of scientific inquiry is essential for students to be able to discuss the hypotheses they have formed. ensuring students have access to the pros and cons of a particular theory does not mean they will be able to debate that with 16 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 peers. understanding the language involved in various modes of communicating academic concepts is paramount. conclusion esol teachers are the bridge for el students in most content area classrooms, and knowing what mainstream teachers think and believe is an important part of advocating for els. it is now more than ever imperative that esol teachers ground themselves in the facts about the issues that most affect their students: immigration and documentation; speaking and learning english; and the role of all teachers and teaching els. advocating to mainstream teachers and administrators on behalf of els is an essential role of an esol teacher. as the role of advocate continues to evolve in our profession (staehr fenner, 2014) it is imperative that esol teachers gather the facts to counter misconceptions they will face. teacher preparation programs can use these misconceptions as a starting point for discussion that will lay a foundation for future teachers to be better equipped to teach the english learners they are sure to encounter in their classrooms. professional development providers as well can keep these misconceptions and realities at the forefront of their work with teachers. taking schoolbased steps to increase awareness of the realities of els’ experiences, situations, and language acquisition processes and how to navigate this with mainstream teachers is a way to start the advocacy journey. 17 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 references american immigration council (2012). public education for immigrant students: understanding plyler v. doe, fact sheet. retrieved from https://exchange.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/plyler-v-doe-publiceducation-immigrant-students on april 11, 2017. batalova, j., & mchugh, m. 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(2015). the limited english proficient population in the united states. migration policy institute, washington, d.c. retrieved from http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/limited-english-proficient-population-unitedstates on april 12, 2017. zong, j. & batlova, j. (2017). frequently requested statistics on immigrants and immigration in the united states. migration policy institute, washington, d.c. retrieved from http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/frequently-requestedstatistics-immigrants-and-immigration-united-states#top on april 12, 2017. 27 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/limited-english-proficient-population-united-states http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/limited-english-proficient-population-united-states http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/frequently-requested-statistics-immigrants-and-immigration-united-states%23top http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/frequently-requested-statistics-immigrants-and-immigration-united-states%23top shedding light on misconceptions: an act of advocacy by dr. jamie harrison department of curriculum and teaching esol education program auburn university jlh0069@auburn.edu introduction misconceptions about immigration and documentation misconceptions about speaking and learning english misconceptions about teachers and teaching conclusion teaching techniques amy l. beard, graduate student, university of west georgia, carrollton, ga; email ab00542@my.westga.edu. using the jigsaw strategy in the english language learner classroom to teach contentspecific vocabulary gatesol journal 2022, vol. 32(2), pp. 51–56 doi:10.52242/gatesol.134 issn: 2331-6845 amy beard university of west georgia abstract multilingual learners (ml) at the secondary level come to the classroom with a variety of learning experiences and language capabilities. an obstacle ml students could face is learning the everyday usage of an additional language while simultaneously learning the academic and content language, which can cause a potential challenge in the classroom. thus, teachers must be able to adapt their teaching pedagogy to assist mls, which can prove to be challenging. academic vocabulary and conversational language are two different aspects of learning a new language, with academic being the more difficult to obtain since it is not as tangible as conversational language. this teaching techniques piece explains a modified jigsaw vocabulary activity that was used successfully in a sheltered ml secondary science class; additionally, this strategy can be modified and used across content disciplines and grade levels, and abilities. this activity utilizes cooperative learning, graphic organizers, and peerto-peer engagement to create an optimal learning environment for ml students. keywords jigsaw, ml, esl, vocabulary, genetics, cooperative groups wilcox and morrison (2013) outlined four guiding facets for teaching vocabulary: experience, environment, exposure, and engagement (p. 53). in a direct instruction lesson, the guiding principles of experience and environment are easily addressed. to meet the principles of exposure and engagement, a different strategy should be incorporated. tabiolo and rogayan (2019) point out that “innovative, student-centered, and engaging teaching strategies will increase students’ performance in science” (p. 30). the modified jigsaw activity described in this paper was created for this purpose. strategy description the modified jigsaw activity was developed for a sheltered 9th-grade biology class composed of multilingual learners (ml) at wida level 3 or higher. the purpose was to enhance students’ vocabulary retention at the beginning of a unit on genetics and the activity consisted of establishing cooperative groups, utilizing graphic organizers, and incorporating jigsaw learning. group selection and cooperative learning student groups were selected based on the following criteria: class performance, ability to work with certain individuals in a group setting, and ability to stay on task. the students in this particular class were at wida level 3 or higher. the academic and content knowledge necessary to be able to participate in this specific activity, would not be suitable for a student at wida level 1 or 2 mailto:ab00542@my.westga.edu 52 gatesol journal 32(2) because of the amount of prior english language needed. within each group, there was an equitable distribution of learning levels based on current grades in the class. there were three groups of four students. for the remainder of this paper, these groups will be referred to as group a, group b, and group c. tjandrawati (2017) noted that “the core in cooperative learning is the existence of positive cooperation and mutual help between members of a group” (pp. 152–153). the teacher chose cooperative groups that would foster a positive learning environment for all members. when this activity was first implemented, it was to a class of 12 ml students, all from different backgrounds of ethnicity, education, and wida-level of english. this activity has since been modified and used in classes of more than 30 students; the teacher has concluded that regardless of class size, for this strategy to work cooperative groups work best when group size is limited to four or less; smaller groups allow for less distractions and places the importance of work on all group members equally. ultimately, to benefit from cooperative learning, the students within each group need to work with one another; for students to work well the teacher needs to appropriately select groups to limit distractions during cooperative learning (talebi & sobhani, 2012). graphic organizers each group was provided a graphic organizer because the vocabulary being introduced included words that were antonyms or groups of words with similar meanings yet were different enough in definition based on their context. for example: heterozygous, homozygous, genotype, allele, phenotype, trait, dominant and recessive. specifically, the t-chart was employed to help students visually manage the differences between the content vocabulary and concepts (pang, 2013). tcharts were made as shown below in figures 1–6. the last row of each figure in the t-charts gives the words or symbols that must be put into the appropriate categories by the groups of students. each group received one paper with two of the figures below. figures 1 and 2 were completed by group a at the beginning of the activity. group b completed figures 3 and 4 and group c completed figures 5 and 6. figure 1 contrasting of heterozygous and homozygous genotypes heterozygous homozygous aa aa aa bb bb dd dd ff gg hh hh ee tt dd gg note. pairs of letters the same size are homozygous and the different sized pairs are heterozygous. beard 53 figure 2 contrasting genotypes and alleles genotype allele aa a pp b bb dd d h g hh h ff t dd gg note. genotype is represented by a pair of letters. an allele is represented by one letter. figure 3 contrasting genotypes and phenotype genotype phenotype brown eyes bb a+ blood checkered chicken ab blood rw roan cattle ii iaib note. genotype is written as a pair of letters. phenotype is a physical description of the genotype. figure 4 contrasting phenotype and trait phenotype trait blood type black hair attached ear lobes a blood hair color eye color tall height note. phenotype is the physical appearance. a trait is a broad category to describe phenotype. 54 gatesol journal 32(2) figure 5 contrasting dominant and recessive genotypes dominant recessive aa aa a bb bb d dd ff g hh h ee t dd gg note. dominant genotypes have at least 1 capital letter and recessive genotypes have two lower case letters. figure 6 differentiating between genotype, phenotype and trait genotype phenotype trait hair color blue eyes aa red hair skin color brown eyes bb eye color bb curly hair straight hair note. pairs of letters belong to the genotype. words that describe actual physical appearance belong in the phenotype. general characteristics belong in the traits category. rounds 1–3: group interactions round 1 the initial groups worked on their individual sheets. round 1 took about 5–10 minutes. each person had their own sheet to fill out. before the group could check their answers with the teacher, they were told to work together to determine if all members had the same answers. once all members had the same answers, the group then asked the teacher for the key to the assignment. the group checked their answers and corrected any mistakes on all the members’ papers. this is very important as it sets the stage for the remaining rounds. rounds 2 and 3 the groups were then split up and half of each group went to the table of another group. this happened for all groups, so that after the first rotation, each group had two new members. two members from group a went to group b; two members from group b went to group c and two members from group c went to group a. round 2 began with members of the new groups giving each other their sheets to work on. for example, the original members of group a, who did not beard 55 rotate, gave a blank version of their sheet to the members of group c who rotated into their group. the group c members gave a blank version of their sheet to the group a members. each person repeated the process and completed their new sheets; conferred with their partner from their original group and ensured that they had the same answers. then, when all four members of a group completed their respective sheets, they graded each other’s sheets by marking incorrect answers. each pair within the groups then had time to correct their answers and to ask questions of their peers if something did not make sense. the third and final round repeated the same as round 2. to alleviate some of the confusion that can happen with a new activity, the teacher used three different colored papers to correspond to groups a, b and c. this helped the teacher to know which graphic organizer each group had and the students knew what colored key to ask for when correcting answers. the teacher also spent time explaining how the activity would work, the roles of each student in the group and that if one student chose not to fully participate, the strategy could not work well. practical application in the classroom the benefit of using this modified jigsaw approach is that it can be used across all disciplines and levels of education. below in figure 7 is an outline of the steps the teacher followed in planning and preparing for incorporating this pedagogical approach into the classroom. figure 7 directions to implement the modified jigsaw 56 gatesol journal 32(2) conclusion after completing this activity, the students were able to identify similarities and differences between the different words in the previous day’s activity and were no longer caught up with an onslaught of new vocabulary a contributing factor to the success of this activity was its design to have students interact with the vocabulary and one another (ranney, 2012). according to bautista and castañeda (2011), learning another language requires interaction with the vocabulary by internalizing it and then using it. for the students to have fully learned their genetics vocabulary, the pedagogical practices of the teacher had to move beyond the simple direct instruction method. creating this modified jigsaw activity allowed the teacher the flexibility needed to ensure that the students were learning at the appropriate level. using the jigsaw method allows for teacher flexibility in grouping students and employing different pedagogical strategies (woods, 2019). references bautista, n., & castañeda, m (2011). teaching science to ells, part i: key strategies every science teacher should know. the science teacher, 78(2), 35–39. https://www.jstor.org/ stable/24148089 pang, y. (2013). graphic organizers and other visual strategies to improve young ells’ reading comprehension. new england reading association journal, 48(2), 52. ranney, s. (2012). defining and teaching academic language: developments in k‐12 esl. language and linguistics compass, 6(9), 560–574. tabiolo, j. l., & rogayan, d. j. (2019). enhancing students’ science achievement through jigsaw ii strategy. journal of science learning, 3(1), 29–35. https://doi.org/10.17509/ jsl.v3i1.17680 talebi, f., & sobhani, a. (2012). the impacts of cooperative learning on oral proficiency. mediterranean journal of social sciences, 3(3), 75. tjandrawati, t. (2017). the implementation of cooperative learning with jigsaw type to improve student learning outcomes on natural science subject. jurnal penelitian dan pembelajaran ipa, 3(2), 151–161. https://doi.org/10.30870/jppi.v3i2.2579 wilcox, b., & morrison, t. g. (2013). the four es of effective vocabulary instruction. journal of reading education, 38(2), 53–57. woods, h. b. (2019). expediting learning through peer teaching: experiences with the jigsaw technique. health information & libraries journal, 36(4), 378–382. https://doi.org/ 10.1111/hir.12283 ____________________________________________________________________________ received: october 17, 2021 | accepted: may 12, 2022 | published: october 26, 2022 https://www.jstor.org/%e2%80%8cstable/24148089 https://www.jstor.org/%e2%80%8cstable/24148089 https://doi.org/10.17509/jsl.v3i1.17680 https://doi.org/10.17509/jsl.v3i1.17680 https://doi.org/10.30870/jppi.v3i2.2579 https://doi.org/%e2%80%8c10.1111/hir.12283 https://doi.org/%e2%80%8c10.1111/hir.12283 using the jigsaw strategy in the english language learner classroom to teach content-specific vocabulary gatesol journal2022, vol. 32(2), pp. 51–56 doi:10.52242/gatesol.134 issn: 2331-6845 issn #2331-6845 book review: sociolinguistics and language teaching by william lake georgia state university wlake1@gsu.edu farrell, t.s.c. (2017). sociolinguistics and language teaching. alexandria, virginia. tesol press, vi + 50 pp. summary: sociolinguistics and its importance for tesol curricula occupy the limelight in farrell's fresh addition to the english language teacher development series. here, educators will find the relevance of sociolinguistics for themselves and their students via accessible summaries of established sociolinguistics research and poignant, reflective discussion questions. keywords: sociolinguistics; teaching; inequality; gender; society; professional development in a recent essay, korthagen (2017) proposes that in-service teacher trainers may spur their mentees’ development by connecting “the personal strengths of people in schools with academic knowledge” (p. 399). in other words, he argues that teacher educators’ common mission is not solely to present infographics of recent research articles, but rather to facilitate the charting out of paths in which empirical findings can harmonize with assets already possessed by their mentees. resources that work toward this end come at an urgent time, given contemporary recommendations for more robust tesol training curricula among teachers in u.s. public schools (pettitt et al., 2017). sociolinguistics, an area of linguistics which sidesteps normative ideals for language use in favor of how said languages are manifest among actual humans, may hold promise in strengthening ties between tesol teachers and their linguistically diverse students. one goal of sociolinguists is to highlight ways in which negative attitudes toward “nonstandard” language use coincide with prejudice and discrimination toward the users of such language varieties (holmes, 2008, as cited in farrell, 2017). farrell, no stranger to teacher development, branches out with a book entitled sociolinguistics and language teaching (2017). a cornerstone of the book is that reflection on factors that contribute to language diversity pave the way toward recognizing each student’s linguistic differences as strengths. while i have not had a chance to use the book in practice, i recommend it due to the ways in which it differs from other available books on sociolinguistics and language pedagogy. an edited volume of the same title (mckay & hornberger, 1996), and its “spiritual sequel” (hornberger & mckay, 2010) (containing updated research), broach many of the same topics as does farrell (2017), albeit in greater detail. piller’s (2016) linguistic diversity and social justice: an introduction to applied sociolinguistics, using an accessible yet scholarly style, not unlike malcolm gladwell’s engrossing works on social psychology, takes an empirical approach to the role that understanding language diversity can play in social change. however, unlike farrell’s (2017) text, none of the other books discussed in this paragraph contains a useful array of questions with the potential to open up meaningful discussions between cohorts. the three books would, however, work well in tandem with farrell’s text for readers looking to dive deeper into specific areas of sociolinguistics. every chapter, containing about 9 discussion questions each, consists of two sections: the first summarizes the current state of sociolinguistic research relevant to the chapter, while the second establishes practical connections of said findings for tesol teachers. chapter i offers a definition of sociolinguistics and its emphasis on describing language use, rather than enforced, platonic ideals thereof. farrell adds that, despite nearly 50 years since the publication of the first article linking sociolinguistics and tesol, research on this connection has seen little progress. the author argues that this discrepancy is conspicuous, given the prospective benefits of recognizing language diversity in terms of reality rather than demanding, yet illusory criteria held up as both desirable and attainable. the subsequent chapters offer practical suggestions for a pedagogy guided by nuanced understandings of english-language learners’ personal experiences. chapter ii, “multilingualism,” reviews prior research on the challenges toward and benefits of allowing english-language learners to remain in touch with their home languages (cf. montalvo balbed & mccormack mussetti, 2015; gonzález, moll & amanti, 2006). chapter iii, “which english? whose english?” presents the ideal of “standard english” as a construct that varies considerably by situational context and geographical region. however, farrell points out that not all regions enjoy comparable levels of prestige. accordingly, the promotion of an appreciation among students for all varieties of english is crucial in fostering meaningful, intercultural communication both inside and outside the classroom. chapter iv, “language and gender” addresses western societies’ expectations for women to adhere more closely to norms of propriety. here, farrell encourages teachers to work against these inequalities by pointing out elements of sexist language and stereotypes in teaching materials. chapter v, “identity in language learning and teaching,” focuses on the notion that learners may assume new identities while drawing from their home lives and learning environments. farrell argues that identity research holds value for tesol teachers, provided they establish parallels between the past and the present. that is, through discussion questions, teachers would do well to compare and contrast their own in-class behaviors as children in the past with those of their students in the present. at the administrative level, chapter vi, “language planning”, discusses discrepancies between classroom teachers' beliefs about teaching and those held by educational policymakers. in light of these disparities, tesol teachers are encouraged to listen to and question the validity of such policies, adjusting practice according to students’ needs. the final chapter, “reflecting on sociolinguistics and language teaching” summarizes an earlier case study of students in an matesol course entitled “sociolinguistics applied to language teaching.” students’ reflection assignments addressed a mélange of complex sentiments toward code switching, unequal power relations, as well as the legitimacy of language varieties. the majority of m.a. students in the course reported a heightened sense of clarity toward the need for applications of sociolinguistics to tesol (farrell, 2015). taken as a whole, farrell offers a brief, yet accessible perspective on the relevance of sociolinguistics to preand in-service teachers. in-service teachers may find themselves more familiar with the book’s content than would their pre-service counterparts. however, given the heterogeneity of experience levels in most teacher development cohorts, the book’s questions may allow for discussion participants to learn even more from each other. further, some readers may wish for more detailed examples that support farrell’s assertions. in such cases, referring to the articles found in the book’s thorough bibliography will prove indispensable, in addition to the three similar works identified in this review (mckay & hornberger, 1996; hornberger & mckay, 2010; pillier, 2016). concerning the work’s relevance toward educational contexts in georgia, the reader is invited to peruse earlier issues of gatesol in action. montalvo balbed’s & mccormack musetti’s (2015) and poindexter’s (2016) articles, for instance, would work well in tandem with this book for discussions on multiple languages and language varieties as assets for students success. finally, with continued funding toward the u.s. government’s office of english language acquisition (at the time of writing) uncertain (downey, 2018), some may begin to hold a grim view of the future of tesol in georgia. yet one must not forget about recent calls for educators to remain hopeful toward the continued renovation of tesol (e.g., mantegna, 2014) in georgia’s current political climate (i.e., pendergrass, 2017). texts that bring a transfusion of knowledge to the tesol canon, such as farrell’s, may represent a vital force for the sustained success of english-teachers here and abroad. references downey, m. (2018, july 9). opinion: devos plan jeopardizes english language learner programs. the atlanta journal constitution, retrieved from https://www.myajc.com. farrell, t. s. c. (2015). encouraging critical reflection in a teacher education course: a canadian case study. in t. s. c. farrell (ed.), international perspectives on english language teacher education: innovations from the field (pp. 36–50). basingstoke, england: palgrave macmillan. gonzález, n., moll, l. c., & amanti, c. (eds.). (2006). funds of knowledge: theorizing practices in households, communities, and classrooms. routledge. holmes, j. (2008). an introduction to sociolinguistics (3rd ed.). harlow, england: pearson education. hornberger, n., & mckay, s. (2010). sociolinguistics and language education (new perspectives on language and education). bristol: multilingual matters. korthagen, f. (2017). inconvenient truths about teacher learning: towards professional development 3.0. teachers and teaching, 23(4), 387–405. retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13540602.2016.1211523. mantegna, s. (2014). the good news about english learners. gatesol in action, 2014(2). retrieved from http://georgiatesoljournal.org/ojs/index.php/gatesol/article/view/21. mckay, s., & hornberger, n. (1996). sociolinguistics and language teaching (the cambridge applied linguistics series). cambridge, england: cambridge university press. montalvo balbed, m., & mccormack musetti, b. (2015). unpacking capital: promoting el student success & learning to “do school”. gatesol in action, 2015(1). retrieved from http://georgiatesoljournal.org/ojs/index.php/gatesol/article/view/36. pendergrass, j. (2017). cultivating respectful classroom discourse in trump’s america. gatesol in action, 2017(1). retrieved from http://georgiatesoljournal.org/ojs/index.php/gatesol/article/view/64. pettitt, n., ekers, a., campbell, c., & gure, m. (2017). critical service-learning in adult esol teacher preparation: reflections from the field. gatesol in action, 2017(1). retrieved from http://georgiatesoljournal.org/ojs/index.php/gatesol/article/view/56. piller, i. (2016). linguistic diversity and social justice: an introduction to applied sociolinguistics. oxford: oxford university press. poindexter, a. l. (2016). all the different voices: a teacher’s journey to shifting paradigms in language variation and diversity. gatesol in action, 2016(1). retrieved from http://georgiatesoljournal.org/ojs/index.php/gatesol/article/view/43. 2 gatesol in action, fall 2018 image1.png article dr. alexandra j. reyes, assistant professor, department of middle grades and secondary education, georgia southern university, statesboro, ga; email areyes@georgiasouthern.edu. dr. alisa leckie, associate professor, department of middle grades and secondary education, georgia southern university, statesboro, ga; email aleckie@georgiasouthern.edu. dr. alma d. stevenson, professor, department of curriculum, foundations, and reading, georgia southern university, statesboro, ga; email almastevenson@georgiasouthern.edu. building on what we know: best practices for engaging emergent bilinguals in learning gatesol journal 2022, vol. 32(1), pp. 51–59 doi:10.52242/gatesol.157 issn: 2331-6845 alexandra j. reyes georgia southern university alisa leckie georgia southern university alma d. stevenson georgia southern university abstract the purpose of this article is to describe best practices for engaging emergent bilingual students in learning. as more educators across the state of georgia are working with emergent bilingual students, we have identified several strategies and structures that are recognized as being effective for all students and highlight ways to modify those classroom practices to benefit students who are learning english as an additional language. we describe ways to make language visible (anchor charts, word walls, sentence frames, and sentence stems), as well as effective practices for readers’ workshop. we also recognize that family engagement is critical to student success and provide strategies to enhance school-family connections among culturally and linguistically diverse students and their families. keywords teaching strategies, emergent bilinguals, readers’ workshop, family engagement introduction throughout this article we use the terms english learner and emergent bilingual interchangeably. while we recognize the term english learner is more commonly in use across the state, we also use the term emergent bilingual to recognize the linguistic assets of students who are learning english as an additional language in schools (garcía, 2009). both terms are imprecise as english learner positions students only as students who are learning english without recognizing the rich language knowledge students bring to the classroom, and emergent bilingual indicates students are in the process of learning a second language when english could in fact be a third or fourth language. for us, both terms indicate students of a variety of english proficiency levels who use a language other than english at home. the strategies and structures presented in this article will help students learn english and also build on the linguistic and conceptual knowledge they learned prior to beginning school in the united states. mailto:areyes@georgiasouthern.edu mailto:aleckie@georgiasouthern.edu mailto:almastevenson@georgiasouthern.edu 52 gatesol journal 32(1) according to the national center for education statistics (nces, 2021), about 10% of all public school students are considered english learners. these approximately five million students reside primarily in urban areas, but numbers in rural areas are on the rise (nces, 2021). although more than 75% of english learners across the country speak spanish, there are more than 40 different languages spoken by students and their families. georgia mirrors national statistics with about 8% of public school students receiving esol program services (sugarman & geary, 2018). spanish, vietnamese, chinese, and arabic are the most common languages spoken by students in georgia with 78% speaking spanish (owens, 2020). the number of english learners has been rapidly increasing over the past decade with a 61% increase between 2011 and 2019 alone (owens, 2020; sugarman & geary, 2018). this creates a challenge for georgia educators and administrators, as most educators working with english learners and their families have not had adequate education or professional development to be effective with this population (greenberg et al., 2015). many districts and teachers are scrambling to incorporate best practices to help their emergent bilingual learners to succeed. the purpose of this article is to highlight ways to expand on what are widely considered as best practices for all students (i.e., anchor charts, sentence starters, word walls, and reader’s workshop) to bolster the academic success of english learners. additionally, we augment these classroom practices with best practices for engaging families and communities in the educational process, further promoting positive outcomes for these students. background & context: the authors we are three georgia teacher educators with vastly different experiences working with emergent bilingual students. our backgrounds span teaching elementary, middle grades, and high school students both in and beyond the traditional classroom setting. we have each taught for over ten years and in multiple content areas. our collective expertise is enriched by our individual experiences as educators in arizona, connecticut, georgia, north carolina, and texas. in addition to the diverse geographic, demographic, and political contexts of our work, we have taught emergent bilinguals across language development models. for example, we have taught in esol, pull-out, push-in, sheltered instruction, bilingual education, dual language, and heritage language programs. regardless of context or instructional model, our experiences have shown three strategies to be beneficial for emergent bilingual students: making language visual and visible, using reader’s workshop, and connecting with families and communities. when utilized in tandem, these practices facilitate student success and enhance school/family/community connections. while we do provide research and best practice citations throughout, we primarily draw on our experiences working with emergent bilingual students in varied and multiple contexts to discuss these practices. we agree that the guidance below will positively impact the academic achievement of english learners in the classroom, as well as the broader educational context. making language and concepts visual and visible emergent bilinguals benefit from learning in an environment that is both language and image rich. anchor charts, interactive vocabulary walls with pictures, and sentence frames are three strategies that support all students and can be enhanced to further support emergent bilinguals (gibson, 2016). these are three commonly used techniques that can be leveraged to provide access to content concepts and facilitate academic language development. the sections below provide a reyes, leckie, & stevenson 53 brief overview of each strategy and then offer opportunities for enhancing those strategies for the success of emergent bilingual students. anchor charts anchor charts are tools used to support instruction, or “anchor” learning. they are typically created as a class so that both the teacher’s and students’ thinking about a concept are made visible. while teachers will want to prepare the framework for the anchor chart ahead of time, when students help with the co-construction, that chart is more relevant and meaningful, particularly for emergent bilinguals (bacchioni & kurstedt, 2019). in addition to collaboratively constructing anchor charts, there are several ways that they can be more relevant for english learners. consider using a different color for important vocabulary terms and adding illustrations to make some of the text more comprehensible. the use of color helps emergent bilinguals differentiate between key terms and descriptors, and helps students identify key terms easily. adding visual support with images, sketches, and examples provides english learners access to content concepts. while the student may not know the word for the concept in english, they might know the concept based on prior experiences. presenting a visual helps an emergent bilingual make connections between known concepts and the english word for that concept. we fully realize that many educators at the elementary level take full advantage of anchor charts, and we advocate for their use in middle and high schools as well. while the terms and illustrations may change, the support they offer will not only facilitate the academic success of immigrant students at the secondary level; they will also support those students who struggle with the academic language of school. word walls word walls are commonplace in many classrooms. they are typically made up of several individual words written on sentence strips and posted in a given location in the classroom. while having vocabulary words posted and visible to students at all times is certainly better than not having them posted at all, without regularly engaging students with the word wall and/or providing other supports to help students access and apply the terms, the impact of a word wall is lessened. here are two ways to augment the impact of word walls: 1) adding images and/or examples, and 2) designing classroom activities that require students to access the word wall or allow them to access the word wall for support (jackson et al., 2017). when images or examples are added to word walls, they provide the context needed for emergent bilinguals to access content concepts. often examples are provided orally during direct instruction and class discussions, and emergent bilinguals miss out on the benefit of the example because they do not know the english words for the illustration. consider words used in describing the water cycle (e.g., evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and sublimation). adding a visual to represent each process will facilitate comprehension and provide clues to support use of the word wall in class activities and discussions. even if word walls feature images alongside key terms, if students are not guided in the use of word walls as learning tools, the existence of a word wall will have a limited, if any, impact on student learning and language development. it is important for teachers to design activities that require students to use words from the word wall. these activities do not need to be long or complex. for example, a prompt for an exit ticket could state, “use four words from our word wall to describe two ideas from today’s lesson.” or, after a think-pair-share activity, partners could be required to include words from the word wall in their response or explanation. 54 gatesol journal 32(1) regularly integrating word wall activities, makes the word wall interactive, provides additional practice in the use of content terms, and reminds students that the word wall is there as a resource for them. incorporating sentence stems and sentence frames sentence frames and sentence starters help emergent bilingual students develop a deeper understanding of the syntax and discourse structure of academic english (donnelly & roe, 2010). it also supports their use of terms regularly used to express concepts and ideas such as similar to, different from, leads to, and results in. as students begin to incorporate these phrasal verbs into their writing, they will also begin to recognize them as they engage with classroom texts. these terms often signal text structure, and a student’s recognition of a text’s structure leads to improved comprehension. further, using sentence frames to support english learners during writing or discussion activities helps support both their quality of writing and quality of thought (lee, 2018). sentence frames can also be used to support students’ understanding of content concepts. for example, building off of the terms for the water cycle above, a series of sentence frames could include: precipitation is similar to condensation because they both __________. precipitation is different from condensation because precipitation __________, whereas condensation __________. these sentence frames facilitate higher order thinking that will help move students beyond defining and identifying. they also enable emergent bilinguals to demonstrate their understanding of the concepts while lightening the linguistic load. further, as students engage with increasingly complex texts, it is important to provide students scaffolded opportunities to comprehend and produce academic texts. using readers’ workshops it is imperative to provide emergent bilingual students with opportunities to read, write, listen, and speak to develop both their language skills and content knowledge. many strategies help emergent bilinguals to acquire english while advancing their reading comprehension and writing skills. among these strategies, we believe the most effective are modified readers’ workshop approaches that incorporate interactive read alouds and guided reading. interactive read alouds and guided reading although the components of the reader’s workshop model are beneficial for all students (atwell, 2014), they are particularly helpful for emergent bilinguals. these instructional strategies include teachers modeling their thinking and developing purposeful questions, students verbalizing their thoughts through open discussions and looking for evidence to support their ideas and understanding, and small group instruction to individualize the students’ learning. these elements assist emergent bilinguals to advance their english language proficiency while developing their reading comprehension skills. interactive read alouds reader’s workshop emphasizes the importance of teaching a reading skill or a literary concept as part of the process. one of the best ways to do it is through interactive read alouds using mentor texts that model the skill or concept. when choosing a mentor text, we recommend looking for a book that fits the specific instructional purpose while being culturally relevant and engaging (ladson-billings, 1995). this is important because students are more motivated when they relate to a story based on their own experiences and home culture. we also recommend asking students reyes, leckie, & stevenson 55 about their preferences and interests to match these with the academic concepts to be taught. this way, learning can be more meaningful and relevant for emergent bilinguals, and thus, their language skills and concept knowledge can continue developing. further, before you start to read, make sure you are prepared with an initial set of openended questions regarding the targeted skill or literary concept; these questions will generate relevant interconnected questions from the students’ perspectives. the teacher’s modeling of openended questions will enable students to learn how to formulate relevant questions, which in turn will assist them to become independent learners. while reading aloud, we recommend clearly enunciating statements, paraphrasing as necessary teachers’ questions and responses to the students’ questions, and using gestures and images to contextualize words. once the interactive read-aloud mini-lesson of 7 to 15 minutes is finished, students will be provided with a space where they can practice the skill or analyze the concept, preferably in pairs. during this time, the teacher will provide a couple of guiding questions, and students will discuss their understanding of the skill or concept with their partners, look for evidence to support their ideas in their chosen books, and write in their reading journals. guided reading one of the strengths of this structure is that it allows for teachers to work with small groups of students while the rest of the class works in pairs or independently. during guided reading (fountas & pinnell, 2012, 2016) it is essential to implement a short (15 to 20 minute), well-structured lesson that targets a skill or concept. the small group format provides students with a safe and unthreatening way to practice vocabulary words, orally discuss the chosen leveled book, and develop their critical thinking skills. intentional formation of small groups is essential for the success of guided reading. teachers can organize students into groups based on their reading level, need to work on a specific skill, or their english proficiency level. using leveled texts allows the teacher to work with small groups of students at a level that promotes learning and supports student success. after finishing the guided reading groups, move back to whole class instruction and open a discussion by asking students to share their findings regarding the guiding questions and target skill or concept. this final activity will offer students opportunities to learn from each other and to advance their oral language skills. taken together, this process will provide emergent bilinguals with several opportunities to learn a skill or concept, practice their vocabulary, and advance their discursive and oral language skills. thus, it is important to plan for well-structured lessons with purposeful strategies to help emergent bilinguals advance their english language skills and concept knowledge. connecting with families and communities while specialized instruction is crucial for academic success for emergent bilingual students, it is not always enough. as educators, we know what research shows: students and schools benefit from parental/family involvement (epstein & sanders, 2000). student from culturally and linguistically minoritized backgrounds (e.g., students of color, emergent bilinguals, and those from immigrant families), as well as students living in poverty, historically have lower rates of traditional parental involvement than students from middle-class, english-speaking, majority backgrounds (andrews, 2013; marschall et al., 2012; palomin, 2020; zarate, 2007). knowing that, it can be difficult to determine how best to get parents and families involved in school activities and academics. first, it is important to determine what positive family engagement should look 56 gatesol journal 32(1) like in your specific teaching context. next, potential barriers to that ideal engagement need to be identified. finally, we need to find appropriate ways to overcome these barriers to maximize accessibility for families to engage with school. here, we present some real-life examples of ways we have successfully fostered family-school engagement. positive family engagement positive family engagement can vary widely, depending on numerous sociocultural factors. we use the term family engagement because it more accurately reflects the range of family participation in school-related activities than parental involvement, which ignores the diverse composition of families and connotes a limited view of participation (i.e., participation in in-school activities). teachers need to make sure they are familiar with their students’ backgrounds so that they have appropriate expectations for family engagement. for example, many latino families view the family’s role as a supportive one and leave the teaching to the school. this is not a sign of disengagement or disinterest, but a sign of respect; because the teacher knows what the student’s academic needs are, the family’s responsibility is to support the child through providing advice, encouragement, and care. meaningful engagement may be in the form of regular contact with teachers, participation in extracurricular activities, or even sending the student to school with a good lunch. we must recognize that our students’ families may view engagement differently, and we should adjust our expectations accordingly. identify potential barriers to engagement it is important to identify potential barriers to engagement. for example, if your school has a large percentage of working families, it may not be feasible to expect parents to volunteer in the classroom during the day. other common obstacles to engagement with schools and activities include language barriers, communication difficulties, childcare needs, transportation issues, scheduling conflicts, cultural unfamiliarity, and not feeling welcome. understanding the individual family situations of your students will allow you to design school engagement opportunities with accessibility in mind. maximize accessibility maximize accessibility for family-school engagement opportunities. on average, families with lower income and less formal education tend to have lower rates of school involvement than those with higher-incomes and more formal schooling. research (and experience), however, has demonstrated that schools that successfully carry out family partnership programs increase involvement of families with lower incomes and less formal education (epstein & sanders, 2000; goldsmith, & kurpius, 2018). additionally, teachers’ family engagement practices are equally or even more important than family background factors when determining family engagement with school (epstein & sanders, 2000). this means that with the right approach, teachers and schools can increase family engagement, thereby improving student outcomes. after determining what positive engagement could reasonably look like, and identifying potential barriers, we must create paths for families to participate in students’ schooling. accessibility increases engagement accessibility is an important way to increase parent engagement, and this can be achieved through careful planning and partnerships with students. i used to teach a study skills and college preparation elective course at a diverse title i high school. in my classes, every combination of reyes, leckie, & stevenson 57 historically marginalized identity (e.g., low-income, single-parent home, immigrant, emergent bilingual, ethnic/racial minoritized, undocumented status, etc.) was represented. despite false dominant discourses about parents from marginalized and/or under-resourced communities not caring about their students’ education, my teaching colleagues and i were able to get nearly 100% participation in our annual family night. we accomplished this through careful planning and partnership with the students. we considered possible obstacles to participation and eliminated as many as we could. we also involved the students in the planning and execution of the event, which provided another layer of incentive for the families to attend. there were many ways we increased accessibility for our parents. we began by creating an evening event, increasing the likelihood that those with 9–5 jobs could attend. recognizing that the event would conflict with dinner time, we provided food at the event. students made invitations by hand in their home languages for their parents/guardians. these were supplemented with phone calls and email reminders from our team teachers. to address language and childcare barriers, students acted as interpreters, and one teacher supervised a childcare room. as transportation is also a barrier, carpools were arranged, and contact information was exchanged. finally, students developed presentations for the night which enhanced parent motivation to attend. on invitations, we clearly indicated that food, student presentations, interpreters, childcare, and transportation would be provided so families knew what to expect. these supports also let parents know that their participation was important, and they felt genuinely welcomed. our program’s family nights were the highlight of each year and helped create relationships between the students, their families, and the school that went beyond talking about grades or behavior. the positive impact of these events endured throughout their schooling. by keeping students’ and families’ needs in mind, we were able to successfully design meaningful opportunities for students, families, and teachers to interact. this built trust and opened communication, as well as encouraged pride in the students. while it may not be feasible to incorporate all the above elements into every event, this example provides a glimpse into the vast possibilities for deepening family engagement throughout the year, regardless of school context, grade level, or family background. conclusion the number of emergent bilingual students across the state of georgia is increasing and more educators are working with students who are learning english as an additional language. the purpose of this article was to highlight best practices that many educators are currently using and describe the positive outcomes their use can have in developing language and literacy among emergent bilinguals. while teacher education programs and school systems are working to provide the training and professional development needed to support linguistically diverse students, we feel it is important to remind educators of the effective strategies and structures they may already have in their “teaching toolbox”. sometimes, making small changes to instructional practice can make a big difference in providing english learners access to content concepts, developing language and literacy skills, and engaging families and communities. references andrews, m. 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(2018, august). english learners in georgia: demographics, outcomes, and states accountability policies. migration policy institute. https://www.migration policy.org/research/english-learners-demographics-outcomes-state-accountabilitypolicies zarate, m. e. (2007). understanding latino parental involvement in education: perceptions, expectations, and recommendations. the tomás rivera policy institute. https://files.eric. ed.gov/fulltext/ed502065.pdf ____________________________________________________________________________ received: november 25, 2021 | accepted: february 14, 2022 | published: april 18, 2022 https://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/english-learners-demographics-outcomes-state-accountability-policies https://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/english-learners-demographics-outcomes-state-accountability-policies https://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/english-learners-demographics-outcomes-state-accountability-policies https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ed502065.pdf https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ed502065.pdf gatesol journal2022, vol. 32(1), pp. 51–59 building on what we know: best practices for engaging emergent bilinguals in learning doi:10.52242/gatesol.157 issn: 2331-6845 issn #2331-6845 a comparison of english for academic purposes and english for business purposes for english language learners by melissa d. caspary georgia gwinnett college, lawrenceville, georgia mcaspary@ggc.edu clifton d. wickstrom educational pathways international clif.wickstrom@hotmail.com diane boothe boise state university, boise, idaho dianeboothe@boisestate.edu learning and teaching methodologies and approaches require innovation and relevancy for 21 century occupations and lifestyles. in this paper the authors compare and contrast english for specific purposes (esp) strategies for english learners in the business and academic communities. the uses of problem based-learning (pbl) and information and communications technology (ict) methodologies are explored as valuable tools for english educators and learners. keywords: english for academic purposes; english for business purposes; english for specific purposes; english language learners; information communications technologies; problem-based learning the english for specific purposes (esp) community has grown at a near exponential rate over the past two decades. this is due in part to the parallel 1 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 mailto:mcaspary@ggc.edu mailto:clif.wickstrom@hotmail.com mailto:dianeboothe@boisestate.edu growth of information and communications technologies (ict) that support rapid and global transmission of the messages and data in multiple formats. altbach (2007) has argued that the creation of the internet and its multiple international networking platforms has led to a form of english hegemony in global communications in academic settings. following a similar path, english now dominates the discourse of business on an international level. therefore, we have observed the emergence of myriad on-line references for esp program offerings and ict-based courses. the authors were prompted to ask how does esp compare in business and academic communities. problembased learning (pbl) lenses and ict contexts were used to examine similarities and differences in the esp arena. the pbl context pbl has its origins in medical education in britain, and thus has roots in a discipline where esp is an integral part of the educational process. it quickly attracted attention and usage in the canadian medical education community, and spread into post-secondary settings in the united states (us). pbl anchors learning and instruction in real-world problems. learning content and processes become student-centered and collaborative and encourage the participants to find a common language to address concrete problems. students are introduced to a climate and setting and are challenged to clearly 2 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 state what those issues are in language that is meaningful in the context of the problem. they are also charged with devising solutions and required to evaluate the problem in a post-problem reflection period (barrows, 1988). this mode of teaching allows self-directed learning strategies and levels of collaboration that are naturally reinforced in the ict context due to the nature of independent, activity-driven resources in the technology-enhanced curriculum. john-steiner and mahn (1996) noted that when a problem is imbedded in a larger cultural context, it allows the learner to be both transforming and transformed, and this contextual framework can be highly effective in reaching esp students. although the sources of problems and the contexts for their classroom use may vary, pbl has common features: problems should engage students’ interest and motivate learning, require students to develop a line of reasoning that is backed by evidence, be complex enough to motivate participation of a group of students rather than just a single individual, be open-ended enough at the outset to allow participation by all students, incorporate the learning objectives of the course, and allow for many legitimate paths to a single resolution (duch,1996). pbl methods also resonate strongly with science educators and their students because they parallel the universal protocol of employing the scientific method, cornerstone of all scientific research. the 3 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 scientific process involves making an observation, forming a hypothesis, testing that hypothesis, and rejecting or accepting the hypothesis based on analyzing the results. placing students in the active role of problem-solvers in a demanding situation simulates the kind of complex circumstances they are likely to face in international business or academic communities. pbl is ideally suited for english language learners (ells) because it requires students to play the active role of problem-solvers. for students struggling with language acquisition, tacit learning, grounded in experimentation and experience, is the optimal mode for gaining expertise in a given subject. according to evenson and hmelo (2000), this mode of education places the responsibility in the hands of the students which is a role that has the potential to create life-long learners. it also places the instructor in the position of being a listener which is important for bridging communication gaps (shultz, 2003). lee (2005) argued that current educational policies and practices do not support desired outcomes with ells. the authors would argue that education oriented toward the future ought to prepare students to function in a multicultural society with permeable borders. pbl can provide students with an inquiry-based approach for solving real-world problems. students working hard to gain proficiency in english speaking and literacy gain an 4 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 understanding of a discipline through performance. it has been demonstrated that inquiry-based methods personalize classroom-based projects, increase relevance, and create ownership (johnson & kean, 1992). problem-based classroom projects enable students to make a personal investment in their education and in the projects, where they are more likely to use their total support network of classmates, teachers, friends and the community of the specific application to help them meet project goals. ells who participate in such projects thrive in a cooperative learning environment which strengthens peer relationships. the hands-on nature of a project creates a sense of ownership among specific classroom project participants and caters to a wide range of skills and ability levels. pbl can be utilized to select constructive problems purposefully designed to address the desired learning outcomes for the english for academic purposes (eap) and english for business purposes (ebp) communities. these problems are often influenced by social and contextual factors. cummins (2000, p. 39) stated “conceptual knowledge developed in one language helps to make input in the other language comprehensible.” careful lesson planning is necessary in terms of language learning and content knowledge. when using the pbl model, content is introduced in the context of real world problems. the learners’ acquisition of knowledge is achieved 5 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 through a combination of learning strategies that are self-directed, independent, and collaborative, while also emphasizing communication skills and providing ongoing reinforcement. the ict context the teaching of esp and more specifically eap has taken on global significance. as early as 1996, gillett (1996) offered a precise description of the growing eap field identifying the four essential elements (reading, writing, listening and speaking) noting eap’s increasing importance within the global higher education community. as altbach (2007, p. 2) noted, “until the mid-twentieth century, most countries used their national languages for academic university teaching and for science and scholarship.” since the 1950s, english has assumed an ever increasing role as the predominant language for academic communication across the globe. it is now the language of choice for virtually all major peer-reviewed academic journals in international distribution, and the preferred language of presentation at academic conferences and colloquia (altbach, 2007). eap entails training students, usually in a higher education setting, to use language appropriately for study, research and publication. it includes developing skills in the rigorous, rhetorically and grammatically correct modes demanded by the now globalized academy. it is a challenging and 6 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/higher_education multi-faceted area within the wider field of ell, and is one of the most common forms of esp. eap is now a common part of the curriculum at universities around the globe, and is even being offered in the commercial marketplace, especially in asia (canagarajah, 2014). more specifically, academic language differs from everyday language and other esp language uses in very specific ways. for eap learners, these differences take on even more significance. these learners are frequently required to read, write, listen to, and speak about relatively unfamiliar topics using technical language and drawing upon semantic resources that routinely differ from the language practices they use in the home or in social or business contexts. as such, eap teachers need to make explicit the workings of academic language and the critical differences between every day and academic language. the eap community has had to develop its own systems to promote this more rigorous curriculum focused form of language learning. an eap program focuses instruction on skills required to perform well in an english-speaking academic context across core subject areas generally encountered in a university setting. programs may also include a more narrow focus on the specific linguistic demands of a particular area of study; business subjects are but one example. sometimes eap courses may be intended to raise students' 7 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 general english proficiency to facilitate university entrance. in the us, this can mean helping students attain a score of 70 or greater on the test of english as a foreign language (toefl). in the united kingdom (uk), this often means endeavoring to help students get a score of 6 or above in the international english language testing system (ielts) examination. frequently, these courses take on a specialty school atmosphere, where students can spend from a single semester to a year or two working on their english and academic skills before starting degree courses. eap courses taught with other degree courses may be based on the british or american english and composition models, or may employ content-based instruction, using material from the students' degree subjects. ict has had and continues to have a major and distinct role to play in facilitating the success of eap instruction. this role has expanded in both its breadth and depth, with the increasing proliferation of such tools, globally. while computers were first used principally to process data within closed environments, interestingly, once users found they could be used for communication and information sharing, this became the major use of the technology. educators who had been using computer-assisted tools such as word-processing soon began to recognize the potential of the communication tools, as well. the ict tools that support human-to-human interaction are 8 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/toefl http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ielts commonly referred to as computer-mediated communication (cmc). cmc can be divided into synchronous (real-time) and asynchronous (non-real-time) applications, with chat being the most typical synchronous and blogs and email the most typical asynchronous examples, respectively. a variety of modes of communication constitute cmc, including e-mail, chat, im (instant messaging), computer conferencing, listservs, bulletin boards, blogs, muds (multi-user dungeon, an interactive virtual game played on the internet by several people at the same time) and moos (multi-object-oriented muds), to name a few. the macroscopic view of all of these ict tools in the language education setting is referred to as computer-assisted language learning (call). over the past ten plus years, a distinct literature related to these tools has emerged, and is widely available on the world-wide web (hubbard, 2009). however, cmc and call are not without their drawbacks. with the exception of most e-mail systems, they do not provide flags for spelling, grammar or syntactic errors, and prevent learners from receiving timely feedback to correct them. the language of cmc may not provide appropriate models that language learners need in other contexts. research had demonstrated that cmc incorporates both characteristics of written and spoken language (murray, 2008). the abbreviated shorthand of texts and “tweets” has further exaggerated this differentiation. this informal language 9 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 is quite different from that used in other contexts, such as school and work. thus language learners need to acquire a range of cmc proficiencies, outside of the academic environment, so they can use both the simplified language structures of social networks, as well as, for example, the formal emails for requesting time off from a manager, applying for a job or raising arguments when contributing to a discussion in an on-line chat. in addition, technological tools that facilitate synchronous use favor conversational fluency and community building over accuracy and scholarly discussion (murray, 2008). call and cmc resources in common use are also not typically geared to the more rhetorically demanding contexts of eap and the lexicons contained in these programs are not geared to the more specialized content of eap. while some word-processing programs now have the flexibility to choose the writing contexts among british or american spelling, and normal, business or academic grammar, these capabilities are not yet frequently found in other generic call software for ells. use of specific programs and even esp courses are the norm. moreover, call and language translation programs continue to have frequent problems with poly-semantic words, particularly verbs, as iacob (2009, p.147) describes in her discussion of the effectiveness of call tools. she notes by way of example that they are not capable of 10 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 differentiating among the several legitimate uses of the verb “to take”. at this point the critical terms within cmc and call remain “mediated” and “assisted”. thus, at this point, the language teacher still retains the key role in achieving ell, esp, and eap student success. a command of the english language is a defining factor in the dynamically changing 21st century multicultural workplace and ict is a tool that is being used to effectively bridge communication gaps. esp capability is required in business and industry for competitive and contractual responsibilities. highly skilled employees with esp competence will excel in collaborative and individualized endeavors and gain the experiences needed to forge strong networking relationships. ict is serving a crucial role in successful language learning that focuses on an innovative pedagogical delivery system. there are challenges and opportunities regarding the implementation and workplace acceptance of mobile learning platforms. mobile devices and digital interactive language learning incorporating strands of instructional technology with esp software will encourage people to power up rather than power down in the workplace. ell takes place in colloquial, informal exchanges in the majority of workplace settings with the exception of legal structured vocabulary required for judicial related strategies and practices. in the business world, research and design (r&d), 11 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 supply chain management, finance, operations management, and software engineering are a few examples of areas where esp coupled with ict is appropriate in our increasingly multidimensional and global society. multitouch learning devices challenge learners, analyze their progress and maximize engagement resulting in seamless language learning reinforced by impressive pedagogical aspects that will boost comprehension as well as stimulate and enrich accomplishments. in the field of medicine, ict is demonstrating strong support for esp students. a study conducted on 60 second-year medical students, comparing ict and traditional methods, concluded that instruction based on ict is a more effective method for teaching esp to the students of medicine, linguistically and methodologically (arani, 2004). altbach (2007) noted that the prevalence of the masters of business administration degree has led to the dominant role of english on the world stage of business. it is possible to customize esp learning to address specific needs with leading edge technologies that may not be available in traditional classroom settings such as lecture capture and screen capture. these successful language learning processes and strategies will complement traditional english language acquisition models and target specific skills. opportunities exist for the utilization of cutting edge technology that will enhance workplace 12 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 skills and spark inspiration and innovation. esp learning is supported for unique populations integrating workplace requirements, language learning and transformative linguistic rigor. not only is spoken language reinforced, but reading comprehension and content retention is boosted by using ict tools effectively to amplify instruction. in reference to the workplace, marschan-piekkari, welch and welch (1999) suggest that the free exchange of information relies on an understanding of the context and social norms reinforced in communicating with others. elan (2006) confirms that with the growth of business and the installation of multinationals around the world, foreign language knowledge (english) is not only crucial for sales, marketing and export operations, but for enhancing socialization with others. technology offers the necessary support resulting in data-driven decisions, re-conceptualizing and restructuring strategic utilization of solutions for transformative and leading edge quality instruction. this instruction flows from esp to workplace competency and is flexible and collaborative and allows learners to accomplish learning objectives and gain a competitive advantage. learning should and will take place in whatever setting is presented transforming longstanding reliance on traditional methods and broadening existing program delivery. 13 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 when focusing on ict in virtual and online environments, esp business learning situations offer contextual focus for learning. students are able to grasp language skills and content more quickly. learning can take place anywhere and rather than static learning that is more traditional in scope, the open and personalized learning is more flexible and collaborative using interactive tools as well as digital curriculum content providing a portal to the digital world and a more complex environment. traditional esp instruction is fundamentally changed and becomes more student-centered. broad concepts that previously existed drive down to a focus on details coupled with reinforceable language learning. the opportunity exists to pilot innovative, digital structures and online resources building a model for esp program improvement. the implementation of coupling esp and ict may seem daunting at first as digitalization takes a leading role in the instructional process, but focused training and professional development will expand the comfort zone and increase awareness resulting in deeper usage and increased access. flipping the classroom with hybrid and online, mobile learning methodology will expand digital fluency and esp in order to effectively teach english language even when blended with traditional face-to-face courses in hybrid settings blended with online segments. it will also provide increased 14 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 access to content and learning focused on the multicultural business community. a new program aimed at improving international student ebp performance is now being offered to students at one us university. golden gate university (ggu) in san francisco, california, is offering a specialized business oriented english language program for ell students. the ggu preparation in language and university studies (plus) program has been designed specifically for ell students who have limited speaking and writing skills and who participate in a collaborative process to improve their business related english proficiency. ggu has a large asian international student population within its business programs with students from mongolia, south korea, japan, china and taiwan needing to increase their proficiency in written and spoken english. plus is designed to encourage students to work in collaborative sessions, geared to solving common problems associated with the business curriculum, in which most students are enrolled (ggu, 2014). it employs the same pbl and ict approaches that the student will confront in the business classroom. the program has a remarkably high 80-85% success rate as reported by karin fischer (2011) in her chronicle of higher education article on plus. 15 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 comparative conclusions ict has made important and ground-breaking strides in the academic and business worlds. social success, problem-solving, linguistic rigor, pbl, ict applications availability, and ict applications are compared below for academic and business purposes. table 1 lists a comparison between eap and ebp across the six parameters of social contexts, problem contexts, linguistic rigor, pbl contexts, ict applications availability, and ict applications characteristics. table 1. comparison between eap and ebp against six parameters parameter eap ebp social contexts collaborative/collegial competitive/contractual problem contexts theoretical/rhetorical real world/practical linguistic rigor precise/formal, grammatically and syntactically complex colloquial/except legal or contractual materials pbl contexts research design, execution and evaluation customer/client contact and internal data management ict applications availability abundant limited to the corporation or corporate community ict applications characteristics generic word processing and data analytics task specific/ largely finance or focused on specific industry ells, both in an academic and business context, have been using ict to further their educational and professional goals. while in the academic world, 16 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 advances in ict can have significant impacts on collaborative interchange. in a business context, ict provides an edge necessary to make a competitive difference. in academics, ict supplies a trial-run platform to address theoretical problems that will later become practical and real in the business world. linguistic rigor may be a challenge both in business and academia, but improved communication technology will facilitate the esp acquisition. partnering pbl with ict leads to the development of creative strategies for educating in an esp and ebp environment. a challenge in incorporating ict into the workplace or classroom is the availability and willingness of the community to integrate these newly available technologies. this acceptance will largely be based on the character of the institution or nature of the industry, but any investment in the improvement of ict infrastructure is a step toward facilitating communication among all the involved players. the emphasis on reading, writing, listening and speaking in generic eap situations will likely limit pbl-ict applications to vocabulary building and language mechanics. however, when the eap situation changes to one of subject matter specificity, the environment quickly shifts to one that is rich in potential pbl-ict applications. whether the subject matter be the sciences, technology, engineering or mathematics (stem) related, or more attuned to 17 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 business, social sciences or even the humanities, pbl applications enriched with ict tools are proliferating rapidly. one area will continue to challenge ict applications in esp in all of its senses. the spelling, usage, pronunciation, punctuation and grammatical variations among the native english speaking nations, and the associated publishing and ict tool building communities, continue to challenge ells, be it in an eap, ebp or any other esp environment. some widely used wordprocessing tools are now equipped with “translating” subroutines to shift between british and american english, but these are only of use in the writing portion of eap. native and non-native english speakers will continue to be challenged by these variations in “common” english, but this too will likely be overcome in the near future using ict to its fullest. while ict has provided a considerable advantage, especially for those who are trying to harness proficiency with the english language for business or academic purposes, it is essential to remember to take a step back and take a first principles approach for improved communication across language barriers. the goal has always been a commitment to strengthen and solidify that bond, so that, regardless of the specific outcome, understanding is achieved between or among the contributing parties. ict will serve as a critical enabler in these attempts, but should not stand alone in an effort to 18 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 bridge the linguistic gaps between/among exchanges of information for whatever purposes. technology has yet to provide us with the “universal language translator” which is of sufficient power to function without error across a multiplicity of purposes. until that version of ict is available to us, ell will remain a dynamic and vigorous global effort, with eap and ebp serving major roles within. pbl and ict will provide valuable tools for that effort. 19 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 references altbach, p. 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(2003). listening: a framework for teaching across differences. new york: teachers college press. 22 gatesol in action, vol. 2, fall 2014 issn #2331-6845 the connection between drama, language and cognition in preschool dual language learners (dlls) by dr. lama k. farran communication sciences and disorders university of west georgia lfarran@westga.edu dr. diana mindrila educational research university of west georgia dmindril@westga.edu this study examined the connection between drama, language, and cognition in 61 preschool latino children. parents and teachers completed surveys and observations of children’s behaviors. results showed that parent home language use and observations of their children’s behaviors following drama exposure were related to children’s cognition. recommendations for practice and future research are presented. keywords: home language use; language; dual language learners; latino; drama; cognition; teacher report the demographic and linguistic landscapes are changing at an incredibly rapid rate in the united states schools with many students whose first home language (l1) is not english. current estimates indicate a dramatic increase in the number of public school students who are dual language learners (dlls) from 8.7 percent or approximately 4.1 1 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 mailto:lfarran@westga.edu mailto:dmindril@westga.edu million students in 2002-2003 to 9.2 percent, or approximately 4.4 million students in the 2012-2013 academic year (national center for education statistics, 2015). similarly, the state of georgia has also witnessed an increase in dlls ages 0-8 years, with numbers tripling between 1990 and 2012. this increase has posed new challenges for educational programs to build their capacity so that they are better equipped to properly meet the needs of linguistically and culturally diverse populations. related to this demographic shift is the parallel increase in young children’s enrollment in preschools and early childcare centers, which has been associated with academic and cognitive gains, especially in language, literacy, and math (magnuson, lahaie, & waldfogel, 2006). despite this trend, latino children and children of immigrants enroll at a lower rate compared to children of nonimmigrants (turney & kao; 2009), which is unfortunate when considering that latino children are more likely to perform poorly upon school entry compared to their same age peers by an estimated three years in academic and social-emotional domains (center for early care and education research, dual language learners 2011). while the specific mechanisms for the low performance of latino children remain unclear, the available evidence suggests a confluence of multiple risk factors may be at play for latino children compared to other groups, especially for those who are dlls. these include parents’ low income and low literacy levels, and the low status of the spanish language in the us. against this background, research also suggests that bilingualism may confer a cognitive and linguistic advantage brought about by learning two languages simultaneously (bialystok, 2001). young latino children who enroll in bilingual programs 2 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 may thus be especially at an advantage for cognitive and linguistic gains, potentially offsetting the impact of parents’ low ses and low literacy levels. specifically, bilingual children who are exposed to their home language (l1) in early childhood tend to demonstrate higher language performance in their second language (l2) and better cognitive skills upon their preschool or elementary school entry compared to bilingual children who do not experience early exposure to their l1 (august & shanahan, 2008; hammer, davison, lawrence, & miccio, 2009; páez, tabors, & lopez, 2007). similarly, bilingual programs that expose young children to drama have been proven to be beneficial to children’s future academic and cognitive outcomes (diamond, barnett, thomas, & munro, 2007). the facilitative effect of home language use on cognitive skills of bilinguals has been attributed to the increased cognitive demands brought about by learning and managing two or more languages simultaneously—a well-established finding in research on bilingualism (bialystok, 2001; gold, kim, johnson, kryscio, & smith, 2013; marian & shook, 2012). in a recent study, leon guerrero, smith, and luk (2016) examined the relation between home language use and cognition in preschool children and found interactions between proportions of spanish language use, chronological age, and performance on a cognitive control task. results indicate that the consistent use of home language moderates the development of cognitive control in preschool children. these findings bolster the importance of maintaining home language as a foundation for l1 and l2 language learning and cognition. similar findings were also reported by the center for early care and education researchdual language learners (2014) attesting to the bilingual advantage being 3 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 evident as early as the first year of life. specifically, bilingual infants showed an advantage over monolingual infants in executive function, namely inhibitory control tasks (e.g., tasks that require selectively attending to competing options and the ability to suppress interfering information). these findings seem to suggest that mere exposure to two languages and not necessarily spoken language competence, impacts cognitive skills positively. moreover, research on early development shows that bilingual infants demonstrate superior prerequisite skills to theory of mind and executive control tasks (e.g., emotional control and attention shift) irrespective of the home language (s) to which infants are exposed (carlson & meltzoff, 2008). when compared to monolinguals, bilingual children also experience their languages concurrently, and this experience tends to enhance functional plasticity and induce changes in brain organization that differs significantly from that of monolinguals’ (conboy & kuhl, 2011). finally, bilingual children have been shown to outperform their monolingual counterparts on metalinguistic awareness tasks, namely syntactic and morphological awareness tasks (davidson, raschke, & pervez, 2010). clearly, the evidence that supports the bilingual advantage in young children is well established. there is now mounting evidence that links children’s positive academic and developmental outcomes to drama. studies that rely on caregiver (parent, teacher) report and direct assessment of participants (teachers, children) show that drama integration positively affects multiple domains, including language (e.g., vocabulary), cognition (e.g., self-regulation, executive function), social, and academic skills. we briefly present these findings next. 4 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 greenfader and brouillette (2013) examined the effect of the teaching artist project (tap), a professional development program that promotes k-1 classroom teachers’ utilization of drama and creative movement, on children’s language outcomes. results indicate statistically significant benefits for kindergarten children who participated in tap as evidenced by their higher scores on standardized assessment (listening and speaking subtests of the california english language development test; celdt). in a study cast in vygotskian theory, elias and berk (2002) tested the effect of drama on self-regulation skills, which are foundational to the development of relationships and language, including vocabulary in preschool children. the results reveal that the use of drama contributes significantly to the development of selfregulation and language, particularly vocabulary. in another study that uses vygotskian’s theory, diamond, barnett, thomas, and munro (2007) examined the cognitive skills of preschool children, namely executive functions skills. participants were 24 teachers and 147 preschoolers who were randomly assigned to either “tools of the mind” (an educational curriculum that fosters the development of executive skills especially self-regulation through dramatic play and movement) or a control curriculum. teachers in the tools curriculum spent 80% of their time training in executive functions using drama. results reveal that children in the tools group performed better than controls on all executive function measures after controlling for child age and gender, and their performance was predictive of children’s future academic outcomes one year later. 5 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 further support for the beneficial role of drama was reported by kruger, orton, and bays (2003), who examined the effect of a drama professional development program on language and literacy outcomes of 452 dll kindergarteners in six title 1 schools, assigned to either treatment or control conditions. teachers in the treatment group received professional learning workshops focusing on drama, while the control teachers received the state’s standard arts curriculum. post intervention results revealed that the drama group performed significantly better on measures of english oral language (vocabulary) and academic outcomes in language and cognition. the drama intervention was thus instrumental in promoting the educational outcomes of dlls, as these do not always excel academically due to their limited command of english as a second language. given the reviewed studies pointing to the benefits of home language use and drama exposure, in this paper, we were interested in extending previous research to younger children in the preschool years, by examining the relationship between drama exposure, language, and cognition in a sample of preschool latino dlls. purpose the purpose of this study is twofold. first the study seeks to examine the associations between parent home language use and teacher report of children’s cognition in the context of the classroom. second, this study explores the relationship between parent observation of their children’s behaviors following drama exposure and teacher report of children’s cognition in the preschool context. as such, this study aimed at answering the following research questions: 6 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 1. is there a significant association between parent language use and children’s cognitive skills (executive language skills) as measured by teacher behavior rating inventory of executive function-preschool (brief-p) ratings? 2. is there a significant association between parent observation of children’s behaviors following their exposure to drama and children’s cognitive skills (executive language skills) as measured by teacher brief-p ratings? method participants were 61 parents and five general education teachers (four bilingual and one monolingual) of typically developing children who attended a preschool in the metro atlanta area (saturday school 2 x per month august 2014may 2015). children were latinos who came from predominantly low socioeconomic status (ses) backgrounds and their primary home language was spanish. parents and teachers participated in a bilingual preschool-wide program “building early language and literacy through drama” as follows: parents/families component parents attended learning through the arts workshops at the preschool, in which teaching artists from a regional arts center in atlanta demonstrated the use of drama strategies and how to infuse them in language and literacy learning and teaching. throughout the workshops, parents received support from the teaching artists, who scaffolded parents’ learning of drama strategies by modeling and encouraging role play on how to use objects to represent story characters, ask guiding questions, and visualize a setting by using body, voice, and imagination. parents, with the assistance of bilingual parent coaches at the preschool, were asked to complete a paper survey 7 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 related to their experience with and endorsement of drama in their children’s home language and literacy practices at home and school. teaching residency component preschool teachers participated in a residency component and attended 12 sessions (four units, each unit consisting of three sessions, and each session lasting approximately 45 minutes: 25-30 minute classroom sessions, each followed by a 10-15 minute discussion held at the preschool). the sessions were held approximately every three weeks and focused on teaching drama strategies. teaching artists worked closely with inservice teachers to provide coaching and instructional models that facilitated (1) making connections between drama and curriculum content; and (2) highlighting the potential impact of those connections on student learning. this collaborative model between teaching artists and inservice teachers allowed the dyad to plan lessons with instructional strategies that targeted common core state standards and georgia fine art standards, potentially benefiting students from standards-based instruction that incorporated drama-integration strategies and enhanced students’ self-regulation and language skills. inservice teachers were also provided with the opportunity to reflect upon and demonstrate new knowledge and understandings. overall, the residency sessions focused on teaching preschool children bilingual drama lessons, which were delivered by the classroom teachers with help from teaching artists. the children also participated in bilingual drama workshops with their parents twice per year. measures parent observation of child behavior related to drama experience. parents were asked to complete this checklist after they attended the drama workshops with 8 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 their children. the checklist was developed by the researcher based on published research studies on drama, language, and cognition (diamond et al., 2007; leon et al., 2016). items were designed to include variables thought to play a key role in children’s developmental outcomes across language, communication, and executive function (see diamond et al., 2007; elias and berk, 2001). the checklist consists of 18 items that assess parent observation of child behavior in the areas of language (uses a combination of words and gestures to express wants and needs), communication (demonstrates or shows concern for others, uses words effectively with others), and executive function (e.g., changes routines and activities from one to the next without difficulty, and makes inferences and predicts what will happen next). this checklist was translated to spanish, and then back-translated to english, and takes 8-10 minutes to complete. see appendix i. parent questionnaire. language use and literacy practices (adapted from duursma et al., 2007), translated to spanish, and back-translated to english. this questionnaire consists of 40 questions that assess parent input regarding home language use, parental help with language and literacy, parental education, parental home income, parental reading frequency, and literacy practices in the home. it uses a likert scale (language use scale items range from “only spanish”, “mainly in spanish”, “english & spanish equally”, “mainly in english”, and “only english”. the frequency of language use items ranged from “prenatal”, “birth”, “6 months”, “1 year”, “2 years”, and “3 years”.) this questionnaire takes 10 minutes to complete. see appendix ii. 9 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 behavior rating inventory of executive function-preschool version (brief-p), english and spanish version (gioia, epsy, & isquish, 2002). teachers were asked to rate children’s executive functions within the school’s environment. permission was obtained from the publisher to use this norm-referenced measure, which assesses multiple aspects of executive functioning such as inhibit, shift, emotional control, working memory, and plan/organize. it takes 10 minutes to complete. parent drama experience survey. this survey assesses the extent to which parents endorse their children’s experience with drama. it is researcher-developed and uses a four-point likert scale (strongly disagree, disagree, agree, strongly agree). see appendix iii. data analytic plan descriptive analysis. descriptive statistics were computed to explore the distribution of parent and teacher responses on the two instruments. parent reports of language use were summarized by computing the percentage of parents choosing each response option. this procedure showed the proportion of parents who started speaking to their child in spanish and in english at each age level. teacher responses on the brief–p were obtained for the following: (1) inhibit, which assesses inhibitory control—the ability to inhibit impulses when needed or at the right time; (2) shift, which assesses the ability to shift or move from one task or aspect of a task to another based upon contextual or situational demands; (3) emotional control (ec), which assesses the ability to control emotional regulation and control using executive function skills; (4) working memory (wm), which assesses the ability to 10 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 hold information in mind for the purpose of completing a task, encoding information, sustaining problem-solving, and following multistep instructions; (5) plan/organize (po), which assesses the ability to plan, organize, and manage various tasks based upon the context in which they occur; (6) inhibitory self-control index (isci), which combines the inhibit and emotional control scales; (7) flexibility index (fi), which represents the ability to act flexibly in response to contextual demands, and is important requisite for behavioral regulation; (8) emergent metacognition index (emi), composed of the working memory and plan/organize scales, it assesses the ability to hold information and events in working memory, permitting better planning, organization, and problemsolving skills; and (9) global executive composite (gec), which reflects performance on all brief-p scales. gec is used as a summary score of children’s current executive function skills. the brief-p teacher responses are measured using inconsistency and negativity scales, whereby a higher number indicates greater inconsistency or greater negativity. likewise, the closer the number is to zero, the better the performance. for instance, the item “becomes upset with new situations” is included in the shift scale; a higher score on this item indicates difficulties moving freely from one situation to another (sherman, & brooks, 2010). brief-p scale scores are reported as t scores (m=50, sd=10). these standardized scores are norm referenced and should be interpreted in relation to the population mean and standard deviation. for instance, a score of t=76 on the shift scale is in the 98th percentile and indicates significant difficulties with behavior and cognitive flexibility (sherman, & brooks, 2010). for the current sample, the distribution 11 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 of scale scores was investigated by computing the sample mean (m), standard deviation (sd), minimum (min), and maximum (max) value for each scale. correlational analysis. polyserial correlation coefficients were computed to estimate the degree of association between variables measuring parents’ language use and brief-p scale scores. these coefficients are used to estimate the degree of association between an ordinal variable and a continuous variable (olsson, 1982) and take values between -1 and 1. negative values indicate that higher values in one variable are associated with lower values in the other variable, while positive coefficients indicate that higher values in one variable are associated with higher values in the other variable (olsson, 1982). values closer to zero indicate a weak relationship, whereas coefficients that approach the values 1 or -1 indicate stronger associations between variables (cohen, 1989). coefficients were considered statistically significant when the corresponding probability (p) was lower than .05. results descriptive analysis parent language use. participating parents were asked to indicate the age when they began speaking to their child in spanish and english respectively. the great majority of parents reported beginning to speak in spanish to their children during the prenatal period or at birth and only few of the parents reported beginning to speak english in the first year of life. the great majority of the respondents began speaking english to their children after the age of one. the same pattern of responses was observed in both parents. specifically, 78% of mothers and 76% of fathers began to speak to their child in spanish before or at the child’s birth. in contrast, 66% of the 12 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 mothers and 56% of the fathers began speaking english to their child only after the age of one (figure 1 and figure 2). figure 1. proportion of mothers who began to speak to their child in spanish/english by age figure 2. proportion of fathers who began to speak to their child in spanish/english by age prenatal birth 6 months 1 year 2 years 3 years age mom started spanish, n=50 36% 42% 10% 8% 0% 4% age mom started english, n=32 16% 13% 6% 9% 13% 44% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% pe rc en ta ge prenata l birth 6 months 1 year 2 years 3 years age dad started spanish, n=46 24% 52% 9% 11% 2% 2% age dad started english, n=34 15% 24% 6% 9% 12% 35% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% pe rc en ta ge 13 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 teacher brief-p ratings. average scale scores ranged between 44.81 for the flexibility index (fi) scale and 61.46 for the working memory (wmem) scale. the lowest score was recorded on the plan/organize (po) scale (min=28.0), while the largest score was recorded on the wmem scale (max=103) (table 1). table 1: brief-p average scale scores n min max m sd inhib 61 39.0 102.0 52.984 15.3183 shift 61 18.0 82.0 48.230 11.2448 emcont 61 19.0 88.0 46.590 12.0684 wmem 61 40.0 103.0 61.459 17.5780 po 61 28.0 96.0 54.230 15.2899 isci 36 38 81 48.06 11.006 fi 36 37 73 44.81 7.441 emi 36 39 98 57.14 18.037 gec 36 37 162 54.61 23.281 correlational analysis correlational analysis revealed several significant associations between parents’ language use and teacher brief-p scale scores. for instance, as the age at which the mother started communicating with the child in spanish increased, scores on the shift, wmem, po, and emi also increased. similarly, as the age at which the father started communicating with the child in spanish increased, scores on the wmem scales also 14 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 increased. nevertheless, the age at which parents started communicating in english with their child was not significantly associated with brief-p scale scores (table 2). table 2: correlations among parent language use and teacher brief-p age mom started spanish age mom started english age dad started spanish age dad started english inhib r .268 .048 .002 -.277 p .060 .795 .989 .112 n 50 32 46 34 shift r .340* .080 .156 -.114 p .016 .662 .300 .522 n 50 32 46 34 emcont r .243 .176 -.035 -.165 p .089 .335 .817 .350 n 50 32 46 34 wmem r .474** -.016 .305* -.162 p .001 .932 .039 .360 n 50 32 46 34 15 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 po r .438** .072 .315* -.074 p .001 .694 .033 .675 n 50 32 46 34 isci r .292 -.133 .124 -.282 p .111 .598 .531 .273 n 31 18 28 17 fi r .328 .160 .100 -.024 p .071 .526 .612 .929 n 31 18 28 17 emi r .432* -.127 .302 -.365 p .015 .614 .119 .150 n 31 18 28 17 gec r .267 -.299 .120 -.342 p .147 .228 .544 .179 n 31 18 28 17 note: *correlation is significant at the 0.05 level * *correlation is significant at the 0.01 level associations were also evident among parent observations of child behavior following drama exposure and teacher ratings of children’s executive function skills. 16 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 specifically, children’s ability to infer or predict an event was positively related to teacher brief-p rating of children’s ability to inhibit a response, shift attention, and demonstrate higher emotional control (table 2). of note, 58 out of 61 parents (approximately 95%) provided the highest likert scale rating of 4 (strongly agree), while the remaining three out of 61parents (approximately 5%) provided a rating of 3 (agree) on the following questionnaire item that assessed parents’ endorsement of drama: “using drama strategies in the home enhances my child’s thinking skills.” although, this item was not included in the correlational analysis, the overwhelmingly high rating parents provided seems to reflect their positive attitudes and beliefs about using drama. table 3: correlation between parent observation of child behavior related to drama and teacher brief-p routine change infer/ predict inhib r 0.16 0.31* p 0.23 0.03 n 55 53 shift r 0.36* 0.35* p 0.01 0.01 n 55 53 17 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 emcont r 0.25 0.42* p 0.06 0.00 n 55 53 po r 0.21 0.28* p 0.12 0.04 n 55 53 note. * correlation is significant at the 0.05 level inhib = inhibit; emcont = emotional control; po = plan/organize discussion the findings of this study show positive associations between parent report and teacher report related to latino dlls’ language and cognitive outcomes. the first research question examined whether parent report of home language (spanish) use was associated with teacher report of children’s executive function skills. results indicate a positive relationship between parents’ early use of spanish in the home and teacher report of executive function in the preschool context. specifically, when mothers began speaking in spanish with their children at a later age, ratings on the wmem, po, and emi scales were higher, indicating a poor performance. similarly, when fathers began speaking in spanish with their children at a later age, children received higher ratings on the wmem scale, which suggests a low performance. in contrast, the age at which parents began speaking in english with their child was not significantly related to teachers’ ratings of the child on the brief-p. findings thus highlight the paramount role of home language use in children’s cognition (center for early care and education research, 2014; páez et al., 2007). as 18 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 the results suggest, the parents’ early use of spanish in the home is related to teachers’ report of children’s higher cognitive skills, namely attention shift, working memory, planning/ organizational skills, and emergent metacognition. these findings are in line with previous research on the central role home language use plays in cognitive and linguistic outcomes of dlls (hammer et al., 2009; páez et al., 2007). the second research question explored whether parent observation of child behavior following drama exposure is related to children’s executive function skills per teacher report. the results demonstrate positive associations between parent observations of children’s ability to infer and predict future events, and children’s executive function as measured by teacher brief-p ratings, namely the ability to inhibit a response, shift attention, and demonstrate higher emotional control. related to this finding, although not directly examined, 95% of parents reported that drama likely enhances their children’s thinking skills, as shown through parent responses on the parent drama experience survey. these findings support previous research on the positive association between parent and teacher report measures of language and cognition, especially considering parents’ high endorsement of drama experience, a well-substantiated finding in previous research (diamond et al., 2007). the use of home language in the early years may thus be associated with a cognitive advantage providing bilingual children with the resources needed for optimal school readiness particularly in the language domain (magnuson et al., 2006). moreover, using both parent and teacher report and obtaining data from multiple sources likely contributes to a better understanding of the variables that affect dlls’ outcomes in the preschool years. based on parents’ high rating on the drama survey, 19 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 the results suggest that infusing drama as part of language instruction in the preschool years may be associated with better cognitive outcomes in this sample of dlls, although direct testing of the role of drama may be warranted in the future. recommendations for practice these findings suggest the need to provide the ideal context for language instruction with dlls with focus on the following recommendations for practice: 1. continuous support to implement strategies that capitalize on children’s use of their first language (l1) (goldenberg, hicks, & lit, 2012) and teaching basic language skills in children’s l1 by eliciting help from community members and parents as needed. teachers could also send home books in children’s l1 to make language and literacy materials available and accessible to parents in their primary language, letting them know that teachers consider children’s home language to be important. 2. ongoing access to culturally relevant resources that facilitate infusing language input in children’s l1 and l2, both of which are needed for academic success. this would require connecting classroom instruction to home language practices that aim at preserving dlls’ l1 and promoting their l2 development and maintenance; 3. frequent communication between parents and teachers regarding the use of drama as an optimal channel to promote children’s language learning. for example, using drama could prove beneficial in supporting young dlls’ cognitive growth in meaningful contexts (e.g., home, classroom). 20 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 4. infusing drama across the curriculum to encourage children to express themselves and maximize their communicative success. perhaps the most important (and least investigated) aspect of drama lies in providing a voice for dlls who may not always succeed in communicating their thoughts and intentions when relying only on spoken language due to their limited command of english. thus, drama could provide that extra tool or “illocutionary force” (austin, 1962; searle, 1969) for dlls to communicate their intentions and engage in higher order thinking so they can succeed across the language, cognitive, and social domains. limitations this study has several limitations. first, the study relied primarily on parent and teacher report measures of language, communication, and cognition. while such measures are important to use and have been found to be valid and reliable in previous research, they are highly susceptible to social desirability and must be coupled with direct assessment of children’s behaviors. second, the number of participants was small, which limited our options for data analysis. thus, we used correlational analyses, which only indicate the degree to which two or more variables are related to each other; they do not imply causation. lastly, we did not include results from the parent drama experience survey in the analyses due to the limited number of completed surveys. rather, we simply used descriptive statistics to present parent responses to items directly related to the current study. 21 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 implications teachers may implement drama into their practices to improve dlls’ language skills in first (l1) and second (l2) language. teachers may also rely on preserving the home language and use it as foundation to build future cognitive and linguistic skills—a finding that has been well substantiated in previous research with dlls (bialystok, 2001; farran, bingham, & matthews, 2014; hammer et al., 2009). while bilingual education has been particularly challenging to implement in certain states across the us (august & shanahan, 2006; center for early care and education research-dual language learners, 2011a), the present findings, although preliminary, bolster the idea that changes in educational policy may very well begin in the classroom and with individual teachers of children who come from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. the research evidence indicates that caregivers’ (e.g. parents, teachers) reports likely reflect and shape their practices, thereby impacting young dlls’ academic, social, and cognitive outcomes, and ultimately driving systemic changes that determine the policies in early childhood education. future directions given the preliminary results and limitations of the present study, we recommend that the connection between language use, drama, and cognition be measured in future research using (1) multiple assessments such as caregiver report and direct assessment of children’s skills; (2) intervention research with random assignment of caregivers and children to treatment (e.g. drama) versus control conditions; and (3) longitudinal design that would allow us to track the impact of home language and drama on children’s developmental outcomes over time. 22 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 references august, d. & shanahan, t. 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(2012). the cognitive benefits of being bilingual. cerebrum, v. 2012. national center for education statistics (nces, 2015). the condition of education 2015 (nces 2015-144), english language learners. article elise brittain is a doctoral fellow in culture, literacy, and language at the university of texas at san antonio; email elise.brittain@gmail.com. reinforcement of white nativespeakerism: an analysis of english language teacher training materials gatesol in action journal 2020, vol. 30(1), pp. 16–31 issn: 2331-6845 elise brittain culture, literacy, and language, university of texas at san antonio abstract this article draws awareness to whiteness as a centered phenomenon in elt which contributes to discriminatory practices through reliance on and privileging of white norms on a global scale. this study sought to address this issue through a critical discourse analysis of 14 english as a foreign language (efl) open-source teacher training modules with the following guiding question: how are ideologies that reinforce white native-speakerism demonstrated in open-source english teaching methodology training materials designed for global elt audiences? critical whiteness studies (cws; nayak, 2007), the concept of native-speakerism (holliday, 2006), and the ‘native speaker’ frame (lowe, 2020) informed the theoretical assumptions of the study. critical discourse studies (cds; wodak & meyer, 2015) provided an analytical lens to examine discourses of power and framing of ideology in the texts. the main thread that emerged from the analysis was an avoidance of stance, demonstrated through contradictory, simultaneous representations of resistance to and reinforcement of ideologies of white native-speakerism. this avoidance of stance is exemplified through representation of language varieties, the emergence of a monolingual view of teaching, representations of culture, and the framing of authenticity. keywords white native-speakerism, whiteness, english teacher training, training materials, english as a foreign language (efl), english language teaching (elt), reinforcement, resistance background the 2020 murders of george floyd, breonna taylor, and ahmaud arbery by police officers in the united states incited the most recent wave of nationwide anger about the brutal treatment of african americans in the u.s. and reignited an awareness across organizations and racialized communities of the need to address systemic racial divides. our international field of english language teaching (elt) is no exception to the presence of systemic racism which privileges whiteness. a statement from english language programs, which oversees some u.s. department of state-funded international english teaching programs, expressed a call for an antiracist stance: now, more than ever, the world needs compassion, exchange, and mutual understanding. the death of george floyd was a horrendous tragedy that has mobilized the world to stand up for justice and human rights in solidarity with communities of color everywhere. (english language programs, 2020) mailto:elise.brittain@gmail.com brittain 17 this call recognizes a need to reexamine elt in teacher preparation as well as u.s. public and cultural diplomacy efforts around the world as part of the work to address systemic racism as a collective challenge to discrimination. this article draws awareness to whiteness as a centered and reinforced phenomenon in global elt which contributes to discriminatory practices against english educators and learners who do not conform to white norms1 (charles, 2019; gerald, 2020a, 2020b; kumaravadivelu, 2016; lowe & lawrence, 2018; matias & mackey, 2016; ruecker, 2011; schreiber, 2019; zacharias, 2019). language is not a neutral tool (pennycook, 2017) and carries political implications in the ideologies that accompany its use, learning, and teaching. this study examines the reinforcement of whiteness in elt through a critical analysis of an open-source teacher training program developed for english as a foreign language (efl) teacher audiences which is available as part of u.s. department of state english teaching initiatives. the following question guided the study: how are ideologies that reinforce white native-speakerism demonstrated in open-source english teaching methodology training materials designed for global elt audiences? whiteness and the native speaker whiteness is a socially-constructed, fluctuating, racialized ideology based on exclusion of sociallyconstructed racialized groups (gerald, 2020b; nayak, 2007; ruecker, 2011). it is not only appearance but also doing—actions, behaviors, and thinking standardized and centered as norms (jenks & lee, 2020). primarily, the naturalization of whiteness in relation to an other is propagated by white people but can also be internalized by people of color (matias & mackey, 2016). white individuals may be unaware of or deny their racial identities and privilege (picower, 2009). robin diangelo described the implication of this in her conversation with layla saad on the good ancestor podcast, saying, “if i can’t hold what it means to be white, i cannot hold what it means not to be white” (saad, 2019). resistance to acknowledgement of white racial identity and privilege may manifest as strategic tools of whiteness that act as a protection of hegemonic views (picower, 2009). this self-protection aligns with robin diangelo’s (2018) concept of white fragility which originates in “superiority and entitlement” and reinforces “white racial control and the protection of white advantage” (p. 2), resulting in avoidance of the inequality that emanates from the elt field because of the discomfort that accompanies this recognition (gerald, 2020a, 2020b). this may take the form of an “altruistic shield” applied to white educators in elt (gerald, 2020a, p. 22), or “native speaker saviorism” (jenks & lee, 2020, p. 2) or the ‘white savior’ role, which places whiteness as the destination for non-white students and the white educator as the guide to salvation (matias & mackey, 2016). the term native speaker encompasses a racial component along with a linguistic component (ruecker, 2011; sung, 2011). native speakers of english are often described as people born in countries with a majority white population and closely associated with whiteness historically (phillipson, 1992; ramjattan, 2019; ruecker, 2011; ruecker & ives, 2015); however, 1 the work of decentering whiteness in my life, both as a person who identifies as white and as a white teacher and scholar in elt, is new for me, and this article and the analysis described marks a beginning to an ongoing process of growth, learning, and action toward supporting black lives and the lives of marginalized peoples. for those interested in forming accountability and action groups and continuing the conversation of decentering whiteness in elt, in academia, or beyond these institutions, we can form groups toward this work together, and i invite correspondence toward this endeavor. i strongly encourage readers to follow the work and training developed by dr. della v. mosley and pearis bellamy (2020) and their colleagues at academics4blacklives.com and #academics4blacklives to first and foremost support your black colleagues, and through such work also support your non-black people of color colleagues and non-native english speaking colleagues. http://academics4blacklives.com/ 18 gatesol in action journal 30(1) these associations may be greater with countries such as the u.s., the united kingdom, australia, and canada (charles, 2019; iams, 2016; kramadibrata, 2016; ruecker, 2011) with others forgotten or excluded (e.g., south africa, ireland) (ruecker, 2011). the label native speaker may be assigned primarily to a homogenous, stereotyped, and essentialist view of white native speakers, and the nuanced experiences of teachers representing non-white racialized groups, notably black teachers of english, are not considered (charles, 2019; kubota, 2018). the exclusion of race from the conversation about native-speakerism ignores the internalized image of a racialized white native speaker as the elt ideal (sung, 2011). this study applies these understandings to examine reinforcement of the white native speaker image and influence in teacher training materials designed for efl audiences and distributed with a public and cultural diplomacy agenda. theoretical framework critical whiteness studies (cws), the concept of native-speakerism (holliday, 2006), and the native speaker frame (lowe, 2020) formed the theoretical basis for the study. cws is described by nayak (2007) as consisting of the following foundational beliefs: 1. whiteness is a modern invention; it has changed over time and place. 2. whiteness is a social norm and has become chained to an index of unspoken privileges. 3. the bonds of whiteness can yet be broken/deconstructed for the betterment of humanity. (p. 738) this lens brings forward the social construction of whiteness in elt; the privileges and disparities associated with conforming or not conforming to white-centered norms; and the need for resistance to these naturalized and internalized norms. native-speakerism is an ideology that privileges those considered to represent the notion of the western native speaker of english (lowe & lawrence, 2018). the use of the term is “characterized by the belief that ‘native-speaker’ teachers represent a ‘western culture’ from which spring the ideas both of the english language and of english teaching methodology” (holliday, 2006, p. 385). holliday’s conceptualization of native-speakerism has been critiqued for exclusion of intersecting identities of native speakers who may experience privilege of native speaker status but also marginalization based on race, such as black teachers of english (charles, 2019) and other biases (e.g., ableism, heteronormativity, ageism). “native speakerness and whiteness work in tandem to signify competence and intelligence and thus superiority, negatively affecting the experiences of non-native or native english-speaking teachers of color” (kubota, 2018, p. 3654). this study employs the term white native-speakerism to denote the privileged white western norms which exclude non-native speakers of english and people of color, including black, asian, indigenous, indian, and the myriad ethnic and racialized identities of native speakers of english. lowe’s (2020) definition of ideologies is “widespread systems of knowledge and belief” (p. 51). these systems are “socially-constructed and cognitively-stored” (jumiah, 2016, p. 17), making them unobservable (lowe, 2020). lowe (2020) indicates that ideology can be interpreted by identifying frames, which are more readily observable. the native speaker frame refers to a lens which “has a monolingual and monocultural approach to language teaching” and, though not necessarily explicitly, “devalue[es] and den[ies] the contributions and traditions of other cultures and educational systems” but may also be influenced by additional localized ideologies and discourses (lowe, 2020, p. 57). although distinguishing the two, lowe aligns the native speaker brittain 19 frame to the white racial frame which centers white norms, resulting in the perpetuation of systemic racism. lowe (2020) indicates the following examples of dominant discourses reinforcing the native speaker frame: the idealization of the ‘native speaker,’ western methodological superiority over non-western approaches, methodological standardization of best practices, english-only in the classroom, and cultural deficiency of students. these conceptualizations formed the basis of the assumptions of this study. white native-speakerism research in elt research regarding teacher identity has explored the complex experiences of black teachers of english abroad, revealing a navigation of native speaker status privilege and simultaneous marginalization (charles, 2019). white preservice teachers preparing for culturally diverse classrooms in the u.s. have expressed a realization of their own white discourse stance through critical whiteness studies (matias & mackey, 2016), while also demonstrating the employment of tools of whiteness to justify their biases (picower, 2009). white native speaker teachers with experience abroad have reflected on their white native speaker privilege through autoethnography (iams, 2016) and duoethnography (lowe & lawrence, 2018). other studies have explored white teachers’ navigations of morality in south korea (west, 2019) and native speakers’ reactions to changes in local policy which threatened their privileged positioning in english teaching in south korea (jenks & lee, 2020). non-native teachers have shared their experiences navigating their self-value as educators and as non-native speakers (sung, 2011; zacharias, 2019). non-native speaking ma tesl students in sri lanka and native u.s. undergraduates also reported challenging their own misconceptions about each other through a cultural exchange project (schreiber, 2019). exclusion based on white native-speakerism was demonstrated through lowe and lawrence’s (2018) description of yamanaka’s (2006) research which showed the exclusion of certain varieties of english from contexts which use english as a native language. mohamed (2015) also exemplifies exclusion in a libyan efl text’s reading passage which reduced an image of poor black south africans to exoticism and othering. textbooks typically include standard dialects of english (e.g., american standard english) while other native english language dialects, such as african american vernacular english, are excluded (jumiah, 2016). the view of textbooks as authentic representations of all english language use perpetuates a hidden curriculum that renders deviations as illegitimate english use (jumiah, 2016). jumiah also notes that the producers of textbooks are generally from where english is spoken as a native language, i.e. inner circle countries as named by kachru (2006) or center countries according to phillipson (1992). teaching methods are recommended from the dominant center, providing white, western countries with the authority to dominate the development and distribution of texts even though local developers are able to produce them (kumaravadivelu, 2016). kumaravadivelu (2016) critiques the notion that the critical examination of textbooks from white native speaker dominant countries should fall on local teachers and students: “it would be naive to think that the passive tactics of the weak can deter the aggressive strategies of the strong” (p. 75). leaving the local context to critically break down white native-speakerism is a task of challenging a dominant internalized discourse. textbooks and materials may be presented and received as neutral, generalizable tools (jumiah, 2016; mohamed, 2015). however, the perspective of language as an ideology (e.g., bourdieu, 1991 & foucault, 1972, as cited in jumiah, 2016) positions texts as “ideology-driven and serv[ing] certain interests” (jumiah, 2016, p. 58). jumiah (2016) found western social and economic ideologies which serve the interests of white western publishers and society in high 20 gatesol in action journal 30(1) school efl texts developed for saudi arabia. topics in generalized texts include neutral topics (e.g., clothing, food) and exclude controversial topics (e.g., religion, racism), indicating a belief that removal of these topics renders a text neutral (jumiah, 2016). mohamed (2015) understands textbooks as ideology in their reflection of the writers’ cultural perspective which is then reinforced among textbook users. the attempt to generalize the content of textbooks removes the development of the negotiation of cultural identity in english, demonstrated by jumiah (2016) who criticized the minimal inclusion of islamic texts in saudi efl textbooks as an omission that removes students’ opportunity to use english to express an integral part of their identity, thereby deepening the divide between english language and the local culture. white native speaker status may be either ascribed or not ascribed based on students’ and parents’ perspectives. charles (2019) described how one black teacher of english in south korea did not openly state she was teaching black history to avoid potential conflict with parents. iams (2016) described referring a friend to a job who was not considered because students expected native speakers. kramadibrata (2016) showed that students indicated a preference for a white teacher when seeing videos with the image and voice of a white or indian teacher. sung’s (2011) observations in hong kong included parents’ preference for white native speaker teachers, exemplified through a parent’s doubt regarding an asian american teacher, only appeased by the monolingual status of the teacher, indicating a bias equating bilinguals with inferiority as english teachers. ramjattan (2019) named the use of such preference to justify discriminatory hiring practices as “inequality as customer desire” (p. 134). white native-speakerism in teaching methodology kumaravadivelu (2016) describes english teaching methodology as “the most crucial and consequential area where hegemonic forces find it necessary and beneficial to exercise the greatest control, because method functions as an operating principle shaping all other aspects of language education: curriculum, materials, testing, and training” (p. 73). methods, such as communicative language teaching (clt), emanate from white-dominant developers, presented as universal solutions to efl teaching needs (kumaravadivelu, 2016). although methodologies such as clt are simply approaches, they may be accompanied by “some sense of cultural superiority or cultural chauvinism” (lowe & lawrence, 2018, p. 180). delivery of methodologies as best practices to different cultural contexts without attention to local cultural and methodological practices imposes white native speaker developed methodologies as the ideal (lowe & lawrence, 2018). even historical methods highly criticized now, such as grammar and translation, still widely employed in efl contexts, are “western ideological imposition[s] on non-western countries” which reinforce the ideology “that only english teaching techniques from the west are appropriate, and [native english speakers] are most suitable to teach the english language because it is their native language” despite variance in culture and educational techniques (charles, 2019, pp. 6–7). white native-speakerism is reinforced through this hidden curriculum which influences teachers’ socialization into english teaching (lowe & lawrence, 2018). english programs may reinforce and normalize such ideologies through the hiring of only teachers trained in western institutions or conducted by western staff, orientation processes, classroom observations, and professional development sessions (lowe, 2020). kiczkowiak et al. (2016) discuss how demand for native speakers for teacher training activities prioritizes the methodologies of white-dominant english-speaking countries without challenging lack of contextual knowledge or potential monolingual biases. even native speakers with no teaching qualification or experience are considered to have valuable teaching methodology contributions for efl contexts, demonstrated brittain 21 in a recount of a white teacher’s induction into the peace corps as an inexperienced teacher trainer (iams, 2016). the white ‘native speaker’ may be considered inherently linguistically equipped to teach english, while those categorized as other are not. iams (2016) noticed trends in publication titles which demonstrated the ideology generalizing native speaker teachers as linguistic ideals with non-native teachers indicated as linguistically challenged in teaching but more pedagogically qualified. these generalizations primarily include standard english, which is associated with white middle and upper class status (jumiah, 2016). black teachers of english in korea sought to dismantle the myth of white-centered monolithic english use in elt (charles, 2019). native speakers may hold ideas that they are the best pronunciation teachers, which reinforces the ideology that to be perceived as a “good” english speaker, one must sound like a native, excluding the multiple accents, varieties, and uses of english around the world (charles, 2019). this echoes beliefs expressed by native teachers, who also mocked non-standard-conforming accents in korean uses of english, that only native speakers could lead english-only zones, which they believed necessary for proper development of english (jenks & lee, 2020). standards of english are based on an unspoken accommodation of the white listener (flores, 2020; gerald, 2020b; rosa, 2016). rosa (2016) argues that the standards set for academic language development for students are based in raciolinguistic ideologies which favor white native speaker judgment. studies of elt textbooks show how white supremacist ideologies manifest in the materials through “the racialization of the english language and associating the idealized native speaker’s identity of english to whiteness” (jumiah, 2016, p. 150). flores (2020) criticizes the assumptions that mexican-origin students in the u.s. lack academic language in both spanish and english, an assumption marking their uses of language as inferior. this ascribed “languagelessness” is in reality a nonconformity with dominant standards and a perception that users are “incapable of producing any legitimate language” (rosa, 2016, p. 163). there is a need to combat such ideologies through raising language awareness among educators (kiczkowiak et al., 2016). reinforcement of white native-speakerism the elt policies of specific countries can reinforce white native-speakerist ideologies. for example, south korea has enforced visa laws requiring english teachers to hold passports from countries strongly associated with white native speaker status (charles, 2019; jenks & lee, 2020; west, 2019). the visa requirements of south korea have expanded to include english teachers from other countries such as singapore, malaysia, the philippines, and india; however, these teachers are required to possess teaching credentials that are not required for teachers from countries strongly associated with whiteness (charles, 2019). jumiah (2016) describes a societal internalization of light skin status and alignment of identity with whites’ power and wealth access in saudi arabia that is reinforced through efl textbooks and circulating ideologies that position american and british standard varieties of english as more prestigious and connected with economic and social opportunity. schreiber (2019) describes the policies and practices of english use in sri lanka where english is used regularly in an official capacity as a result of british colonization history despite the official languages being sinhala and tamil, with unequal english access across the country resulting in a social hierarchy associating english use with higher status (schreiber, 2019). job advertisements and hiring practices of english teachers in china have been shown to favor native speakers (sung, 2011). the reinforcement of white native-speakerism through the societal ideologies and official policies of specific countries and communities may 22 gatesol in action journal 30(1) impact resistance to hegemonic policies and practices in elt, especially when seen as “the way things are” and legitimizing inequality (ramjattan, 2019). notions of authenticity are entwined with white native speaker norms (lowe & pinner, 2016). a label of authenticity places materials, language use, etc., in a state of authority which upholds the power attributed to white native speakers (lowe & pinner, 2016). culturism, or othering, can occur in how references to authentic materials refer to native speakers and other users of english, essentializing western norms in contrast to the local culture, just as nativespeakerism others the non-white western english speaker (lowe & pinner, 2016). authenticity may be seen as cultural capital, or the view that learning certain varieties of english results in gain of status, connecting knowledge with western standards (lowe & pinner, 2016). positionality my embodied whiteness and use of standard american english as an esl instructor both inside and outside the u.s. have reinforced ideologies of white native-speakerism. students asked to learn how to speak “like me” and described me as a “real american” to compare me to u.s. citizens of non-white racialized identities. i was invited to conferences outside my expertise, introduced as an “american native speaker” and not as a credentialed and experienced teacher. my native speaker status granted me privileges, moving myself and my companions through border checks and granting me publishing and speaking opportunities. as i address my lack of active resistance to my own privilege, my neglect in empowering non-white colleagues, and my taking for granted my understandings of teaching methodology, i acknowledge that my process of change is ongoing and in flux. in undertaking this analysis, i did not remove my own whiteness and internalization of white norms in elt. i recognize that my perceptions of language, speakers of english, and english teaching are strongly entwined with internalized white native-speakerism that requires a lifelong unlearning. as such, undertaking this process of change has shaped and will continue to evolve my interpretations as i confront my internalized truths. methodology the critical lens turned toward whiteness in elt is called for by scholars that have identified whiteness as “the central driving force behind elt” which either explicitly or implicitly excludes those seen as non-white or non-white conforming (gerald, 2020b, p. 45). critical discourse studies (cds) (wodak & meyer, 2015) provided the analytical lens to examine discourses of power and framing of ideology in the texts. from this lens, discourses are understood as more than uses of languages but placed within the context which frame language use, as “relatively stable uses of language serving the organization and structuring of social life” (wodak & meyer, 2015, p. 5), and include written, oral, and visual texts. dominant ideologies are understood in how they “appear as ‘neutral,’ linked to assumptions that remain largely unchallenged” (wodak & meyer, 2015, p. 8). power is “in the way discourse (re)produces social domination…mainly understood as power abuse of one group over others, and how dominated groups may discursively resist such abuse” (wodak & meyer, 2015, p. 9). theoretical and empirical analyses are essential to each step of cds, “imply[ing] a circular and recursive–abductive relationship between theory and discourse” (wodak & meyer, 2015, p. 14). in this study, this relationship between theory and discourse was addressed through an ongoing review of literature prior to and during analysis to connect interpretations from empirical studies to the researcher’s interpretations of discourses in the training modules. cds informed the analytical approach to examining discourses in the modules which reinforce or resist the social division of different racialized identities in elt, brittain 23 understood both through what is said and what is left unsaid and therefore presented as inferable (gee, 2014). cds in this study guided the analytical focus to textual and visual discourses that frame or resist ideologies of white native-speakerism, both present and not present and that have been demonstrated in previous studies to unequally position the roles of different groups, their racialized identities, and uses of languages and language varieties within the context of global efl teacher training. data sources the materials are 14 open-source teacher training modules available on americanenglish.state.gov, developed through the university of oregon for the u.s. department of state bureau of educational and cultural affairs office of english language programs (oppbeckman & klinghammer, 2006). each module consists of a video segment available on youtube that is between ten and fifteen minutes and a text facilitation guide with handouts to accompany the videos. the videos begin with a narrated introduction of the module focus, followed by video clips of classroom teaching or interviews with teachers. the footage represents primary, secondary, and adult level classes, with english classrooms in the u.s., egypt, costa rica, and thailand. the facilitation guides, approximately 10 pages of text each, begin with notes for the trainer, “before viewing” discussion prompts and vocabulary related to the content focus or video segments, reflection questions, and steps for teachers to create an action plan for teaching. the guides also include suggested answers to the reflection questions on the video segments. each module focuses on one of the following topics: contextualizing language, building language awareness, integrating skills, pair and group work, learner feedback, managing large classes, learning strategies, authentic materials, critical and creative thinking, alternative assessment, individual learner differences, younger learners, peer observations, and reflective teaching. the modules were designed for a general efl teacher audience whose goals are, according to the introduction, “to build an academic or ‘pedagogical’ foundation in language teaching” and “to improve language teaching classroom practices” (introduction, p. 7). these materials are likely to be used by efl teachers in countries in which the u.s. sponsors english language programs. the modules are designed for flexible use and could be facilitated by an experienced teacher trainer or by teachers in individual or group professional development. the modules are designed to be used either in the order presented or selected individually based on interest. users are encouraged to consider how they might immediately apply what they learned to their own contexts. the modules were designed to address a lack of teacher training materials with examples from efl teaching contexts. data analysis the application of cds guided the focus of coding on discourses which framed ideologies of white native-speakerism, including both what was said and not said, and potential inference in the context (gee, 2014). the analysis included identifying positioning of power: between participants and facilitators, between teachers of different racialized identities, between varied teaching methodology choices, and the wording and framing of questions and definitions (e.g., culture, authentic materials). both what the module developers chose to include and not include were considered. the common ideologies regarding white native-speakerism gleaned from the literature review guided interpretation of discourses in the text, which included a consideration of the potential premises that led to the choices in phrasing by the developers (e.g., “other speakers 24 gatesol in action journal 30(1) of english” vs. “non-native speakers”) and possible interpretations of these choices by target audiences (fairclough, 2016; gee, 2014). an initial review of literature provided guidance in uncovering discourses which framed normative white teaching practices against a deficient other and the framing of success as the achievement of a native-like (i.e., white) norm. all data source materials were reviewed prior to coding to gain a general sense of the modules. a textual analysis of the facilitation guides was conducted first: the instructions for facilitation, questions for participants, and suggested responses to the video discussion prompts framed the textual materials as guiding documents. the prior and ongoing literature review informed the initial stage of deductive thematic coding of the written texts which resulted in the development of topic coding and in vivo codes (richards, 2015). emergent themes were then categorized for the second round of coding, targeting the framing of the discourses evidenced in initial themes and the development of analytical codes (richards, 2015). this resulted in topical categories, including culturally-related, language-related, programrelated, and teacher-related codes, authenticity, and adaptation to the local context. refinement of these categories included text searches of the textual data sources for words and phrases including “authentic,” “culture,” “effective,” “it is important,” “real world,” and “speakers” to identify instances of repeated discourse patterns related to themes which developed in the first rounds of coding. the researcher wrote ongoing analytic memos for each coded theme to reflect on and develop interpretations. at this stage, the developed categories revealed contradictions which interconnected themes across categories and prompted the next round of categorization. this analysis centered on the premises on which discourses were based, how these discourses might be received, what was left as inferable, and alignment with the visual and audio representations in the videos. a video analysis was used to confirm themes which arose from the textual data, especially regarding visual and audio representations of teachers and cultures which were not present in the textual materials. these representations included accents, language varieties, demonstrations of culture in classrooms, racialized identities of teachers, how teachers were positioned relative to each other, and the relationship of this positioning with language varieties and racialized identities. a memo for each module video was created to record the number of featured teachers (those interviewed or showcased in their classrooms), their racialized identities and possible nationalities (inferred from the 4 represented countries in the modules: egypt, the u.s., thailand, and costa rica), their accents or english varieties used, gendered identities, and presence or positioning relative to other teachers in the videos. in some cases, content from the interviews were noted as relevant to the facilitation guides and coding material (e.g., the use of the word pidgin to describe students’ english use). classroom visual and linguistic landscapes were also noted, including wall charts which represented languages or culture themes, oral language use in the classroom, student products of activities, and items used in the classroom. native language use was also noted. the computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software nvivo 12 (qsr international pty ltd, 2020) was used to organize all analyzed data sources, manage codes and the coding process, and search the full range of analyzed texts using the text query feature. findings and discussion the overarching theme that emerged from the analysis is an avoidance of stance, demonstrated through contradictory, simultaneous representations of resistance to and reinforcement of ideologies of white native-speakerism. this avoidance of stance is marked by a deference to participants and their contexts. the repetition of the following sentence on the first page of each brittain 25 of the module facilitation guides except modules 5 and 12 indicates this emphasis on participant contexts: “it is important that teachers apply the concepts in the module to their own classrooms and situations.” the importance placed on context provides agency to participants to adapt training material to their own contexts; however, this deference to the context may falsely place the impetus onto participants to resist marginalizing ideologies that hierarchize language and teaching methodologies. the idea that teachers and learners can resist native-speakerism in dominant teaching materials and marketing diminishes the real control that the dominant discourse maintains (kumaravadivelu, 2016). these contradictions position elt training as neutral ground and reinforce a naturalized preference for whiteness and white-centered elt methodology. this avoidance of stance is further exemplified through representation of language varieties, the emergence of a monolingual view of teaching, representations of culture, and the framing of authenticity. representation of language varieties resistance to white native-speakerism is demonstrated through references to english use. questions for participants ask them to reflect on how students might use english and apply english use as a basis to inform lesson design. the modules reference not only native speaker varieties of english as benchmarks but also explicitly include “other users of the target language” (module 2, p. 21) and “any of the various forms of native speaker english and/or examples of native and nonnative english that are likely to be used in the learners’ environment” (module 8, p. 85). this highlighting of the existence of multiple legitimate varieties of english for communication resists the ideology that only native varieties are suitable. a majority of the 14 module videos (86%) featured the voices of teachers of varied racialized identities using standard and non-standard accents in contrast to the percentage of videos which featured white teachers (57%). there is clear inclusion of teachers of color, both native and from efl contexts, which visually and aurally resists the white native speaker ideal. alongside this resistance is reinforcement of the ideology that english ownership is not extended to these users. the term native speaker is placed first and in opposition to other users. this phrasing may have been chosen to specifically resist a native-speakerism ideology denoting only sources from native speakers as authentic; however, the term native speaker is loaded in ways that may delegitimate multiple native speaker identities. this may serve to reinforce white nativespeakerism held by a community or individual due to the lack of directly recognizing the complex meanings of native speaker and other users of english. monolingual view the monolingual perspective views language learners as multiple monolinguals in one, separating languages into distinct functions of use; however, bilinguals and multilinguals (the majority of the world population) utilize their full linguistic repertoire (baker & wright, 2017). english only methodology advantages english-speaking monolingual speakers and advocates for a monolingual approach to language learning unaligned with the multilingual realities of many language learners around the world (baker & wright, 2017). few instances in the training modules demonstrated an acknowledgement that languages other than english will be used in the classroom. one acknowledgement was through observation reflection questions that asked the participant to note the percentage of time english is used during an observed lesson, which can be understood as in comparison with the percentage of other language use. this type of questioning could allow for an analysis of language use in the classroom 26 gatesol in action journal 30(1) from a holistic view of language; however, without explicit purpose, it is open to interpretation from a monolingual view of bilingual development. four out of the fourteen video modules include the use of a word from a native language or writing in the native language on classroom visual supports. the video narrator’s suggestion that class rules be posted in both english and the native language as a management technique positions the l1 as a disciplinary tool rather than a tool for learning. other references point to an “english-only” paradigm; for example, regarding a teaching demonstration on the use of realia, the guide states: “note that [the teacher] uses only english, and the children are able to follow along very well” (module 8, p. 90). this comment, and the limited representation of the l1, point to an application of english only in the classroom, indicating white native speakerist ideology (lowe, 2020). representations of culture a definition of culture embedded in one of the facilitation guide activities portrays culture in an inclusive, non-essentialist manner: if we think of “culture” in the broadest possible sense—something like “a shared set of behavior patterns” among any group of people—then we can see that it applies as a concept not only to ethnic cultures, but to workplace cultures and even classroom cultures as well. (module 4, p. 38) this definition provides a view of culture in the facilitation guides beyond ethnicity and brings the concept of culture into everyday lived experience. however, in a later guide (module 8), references to “not culture-specific” materials imply that there are objects from people’s everyday life that are universal. the idea that the objects or practices of people can be “not culture-specific” aligns with deculturization of white practices as the neutral standard to compare with the other (kumaravadivelu, 2016). most of the coded references to topics and activities in the facilitation texts (approximately 50) were topics presented generally to apply across contexts, aligning with the general one-sizefits-all approach for all english learning contexts (jumiah, 2016). however, specific references to white u.s.-based topics include the pilgrims, american thanksgiving, uncle sam, a news story about a u.s. event, planning a trip to d.c., and famous people in the target culture. the pilgrims and thanksgiving examples specifically reference a white-centered historical group of people and holiday. examples demonstrating inclusion of students’ cultures were more predominant in the video segments, including a teacher describing her use of folk stories from students’ cultures to build upon their prior knowledge, students explaining a project which leveraged both locally relevant sources along with english-language sources to create a book about the students’ city and culture, and a class-created poster in english on the wall highlighting local thai desserts. the nonu.s. contexts in the modules do not match the u.s. cultural examples in number or specificity, reinforcing the ideology that cultural content in english teaching should be related to white history and culture. despite the importance placed on the module content to be adjusted for participants’ contexts, teacher participants do not see non-white, locally relevant culture legitimated in the english classroom and thus do not see themselves represented. as the audience is a predominantly efl context, the lack of specific examples incorporating local culture into the classroom homogenates efl contexts and essentializes u.s. culture. framing of authenticity among the many applications of the term authentic in the modules are “authentic classroom scenes,” “authentic items,” “authentic language,” “authentic context,” “authentic opportunities,” brittain 27 “authentic text,” “authentic purposes,” and “authentic sources.” “authentic materials” occurs most often (30 times). authentic materials, the topic of module 8, are explicitly defined as “materials used in the target culture for actual communicative needs. they should enable the learner to hear, read, and produce language as it is used in the target culture” (module 8, p. 84). the criteria for choosing authentic materials include that they be “in a style of english learners will hear and use” (p. 85), inviting different varieties of english to be represented in the classroom but also potentially reinforcing particular varieties as cultural capital: more authentic, more authoritative, and contributing to gain of status and connection (lowe & pinner, 2016). the linking of authenticity with the target culture negates the authenticity of english use in the local context and the myriad ways english is used around the world. in contrast, authentic use (11 occurrences) refers to “us[ing] language to communicate purposefully.” the definition of authentic tasks (3 occurrences) also denotes language use: “tasks or activities that are used in the ‘real’ world for actual communication needs” (module 8, p. 84). real world (10 occurrences) is “the world in which we live—outside the classroom” (module 1, p. 12). here, the target culture is not mentioned, the focus instead on students’ language use. the contrast between authentic materials (objects) and use (action) weaken the construction of authenticity, which avoids a clear stance through deferring the task of interpreting authenticity to participants. in pointing to the target culture in describing objects, activities, and sources as authentic, authority is reinforced for whichever image has been determined as the target, i.e., white-dominant culture. these references to the target culture as authentic may also establish culturism through the separation and essentialization of western norms from the local culture in elt (lowe & pinner, 2016). implications taking white-centeredness as a given in teacher training materials and elt as a field needs to be explicitly resisted, with these ideologies confronted head-on in teacher training. to establish awareness of the presence of such ideologies, their impacts, and resistance, gerald (2020a) strongly advocates for educators to step out from behind the elt altruistic shield to challenge white supremacy in the field rather than ignoring it beneath a justification of the “goodness” of our work. teacher training must incorporate explicit questioning of white native-speakerism (kiczkowiak et al., 2016), including understanding that training materials are not neutral—they are influenced by the ideologies internalized in the field. training materials need to advocate for teachers to develop skills as producers of knowledge rather than passive recipients of knowledge and materials from the target culture (kumaravadivelu, 2016). rather than the colorblind approach to elt and teacher training, explicit acknowledgement of race and culture, impacts experienced by elt teachers of color, and the highlighting of the voices and experiences of elt teachers of color need to be opened up in teacher training (charles, 2019), along with fostering critical assessment skills for both elt teachers and students to reveal hidden curricula (jumiah, 2016; lowe & lawrence, 2018). greater incorporation of a multicultural and multilingual approach in elt is also suggested to combat the widespread monolingual approach to teaching (kiczkowiak et al., 2016). along with suggestions for greater inclusion of a wide variety of world englishes to resist these ideologies (jumiah, 2016; kubota, 2018; ramjattan, 2019), explicit and ongoing discussions that raise awareness of and break down white native-speakerist ideology are necessary to combat essentialism (kubota, 2018) and need to be explicitly included in training materials rather than left to individual users. 28 gatesol in action journal 30(1) impacts continuing to reinforce silently-centered whiteness in elt causes harm to those who are racialized as non-white (gerald, 2020b). non-white teachers and non-native speaking teachers are positioned as deficient, inferior, illegitimate, and unequal (ramjattan, 2019). this harm, while perhaps not intentional, is under the responsibility of various stakeholders, one of which is teacher training developers and programs, who contribute to this harm through neglecting to address disparity-causing issues such as white native-speakerism (jenks & lee, 2020). the profit motive for perpetuating white native-speakerism, as elt is a money-making enterprise benefiting white native speaker dominant countries and communities, also reinforces the perpetuation of this ideology (gerald, 2020b). this leads to further economic disparity among race divides through privileging white native speakers in employment access and white publishers and materials developers (gerald, 2020b) along with professional recognition and advancement in the field (kubota, 2018; kumaravadivelu, 2016). there are also impacts on students when the standard for their legitimacy as english users and speakers is reliant on a standard that is largely dependent on birth (gerald, 2020b) and the impetus for marginalized racialized communities to remove themselves from oppression is placed on their ability to modify their language practices (flores, 2020). teachers may internalize a negative self-image if they do not meet the white native speaker standard and do not see themselves represented as legitimate in the profession (lowe & pinner, 2016; zacharias, 2019). such ideology may include a form of othering of western native speakers and “reduc[e] them to tokens and commodities” (lowe & lawrence, 2018, p. 164). these impacts indicate the complexity of implications and consequences of native-speakerism ideology and the importance of addressing its reinforcement. limitations and future research this analysis cannot be generalized to all materials and is based on the researcher’s interpretation which excludes comprehensive contextual knowledge about the texts’ development (wodak & meyer, 2015) and how trainers have employed the materials beyond the researcher’s experience. the centering of whiteness in this study is meant to bring awareness to and challenge white native-speakerism in efl teacher training; however, this endeavor does not do justice to the need for the voices of teachers and students of color from a wide variety of contexts, identities, and experiences to break down this construct. this study does not look at intersections of oppression (crenshaw, 1989) in elt, such as the relationship of race with classism, sexism, homophobia, ableism, transphobia, fatphobia, immigration status, religion, or other ways teacher training may oppress along the intersections of commonly separated identities. future studies that incorporate a larger sampling of texts may provide insight into the generalization of these findings. further research should include the perspectives of developers, trainers, and teachers from varied contexts who have utilized these materials; how individuals and communities may internalize or resist these ideologies; and how other factors, such as national or institutional policies and practices, influence individuals’ reception of such materials. conclusion these materials are clearly designed to honor teacher agency and context and promote teacher development grounded in theory and practice. this can be acknowledged while also understanding how these materials may reinforce white native-speakerism in elt. white native-speakerism is firmly rooted, “hidden and normalised” within the field of elt (lowe, 2020, p. 152). resistance is in direct action, and when it comes to racism, there is no middle ground; there is a racist stance brittain 29 and an anti-racist stance, and those in power will act based off of what benefits the dominant group (kendi, 2017). an anti-racist stance will actively call out white native-speakerism in elt; empower teachers of color and their varied language varieties, accents, and dialects; de-exoticize culture; and reexamine the assumptions of english teaching methodology. references baker, c., & wright, w. e. 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(2019). the ghost of nativespeakerism: the case of teacher classroom introductions in transnational contexts. tesol journal, 10(4), e499. https://doi.org/ 10.1002/tesj.499 ___________________________________________________ received: august 15, 2020 | accepted: september 30, 2020 | published: october 29, 2020 https://doi.org/10.1111/jola.12116 https://doi.org/10.1080/15427587.2011.615709 https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.195 http://laylafsaad.com/good-ancestor-podcast/ep011-robin-diangelo http://laylafsaad.com/good-ancestor-podcast/ep011-robin-diangelo https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.534 https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.534 https://doi.org/10.1017/%20s0266078411000344 https://doi.org/10.1017/%20s0266078411000344 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.linged.2018.12.004 https://doi.org/10.1002/tesj.499 https://doi.org/10.1002/tesj.499 from the editors rethinking policies, procedures, and practices surrounding language learning and learners gatesol journal 2021, vol. 31(1), pp. 1–2 doi:10.52242/gatesol.126 issn: 2331-6845 robert a. griffin university of west georgia david l. chiesa university of georgia the summer 2021 issue of gatesol journal is replete with research-based insights and strategies for supporting multilingual learners in varied teaching contexts. the five articles in this issue address ways to better equip multilingual learners for success in an increasingly diverse and multicultural society. one common thread throughout the issue is the rethinking of policies, procedures, and practices that surround language learning and learners. as the delta variant of sars-cov-2 is on the rise and the future of k–12 and higher education continues to remain uncertain, we sincerely hope this issue of gatesol journal provides our wide conglomerate of readers—from k–12 mainstream and esol teachers to researchers and teacher educators in and outside of georgia institutions of higher learning to state policymakers—ideas they can take back with them to their respective spheres of influence to make a lasting difference in how we do language teaching and learning in georgia and beyond. rethinking policies and procedures impacting language learning and learners in the first article in this issue, “the perceived metalinguistic and cognitive influences of bilingual education,” margaret ashton and dr. eliana hirano employ qualitative methods to investigate the perceptions of individuals who had participated in k–12 bilingual education programs. they interviewed 10 individuals who had spent at least four years in a k–12 bilingual education setting to determine trends in self-perceived outcomes of bilingual instruction. they found recurring insights regarding both metalinguistic and cognitive abilities among their participants. for example, all participants reported metalinguistic awareness of grammar between their l1s and english, while others described enhanced cognitive skills which facilitated their learning of an l3. interviewees who had spent more time in a bilingual setting struggled to come up with specific examples regarding how their bilingual education may have influenced them. most notably, ashton and hirano discuss the implications of their study on emerging dual language immersion (dli) programs in georgia, recommending programs invest in promoting to students and parents the non-linguistic benefits of their bilingual education programs. the next article in this issue, a literature review by shuang fu titled “breaking the silence: a critical review of language policy and planning for long-term english learners,” critically examines policies surrounding long-term english learners (ltels), which fu defines as multilingual learners who are still receiving language support services after being in a u.s. school for 6 or more years. she organizes her review of 19 peer-reviewed journal articles along the three strands of the language planning and policy (lpp) paradigm: language management, language 2 gatesol journal 31(1) ideology, and language practice. fu elucidates the stereotypes, struggles, and challenges ltels face, and argues for distinct policy changes: alternative measures of language proficiency beyond standardized english language proficiency (elp) tests, abandonment of labels to classify multilingual students, and resistance to established hegemonies to promote positive learning experiences and equitable outcomes for multilingual learners. in their article titled “supporting practitioner inquiry in teacher education: opportunities and challenges in esol contexts,” drs. lindsey chapman, chelsea morris, and katherine green endorse the implementation of practitioner inquiry in teacher preparation programs to help teachers better address the needs of emergent bi/multilingual students. they describe the experiences of two teacher candidates to emphasize both opportunities and challenges when using practitioner inquiry. for example, they describe how one candidate was able to overcome misconceptions about adopting a translanguaging pedagogy in their classroom through support from their mentor teacher, field experience supervisor, and the student’s own analysis of the practitioner literature base. among other recommendations for teacher preparation programs, they recommend teacher candidates keep a journal to record their initial wonderings, field notes, pictures of student artifacts, and notes on relevant literature from their esol coursework. rethinking strategies to enhance student language learning the last two articles published in this issue are teaching techniques pieces. in her article titled “(re)imagining multilingual learners: using photo stories to honor students’ strengths, interests, and experiences,” dr. jennifer allen highlights photo stories as a literacy strategy that fosters critical and productive dialogue among educators and students. this dialogue, allen argues, can help teachers recognize, appreciate, and even celebrate the diverse languages, cultures, interests, and life experiences present in their classrooms. she shares the steps involved in inviting students to create personal photo stories that honor their lived experiences. finally, in their piece titled “enhancing intensive english program reading and writing courses through integrated-skill activities,” dr. adil bentahar and kenneth cranker describe an approach they have utilized in their foundation-year intensive english program (iep) at the university of delaware. the approach, one that integrates listening and speaking skills with instruction and assessment in reading and writing courses, has shown promising results in regard to enhancing students’ reading and writing skills. they argue an integrated-skill approach is more closely aligned with the kinds of tasks students typically encounter in university classrooms. examples of some integrated-skill activities they have used in their iep classrooms are at the core of this piece. this issue of gatesol journal showcases the work of scholars across the state and beyond who are committed to challenging the status quo and are actively seeking innovative ways to rethink policies, procedures, and practices surrounding language learning and learners. we trust our readers, all of whom we know share similar commitments, will find the researchand practitioner-based articles in this issue helpful as they too reconsider what constitutes effective and equitable language learning. ____________________________________________________________________________ published: july 30, 2021 rethinking policies, procedures, and practices surrounding language learning and learners gatesol journal2021, vol. 31(1), pp. 1–2 doi:10.52242/gatesol.126 issn: 2331-6845 article cristiane vicentini, doctoral candidate, university of miami, miami, fl; email cxr809@miami.edu (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2501-0315). dr. luciana c. de oliveira, associate dean for academic affairs and graduate studies and professor, virginia commonwealth university, richmond, va; email deoliveiral@vcu.edu (https://orcid.org/00000003-0296-4316). jia gui, doctoral candidate, virginia commonwealth university, richmond, va; email guij2@vcu.edu (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5476-1495). integrating technology into genrebased writing instruction for multilingual learners gatesol journal 2022, vol. 32(2), pp. 27–42 doi:10.52242/gatesol.167 issn: 2331-6845 cristiane vicentini university of miami luciana c. de oliveira virginia commonwealth university jia gui virginia commonwealth university abstract although l2 writing is an essential element in multilingual learners’ language and literacy development in k–12 schools, it is often underemphasized and overlooked in lieu of the greater emphasis placed on reading. this lack of focus warrants the need for more specific writing instruction in k–12 schooling, especially since it is through the development of writing skills that learners become better able to communicate and interact with others, achieve academic success and career advancement, and have access to increased opportunities within and outside of instructional settings. the achievement of these goals can be facilitated through the support of educators and the implementation of a genre-based pedagogy. in this article, we discuss how technology can be integrated into genre-based writing instruction, highlighting how different tools can be used at various points in time in both face-to-face and online environments. we also provide examples of tools that can facilitate the implementation of this writing pedagogy, based on research in elementary, secondary, and tertiary classrooms. keywords l2 writing, writing skills, genre-based writing instruction, technology introduction although l2 writing is an essential element in multilingual learners’ (mls’) language and literacy development in k–12 schools, it is often underemphasized and overlooked in lieu of the greater emphasis placed on reading (de oliveira, 2017). unfortunately, this lack of focus results in writing unpreparedness in schools across the u.s. according to the latest available reports from the national assessment of educational progress (naep), in 2011, only 27% of 8th and 12th graders mailto:cxr809@miami.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2501-0315 mailto:deoliveiral@vcu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0296-4316 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0296-4316 mailto:guij2@vcu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5476-1495 28 gatesol journal 32(2) performed at or above proficiency level (the remaining were at or above the basic level1). these results show the need for more specific writing instruction in k–12 schooling, especially since it is through the development of writing skills that learners become better able to communicate and interact with others, achieve academic success and career advancement, and have access to increased opportunities within and outside of instructional settings (kellogg & raulerson, 2007; kellogg & whiteford, 2009; wellington, 2010). the achievement of these goals can be facilitated through the support of educators and the implementation of a genre-based pedagogy. though the genre-based pedagogy that we discuss in this article has been mostly used in face-to-face settings without the need for technology, we show here how different technology tools can be used at various points in time in both face-to-face and online environments and provide examples of tools that can facilitate the implementation of this writing pedagogy, based on research in elementary, secondary, and tertiary classrooms. an additional goal is to provide suggestions on how to incorporate technology tools within each phase of a specific teaching model for writing instruction. genre-based approach to writing instruction genre-based pedagogies have been used successfully by educators and scholars teaching writing in english as a second language (esl)/english as a foreign language (efl) contexts for more than 15 years (de oliveira et al., 2020; hsu & liu, 2019). genre-based approaches emphasize that writing pedagogies should provide students with explicit and systematic explanations of how language works in social contexts (hyland, 2003; martin, 2009; rusinovci, 2015). additionally, they help to improve students’ ability to understand and produce texts (almacıoğlu & okan, 2018; luu, 2011) in a cohesive and purposeful manner (luu, 2011). one approach within genre-based pedagogies is informed by systemic-functional linguistics (sfl), which is the one we address in this article. we use the notion of genre based on sfl conceptualizations, as a staged goal-oriented social process. genre is staged because it takes us more than one step to reach our goals; it is goaloriented because we should have a purpose to write; and it is social because writers shape their texts for particular audiences (rose & martin, 2012). this specific genre-based approach enables students to become active participants in academic and professional settings and their larger communities (hammond & derewianka, 2001). such genre-based approach informed by sfl has evolved to include a teaching-learning cycle (tlc) originally developed by joan rothery (see rothery, 1989). the tlc has gone through several iterations over time from its original conceptualization but has remained an apprenticeship model for genre-based pedagogy based on sfl (rose & martin, 2012). we use the tlc as a model to emphasize scaffolding instruction and to guide learners as they go through different phases of the cycle. the teaching-learning cycle (tlc) through a carefully constructed series of activities, the tlc affords interactive, structured, language-centered instruction for diverse content areas and instructional settings. the tlc was developed for implementation in literacy teaching using the principle of “guidance through interaction in the context of shared experience” (rose & martin, 2012, p. 52). this principle refers to the guidance provided by teachers in talking, reading, and writing about a specific text in the context of a shared experience (e.g., a common text, movie, reading). this means that students 1 the naep basic level refers to partial mastery of the prerequisites that are fundamental for the performance at the naep proficient level. the proficient level includes mastery of analytical skills, subject-matter knowledge and its use in real world situations (naep, 2011). vicentini, de oliveira, & gui 29 write about something that they shared as an activity, since shared experiences are critical components of writing. the tlc originally consisted of three phases—deconstruction, joint construction, and independent construction (callaghan & rothery, 1988)—and over time, the tlc has evolved from the original approach developed by rothery (1989; see e.g., brisk, 2015; feez & joyce, 1998; gibbons, 2002; martin & rose, 2008; rose, 2015). with additional work in elementary classrooms over the years, some authors noticed the need to provide increased support for multilingual learners to further explore the genre in pairs or small groups and therefore added an additional phase to the tlc entitled collaborative construction (brisk, 2015, de oliveira, 2017). this phase of the tlc allows students to actively interact—while working together in pairs or groups—and then write about a shared activity or experience (e.g., a field trip, a movie, a school event) before moving to independent construction, when students write on their own. this article is framed upon these four phases due to our belief in its valuable contribution to writing instruction, as shown in figure 1. figure 1 teaching-learning cycle 30 gatesol journal 32(2) to set the context, the tlc begins with the overall preparation and development of the necessary knowledge to carry out the writing process. in the tlc, this development and guidance of needed knowledge is known as building field. building field often occurs through detailed reading (dr) as a means to develop students’ content knowledge in a particular topic and to facilitate instruction. building field continues as students need support for developing knowledge about the topic they are writing about (rose & martin, 2012). dr entails teachers’ selection of passages from texts to be covered thoroughly (i.e., read sentence by sentence); it is during this time that teachers and students can interpret the textual content, discuss it, and make connections that will facilitate understanding. however, that does not mean that dr is restricted to this particular phase—it can be implemented at all phases of the tlc iteratively; that is, at any time there is a need to activate learners’ background knowledge or provide scaffolding during the completion of a task. particularly for multilingual learners, dr is a vital component within the genre-based approach to writing instruction. scholars have used the dr phase in different ways. some have considered it a part of the deconstruction phase of the tlc (rose, 2015) while others employ it separately, making it the first step to be completed before initiating the other phases (de oliveira et al., 2020; kuiper et al., 2017; nagao, 2020). once dr is complete, it is time for deconstruction; in this phase, teachers provide mentor texts selected from a specific genre for students to work on and respond to teacher prompts meant to scaffold students’ knowledge of language and meaning. examples of mentor texts include: (i) texts created by multilingual learners themselves; (ii) texts that the teacher and students co-created in past years; or even (iii) published texts that teachers find (i.e., online, in textbooks, magazines, or other sources) that could serve as exemplars for students. for the deconstruction, teachers can perform a variety of tasks through whole class interactions: they can model, call attention to specific features of text, and/or carry out discussions related to how the text is organized, its purpose, and other linguistic styling and choices of mechanics (de oliveira et al., 2020; de oliveira & lan, 2014; palincsar & schleppegrell, 2014). deconstruction can also be performed through the use of graphic organizers (brisk et al., 2011; brisk, 2015) or other visual displays (de oliveira & avalos, 2018). the next phase involves joint construction, a time when the teacher and students construct a text together that follows the same genre as the mentor text deconstructed previously. frequently performed in whole class format, this collaboration between the teacher and the students enables learners to apply the language features that were previously highlighted and modeled. in this phase, as both the teacher and students are co-constructing the new piece of writing, the teacher plays the role of the scribe, eliciting information from the class and scribing what is being said (i.e., writing it on the board or projecting it as it is being typed on a word processor). once this new text is produced, collaborative construction (de oliveira, 2017) may take place. although not present in the original tlc, this phase was added due to its vital role in supporting the learning of multilingual students or young learners (e.g., in grades k–2) who are novice english language writers. during collaborative construction, students work with their classmates (in pairs or small groups) to continue practicing writing in this new genre. together, they can negotiate ideas, brainstorm, write, review, and revise content; at this point in the tlc, students are working more independently and the teacher only provides scaffolding as needed. after the completion of this optional phase comes the final phase of the tlc: independent construction. here, students write independently and use the previous scaffolded examples and prior experiences deconstructing texts to write a new piece following the same genre (de oliveira et al., 2020; derewianka & jones, 2016). vicentini, de oliveira, & gui 31 in other models of writing instruction, such as process writing approaches, mentor texts featuring what is expected are not provided to mls. instead, they are left to write on their own from the start, without guidance from teachers on how to accomplish this. feedback is typically given on what teachers might have seen as “errors” and no discussion that builds mls’ knowledge about language is included as part of various phases. teachers ask students to write independently from the get-go and then they provide feedback on various drafts, hoping students will improve. teachers do not compose texts jointly with their class, a missing but critical step for mls (caplan & farling 2016). this type of approach creates a knowledge vacuum (rose & martin, 2012), and students are left to draw on their own experiences without explicit guidance from the teacher. the tlc creates a very different kind of experience for mls as it is an apprenticeship model that engages them as language users in all phases of activity. joint construction is especially important for mls as they discuss and write together with the teacher in a guided practice, experiential learning environment. mls experience the principle ‘guidance through interaction in the context of shared experiences;’ that is, guidance about writing provided by the teacher through interactions in the classroom with all students about some kind of shared experience in which all students were involved. even though the tlc is most commonly used in face-to-face settings without the need for technology (i.e., pen and paper), tech tools can also be employed to facilitate genre-based writing instruction in both face-to-face and online environments. with this in mind, consider the following scenario, which we include as an example to illustrate how the different phases of the tlc can be implemented in any instructional setting and applied to any content area, with or without the support of tech tools. in this sense, the choice of tech tool used by the instructor is left to them; that is, they can choose to use a word processor, or a particular website or mobile application accessible on their tablets or cell phones. please refer to the ‘infusing technology into the tlc’ section of this paper for specific suggestions of tools to use in each of the phases of the teachinglearning cycle. teaching scenario during the detailed reading phase, students activated their background knowledge and built their content knowledge of the topic weather in florida. students learned about the various temperatures in florida, looked at a map to see which areas were warmer and which were not and what seasons those temperatures occurred. moving on to the deconstruction phase, they read and analyzed features present in a mentor text titled “it is always sunny, warm, and pleasant in miami beach” which was a descriptive report about the weather in miami beach. afterwards, the whole class worked together in the joint construction of a text in the same genre—a descriptive report— as the mentor text. the teacher elicited ideas from students and acted as a scribe, writing what they said on a word processor projected onto the smart board (or, in pen and paper settings, writing on the whiteboard) in the front of the classroom. they wrote it is always hot, humid, and uncomfortable in orlando. then, it was time for students to work in small groups and create their own adaptations of the mentor text during the collaborative construction phase of the tlc. one small group wrote it is always windy, cool, and comfortable in tampa bay, while another decided on it is always sunny, hot, and humid in the everglades. finally, the teacher asked each student to write their own texts in the genre they had practiced during all the phases of the tlc (i.e., independent construction). students started working in class and finished their pieces for homework. 32 gatesol journal 32(2) literature review genre-based approach and the tlc research on the genre-based approach and the tlc has been carried out in different settings and grade levels to improve english language learners’ (ells) awareness of genre and writing competence. a case study conducted by de oliveira and lan (2014) explored how the implementation of genre-based pedagogy through the tlc in a 4th grade science classroom successfully scaffolded and supported the development of an ell’s writing of procedural recounts in the science genre. also, in the elementary school setting, de oliveira (2017) conducted research investigating the implementation of the tlc and the deconstruction of a mentor text specifically developed to teach the book recount genre to students in a first-grade classroom. more recently, de oliveira and colleagues (2020) co-designed english language arts (ela) units for first graders, specifically focusing on the implementation of interactional scaffolding practices2 to engage and support a group of elementary school students as they progressed through each of the phases of the tlc. in addition to research at the elementary school level, several scholars across different parts of the world have conducted research on tlc at the college level across disciplines. a case study based in turkey focused on english language and literature students and their teachers, using the three-phase teaching-learning cycle (i.e., deconstruction, joint construction, and independent construction) to facilitate students in building metacognitive awareness of the declarative type. findings revealed that not only did students’ writing performance improve but their attitudes toward writing also changed. students showed more self-confidence and positive attitudes toward writing, and their essay scores increased (almacıoğlu & okan, 2018). similar results were also found in thailand, where the tlc was applied to support the development of writing competence of 44 thai university students. findings revealed that these students were able to develop linguistic features and overall organization of writing, and that the approach afforded an enhancement of genre awareness, text organization, and the use of linguistic features characteristic of a particular genre (thongchalerm & jarunthawatchai, 2020). moreover, in vietnam, the implementation of the tlc in the development of the biographical recount genre for first-year university students successfully contributed to enhancing their writing, as they were able to identify and use key features of this genre (luu, 2011). in japan, 27 efl college students benefited from the support of tlc in enhancing their lexicogrammatical choices and understanding of metafunctions for analytical exposition essay writing. through a five-phase tlc approach, the students were able to identify target vocabulary and structures and enhance their ability to write in the target genre. participants in this study successfully (i) built field; (ii) deconstructed a mentor text; (iii) jointly constructed a new text in the same genre; (iv) worked independently in writing their own texts, and also (v) identified and located similar texts in the same genre (nagao, 2020). genre-based writing research in a dutch tertiary education context revealed that the tlc effectively improved participants’ writing skills by enhancing their usage of structure and linguistic features (kuiper et al., 2017). furthermore, in south korea, second-year university students taking english as a foreign language writing classes were taught via the genre-based pedagogy for eight weeks. results from the analysis of pre-, posttests, and delayed post tests indicated that through each stage of the tlc, participants’ writing improvement progressed (jung, 2017), which corroborates the vital role that implementing this type of instruction can have in better preparing learners to write. 2 interactional scaffolding practices entail initiation-response-feedback (irf) discourse sequences, which actively engage students in the learning and development of discursive practices (hammond & gibbons, 2005). vicentini, de oliveira, & gui 33 genre-based pedagogy is not limited to the teaching of english as a second or foreign language. in fact, allen and goodspeed (2018) investigated how 19 students taking a french course at a large public university in the midwest united states were able to identify (i.e., deconstruct) features from mentor texts and use them in the creation of their own writing in the same genre (persuasive writing – manifestos). findings revealed that genre-based pedagogy favorably influenced students’ perceptions of its effectiveness in support of foreign language writing. genre-based pedagogy and specifically the tlc are ways to implement what the newest edition of the wida english language development standards framework calls a functional approach to language development (wida, 2020). wida defines language development as “an interactive social process that occurs over time to expand what we can do with language” (wida, 2020, p. 20). this definition closely aligns with the genre definition provided in this article. a functional approach draws on sfl (see p. 359 of the wida framework [wida, 2020] for a fuller explanation and details). the literature demonstrates the positive impact of the tlc in the teaching of learning of second language writing regardless of grade level or linguistic background. however, although the covid-19 pandemic has brought online learning and the use of technology to the forefront, much of the available literature on tlc supporting second-language writing is still based on face-to-face settings. in these cases, the implementation of technology is welcome but not vital to the delivery of instruction as it is in online learning contexts. technology affordances to second language writing instruction information and communication technologies (icts) have become prevalent in our daily lives; the internet, mobile applications and digital tools, learning management systems, video games, simulations, virtual and augmented reality, among others, have transformed the manner in which we can access information, collaborate, communicate, educate, and entertain ourselves. within the education field, icts have enabled instructors to create content, deliver instruction, and design materials that afford multimodal communication and meaning-making experiences for learners of various linguistic and cultural backgrounds and english language skills. in these rich, multimodal instructional environments, l2 writing instruction can be greatly facilitated. among the vital roles of integrating technology into l2 writing instruction are (i) to afford collaboration in synchronous and asynchronous settings (bikowski, 2014; bikowski & vithanage, 2016; martin & lambert, 2015); (ii) to present material in multimodal formats such as images, motion, speech, sound, text, among others (boling et al., 2008; smith, 2014; vicentini & de oliveira, 2018); (iii) to provide online feedback and scaffolding (mohamadi, 2018; nova, 2018); and (iv) to provide prompt, individualized support for students’ acquisition and development of vocabulary, grammar, and mechanics of writing such as punctuation, capitalization, spelling (dzekoe, 2017; yamaç et al., 2020). in this sense, tech tools can greatly enhance teachers’ work—especially those who teach large groups. technology such as word processors’ spellcheckers, online writing assistants (e.g., grammarly, ginger), and corpora-based tools (e.g., netspeak3, coca corpus) assist students with vocabulary and grammar, including collocations, prepositions, and frequently used phrases. in view of these new digital affordances, this article can fill a current gap by presenting specific technology and digital tools that can be utilized to facilitate the instruction of each phase 3 more information on the affordances of netspeak can be found here: https://ittc.co.uk/netspeak-one-word-leads-toanother/ https://ittc.co.uk/netspeak-one-word-leads-to-another/ https://ittc.co.uk/netspeak-one-word-leads-to-another/ 34 gatesol journal 32(2) of the tlc and offering suggestions on how to approach these phases when teaching in face-toface and in online settings. infusing technology into the tlc this section details how to infuse a variety of technology tools into each of the four phases of the tlc in both face-to-face and online settings. then, at the end of each phase, we present classroombased examples for both settings. tools for the detailed reading phase tools that can enhance the implementation of this phase include those that serve to build field; that is, to establish the context and content knowledge of the topic. in addition, the tools described in this section afford the introduction of content in an interactive manner. nearpod, mentimeter, and edpuzzle enable educators to create interactive presentations and videos. nearpod offers a myriad of activities for presenting, brainstorming, eliciting responses, and evaluating students through formative and summative assessments. similarly, mentimeter affords the creation of presentations that are both beautiful and interactive, as well as polling and collecting feedback. edpuzzle allows educators to adapt video content (e.g., from youtube, ted or teded, khan academy, vimeo) by cropping and editing the videos and then adding annotations, interactive questions, other images, links with additional information, or any content that will serve to enhance the detailed reading phase. kahoot, which has become ubiquitous in educational settings, is another tool that can be used to present content but also as formative assessment. there are also other options for those who prefer to replace kahoot: quizlet live and quizizz. quizizz is a great alternative that eliminates the speed in which a kahoot game is played. instead of a particular amount of time assigned to each question, learners can answer them individually; that is, they select the proper choices at their own pace. finally, in contrast to kahoot and quizizz, quizlet live allows students to work in groups. the software assigns students into small groups (i.e., two to four players) which are then given a mascot (e.g., elephants and koalas) as a means to sort and identify all students. each member of the group then sits together to play the game and answer the questions correctly. the particularly interesting twist, which can truly enhance collaboration, is that students will not receive all the answers on their devices; they must check with other group members to find the correct answer to the question and then submit it from the device in which the answer appears. one last suggested tool for interactivity in the presentation of content is flippity, which can turn spreadsheets into flashcards, quizzes in game show format, crossword puzzles, among other interactive formats to introduce or review content, obtain formative assessment, and assign additional practice activities. specifically in online learning settings where content is presented asynchronously, it is vital that students be presented with information that is clear; they should also be given opportunities to locate and get access to other sources of information that might enhance the understanding of a particular topic. in view of this, we suggest sharing content through tools such as explain everything. not only does this technology afford brainstorming, placement, and organization of multimodal information (e.g., videos, images, voice annotations) in both synchronous and asynchronous settings, explain everything also allows users to share their content as an interactive video that captures sound and object movement. teachers can add links, comments, post-it notes, writing prompts, export the content as a video link, and share them with learners. table 1 summarizes the tools described in this section and specifies those that can be used for face-to-face or online learning settings. vicentini, de oliveira, & gui 35 table 1 technology tools for the detailed reading phase of the teaching and learning cycle tlc phase technology for face-to-face instructional settings technology for online settings detailed reading ● nearpod ● mentimeter ● edpuzzle ● kahoot ● quizlet live ● quizizz ● flippity ● nearpod ● edpuzzle ● quizizz ● explain everything classroom-based example (detailed reading). after selecting a specific passage from the empty pot (demi, 1996) short story, mrs. ann king (pseudonym), a grade 2 teacher in a public school in indiana, got ready to start detailed reading. she utilized nearpod to present the passage to students in multimodal format. each sentence was presented in one slide, where students could hear it being read out loud and see images depicting key words and phrases. once all the selected sentences were presented, mrs. king gave students an interactive quiz, created using kahoot. the quiz had questions about the story, its characters, and also covered some key vocabulary and phrases. students used tablets to answer the questions and received individual feedback (correct/incorrect) after submitting their answers. at the end of the activity, results were shown to students (top scorers) and the teacher went over each of the questions, highlighting specific parts of the story and answering questions students had. finally, mrs. king assigned a quiz for homework. this quiz, created via edpuzzle, was embedded in the empty pot youtube video (toadstools and fairydust, 2021). similar questions to those presented during class (via kahoot) were posed to students in the edpuzzle quiz to consolidate learning. because edpuzzle allowed students to replay the video segments related to each question, extra practice opportunities were afforded. when teaching this same class in a synchronous online setting, mrs. king utilized explain everything, where she recorded step-by-step instructions of what tasks students were going to perform during the lesson, how to create accounts for nearpod and edpuzzle and how to log in using their computers. mrs. king sent the explain everything video to students over the weekend, and on the day of the class, she presented the nearpod slides, covering the content and answering questions. then, in a similar manner to the face-to-face class, everyone played kahoot and edpuzzle was assigned for homework. tools for the deconstruction phase tools that can enhance the implementation of this phase include those that serve to model the deconstruction of texts, highlighting and breaking down specific features present in a particular genre. during the deconstruction phase of the tlc, educators can use presentation tools such as google slides and microsoft powerpoint to guide students and elicit information as they emphasize textual features in a more engaging and interactive manner (using images, sound, color, etc.). besides these two common tools, options such as adobe express (previously known as adobe spark), microsoft sway, and pear deck can bring novelty to the lessons. teachers can also present content in visually rich and multimodal formats by utilizing thinglink. with this tool, it is possible to add tags to images (or videos) that will enhance their presentation. these tags can 36 gatesol journal 32(2) then place text, audio, video, voice comments, website links, quizzes, maps, and many other digital resources onto specific parts of the selected background and allow users to click on the tags and dig deeper into the information you are presenting. text and slides can be added to the background as long as they are first exported to picture or video formats (e.g., screenshots or screenrecordings of content from presentation slides, online texts, or others). thinglink also works very well when implementing the deconstruction phase in asynchronous online settings. because the content is presented (i.e., tagged) in multimodal formats, learners can explore the content at their own pace, and what is best, re-read or replay the information placed in each tag, which is usually not typically the case in face-to-face synchronous instruction. another option that is especially helpful for text deconstruction in online settings is kaizena. kaizena is a google docs add-on that embeds multimodal feedback (e.g., voice, text, video) into a google doc. teachers’ comments created within kaizena can even be created and saved as “lessons,” which can then be reutilized and reshared with other learners. see table 2 for a summary of the tools described in this section that can be used in face-to-face settings or online. table 2 technology tools for the deconstruction phase of the teaching and learning cycle tlc phase technology for face-to-face instructional settings technology for online settings deconstruction ● google slides ● microsoft powerpoint ● adobe express ● microsoft sway ● pear deck ● thinglink ● thinglink ● kaizena classroom-based example (deconstruction). ms. kathy rodriguez (pseudonym), a grade 7 teacher in a public school in florida, was excited to present the slides she created using pear deck, as they afforded great interactivity and collaboration opportunities. within the pear deck slides, the following activities were embedded: first, a quick poll eliciting students to write what they remembered from the passage they worked during detailed reading (e.g., key words, characters, topic, etc.). as all submitted answers gradually appeared on the slides, ms. rodriguez praised students and asked further questions to ensure that students were ready to move to the deconstruction phase. then, ms. rodriguez presented a new slide with a mentor text for students to deconstruct. ms. rodriguez guided students as they read a descriptive report highlighting the seven new wonders of the world. she facilitated whole class interactions, calling attention to textual features, key words, and organization of the text. once the mentor text was deconstructed, ms. rodriguez moved on to another slide, which this time afforded students to use the drag and drop feature to answer whether something was correct or incorrect based on what they had discussed during deconstruction. each student used their own tablet to drag their icon to their selected answer choice as the teacher read aloud prompts such as ‘the statue of the christ redeemer is very tall’ or ‘the taj mahal is made of gold,’ along with other prompts that afforded further discussion of the topic. whenever needed, the teacher would go back to the mentor text and the group would then search for the answers to the prompts they had answered incorrectly. the final slide in pear deck was a graphic organizer in which students were asked to write the adjectives, descriptive verbs, and key phrases for each of the new wonders of the world. vicentini, de oliveira, & gui 37 when teaching this same class in a synchronous online setting, ms. rodriguez used the same activities. however, when she was asked to teach asynchronously, ms. rodriguez did not use pear deck slides. instead, to gauge students’ understanding, she sent students a poll created with mentimeter, asked everyone to answer the questions within a specific timeframe (one or two days), and later shared a link containing all students’ answers. ms. rodriguez shared a tutorial created with explain everything, going over the full deconstruction of the text; she also shared a graphic organizer created with thinglink in which each new wonder of the world had hyperlinks and other attachments (e.g., videos, voice notes, text, and images) to increase students’ comprehension of key features presented in the mentor text. tools for the joint construction and collaborative construction phases during these two phases of the tlc, it is vital to incorporate tech tools that afford interaction and collaboration. in face-to-face settings, the most commonly utilized technology tools for collaborative writing are google docs and word online, since both offer opportunities for learners to collaborate in the construction of a new text. in the joint construction phase, the teacher acts as a scribe, adding to the document or editing it while students visualize the new content or changes. during the collaborative construction phase—which is commonly carried out with students working in pairs or groups—students decide their own roles (including who in the group will be the scribe); students work together and the teacher takes the role of facilitator. when it comes to online learning settings, google docs and word online afford opportunities for students to be simultaneous co-authors (i.e., who can write/edit the same document synchronously), which is a great opportunity for enhanced interactivity during the collaborative construction phase. google docs and word online can be made even more interactive with the addition of multimodal interactive prompts (i.e., audio, voice notes, text, hyperlinks, among others). we suggest utilizing kaizena, the google docs add-on described in the ‘tools for the deconstruction phase’ for this purpose. alternatively, in case teachers are interested in solely adding voice notes to google docs, mote, a free chrome extension, is suggested. table 3 summarizes the tools that can be used for to teach in face-to-face or online learning settings. table 3 technology tools for the joint construction and collaborative construction phases of the teaching and learning cycle tlc phase technology for face-to-face instructional settings technology for online settings joint construction and collaborative construction ● google docs ● word online ● google docs ● word online ● kaizena ● mote classroom-based example (joint construction followed by collaborative construction). to start the joint construction phase, mark smith (pseudonym), a grade 9 teacher in new york, started a google doc that contained a writing prompt in the same genre they had been working on: a scientific procedural recount. this time, they were going to write about the extraction of dna from a strawberry. first, they discussed what needed to be done to carry out each task in the experiment; then, mr. smith (i.e., the teacher who acted as a scribe, writing what 38 gatesol journal 32(2) students were saying) added the procedural instructions to the google doc. after that, students performed the task in the manner that it had been written. throughout the joint construction phase, mr. smith constantly asked students to refer to the mentor text and reminded them—through questions and prompts—of key features that should be present in this new piece of writing. once they finished recounting the procedures of this experiment, mr. smith gave students the opportunity to work more independently albeit still in a group setting (i.e., collaborative construction). it was during the collaborative construction phase that he (i) divided students into groups and gave members the opportunity to decide their own responsibilities; (ii) assigned a project to be presented in two weeks: each group should start a new google doc, come up with an idea for an experiment they would like to carry out, conduct the experiment, and then write a scientific procedural recount of it. when mr. smith taught this same class in an asynchronous online setting, he utilized mote to record audio feedback and place it in specific parts of the assigned project for collaborative construction. by sharing his comments using his voice, mr. smith was able to use a friendly tone to facilitate students’ comprehension and to highlight key points in a more detailed and personal manner. tools for the independent construction phase to enhance the implementation of this final phase of the tlc we suggest tools that allow learners to create, edit, and share their independently constructed texts, such as wikis, blogs, digital books, and comic strip builders. recommended tools which afford the creation of multimodal texts are canva, piktochart, edublogs, and adobe express. for writing digital books, book creator is ideal, since it offers “app smashing;” that is, the addition of multiple applications that work in combination with one another for the creation of a final product. examples of app smashing include adding an image to thinglink, then several tags: one with a hyperlink, another with a screenrecording, and embedding a short teded video to facilitate understanding of a particular topic. finally, suggested comic strip builders include pixton, make beliefs comix, and storyboard that. particularly when teaching in online learning settings, educators should opt for the use of tools that can incorporate multimodal prompts and feedback so that student engagement can be maintained. table 4 summarizes the tools that can be used for face-to-face or online learning settings. table 4 technology tools for the independent construction phase of the teaching and learning cycle tlc phase technology for face-to-face instructional settings technology for online settings independent construction ● canva ● piktochart ● edublogs ● adobe express ● book creator ● pixton ● make beliefs comix ● storyboard that ● canva ● piktochart ● edublogs ● adobe express ● book creator ● pixton ● make beliefs comix ● storyboard that vicentini, de oliveira, & gui 39 classroom-based example (independent construction). after dr. jorge arruda’s (pseudonym) students finished working in groups, it was now time to introduce the last phase of the tlc: independent construction. in this college freshman composition class in virginia, students had been engaged in discussions about pandemics over time, including the most recent pandemic experiences. because the class had been discussing covid-19 and how the pandemic affected the population in different parts of the world, students’ final project assignment was to use canva to develop (i.e., write and design) their own covid-19 narratives. students could choose among the available free templates in a variety of formats to tell their stories; some chose presentation templates and used separate slides to display their writing; some chose posters or infographic templates that allowed them to showcase the entire text at once. after finishing their work, students were asked to present it to the teacher and their classmates, sharing details of the overall writing experience (e.g., what they learned about a topic, whether they benefitted from the activities, etc.) using such digital tools during independent construction can be helpful for students who are composing and presenting their own writing; these tools offer students opportunities to engage with text (i.e., write it and present it) in a multimodal manner. conclusion a genre-based approach to writing instruction using the teaching-learning cycle (tlc) with the latest technological tools can effectively support mls as they go through four phases of activity in the tlc: deconstruction, joint construction, collaborative construction, and independent construction. when working in each of these phases, students actively engage with the featured genre while the technology tools support them as writers. these tools can be infused in each of the distinct tlc phases in both face-to-face and online settings. in view of this, the provided classroom-based examples for technology-enhanced instruction exemplify how this can be accomplished in meaningful ways for mls within each of the phases of the tlc. the technology tools we included in this article are suggestions that can be used in the distinct phases of the tlc to afford as much student interaction as possible. as we demonstrated through the classroom-based examples, when students engaged in writing with the teacher, with other students, and independently, the tools supported instruction by (a) highlighting new content through multimodal formats; (b) facilitating formative assessment and feedback; (c) affording additional opportunities for interaction; (d) showcasing and sharing students’ work; and (e) maintaining overall interest and active participation in various writing practices. we would like to emphasize that since the advent of the covid-19 pandemic, discussions regarding online learning and tech tools have become more prevalent; however, much of the literature on tlc in support of second-language writing instruction remains based on face-to-face settings. by presenting specific technology for each of the phases of the tlc, we aimed to fill this gap and contribute to the current literature in the field. references allen, h. w., & goodspeed, l. 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(2020). effect of digital writing instruction with tablets on primary school students’ writing performance and writing knowledge. computers & education, 157, article 103981. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2020.103981 ____________________________________________________________________________ received: march 27, 2022 | accepted: august 21, 2022 | published: october 26, 2022 https://doi.org/10.17265/2161-623x/2015.10.006 https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-4666-4345-1.ch001 https://doi.org/10.29333/iji.2020.1311a https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_g7ph9ezlpc http://doi.org/10.1080/13562511003619961 https://wida.wisc.edu/sites/default/files/resource/wida-eld-standards-framework-2020.pdf https://wida.wisc.edu/sites/default/files/resource/wida-eld-standards-framework-2020.pdf https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2020.103981 integrating technology into genre-based writing instruction for multilingual learners gatesol journal2022, vol. 32(2), pp. 27–42 doi:10.52242/gatesol.167 issn: 2331-6845 from the editors supporting multilingual learners in the era of covid-19 gatesol in action journal 2020, vol. 30(1), pp. 1–2 issn: 2331-6845 david l. chiesa university of georgia robert a. griffin university of west georgia this year, 2020, has been an exceptionally tough year. there have been multiple incursions on our social, political, and economic lives—covid-19, the murder of george floyd and ahmaud arbery, and presidential proclamations barring foreigners from entering the u.s. these situations have directly impacted the psychology of students, teachers, parents, and administrators throughout georgia and beyond and have forced educators to rethink, reshape, and redesign the teaching/learning space. this special issue is a response to the current climate in the u.s. and includes articles that focus on the changes, challenges, innovation, and instructional strategies that have affected the way we think about language, multilingual identities, second language instruction, and language program administration. evolution of educational ecosystems: language programs as lived experiences the first article, by bristow, is an illustration of how english language support programs (elsps) are in themselves educational ecosystems made up of lived experiences. to navigate the new set of educational challenges for english language program administrators (elpas) in 2020, bristow looks to the semiotic resources of elpas and how they mediate the social actions elsps take through a methodological and theoretical approach called nexus analysis. throughout the article, bristow exemplifies how nexus analysis can be used to navigate change in elsps by addressing problems and identifying pertinent solutions. baxter’s piece is a practical narrative account of how one language program managed change effectively during the pandemic. baxter and her team addressed multidimensional social, political, and economic problems head on and provided sustainable solutions. baxter and her team dedicated time to promote diverse and inclusive materials in distance learning contexts to foster inclusivity and participation by offering accessibility, varied and relevant content, and opportunities for autonomy and self-directed learning. reconceptualizing online teaching/learning spaces for multilingual learners the literature review on media literacy by gaston showcases the importance of supporting multilingual learners to find truth in a world saturated with information, considering the current covid-19 ‘infodemic’ and the proliferation of misinformation and disinformation on social media. he makes the case for why media literacy education is needed for multilingual learners. despite the number of issues teachers, administrators, and institutions have had rolling out a sudden transition to distance learning, gaston shows how the current climate is a perfect opportunity to teach media literacy skills to multilingual students. 2 gatesol in action journal 30(1) aberle-grasse’s article forces readers to take pause and reconceptualize the value and impact of using language learning strategies to support multilingual learners’ well-being. she argues cogently that language educators need to take into consideration the trauma of covid-19 and the physical stress associated with the pandemic. to support learners during this unprecedented time, she addresses the emotional and physical needs of these learners by exemplifying how teaching language learning strategies increases a sense of self-efficacy. thus, helping learners take control of their learning could have a positive impact on their ability to handle the recent trauma. utilizing language learning strategies, such as goal setting, reflection, and peerreview, she argues, can support the development of an online community, which is needed in 2020. the teaching technique described by mbodj exemplifies how the software applications youtube and powerpoint, which are common (and affordable) to many teachers in georgia and beyond, can help address students’ learning differences. the techniques shared in this paper contribute to a more inclusive approach to online teaching by providing multilingual learners with the additional support they may need to comprehend course materials. disrupting discriminatory practices in tesol for identity construction brittain draws our attention to the construct of whiteness as a centered phenomenon in english language teaching (elt), which contributes to discriminatory practices in tesol through reliance on and privileging of white norms on a global scale. she explores how ideologies that reinforce white native-speakerism are demonstrated in open-source english teaching methodology training materials designed for global elt audiences. through critical discourse analysis, brittain discerns that elt materials have been designed to honor teacher agency and context; however, they also demonstrate contradictory, simultaneous representations of resistance to and reinforcement of ideologies of white native-speakerism. wang’s article showcases the relationship between the arts and the world of tesol and asks the following two questions: what role does arts/poetry play in (language) teacher education; and what can arts-based approaches offer in tesol teacher education? she presents a thoughtprovoking case study of how a chinese international graduate student—meili (pseudonym)— negotiates and reconstructs her language teacher-poet identity in her emergent bilingual poems. through analysis of three interviews, wang articulates how meili is able to challenge the longexisting norms and judgments surrounding nativeness in the field of tesol by bringing her individual and multilingual voice to her poems. pao presents a form-focused lesson plan intended to help english as a second language (esl) learners of east asian origin communicate in the face of racial discrimination that has emerged due to covid-19. the lesson takes a learner-centered approach to instructional design and adopts a pedagogy of particularity, meaning language instruction should be customized to a specific group of learners. the article sheds light on a relevant and timely topic that pertains not only to the language learning goals of these learners, but also their identities as immigrants of east asian descent. this issue of gatesol in action journal (giaj) is indeed, gatesol in action! it showcases the strength and power of our language teaching profession to rise up during a time of uncertainty and unpredictability to support the lives and well-being of the multilingual populations we serve. we hope this issue is also a vehicle for change. there is still a lot of work to be done, and as we look ahead, we see a brighter future that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive for all. ____________________________________________________________________________ published: october 29, 2020 gatesol in action journal2020, vol. 30(1), pp. 1–2 supporting multilingual learners in the era of covid-19 issn: 2331-6845 teaching techniques dr. jennifer k. allen, assistant professor, department of literacy and special education, university of west georgia, carrollton, ga; email jkallen@westga.edu (re)imagining multilingual learners: using photo stories to honor students’ strengths, interests, and experiences gatesol journal 2021, vol. 31(1), pp. 47–53 doi:10.52242/gatesol.117 issn: 2331-6845 jennifer k. allen university of west georgia abstract the labeling of students has the potential to result in deficit thinking, which can cause classrooms to become sites of limitation instead of places of limitless opportunity for students. this article discusses the literacy strategy of creating photo stories and shares the steps involved in inviting students to create personal photo stories that honor students’ lived experiences. the author shares how these photo stories have the potential to promote critical and productive dialogue among educators and students to help them celebrate the diverse languages, cultures, interests, and life experiences that are present in their classrooms. keywords labels, deficit thinking, multilingual learners, photo story background schools typically use labels to identify or categorize students. while labeling enables collective understanding and can be positive and productive, some labels imply beliefs that can impose limitations on students (castellano & diaz, 2002; lee & anderson, 2009; umansky, 2016). these labels often carry with them assumptions that influence the way educators perceive students and thus inform how they teach. for instance, the label “english language learner” (ell), commonly used in public school settings to represent multilingual learners, can bring about associations of deficiency because it highlights students’ academic abilities in relation to speaking or not speaking english (lee & anderson, 2009; martínez, 2018). when educators overlook the varied strengths, interests, capabilities, and experiences that multilingual learners bring to the classroom, teachers may find themselves inadvertently focusing on and remediating students’ perceived weaknesses rather than exploring and cultivating strengths (baldwin, 2003; ford & grantham, 2003). thus, schools can become sites of struggle for multilingual learners instead of sites of boundless opportunities (lee & anderson, 2009). teacher perceptions are critical to developing students’ potential (szymanski & lynch, 2020). photo stories are one strategy paynter and arnett (2018) briefly mentioned in an article previously published in gatesol in action journal that teachers can use to counteract deficit thinking. photo stories provide multilingual learners with a means for sharing their (counter)stories (delgado, 2011; solórzano & yosso, 2002). counter-storytelling involves sharing the stories of marginalized people whose experiences are often untold and therefore unheard (solórzano & yosso, 2002). using these stories in the classroom can help teachers—and students—expand their views of students in order to see that students’ diverse home languages, cultures, interests, and mailto:jkallen@westga.edu 48 gatesol journal 31(1) strengths are assets that promote learning as opposed to obstacles that may impede it (delgado bernal, 2002; nieto, 2002). photographs and images can be useful tools for promoting acceptance of diversity in schools by prompting educators and students to view situations from different perspectives, to bridge connections, and to develop an understanding of differences (cook & quigley, 2013; lintner, 2005; lykes, 2011; serriere, 2010). additionally, stories provide avenues for understanding ourselves and others. therefore, the use of storytelling can encourage curiosity about the lived experiences of others and interrupt complacency by helping listeners and speakers construct new understandings and sort through false and constraining perceptions of individuals and cultures (clarke, 2020; delgado, 2011; espinoza & harris, 1998). thus, if teachers can incorporate meaningful classroom community dialogue around students’ personal photo stories, the result can be an experience that can engage, educate, and inspire students and educators in a powerful way (allen, 2016; cook & quigley, 2013; griffin et al., 2020). the stories students tell through their visual images and narratives have the potential to yield productive conversations that help educators shift from deficit thinking to capitalizing on the strengths and interests of multilingual learners that often lie hidden behind the labels and language competencies. steps for implementing digital photo stories the remainder of this article will share the steps for inviting students to use personal photographs and storytelling. such an activity provides potential to open doors to critical and productive dialogue among educators and students to help them celebrate the diverse languages, cultures, interests, and life experiences that are present in their classrooms. the author implemented this strategy with fidelity with elementary students but accentuates its possible use with middle grades and secondary students as well. step 1: study mentor texts & model while students are often familiar with narrative writing, many have little experience writing photo stories. mentor texts work beautifully to familiarize students with this writing format, and they build excitement about the upcoming writing project (shubitz, 2016). mentor texts serve as a guide for helping students make discoveries about the structures and writing crafts often used in this type of writing. the mentor texts that follow work well with elementary learners, but they may be useful with middle and secondary students as well:  my painted house, my friendly chicken, and me, by maya angelou and margaret courtney-clarke  daddy and me: a photostory of arthur ashe and his daughter camera, by jeanne moutoussamy-ashe  mom can’t see me, by sally hobart alexander and george ancona  can we help?: kids volunteering to help their communities, by george ancona  big sister, little sister, by marci curtis after students have read and studied photo stories as a format and have developed sufficient background knowledge about the genre, they are ready to begin exploring the process of writing their own. instructionally, teachers should model this exploration process by writing about their own personal photos. when teachers model this process with authentic photos and think aloud as photos are organized and the text is developed, students learn the photo sequencing process as well as how the images work together with the writing to tell the story. allen 49 step 2: take photos the key to creating a meaningful photo story involves photography. for this step to be most productive, educators should inform students and parents or caregivers of the purpose of the project as well as the need for meaningful photos. for this aspect of the project, it is helpful to send an informational letter to parents suggesting that they help their student think of things they would like to share with their teachers and classmates, such as specific hobbies, interests, strengths, ways they help out at home or in their community, and the like. then, give students and parents a few weeks to take 3–5 photos of their student engaged in an activity or experience of interest or one that requires skill, concentration, commitment, motivation, and/or hard work. parents can use smart phones or other devices to take pictures. in the informational letter, it is helpful to invite parents to initiate discussions with their students about the photographs taken so that the students will have ideas for what to write about when they begin drafting their stories. families can submit printed copies of the photographs to teachers or send them in digital form via text or email, so teachers can save them, print them, and upload them into a digital media platform such as voicethread for digital storytelling purposes. step 3: facilitate paired discussions using students’ printed photos, invite students to work in pairs to share their photos with peers. encourage students to describe what each photo depicts. this discussion gives students a chance to articulate their thinking, which provides a scaffolded opportunity for storytelling, helping students organize their thoughts and elaborate on their writing (calkins, 1994; ray & laminack, 2001; winn & johnson, 2011). in addition to developing students’ writing skills, these paired discussions also provide safe spaces for students to develop their listening and speaking skills. it is helpful to suggest possible questions that students can use to prompt their discussion, such as the following: • who is pictured in the photo? who isn’t pictured but is an important part of the image? • where/when did the photo take place? • what activities are occurring in the photos? • what story is being told in this photo? • what does this picture say about you? • why is this photo important? step 4: use a storyboard to scaffold the writing process provide students with a storyboard graphic organizer to use to organize their photos and compose the text. facilitate conferences with students while they draft and revise, and encourage students to confer with their peers as they continue to engage recursively in the writing process by (re)considering the sequencing of their photos, drafting, revising, and editing their photo stories. design mini-lessons and small group instruction, using mentor texts and modeling, to lift the level of writing as students work to compose their photo stories. if students are literate in their native language, encourage them to write bilingual photo stories using a fusion of both english and their native language to describe the photos. students’ authentic and scaffolded use of the writing process not only serves to meet curricular language and writing standards, but it also supports their growth as language learners and as writers. https://voicethread.com/ 50 gatesol journal 31(1) step 5: publish photo story provide students with lined index cards to publish the text of their photo stories. students can glue their photos and text onto large pieces of construction paper so that each photo is aligned with its accompanying text to create a traditional photo story (see figures 1 and 2). some teachers and students, such as those at the middle and secondary levels, may prefer to forego the printed version of the photo story and move directly to step 6, the creation of a digital photo story. figure 1 a traditional photo story note. a second-grade writer publishes his traditional photo story with printed images and index cards. figure 2 student-created photo stories note. a hallway display showcases the photo stories written by second-grade writers. allen 51 step 6: create digital version invite students to rehearse their photo story to prepare to record it into a digital platform. while students rehearse, upload their images into the digital platform of choice, such as voicethread. when students are ready, meet with them one-on-one in a quiet location to record the narration of their photo story. it may be helpful to invite a volunteer or two to help with this step. step 7: share digital photo stories invite students to share their photo stories. as students share their photo stories with the class, teachers can facilitate critical discussions to dive deeper into the experiences brought to light through the students’ photo stories. teachers can ask students to share what they learned from listening to the photo stories as well as how their perceptions about students may have changed. while the storytellers gain a deeper understanding of themselves, the listeners develop empathy for their peers, resulting in collective affirmations of diversity. it is important for students to understand that misperceptions are common. however, students—and teachers—can learn more about one another and exchange our misperceptions for more holistic, dynamic, and accurate perceptions that capture students as whole learners, not simply language learners, and position them as people with unique and valuable life experiences. closing thoughts through photography, storytelling, and critical discussions, teachers and students can hear individual and collective stories and become more adept at noticing the gifts, talents, and interests of multilingual learners that might otherwise remain overshadowed by language, ethnic, or cultural barriers. this increased mindfulness helps teachers and students shift their deficit thinking to at promise thinking (swadener & niles, 1991) or dynamic thinking (ford & grantham, 2003), which helps them engage with students in a way that capitalizes on their backgrounds, strengths, and interests and unlocks their true potential. while the photo story approach is particularly useful for disrupting assumptions teachers and students may have about multilingual learners, using photo stories and collaborative discussions can also be useful for helping teachers and students truly see the strengths, interests, and experiences all students bring to the classroom. this is true for students of low socio-economic status, students with exceptionalities, as well as students of all sexual orientations and gender identities. creating photo stories is a successful and culturally relevant practice to use with elementary writers, but its use can also extend beyond the elementary level and into middle and secondary classrooms. thoughtfully engaging students of all levels and backgrounds in storytelling and respectful dialogue about differences creates more equitable learning spaces that position diversity as a resource for learning instead of a barrier that impedes it (lee & anderson, 2009). this, in turn, privileges students’ unique lived experiences, affirms their identities, and ultimately results in improved educational opportunities for them. references allen, j. k. 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(2011). writing instruction in the culturally relevant classroom. national council of teachers of english. ____________________________________________________________________________ received: january 28, 2021 | accepted: march 23, 2021 | published: july 30, 2021 https://doi.org/10.1080/00377990903285481 https://doi.org/10.1080/00377990903285481 https://doi.org/10.1177/107780040200800103 https://doi.org/10.1177/1932202x20917141 https://doi.org/10.3102/0162373716664802 gatesol journal2021, vol. 31(1), pp. 47–53 (re)imagining multilingual learners: using photo stories to honor students’ strengths, interests, and experiences doi:10.52242/gatesol.117 issn: 2331-6845 gatesol in action georgiatesoljournal.org spring 2020 volume 29, issue 1 issn: 2331-6845 date received: march 29, 2019 dates revised: july 1–september 15, 2019 initial acceptance pending revisions: august 29, 2019 date of final acceptance: april 22, 2020 date published online: april 30, 2020 testimonio y teoría: creating bridges with bilingual communities in dekalb county a. jyoti kaneria georgia state university, jkaneria1@gsu.edu christian valdez garden hills elementary school (dekalb county, ga), cvaldez221@gmail.com dekalb county has transformed significantly over the past eighty years. there have been flows of immigrants and transnationals into the area since the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, making present day dekalb a very diverse community. the children of transnationals in the u.s. find themselves at once students and teachers of their cultures and languages. whether we speak our family’s languages or not, many of us born to parents from another country desire a connection to our linguistic heritage so that we can journey towards comfort and a sense of belonging. drawing from the revolutionary latin american literary genre, testimonios (saavedra, 2011), we share our stories with the hopes of planting a seed for new directions. from a decolonizing, postcolonial framework, we suggest ways to support bilingual and transnational students and groups by connecting to their cultural and linguistic assets through culturally relevant pedagogy (crp) and funds of knowledge (ladson billings, 2009; gonzález et al., 2005). the article begins with our theoretical framework, followed by an overview of dekalb county’s history and demographics. we continue with our testimonios and conclude with suggestions for connecting with bilingual students and communities. keywords: culturally relevant pedagogy (crp), funds of knowledge, decolonizing, postcolonial, wholeness, testimonio, bilingual students, english language learners, mexican heritage, south asian indian heritage, dekalb county introductión our language is something that we cannot touch, but something that, in addition to thinking, hearing and speaking, we can feel. the children of transnationals in the u.s., many of whom are also transnationals, find themselves at once students and teachers of their cultures and languages. transnational is a mailto:jkaneria1@gsu.edu mailto:cvaldez221@gmail.com 16 testimonio y teoría term that has been suggested as a replacement for immigrant based on the notion that the traditional understanding of an immigrant and their immigration has been considered a one-way process towards assimilation (kasun, 2013). using transnational encompasses a broader idea for individuals who leave their countries of origin and their non-u.s. and u.s. born children; recognizing that transnationals shift back and forth across literal and figurative borders, maintain varying levels of connection to their heritage languages and cultural practices, and negotiate their identities and their positions within global politics and economies (kasun, 2015). transnationals can include bicultural, bi/multilingual people/students, simultaneous and emerging bilingual people/students and those considered english language learners (kasun & saavedra, 2014; sánchez, 2007). throughout this paper, we will primarily use the term transnational however, in discussing the demographics of dekalb county, we do use the term immigrant because, during the twentieth century, that was, and still is, the term most widely used when discussing the journey of transnationals. further, as we consider transnational youth and their experiences in schools, we occasionally specify a smaller subgroup, such as those mentioned above, specifically because these terms are likely the ones used to describe the students with whom esol teachers within the tesol field work. we understand that the aforementioned terms and transnational are not equivalent in meaning but recognize that there is often substantial interconnection and overlap among those that fall within each label. our overall purpose in this paper is to consider the history and experiences of transnationals in dekalb county and their experiences and their children’s experiences in schools. as children of transnationals, particularly those of us raised in the u.s., we are, on the one hand, expected to be the experts of our languages and cultures kaneria and valdez 17 when interacting with people outside of our communities, and on the other hand, we are seen by some members of our own communities as not being or knowing enough in terms of our language and culture. whether we speak our family’s languages or not, many of us born to parents from another country have a deep desire to connect to our linguistic heritage so that we can journey towards comfort and a sense of belonging—identity work that shifts and transforms over time. the following quotes by chicana feminist scholar, gloria anzaldúa, (2012) and multilingual education scholar, esther de jong, (2011) encapsulate the processual nature of identity and its interconnectedness with language and culture: anzaldua explained that “identity, as consciously and unconsciously created, is always in process self interacting with different communities and worlds” (p. 69). she also declared boldly, “ethnic identity is twin skin to linguistic identity—i am my language” (p. 81). esther de jong (2011) stated that “the link between language and identity can exist regardless of the level of proficiency in the language. limited proficiency in the home or heritage language does not necessarily diminish its importance for young children’s identification with their culture” (p. 32). the visible representations of our cultures are merely the surface of what makes us who we are. we carry with us the languages, cultures and stories of our ancestors as precious remembrances of our families’ heritages while we also yearn for opportunities to explore the many layers of our own identities and unique experiences. we suggest that school and community leaders can support transnational people and students by connecting to their cultural and linguistic assets (ladson billings, 2009; gonzález et al., 2005). two u.s. born children of transnational parents from a rancho in mexico and a farming village in india share their testimonios (saavedra, 2011) of growing up in dekalb county, painting a picture 18 testimonio y teoría not only of what life in multilingual families is like but also of the importance of connecting authentically with our transnational communities. cinthya saavedra (2011) explains that “[t]estimonio is a revolutionary latin american literary genre that has been used by individuals to tell a collective story and history of oppression through the narrative of one individual” (p. 262). testimonios are used in this article to share our personal stories with the hopes of inspiring our community and school leaders to work and live with members of transnational communities in new and empowering ways. we also use testimonio to speak in solidarity with other children of transnationals. testimonios are not only important for sharing stories, but also for nourishing solidarity and understanding (saavedra, 2011). we begin this article with a description of the teoría [theory] that frames our work, followed by an overview of dekalb county’s history and demographics. next, we share our testimonios. we conclude with suggestions for how school leaders and teachers can create bridges with the transnational students in their classrooms. teoría nuestro teoría, our theory, draws on subaltern (saavedra, 2011; spivak, 1994) perspectives. subaltern perspectives are the perspectives of the colonized who historically have not had access to political, cultural or social power and whose voices have historically been marginalized (saavedra, 2011; spivak, 1994). specifically, we frame this personal reflection on the transnational residents in dekalb county through a decolonizing, postcolonial (anzaldúa, 2012; gandhi, 1998; mohanty, 2003; perez, 1999; smith, 2012) and critical sociocultural lens (lewis & moje, 2003). postcolonial theory recognizes the effects that hundreds of years of colonization had on colonized people and acknowledges that those effects are pervasive in the present (anzaldúa, 2012; kaneria and valdez 19 gandhi, 1998; mohanty, 2003; perez, 1999; smith, 2012). the consequences of colonization not only impacted the physical body and spaces of colonized people but also caused cultural and psychological trauma which continues to be felt today by the descendants of colonized people. a decolonizing and postcolonial framework maintains that effects of colonization continue in our present in the forms of racism, neo-liberal economics, anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies, monolingualism, subtractive bilingualism and other inequities we see in our school systems (anzaldúa, 2012; kasun et al., in press; flores, 2016; mohanty, 2003; valenzuela, 2010). by framing our reflection through a postcolonial lens, we focus our attention on seeing the wholeness of transnational people in dekalb county, understanding that the colonial history of our nation, state, and county has consequences for their experiences in this geographical space. the decolonizing postcolonial framework seeks to center the wholeness of colonized people in a way that foregrounds their cultures, languages, identities and psychological wellbeing. with the understanding that the legacies of colonization continue today, we utilize this decolonizing postcolonial framework to foreground this wholeness of and for the members of transnational communities living in dekalb county. we also frame our reflection within a critical sociocultural lens. noncritical sociocultural frameworks focus on individual cultural and linguistic identities within specific learning contexts and communities whereas a critical sociocultural lens considers tensions, conflicts, history and the influence of the macro on the micro (lewis & moje, 2003). lewis and moje (2003) posit that a critical sociocultural lens weaves together culture, identity, language, race, and ethnicity with larger discourses, historical and institutional contexts, and power relations particularly when considering meaning making and learning. from this 20 testimonio y teoría perspective, we frame our reflection not only on the linguistic and cultural assets of the communities we come from and live in community with, but we also attend to the macro-level contexts thus utilizing a critical lens to consider how we can connect across cultural divides and with our students in the classroom. in table 1, we highlight some of the key concepts discussed in this paper with brief explanations. table 1 key concepts and explanations concept explanation testimonio a latin american genre used to tell stories and histories of marginalization (saavedra, 2011) teoría the spanish word for theory nepantla the space that lies in the interstices in between our different worlds, a space where our contradicting identities dwell (anzaldúa, 2015) subaltern colonized people who historically have not had access to political, cultural or social power and whose voices have historically been marginalized (saavedra, 2011; spivak, 1994) transnational a term suggested as a replacement for immigrant; encompasses the notion that people who move to a new country do not necessarily stop connecting with their country of origin, continue cultural practices from their country of origin and negotiate their complex identities (kasun, 2015; kasun & saavedra, 2014; sánchez, 2007) decolonizing a process of undoing the physical, emotional, psychological, economical, land-title related impacts of colonization that remain embedded in our current culture and systems (anzaldúa, 2012; gandhi, 1998; mohanty, 2003; perez, 1999; smith, 2012) kaneria and valdez 21 postcolonial the state of those who lived and existed during preindependence eras, independence eras as well into present day. this state of being reflects the psychological, emotional, cultural and linguistic violence and trauma experienced by the colonized and the legacy of it that remains in the present. it is also the term used as the temporal indication of the time after countries gained their independence (anzaldúa, 2012; gandhi, 1998; mohanty, 2003; perez, 1999; smith, 2012) critical sociocultural lens a theoretical framework that considers not only the cultural and linguistic identities of learners within specific contexts but also weaves in a critical perspective that includes the larger discourses, historical and institutional contexts and power relations as they relate to culture, identity, language, race and ethnicity (lewis & moje, 2003) fragmentation a term used to describe the result of separating colonized individuals from their culture and language (anzaldúa, 2012; gandhi, 1998; mohanty, 2003; perez, 1999; smith, 2012) culturally relevant pedagogy relational pedagogy, lessons and activities that connect to students’ languages, cultures and identities, draw on students’ cultural knowledge and promote building community (ladson-billings, 2009) funds of knowledge teacher education, curriculum development and a process of engaging with students that taps into their cultural community knowledge through ethnography of their communities and homes and through interviews (gonzález et al., 2005) un rinconcito llamado dekalb during the 1980s and 1990s, dekalb county was a mix of commercial, industrial and residential suburbs, much as it is today. however, the county transformed significantly beginning in the 1950s and continuing into the 1960s and 1970s from what it was pre-wwii. in this section we will trace a brief history of dekalb county in terms of demographics, economy and infrastructure giving an understanding of who lives in the county and what life was and is like living there. 22 testimonio y teoría la demografía en dekalb as part of our decolonizing, postcolonial frame, we first would like to acknowledge the native peoples who lived on the land that makes up today’s dekalb county. the apalachee, cherokee, hitchici, oconee, miccosukee, muskogee creek, timucua, yamasee, guale, shawnee and yuchi people populated georgia, some of whom, mostly the creek, lived in the area that ultimately became dekalb county (access genealogy, 2012; native languages of the americas, 2015). figure 1 below shows the native tribes of georgia and their approximate locations. figure 1. map showing major native tribes in georgia (native languages of the americas, 2015) in 1830, the indian removal act was signed and called for the removal of native americans from their land. in 1838, federal soldiers and local volunteers forced the majority of georgia’s native peoples, through the use of violence and coercion, to leave their land and travel west by foot across the country on what is kaneria and valdez 23 now known as the trail of tears (history.com, 2020). by this acknowledgment, we honor these peoples and the land in georgia that was once their land and that is part of their tradition and heritage. figure 2. downtown atlanta 1860s (anderson, 2015) rebecca dameron and arthur murphy (1997) discuss the flows of immigrants into atlanta since the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, however they note that most of the immigrants of that early era were greek, german jewish, scotch-irish, russian, polish and other immigrant groups that mostly assimilated into the white culture of the white/black dichotomy in atlanta. figure 2 shows downtown atlanta during the 1860s, illustrating the city as it was just before this first wave of mostly european immigrants. figure 3 is atlanta during this first wave of immigrants. dameron and murphy explain that many immigrants of european descent melted into “white” culture. they suggest that this melting into the white culture by european immigrants occurred for two 24 testimonio y teoría primary reasons, one being the prevalence of racial prejudice coupled with legal discrimination and the other being because racial and ethnic categories were limited to white, black and other, with other serving as the generic term for anyone who could not or was not allowed to fit into the white or black category. according to dameron and murphy, most european immigrants were able to choose the white category which was not accessible to the more recent noneuropean immigrants. figure 3. five points, downtown atlanta 1890s (anderson, 2015) furthermore, because of the structure of the city, immigrants in atlanta, at that time, did not settle into their own cultural enclaves as was the trend in other large cities such as new york, chicago and philadelphia and integrated themselves mostly into historically white neighborhoods (dameron & murphy, 1997). following the 1965 immigration act which ceased the discriminatory “national origin quotas” that were official policy practices of immigration at the kaneria and valdez 25 time, larger numbers of immigrants from the global south (delgado-wise, 2014) came to the u.s., many of whom moved to atlanta (baldillo, 2013; dameron & murphy, 1997, p. 49). furthermore, david baldillo (2013) explains that the signing of the 1986 immigration reform and control act provided a pathway to legal residency for undocumented immigrants already living in the u.s. and tightened security along the u.s.-mexico border. he illustrates that the areas of the country that had larger immigrant populations, like california, became “saturated with newly legalized immigrants” which led to immigrant communities seeking other areas of the country to find work (p. 120). baldillo notes that atlanta, with its booming economy in the late 1980s and early 1990s, was a prime choice for many of these immigrants. while the 1965 and 1986 immigration reforms allowed for increased flows of legal immigration and documentation for immigrants from the global south, dameron and murphy (1997) discuss the continued flows of undocumented immigration due to push factors within countries of origin. they explain that these push factors include, but are not limited to, the economic collapse in mexico, war and unstable conditions in central america (which were often the result of u.s. intervention), and wars in southeast asia and varying african nations. people felt pushed to leave their homes in search of a better life, ultimately finding atlanta to call home (dameron & murphy, 1997). during the 1980s, when jyoti was growing up, the latinx and asian communities were beginning to grow in chamblee and doraville—just up the road from her own neighborhood. christian grew up in doraville as part of the latinx community in the 1990s. dameron and murphy (1997) suggest that these two cities, chamblee and doraville, were prime spots for new immigrants because of their proximity to one of two rapid transit lines in the metro-atlanta 26 testimonio y teoría area, because of access to bus lines on buford highway, and because of affordable apartments and homes. chamblee and doraville were the heart of where the buford highway corridor or “la buford” began its development into one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse communities in the county and where plaza fiesta and the latin american association call home. figure 4 and 5 show the buford highway corridor and plaza fiesta in the 90s and early 2000s respectively. figure 4. buford highway corridor, 1991 (atlanta journal constitution, 2019) kaneria and valdez 27 figure 5. plaza fiesta on buford highway, 2001 (atlanta journal constitution, 2019) at the same time, further southeast, in clarkston, refugees from vietnam were entering what would become the refugee resettlement area of the metroatlanta area. clarkston has supported the resettlement of forty thousand refugees over the past twenty-five years, who recently, but not exclusively, have come from syria, the democratic republic of congo and in the past from bhutan, eritrea, ethiopia, somalia, the sudan, liberia and vietnam (long, 2017). nearly thirty-two percent of the 13,000 residents in clarkston were born outside the u.s. (stump, 2018). just a few miles further to the south of clarkston, in decatur, is a large south asian neighborhood with cultural restaurants, grocery stores and businesses that have been serving the community since the 1980s and 1990s. dekalb county’s current demographics, based on the 2018 census estimates, show that there is a latinx community of at least 65,063 people, or 8.6% of the total population, the asian community, which includes asian indian, chinese, filipino, japanese, korean and vietnamese, has a population of 49,932 or 6.6 % of the total population (u.s. census bureau, 2012; u.s. census bureau, 2018). census information seems unable to track peoples from the middle-east 28 testimonio y teoría and africa due to the census use of racial classifications versus national or cultural classifications. nevertheless, we can get an approximation of this from the linguistic data included in the census. this data indicates that, “african languages” come in second with nearly 2.5% of the population of the county speaking an african language (data usa, n.d.). dekalb has great linguistic diversity with over thirty-eight different language communities reported in 2010 (data usa, n.d.). figure 6 illustrates a timeline starting with the arrival of enslaved africans, the removal of native americans, and leading into important events that supported the arrival of non-european transnationals relocating to georgia. kaneria and valdez 29 figure 6. timeline created by the authors highlighting the arrival of enslaved africans, the removal of native americans, and important events supporting the arrival of non-european transnationals relocating to georgia (dameron & murphy, 1997; wood, 2002). 30 testimonio y teoría la economía e infraestructura de dekalb in the early twentieth century, according to burton et al. (2010), dekalb county’s economy was mostly agricultural, predominantly based on dairy farms, and it was not until post world war ii when dekalb county began to develop into the county it is today. after wwii, burton et al. note there was a national trend to develop affordable homes, thus facilitating the reunification of families that had been split during the war. in many areas around the country during this time, the suburbs were “bedroom communities” where people returned to sleep after working in the city during the day (burton et al., 2010, p. 18). however, burton et al.’s report indicates that dekalb developed in a way that integrated commercial, industrial and residential areas so that people could live, work and shop in the same area. in fact, there are twelve small cities throughout dekalb county and a wide range of international restaurants and commercial districts, some of the most notable being your dekalb farmers market, the buford highway farmers market, and plaza fiesta (discover dekalb, 2019). figure 7 shows a map of dekalb county with six of its 12 cities. figure 7. dekalb county (2019) kaneria and valdez 31 as members of transnational communities settled permanently in dekalb county, they began opening small businesses in these commercial districts to serve and represent their communities. other major industries and employment opportunities in the county are manufacturing, hospitality, retail and education; in fact, there are nine colleges and universities in dekalb county, including emory and oglethorpe university as well as three of georgia state university’s perimeter college campuses (data usa, n.d.; dekalb chamber, 2019). in addition to the formal business sectors, the 1990s construction boom during the pre-olympic era, as well as the general economic boom of the 1980s and 1990s allowed for an explosion in the informal day labor economy which most often was filled with people from the latinx community who left their home countries in search of work and a better life (dameron & murphy, 1997; portes, 2015). the transnational communities in dekalb county have grown and their members have planted roots. children in transnational communities go to public schools which are not well equipped to support their transnational identity, and may even insist that these students leave their language and culture at the schoolhouse door, thus promoting fragmentation of their identities. as part of colonization, colonizers forbade the cultural and linguistic practices of the colonized, forcing assimilation into the culture of the colonizer which resulted in the fragmentation of colonized identities (anzaldúa, 2012; gandhi, 1998; mohanty, 2003; perez, 1999; smith, 2012). according to linda tuhiwai smith (1999) “[f]ragmentation is not a phenomenon of postmodernism as many might claim. for indigenous peoples fragmentation has been the consequence of imperialism and colonization” (p. 29). we suggest that the colonial consequence of fragmentation is also true for transnationals and their children living in the u.s. the 1980s & 1990s were a time when society expected transnationals to 32 testimonio y teoría assimilate to the dominant culture, especially in the schools where such assimilation was equated to success. below are two testimonios from christian & jyoti which provide a window into the fragmentation experiences of two children who grew up in multilingual communities in dekalb county. testimonios: voces transnacionales de dekalb jyoti and christian grew up in dekalb during two different decades, in two very different communities just three miles away from each other. both of them grew up with two or more languages in their homes, however jyoti did not grow up bilingual whereas christian did. these two natives of dekalb county tell their testimonios of language, culture and life as the children of transnational parents. we share these testimonios to give a small glimpse into the lives of our transnational, bilingual and bicultural families and communities with the hopes that our stories can facilitate deeper understanding and encourage connections among teachers and their transnational students, community leaders and their transnational community members, across cultures and languages. christian my family’s cultural heritage stems from an agricultural rancho by the name of la calzada de la merced (la calzada); geographically speaking it is near the pueblo of manuel doblado in the state of guanajuato, méxico. both of my parents are from la calzada, a small tight knit rancho where everyone knows everyone, from the cradle to the grave. figure 8 is a picture of me at la calzada with my family. kaneria and valdez 33 figure 8. primos at la calzada, 1997. pictured (from left to right) are christian valdez, gustavo rodríguez, daniel valdez, and brian valdez. all permissions granted. my father was able to finish high school and was enrolling into a college nearby when he decided to make the journey to el norte, to the north. my mother on the other hand only finished her schooling up until 6th grade, when she had to withdraw from school in order to help out harvesting crops in the fields, managing livestock and caring for her younger siblings. these were the norms according to my parents; men would go to school as long as they could, while women were pulled out of school to manage the household. ever since my parents were children, they heard stories about coming up north, especially my father, who heard these stories from his bracero father, my grandfather. braceros, one that works with their brazos [arms], filled the job openings in the u.s. that were left by men who were drafted into world war ii. a bracero is today’s equivalent of a migrant farmworker. my grandfather had traveled to the midwest and west coast of the united states of america seeking work in the fields, a skill he had from his life en la calzada. 34 testimonio y teoría my grandfather’s stories about el norte inspired my father to seek a better life than what la calzada could offer. my father took the initiative to make the journey up north, but before doing so he married my mother. they were 21 and 18 years of age respectively when they married. it was the mid-1980s when my father set out on his journey to el norte with the hopes of supporting my mother financially, who was pregnant at the time. while my father spent a few years in the states, my mother was raising my oldest sister in mexico with the help of her family and community members, because it does take a village to raise a child. as 1989 began, my father went back to mexico to help my mother and oldest sister make the journey to el norte. by the time they made the journey, my mother was 8 months pregnant with my second oldest sister. my parents did not want to waste any time to make the journey because they knew that being born in the states would give their children the right to a better life, the right to liberty, and the right to pursue happiness. it took my father, mother, and sister three weeks to make it from la calzada to atlanta where my second oldest sister was born, making her the first in my father’s and mother’s family to be born in a different country. not long afterwards, in the fall of 1990, my twin brother and i were born in atlanta as well. as the years went by, my father was able to convince more relatives to make the journey to el norte, knowing that the journey was dangerous but worth it. before buying a house, our family lived with other relatives or friends from mexico in one or two apartments. figure 9 is a photograph taken outside of the apartments where we all lived together. kaneria and valdez 35 figure 9. parktowne north apartments, 1992. located on buford highway and cliff valley way. christian’s older sister with her cousins outside the apartments where they lived with his extended family before his parents bought their home. pictured (from left to right) are diana valdez, dulce rodríguez, josue rodríguez, adriana valdez, and victor rodríguez. all permissions granted. this extended family dynamic was very similar to what my parents had in la calzada, but as each individual family began growing in size, patience dwindled, particularly the patience that is needed to make a home in a new country. by 1992, my parents were able to find a house to buy, due in part to my father’s job as a concrete mason. soon after acquiring this job, my father began to recruit family members to work with him. as my father paved the way, at times literally paving the way, he and my mother were able to call doraville, ga home, where they still reside today. figure 10 is a picture that captures my father and his family together during a day of paving in georgia. 36 testimonio y teoría figure 10. hermanos valdez, christian’s father, grandfather, and five uncles on a paving job site. pictured (from left to right) are leopoldo valdez, jesús valdez (grandfather, yellow hardhat), jesús valdez, jr. (next to grandfather on the right), martín valdez (gray hardhat), ernesto valdez (father, brown hardhat), orasmo valdez, and felix valdez (white hardhats). all permissions granted. our relatives soon followed suit and were also able to buy houses in or near doraville. having the family close to each other was as crucial as breathing. not only was having family close by important, but of equal importance was keeping our mother tongue of spanish alive, our heritage language which gave us connection and comfort. by the spring of 1999, we had grown from a family of three to a family of seven when my younger sister was born. for as long as i can remember, my parents always spoke spanish to us and so it was my first language. my parents could not teach us english, so they constantly reinforced the importance of school and education in this country. not only that, but once we had a television and cable, my parents would let us watch cartoons in english so that we were at least exposed to the english language. it was not until my parents registered my twin brother and i for pre-k where we were truly exposed and immersed in the english language, and even began to kaneria and valdez 37 communicate with my siblings in our second language. english soon suffocated our first language. not only did the english language consume our home language, it also consumed our daily life; to the point where our brains were rewired to think in english, and not in our mother language of spanish, which did set my siblings and i for success in public school. the primary spanish exposure we had was at home, where we would watch novelas on the television or during our weekly attendance in church. going to church helped my mother the most. she was able to connect with other mothers that were in the same boat as her, at times befriending the mothers that lived nearby. i never realized until today, how much support these mothers gave one another at the start of their new life in a new country. while at church, we were taught to sing in spanish, pray in spanish, and even read the bible in spanish. little did i know, that these moments of spanish would foster my relationship with my parents and become the foundation of my biliteracy. figure 11 shows how happy my mom was at church and figure 12 documents my brother and i being at church as well. figure 11. christian’s mother at the local church they attended while he was growing up. all permissions granted. 38 testimonio y teoría figure 12. christian’s mother at the local church they attended while he was growing up. all permissions granted. the schools that my siblings and i attended were very diverse, from elementary to high school. figure 13 shows my brother and sister and i outside of our elementary school. by the end of 5th grade, i realized that the demographics of my school were changing. i saw more students that looked like me, while students that were caucasian were moving away. being latino became the norm in my schools. i hardly remember any teachers that looked like me or even spoke my home language, so hearing spanish in school became like finding a needle in a haystack. when i did hear spanish from an adult in school, my heart would feel a safe haven, a haven of comfort, because at times, i yearned to hear spanish in my schools. i did not receive my first formal instruction in spanish until i was in 10th grade. i was shocked that the teacher instructed us to only speak spanish, not english. being in a spanish only space truly felt like a sanctuary. by practicing and reinforcing my spanish, i was able to pass the advanced placement spanish course for native spanish speakers before i graduated high school. my academic spanish achievements gave me the reassurance that i needed and confirmed that i had not lost a part of myself. kaneria and valdez 39 figure 13. christian, his brother and second oldest sister outside their elementary school in dekalb, 1997. all permissions granted. as a first-generation college student, i felt uncertain. not being able to ask my parents for assistance in applying to college or filling out a fasfa form, contributed to this uncertainty. but mostly the uncertainty that i experienced stemmed from fear of being labeled as different. my fear of being seen as different became a reality in the first semester of my freshman year. i recall a time when a professor asked the class a question. remembering the importance of education that my parents had instilled in me ever since i could speak, i raised my hand to answer, answering correctly without a problem. but after class, a classmate of mine told me that i had an accent when i spoke english. this was the first time where i was made aware of my accent. after that encounter, i was mortified to answer questions in class. i did not resume the habit of answering questions again until i got into my major courses, half way through my sophomore year. i made a conscious decision to start participating more actively in my classes in part to show my classmates that i did belong there, no matter my accent. attending the university was the first place in which i was repeatedly reminded that i was different. i used my being different to motivate me 40 testimonio y teoría throughout college, and in the spring of 2013, i became the first in my family to graduate from college, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. it did not dawn on me until i decided to pursue my master’s degree that i felt like the public education system had failed me. in the spring of 2017, i completed my master’s degree in early childhood education. only during my master’s program did i realize that the schools that i went to had a simplistic view or attempt to incorporate diversity into the curriculum. holding an international day event or putting up flags around the school, which are often the only attempts to embrace diversity in schools, does not mean that the schools are celebrating diversity, in fact they are mere superficial celebrations. on the contrary, these kinds of shallow nods to other cultures feed a pseudo truth to the students involved. to be diverse and celebrate diversity means that teachers need to include culturally relevant lessons for their students. teachers using culturally relevant pedagogy (crp) incorporate the cultures that are present in their classroom into the curriculum, into the learning engagements (ladson billings, 2009). in doing so, the teacher creates a safe learning environment for student achievement and students are more able to reach and surpass expectations. today, i am a dual language immersion (dli) spanish teacher in atlanta. in my classroom i not only teach a love for a language, but a love for culture, for people who may or may not look like me. on top of teaching language and culture, i teach mathematics, science, and social studies in spanish. becoming and being a dli spanish teacher has given me the courage that i sought as a child, the comfort of speaking and learning in my mother tongue. i can now give this comfort to my students. further, i am keeping families together by teaching the mother language and not propagating the erosion of the home language— subtractive bilingualism (lambert, 1975, 1977, 1981). subtractive bilingualism kaneria and valdez 41 is the phenomenon in which children and adults alike lose their home language in the “process of becoming linguistically assimilated into the english-speaking world of the school and society (fillmore, 1991). in the long run, not reinforcing the home language in public school is detrimental to the success of languageminority students; not teaching the mother language ultimately frays the relationships that parents have fostered with their children. fillmore is convinced that “there is a connection between native language loss and the educational difficulties experienced by many language-minority-background students” (p. 344). i have seen cases where children and teenagers are not able to speak to their parents because of the language barrier(s) that were created by the public school system. these language barriers, among other reasons, create an unnecessary stress on family members communicating with one another that could lead to irreversible effects. fillmore (1991) explains how the push for assimilation contributes to the stress of dissolving familial communication. she says, “what is at stake in becoming assimilated into the society is not only their educational development but their psychological and emotional well-being as individuals as well” (p. 207). my parents’ journey from la calzada to el norte has made me appreciative of who i am today, a grateful son and now a passionate educator. i am someone who can communicate with his own family and with other families in my community. in doing so, i can support families that are now going through what my family and i went through in the 1990s: paving comfort in a different country. jyoti seven tall pine trees outline the unkempt front yard of an eccentric 1965 a-frame ranch house in a suburb in northeast atlanta. nearly three-quarters of the way to the top of the tree closest to the house, sits a scruffy, sap-covered, dirt42 testimonio y teoría under-her-fingernails eight-year-old girl. her brown skin and nearly black hair blend into the brown bark of the tree. she sits mindfully, feeling the wind in her hair. figure 14. jyoti posing in a tree where she often felt the most at home, circa 1984. all permissions granted. the year is 1984, and she and her sisters are the only brown-skinned bicultural children on the street and one of four families in the neighborhood with one or more parents from another country. on the other side of the neighborhood is james (a pseudonym for his “english” name) lee whose parents emigrated from korea, the shankaras from the middle east live further down that same street and the chari boys and their mom who came from india live in the apartments around the corner. this tree-dweller, jyoti, is a half asian indian, half white, bicultural women who grew up in dekalb county in the northeast corner of atlanta, georgia. she can be seen exactly where she always felt most content in figure 14. kaneria and valdez 43 my father immigrated to the u.s. from india in 1958 in pursuit of his ph.d. his father and grandfather, my tata [grandfather] and muttata [great-grandfather], were farmers in a small village in the state of karnataka in south india. figure 15 is of my father shortly before or after he came to the united states. after my great-grandfather died, my grandfather, still a young boy, was sent to live with a wealthy ayurvedic [indian traditional medicine] doctor who paid for my grandfather’s schooling in return for the work my grandfather did in the doctor’s home. my tata ultimately became a physics professor at a university in bangalore where he raised my father and my father’s six siblings. figure 15. jyoti’s father in his mid-twenties around the time he came to the u.s., circa 1958. all permissions granted. 44 testimonio y teoría figure 16. jyoti’s mother in her early teens shortly after settling in montana, circa 1955. all permissions granted. my mother, a white woman, was born in arizona. her family moved twenty-one times during her first ten years of life, living in various u.s. states and in mining camps in several south american countries, in particular in brazil, where she became fluent in portuguese. her family finally landed in a small mining town in montana where my mother graduated from high school before heading to northern california for college. figure 16 is of my mother around the time they settled in montana. figure 17 and 18 are pictures of me and my maternal grandparents. figure 17. jyoti with her maternal grandmother, circa 1997. all permissions granted. kaneria and valdez 45 figure 18. jyoti with her maternal grandfather, circa 1986. all permissions granted. my parents met at stanford university in the mid-1960s, married in 1968 and moved to atlanta, ga in 1970, three years after their interracial marriage was deemed legal in the state. figure 19 is of my parents in their first home in atlanta. my parents, a rare-for-the-time, mixed couple, settled in dekalb county and raised me and my two sisters in a mostly english monolingual home. my father speaks at a minimum his mother tongue, kannada, as well as hindi, tamil, some french and some spanish. my mother lost her portuguese but learned some spanish and became nearly fluent in french. figure 19. jyoti’s parents shortly after moving to atlanta, circa 1974. all permissions granted. 46 testimonio y teoría despite their multilingual abilities, my parents’ dominant mutual language was english which was the primary language in our home. once, they brought in a kannada language teacher into the house to teach the south indian language of my father’s family, however, the classes were not for me and my sisters but for my mother and other interested members of the community. i longed to learn the language. mesmerized by hearing kannada, i would hide on the stairs to listen to the class. in my early childhood, we celebrated a few of the major hindu holidays with our small indian community group, the kannada koota. on these occasions i was able to put on my indian culture like the blue silk chaniya choli dress i wore and try it on for size. figure 20. jyoti dressed in a blue, silk chaniya choli dress, circa 1986. all permissions granted. we blessed ourselves with koomkooma, the red paste that we delicately place in the middle of our forehead representing the third, spiritual eye. we also kaneria and valdez 47 recited singsong prayers to deities i knew little about in the sanskrit language, a language that even the indians present didn’t speak because it is considered a “dead” language and is relegated to hindu religious scriptures and practices. “kultuko” (sit) the aunties would tell me and manish, one of my first indian friends, gesturing for us to sit on the floor and eat our dinner and sweets on silver thali plates. kultuko. sit. one of only a few words in kannada i knew growing up. i can be seen on one of these occasions in figure 20. despite not knowing my father’s language and not having a large indian community nearby, my indian heritage marked me. i was marked, not only on the outside, through my traditional indian name or through my distinct brown skin and black hair against the backdrop of the mostly white neighborhood where we lived and the mostly white and black demographics of the city. my indian heritage also marked me on the inside in terms of grappling with my cultural identity. i remember very distinctly, when taking a standardized test when i was eight years old, having to select a box, an identity box. my choices were black, white or other. i raised my hand and asked my teacher which box i should pick. she paused, long enough for me to realize that she too did not know which label i should select. she knew my mother was white, but white didn’t work for me. she knew my father was from india, but there was no label for that. she looked at me, seeing that i clearly did not match the physical categorization to select white or black. somewhat flustered, she told me to pick “other.” it was in that moment that i became aware of my “other-ness.” until then, i just knew i loved playing outside, being with my friends, and simply being a child. this experience of becoming an “other” at school profoundly impacted how i engaged at school and how i interacted with others outside of school. i developed the skill of a chameleon, blending in and adapting to those around me which meant that i was 48 testimonio y teoría almost always leaving some part of me behind. anzaldúa (2015) calls this act of being a chameleon being a nahual, the indigenous word for a shape shifter. many times people of color, including children of transnationals, find that they shift between the layers of their identity as they move between the different worlds within which they exist. in many ways, this is what i did. yet this shifting back and forth, while allowing us to seemingly move fluidly between worlds, can also have a fragmenting effect. anzaldúa explains that as we shift into our different shapes in between our worlds, we can benefit from learning to dwell in la nepantla, that space that lies in the interstices in between our different worlds, a space where our contradicting identities dwell, and in dwelling in la nepantla we are able to embrace our wholeness. when i reflect on my childhood, i recall experiences that parallel anzaldúa’s description of dwelling la nepantla. for example, in many indian families, there are strict gender roles, strict when compared to more american gender roles. growing up, while these strict gender roles were not enforced in my home, i was very aware of them. i found when i was with my few indian family members, i felt tension between wanting to be seen as “indian enough” but also not feeling genuine when i tried to fulfill what i thought was the gender role that was expected of me. i also struggled with not wanting to perform the more traditional indian gender roles that from an american point of view seemed to have a degree of gender oppression. over time, i have come to embrace the contradictions that exist among the typical gender roles in indian and american cultures, a process that has at times felt uncomfortable or disingenuous, but embracing these contradictions and others has been one of the truest forms of embracing my wholeness. though it is an iterative process, i have worked towards embracing my wholeness as authentically as i can while shifting between kaneria and valdez 49 the different cultures in my life. as i remember my childhood and youth, particularly my time in school, i believe the adults and teachers could have done more to draw upon my shape-shifting abilities. in doing so, they would have also validated my wholeness and encouraged me to bring my entire self into the spaces within which i existed. i spent much of my childhood inventing my own language and studying different english accents which in retrospect, i now see was my way of trying to connect to my lost heritage language. it was as if my brain, my heart and my soul needed to connect to a language other than english. my make-believe play almost always had a character who spoke another language or was from a far-off land. figure 21. jyoti’s paternal grandparents in bangalore, karnataka, india, circa 1978. i was keenly aware that i had family living in india on the other side of the world. i have vivid memories of my own trip there to meet my family when i was eight. figure 21 is one of my favorite photos of my paternal grandparents. i remember when i was there, one time my ajji (grandmother) snuck me coffee in her backyard patio. one time, i wanted a special rice pudding that is typical of south india. i asked my father how to ask for it and he instructed me to say, “payasam, beku” (i want payasam). however, when my american tongue tried 50 testimonio y teoría to parse out those words, i clearly did not say it quite right because in response to what i said, ajji reached on top of her refrigerator and brought me a metal can full of coins. i felt a rush of shame and embarrassment that i could not speak the language, and disappointment that the tin did not have the rich, creamy rice pudding i was craving. upset, i ran my father and quickly the mystery was solved. i had said, “paisa, beku” (i want coins). in that moment, i was keenly aware of the fact that while i felt a deep connection to india, and its culture and people, i would always be disconnected from it in some way because i did not know the language. although the colors, smells and sounds of india were deeply imprinted in my consciousness, the void of not knowing my family’s language was profound, leaving a hole in my heart. i wish that i had had the opportunity to learn more about my heritage culture and language. what a gift it would have been if i could have connected to my culture and language, to my whole self, through school. i wish there had been an active engagement with my cultural knowledge and space for me to learn more deeply about where my father’s family came from. instead, i mostly felt disconnected from the learning that occurred at school, often riddled with anxiety about performing well enough to please my teachers and my meet father’s high academic expectations. it wasn’t until much later and through spanish language courses and studying abroad that i began to connect more deeply with my indian heritage. in high school, we had to choose a language to study and i do not remember why i chose spanish but doing so was a decision that would change my life. i studied spanish in high school and in college. one of my college professors led a trip for students to guadalajara, jalisco in west central mexico. part of the program involved learning about the fraught relations between the u.s. and mexico and understanding the push and pull factors of immigration. i decided to kaneria and valdez 51 apply to go on this trip during my junior year in college. the moment i stepped off the plane in guadalajara, i felt as if i was home. there was a connection between mexico and india that i would not realize i was feeling until three years later when i returned to india for the first time after more than a decade. there was something deeply profound for me to be surrounded by people in mexico who looked as if they could be in my family, to hear sounds and smell fragrances that paralleled those in bangalore. i do not wish to essentialize either of these countries or cultures or over generalize their similarities, but there were personal connections in my experience that ignited a cultural and linguistic healing i could have never predicted. the overarching realization i had was that language, culture and identity matter and that we should allow students in schools the space to explore their cultural and linguistic heritages as well as support their cultural and linguistic maintenance. puentes: uniendo vidas y uniendo comunidades with the understanding that larger discourses on native speaker-ism (de jong, 2011, garcía et al., 2012; portes & salas, 2015) and discourses on english as the official language lead to the fragmentation of transnational and multilingual communities and students, we must seek to change these dominant narratives. there are many linguistically and culturally diverse people in dekalb county and they are deeply rooted. when considering our schools and education system, engaging in culturally relevant pedagogy (crp) and drawing on students’ funds of knowledge are but two significant ways in which school leaders and teachers can disrupt the fragmentation of students and cease perpetuating negative discourses (gonzález et al., 2005; ladson billings, 2009). ladson-billings (2009) states that as part of crp, teachers can help “students make connections between their community, national, and global 52 testimonio y teoría identities” (p. 52). in doing so, teachers are taking a critical sociocultural approach to teaching and learning and making connections to larger discourses while foregrounding the identities of their students. furthermore, ladsonbillings promotes relational teaching where relationships and building collaborative communities of learners are prominent in the classroom. as part of developing crp in the classroom, teachers can draw on students’ funds of knowledge. gonzález et al. (2005) explain that the ideas within the funds of knowledge project highlight the knowledge that students already have from the cultural ways of knowing in their homes and that teachers can draw upon these funds of knowledge to connect the students’ home and culture to school curriculum. part of the funds of knowledge project includes teachers conducting home visits to learn directly from the families about their specific cultural practices. cathy amanti (2005) explains “[a]ll cultures are heterogeneous, and practices within a group will vary according to such factors as gender, religion, class and geographic location. this has major implications for the way educators should think about multicultural education” (p. 131). in this way, it is important that we do not essentialize the cultures and experiences of bilingual students but that we take the time to learn more about their specific lived experiences and tailor our lessons to them and their funds of knowledge (tinker sachs et al., 2008). un curriculum para nosotros jyoti, who did not grow up immersed in indian cultural practices had a deep longing to connect to that side of her biculturalism. a crp approach for a student similar to jyoti could have provided her the opportunity to explore different indian cultural practices or research the history of indian immigration in the u.s. on the other hand, christian grew up more deeply immersed in his kaneria and valdez 53 mexican culture. in this case, a teacher could have used a funds of knowledge approach to discover his family history coming from a mexican rancho, his father’s profession as a concrete mason or his spanish/english bilingual abilities. in response, a teacher could have pulled from any of these funds of knowledge to enhance his learning and ensure he felt represented and embraced in his school. in table 2 we offer curriculum ideas that could be used to support students like jyoti and christian. the table is organized by content areas. we suggest that teachers start out as the students in their exploration of and preparation for the activities. when doing the activities in their classroom, teachers should allow students to be the experts when there is enough rapport and safe space created. each class can open with a “check-in” where teachers allow time and safe space for students to share how they are doing. we also recommend teachers incorporate a multimodal and multiliteracy approach when doing these lessons, which could include skits, poetry, movement, visual art projects, etc. these types of multiliteracy, multimodal approaches have been suggested explicitly in some of the listed activities but could be used throughout all of the activities. 54 testimonio y teoría table 2 a curriculum for us: culturally relevant and funds of knowledge based activities content area theme/ lesson possible activities social studies history & identity as part of a us history course/lesson, explore the precolonial and post-independence history, with a focus on the experiences of the various waves of immigration, viewed through a critical lens. activities might include students researching their own family’s arrival to the us, researching the native tribes that once lived on the land we currently live on. for latinx students, research and lessons on chicano studies and for asian students, asian american studies, can help students situate their histories and identities. please bear in mind, some students’ families’ stories of arrival may have been traumatic, so it is important to do your own research as well. social studies history & social justice research different social justice movements within the asian and latinx communities nationally and locally. guest speakers could be invited virtually or in person. these activities give students the opportunities to understand the interconnected layers of systemic racism, discrimination, marginalization. community work or service could be integrated so students could learn to see how the community is organizing to create positive change. the community work could be part of community service hours/project social studies health & spirituality students explore the traditional spiritual, medicinal and other traditional practices that are part of their heritage. for example, día de los muertos, ayurvedic medicine, traditional textile making, etc. for social studies, this could explore the ways these practices bring the community together. social studies personal reflection on their lived experiences have students keep a private journal that only the teacher reads and that they can voluntarily share from where they reflect on the impact the lessons have on their own growth and meaning making around their cultural identity. this information could be gained through academic research or through a funds of knowledge approach where both teacher and student are the learners investigating the local communities. kaneria and valdez 55 ela literature & identity assign textbooks or books that are written by and for latinx, asian american and other children of transnational to help them see themselves represented in literature. have students complete a personal narrative, testimonio, of their own lives ela creative expression after reading and discussing important quotes from famous people from around the world, (examples: mlk, nelson mandela, thich nhat hanh, cesar chavez, dolores huerta, arundhati roy), have students work in groups to create a skit or poem that captures their reaction to one quote in particular. after skit or poem presentations, have students write written reflections about their experience, particularly the affective experience. ela language, identity & heritage create activities in ap spanish classes for students who are children of transnationals with heritage from a spanish speaking country where the students can explore their heritage culture as well as how they navigate their sense of identity being from both the us and from their heritage culture, for example mexico and the u.s., using texts that talk about the borderland. these activities can also be done in ela classrooms. activities could have students read selected texts and then create skits, poems, movement, visual art, etc. that represents their response. the students could reflect on their experience through a short writing activity ela/foreign language personal reflection on their lived experiences provide students the opportunity to write their own personal narratives, this could be done as an assignment or part of their personal journals stem/ steam research & presentation project based learning in stem or steam that is based on stem related accomplishments from scientists/engineers/artists from other countries or research what industries your students’ families work in using a funds of knowledge approach and incorporate lessons based on your findings. stem/ steam art, culture & science learn about art and artists from students' heritage cultures, explore how in many other cultures, art, science and math are often intertwined. give students the opportunity to create pieces of art inspired by these artists. this information could be gained through academic research or through a funds of knowledge approach where both teacher and student are the learners investigating the local communities. 56 testimonio y teoría stem/ steam health & spirituality (same as the social studies lesson) students could explore the traditional spiritual, medicinal and other traditional practices that are part of their heritage. for example, día de los muertos, ayurvedic medicine, traditional textile making, etc. for steam classes, this could look at the science and art integrated in these traditions. this information could be gained through academic research or through a funds of knowledge approach where both teacher and student are the learners investigating the local communities. stem/ steam community & personal reflection have organizations and companies talk to students that speak more than one language, and how bilingualism and biculturalism will support students personally and professionally. students can reflect after the presentations on how they want to use their language and culture and how they are important to them la experiencia de escribir nuestros tesimonios christian writing my testimonio for this paper allowed me to reflect on the journey that my parents took to give me and my siblings a better life. their daily struggles and sacrifices have given me this opportunity to share their story, our story, now 30 years in the making. our story is a very familiar one not only within my extended family, but also in our communities and throughout the united states. we each have our own unique chapter in this story, and it is a story in search of the american dream. writing this paper reminded me that i am forever in debt to my parents and that i will always carry their hard work, love and sacrifices with me. this brief narrative is one way that i can show my parents my gratitude for their sacrifices, though i am very aware that whatever i accomplish may never fully convey the depth of how grateful i am for all they have done for us. my parents and the life they built for us are what keeps me rooted in my culture, in my language, and in my professional endeavors. without my parents’ views on kaneria and valdez 57 education and their faith in my future, my dream to go to college and ultimately become a teacher would have stayed in a high school classroom. jyoti writing this paper, particularly the testimonio, was a combination of feeling vulnerable in the openness of sharing and feeling powerful in the rawness of personal reflection. i grappled with the middle-class privilege i lived growing up and the profound sense i often had of not belonging. i felt sadness, joy, and nostalgia all at once as i thought about all that both my parents did for us growing up as well as when i looked deeply at the limitations within their own humanness. i also became keenly aware of my imperfections as a daughter, sister, wife, mother while also seeing the beauty of my life story. i realize that we all have multiple stories within our lived experiences and i felt this paper was one place where i could share one of mine. i have always learned very much from hearing other people's stories and it is my humble hope that our stories in this paper can bring comfort to others who identify with our experiences. it was powerful for me to go through family photos and reflect on the life that i have lived and cathartic to put it into words and share it with the world. conclusión dekalb county is deeply diverse. its communities are rich with language and culture. we have a long history of transnationals choosing to live in the area and growing deep roots. members of these transnational communities have assets that mainstream community leaders and teachers can draw upon not only for the benefit of the entire county, but also to demonstrate commitment to the wholeness of these communities. when we can embrace the wholeness of those who have been historically fragmented and marginalized, we can all begin to heal from the 58 testimonio y teoría legacies of colonization, such as fragmentation, so we can see clearly who we are. with this clarity we can deepen connections and begin to imagine where we can grow and transform. it is our hope that this brief glimpse into our lives growing up in dekalb and our ideas for drawing on transnational students’ assets will inspire community leaders and educators to dig deep into the communities around them and support us where we are now. bridges connect us and give a pathway to travel on together, in community. references access genealogy. 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(2010). subtractive schooling: u.s.-mexican youth and the politics of caring. state university of new york press. wood, b. (2002, september 19). slavery in colonial georgia. new georgia encyclopedia. https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/historyarchaeology/slavery-colonial-georgia https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/dekalbcountygeorgia https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/slavery-colonial-georgia https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/slavery-colonial-georgia from the editors dr. alexandra j. reyes, associate professor, georgia southern university, statesboro, ga; email areyes@georgiasouthern.edu dr. eliana hirano, associate professor, berry college, mt. berry, ga; email ehirano@berry.edu abdulsamad humaidan, lecturer, university of illinois urbana-champaign; email humaidan@illinois.edu dr. ethan trinh, associate director, atlanta global studies center, georgia state university; ethan.trinh14@gmail.com clearing a path for renewal and growth gatesol journal 2024, vol. 33(1), pp. 1–2 doi:10.52242/gatesol.196 issn: 2331-6845 alexandra j. reyes eliana hirano georgia southern university berry college abdulsamad humaidan ethan trinh university of illinois urbana-champaign atlanta georgia state university the spring 2024 issue of gatesol journal invites readers to consider how they traverse the path of multilingual learner education. the articles in the issue trace the historical policies that have led to the current state of education for multilingual learners, provide a checkpoint for evaluating assessment, create a plan for visualizing the destination, and explore artificial intelligence tools to help navigate the road ahead. this issue will highlight how language educators can work with and for their students to cultivate language across contexts through interrogating assessment results, reflecting on the trajectory of language policy, envisioning the future, and harnessing technology tools. surveying the landscape in the first article, patterson and schneider explore the ever-present tension between teaching and assessment. in their study, patterson and schneider investigate esol teachers’ perceptions of how accurately multilingual learners’ language proficiency is assessed on the assessing comprehension and communication of english state-to-state (access) test (developed by world-class instructional design and assessment (wida)). the authors analyzed focus group responses to identify three main themes: techniques for assessment preparation, common perceptions of the assessment, and proposed improvements to the assessment. in order to understand the current state of language education policy (including assessment), it is crucial to understand historical context. in the policy perspectives piece, fu mailto:areyes@georgiasouthern.edu mailto:ehirano@berry.edu mailto:humadain@illinois.edu mailto:ethan.trinh14@gmail.com 2 gatesol journal 33(1) outlines the evolution of u.s. language education policies for multilingual learners from the passage of the bilingual education act (1968) through the early part of the 21st century. the review of the progress of language policies has implications for leveraging the role of bilingual education in future endeavors to uphold the rights of emergent bilingual learners. interpreting the policy waves is necessary for charting a path forward. planting the seeds as language education is a constantly shifting field, language educators, researchers, and assessors must not stand frozen at the crossroads. looking ahead, both lizdas and duncanson provide teaching techniques that advance student growth. lizdas describes a teaching intervention in which students are asked to engage in goal-setting and self-visualization activities to help them increase their willingness to communicate in the esol classroom. this paper describes a five-week intervention in which english students envision themselves as successful english speakers and set goals for communication. lizdas suggests how the intervention might be used in other teaching contexts to increase students’ willingness to communicate. like lizdas’s teaching technique, duncanson’s piece explores the potentiality of language development through technology-enhanced supports. duncanson describes the potential for artificial intelligence to provide individual writing support to language learners and instructional support for classroom teachers. this paper discusses and exemplifies the use of quillbot, an ai writing tool that could be used for second language (l2) writing and instruction. duncanson describes ways to use the tool to plan meaningful and student-tailored lessons to provide an interactive learning space for multilingual learners in the language classroom. a note on renewal and transformation the new senior editors of gatesol journal, alex reyes and eliana hirano, would not have been able to publish this long-awaited issue without the guidance of their predecessors, david chiesa and robert griffin, nor without the assistance of the associate editors ethan trinh and abdulsamad humaidan. alex and eliana look forward to continuing to grow the journal as ethan’s and abdulsamad’s terms come to an end. the editorial team hopes that readers will find value in the spring 2024 issue and will continue to cultivate success for multilingual learners and educators. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ published: may 24, 2024 clearing a path for renewal and growth gatesol journal2024, vol. 33(1), pp. 1–2 doi:10.52242/gatesol.196 issn: 2331-6845 article joshua gaston teaches media literacy at webster university, webster groves, mo; email gaston.joshua@gmail.com. teaching media literacy to esl and efl students in the age of covid-19 gatesol in action journal 2020, vol. 30(1), pp. 48–58 issn: 2331-6845 joshua gaston webster university abstract media literacy education is a field that is fraught with disagreement over definitions, approaches, principles, and purposes, but teaching media literacy is arguably needed now more than ever before, especially for esl and efl students. from the research available, it appears as though many esl and efl students are not taught media literacy in their home countries. additionally, much of the research that does exist in regards to teaching media literacy to esl and efl students focuses on forms of media that are no longer relevant to most learners. since esl and efl teachers support the development of their students’ english-language skills, it is justifiable that at least some of the responsibility of media literacy education should fall on their shoulders. the widespread transition to virtual learning as a result of covid-19 presents a unique opportunity for esl and efl teachers to teach media literacy to their students. however, because this period also presents numerous challenges to the public’s collective media literacy skills, it is imperative that teachers integrate media literacy education into their pedagogy. keywords media literacy, esl, efl, covid-19 background media literacy has been recognized as a necessary set of skills for students to develop for 21stcentury life and work (battelle for kids, 2019). while there have been disagreements over definitions and approaches (hobbs, 2011), modern conceptualizations of media literacy include a type of ‘critical’ approach (hobbs, 2005), including those applied to esl and efl classrooms. however, there seems to be a scarcity of research regarding best practices for teaching critical media literacy to esl and efl populations in spite of their being a population potentially more prone to english-language misinformation and disinformation. furthermore, what research is available does not address the current media literacy crises involving internet-mediated technology, and especially that of social media. considering both the importance of accessing reputable streams of information during the covid-19 pandemic and the sudden transition from face-to-face learning to virtual and online learning, the author will advocate for teaching esl and efl populations critical media literacy by engaging them on the very online media platforms they use in their everyday life. definition media literacy can be difficult to define. however, aufderheide and firestone’s (1993) definition of media literacy as “the ability of a citizen to access, analyze, and produce information for specific mailto:gaston.joshua@gmail.com gaston 49 outcomes” (p. 6) sets a foundation for the future development of media literacy. one definition that was derived from aufderheide and firestone’s definition states that media literacy is “the ability to access, analyze, evaluate and communicate messages in a wide variety of forms” (hobbs, 2004, p. 43; martens, 2010, p. 2). while this is the most prominently used definition of media literacy today, many researchers and organizations continue to expand upon it. the center for media literacy, for example, states that media literacy “builds an understanding of the role of media in society as well as essential skills of inquiry and self-expression necessary for citizens of a democracy” (jolls & thoman, 2008, p. 22). many researchers have adapted their definitions of media literacy to add aspects of critical literacy. according to hobbs (2005), most modern conceptions of media literacy now involve a “type of ‘critical’ literacy based on reflection, analysis, and evaluation, not only of the content and structural elements of the specific media texts but of the social, economic, political, and historical contexts in which messages are created, disseminated, and used by audiences” (p. 866). this definition of media literacy rejects an apolitical approach to media literacy education and necessitates that students engage media through a sociohistorical lens in which they can explore “how power and information are always linked” (share, 2015, p. 14). approach since many modern conceptions of media literacy so often involve a type of “critical” literacy (hobbs, 2005), it is no surprise that critical media literacy is the dominant approach to teaching media literacy. while there are at least four distinct approaches to teaching media literacy (kellner, 1998), only critical media literacy will be addressed for the purposes of this article since it seems to appear most prominently in the literature for both general student populations and for esl and efl student populations. share (2015) argued that critical media literacy is the only approach to media literacy education that can “help marginalized students see the structures of oppression, analyze the role of hegemony in shrouding those structures, and find agency in the act of becoming subjects who can express their voices to challenge racism, sexism, classism, and all forms of oppression” (p. 42). essentially, share and others believe that critical media literacy is the only approach that has the potential to empower students. this approach has direct applications to esl and efl students, and especially those who come from marginalized communities. one exemplary use of critical media literacy education with esl students was described in choudhury and share (2012). in this study, choudhury asked los angeles middle school students, most of whom were hispanic and over one-third were english language learners, to analyze and critique representations of their communities in newspaper images. the students were then tasked with walking through their communities and taking photographs, interviewing people, and writing notes. subsequently, they analyzed that data and co-constructed alternative representations of themselves and their communities. this study and others, such as arikan (2002), gruba (2007), grigoryan and king (2008), and hobbs et al. (2015), show the transformative and empowering potential of a critical approach to media literacy education for esl and efl populations. in spite of the studies mentioned above, there is a limited amount of research on approaches to integrating media literacy education into esl or efl classrooms. nonetheless, the critical media literacy approach that share, hobbs, and other researchers advocate for does indeed seem to be the approach that is most often applied by esl and efl-context researchers. however, what literature is available focuses on using source texts from outdated forms of media for today’s young 50 gatesol in action journal 30(1) learners, such as tv or print media. if young english language learners are going to develop modern media literacy skills and become responsible and critical consumers of media, then they must be engaged with media they most often access in their everyday lives. recent studies have demonstrated that the media literacy issues most pertinent to today’s young learners are not as relevant to tv or print media; instead, they are most relevant to digital and social media. current state of media literacy the current issues in media literacy should still have as much to do with “analyzing the politics of representation of crucial dimensions of gender, race, class, and sexuality” (share, 2015, p. 14) as they did before, but the most pressing problems are more rudimentary: students of all ages simply cannot differentiate between reputable and disreputable sources or between information and misinformation online. stanford researchers mcgrew et al. (2017) reported rather disheartening results from their research into the media literacy skills of american middle school, high school, and college students (7,804 student responses total). when tasked with distinguishing between a site’s news stories and native advertising (advertising that is made to look like editorial content), nearly 70 percent of high school students believed that the native advertisement was authentic content. only 25 percent of high school students could distinguish between verified and unverified sources on facebook, even though a blue checkmark is used to identify verified sources on that platform. lastly, college students were tasked with comparing the websites of two organizations of pediatricians, one reputable (the american academy of pediatricians) and another one a splinter group that exists on the fringes (american college of pediatricians). more than half of the college students concluded that the latter, designated as a hate group by southern poverty law center, was the more reliable source. these were college students from what has been one of the most prestigious american universities since its founding in 1885: stanford university. the issues of media literacy among middle school, high school, and university students highlighted by mcgrew et al. (2017) are even more serious when considered with other recent research. recent pew research data showing that, among american teenagers aged 13–17, 45 percent self-reported being online “almost constantly” (anderson & jiang, 2018, para. 1). furthermore, 78 percent of americans under the age of 50 are now getting their news through social media (shearer & gottfried, 2017). what these three studies tell us is that young learners are spending a majority of their lives online, that they get a majority of their news online, and that they do not have the media literacy skills to identify reputable sources or valid information. despite all of the above suggesting an exigent need for media literacy education, there is “no standardized national curriculum or curricular guidance in the united states for media literacy, nor is there dedicated funding for supporting teacher professional development in this area (lemish, 2015; potter 2013). rather, there are several states who have statewide standards related to media literacy (he, 2019) and most teacher training in media literacy takes place at the grassroots level (bulger & davison, 2018). it is unclear to what extent the above studies included esl student populations, if at all. unfortunately, there do not seem to be much research available regarding the internet and social media usage, news-gathering methods, or media literacy skills of esl and efl populations. however, bakla’s (2019) study of the digital nativeness and productivity among 97 turkish efl university students and 30 american esl university students shows that nearly all participants had access to the internet and nearly half of all participants used the internet 3 to 4 hours a day. what is more, the study showed that 20 percent of the efl students and 43 percent of the esl students gaston 51 spent 5 hours or more a day on the internet. although bakla’s (2019) study was rather small and not focused on the students’ media literacy skills, it demonstrated that esl and efl students spend a great deal of their time online. state of media literacy education for esol populations as mentioned above, there simply does not seem to be large-scale data regarding the internet and social media usage, news-gathering methods, or media literacy skills of esl and efl populations. however, according to lessenski’s (2019) research with the european policies initiative of the open society institute of sofia, there is a wide disparity of media literacy within the european union as it concerns resilience potential to fake news. the index lessenski created shows turkey and most balkan countries scoring much lower than northern european countries such as finland, denmark, and the netherlands. thus, it is apparent that at least a subset of esl and efl students may be in desperate need of the same modern media literacy skills that the students in mcgrew et al.’s (2017) study so severely lack. there appears to be little information or research into the existence or extent of media literacy education outside of european and western, english-speaking countries (share, 2015), such as new zealand, the uk, australia, and the united states. as one example, argentina has been cited for having a media literacy program that went national in 2000 and which now exists in every primary and secondary school (share, 2015). in finland, primary and secondary school students examine and interpret media messages, engage in critical analysis of media messages, and learn how to “develop their own independent opinions about messages transmitted in mass media” (lederer, 1988, para. 2). hong kong was also noteworthy in having 200 schools and organization which had media education programs by 2003 (share, 2015). to reiterate, there does not seem to be a prevalence of evidence suggesting that most countries even have media literacy education integrated into their national curricula. the reasons for the lack of widespread media literacy education are manifold, but this is all the more reason for esl and efl educators to integrate media literacy education into their language instruction. need for media literacy education for esl and efl students there are three primary reasons why media literacy education is so important for esl and efl students. the first reason why it’s so important for esl and efl learners is that media literacy education does not seem prevalent in most countries. considering that nation-wide or nationally mandated media literacy education seems largely relegated to central, northern, and western european and western english-speaking countries based on the literature available, it could be inferred that media literacy education is not being conducted in many other countries around the world. therefore, esl and efl students may not be exposed to media literacy-integrated curricula in their respective public educational systems. the second reason is interrelated with the first. there are now more speakers of english who speak it as an additional language than those who speak it as a first language. it is estimated that 1.75 billion people speak english at a “useful” level which is approximately 1 in 4 of the world’s population. it is a far greater number than the combined population of all western englishspeaking countries that one commonly thinks of as english-speaking countries, including the australia, the uk, and the united states among others (neeley, 2012). this means that there are millions and millions of students who learn english as an additional language and have the linguistic tools necessary to access endless amounts of information in the target language. the primary reason that this is important is that if their students are developing their linguistic abilities 52 gatesol in action journal 30(1) to access english-language information and they have no educational background in media literacy, then they may be left prone to misinformation and disinformation once they have they have achieved a functional level of language proficiency. the third reason why media literacy interrelated with the previous two. based on the evidence available, it seems that young esl and efl students exhibit much of the same behaviors as other young learners: they spend much of their time online and access much of their information through social media (anderson & jiang, 2018; bakla, 2019; shearer & gottfried, 2017). furthermore, one survey found that fifty percent of teenagers are getting their news from youtube and sixty percent of those teens say they are more likely to get their news from “celebrities, influencers, and personalities rather than from news organizations utilizing the platform” (common sense media, 2019, para. 3). by default, therefore, young esl and efl students could be accessing more misinformation and disinformation from disreputable sources on a daily basis compared with their parents or older members in their communities. approaches to critical media literacy for 21st century esl and efl learners unfortunately, there simply does not seem to be much research regarding best practices on teaching critical media literacy to esl or efl students in the way that centers media as it is currently conceived as a multi-platform, multi-directional stream of information primarily accessed through the internet and predominantly through social media. first, it is important to note that it is insufficient to teach efl and esl students with media. they also need to be taught about media (arikan, 2002). this is an important distinction to make. esl and efl educators often ask students to engage with authentic texts (articles, advertisements, videos, and audio segments) to examine textual characteristics, develop receptive skills, or to analyze the discourse. however, educators more rarely use media to teach students about media. for students to understand the ways in which the media operates, and how it can be used for malicious purposes, they need to be taught about the media: how media messages are constructed, how those messages represent ideologies and promote certain values, and how the form is intertwined with those constructions. furthermore, teaching students about media needs to be focused on digital media in order to fit how students most often access information. as mentioned earlier, the majority of research and descriptions of teaching practice regarding media literacy for esl or efl students seem to be focused on teaching students to take a critical approach toward representation and messaging in older forms of media, like tv and newspapers. for example, grigoryan and king (2008) asked their student participants to engage magazine advertisements with adbusting, the practice of creating satirical advertisements that mimic the form but subvert the message. hobbs et al. (2015) also used print advertisements to develop the critical thinking skills of new immigrants to the united states. although the use of facebook, twitter, and wechat for utilizing digital platforms to promote media literacy was recommended, these platforms were not part of the study. choudhury and share (2012), as previously mentioned, empowered disenfranchised students by teaching them to analyze and critique media representations of themselves and their communities and also to create alternative representations. while their critical media literacy approach was effective in empowering students, the source material came from newspapers — a medium that is increasingly lacking in relevancy to young learners. finally, quinlisk (2003) focused on the mediums of tv and film to develop media literacy skills among esl and efl students while park (2011) used articles from the new yorker to encourage critical literacy, which, although not exactly the same as critical media literacy, is very similar. gaston 53 it is imperative that rather than contextualizing media literacy education in print or broadcast media, it should be re-contextualized in social media for students. if learners are no longer accessing information through newspapers, magazines, tv, or radio, then those are not relevant mediums for educators to be teaching media literacy with. as buckingham (2003) so prophetically stated, “the proliferation of media technologies, the commercialization and globalization of media markets, the fragmentation of mass audiences, and the rise of interactivity are all fundamentally transforming our everyday experiences of the media” (p. 310) and this has created “a widening gap between young people’s worlds outside school and their experiences in the classroom” (p. 312). if educators are to reduce this gap between young people’s experiences with media outside of school and in school, and truly prepare students to be media literate for the 21st century, then esl and efl teachers must do away with the magazines, newspapers, and tv and instead ask their students to engage with podcasts, twitter, instagram, youtube, and tik tok. furthermore, the focus of the critical approaches described in the research above also seem to be somewhat out of touch with students’ most pressing and foundational media literacy needs. while there is certainly value in focusing on critiquing ideology, representations, and power relations as part of students’ critical media literacy development, the pedagogical focus must shift to start at a more basic issues of accessing reputable information, identifying misinformation and disinformation, analyzing for bias and omission, and evaluating sources. from there, the students could take the critique deeper and “[analyze] the politics of representation...of gender, race, class, and sexuality” (share, 2015, p. 14). as an example, one could re-contextualize choudhury and share’s (2012) study to fit with learners’ current media literacy needs. instead of analyzing representations of their communities in newspapers, students could engage in a similar process by engaging with social media posts about their communities made by businesses, organizations, groups, and/or individuals. first, they could identify misinformation, bias, or omission in the posts and the accompanying comments. afterward, they could take the analysis deeper to understand how misinformation, bias, or omission was used to express hegemonic representations and reinforce structures of oppression. finally, the students could co-construct new representations by collecting the same kinds of data from their community that they did in the study, but instead use the data to create podcasts, tell digital stories, or even engage in online activism. essentially, in order to address the needs of today’s esl and efl students, it is necessary for instructors to take critical media literacy approach which engages learners on media platforms that they use in their everyday life. the approach should begin with developing more foundational media literacy skills such as identifying bias, analyzing evidence, and evaluating sources. then, teachers can ask students to engage in a deeper critical analysis of the digital media which explores the structures of oppression and politics of representation. finally, students can co-produce their own digital media in order to counteract misinformation, challenge hegemonic representations, and ultimately, empower themselves. the current pandemic offers both opportunities and challenges for engaging in this very process. media literacy education during the covid-19 ‘infodemic’ while a considerable proportion of the world has been bunkering down in order to defend themselves against covid-19, everyone in the world is getting blasted with a constant stream of information regarding it. the world health organization and the united nations has called this an “infodemic,” referring to the onslaught of misinformation that has been spreading about covid19 since nearly the beginning of the pandemic (united nations, 2020). moreover, an endless 54 gatesol in action journal 30(1) information supply chain through social media and other mediums has been the source of new fact-based developments and scientifically-supported guidelines about covid-19, but also conspiracy theories and scientific quackery. as one example of the latter, a video entitled plandemic became viral on social media. the claims found in this video have been ripped to shreds by more rational, evidence-based corners of the internet (fichera et al., 2020; shepherd, 2020). this is only the latest in a series of conspiracy theory phenomena regarding covid-19 that have quickly rippled their way through social media. if people are overwhelmed with information while caught in the “infodemic”, and at least some of that information is made of mixed messages, false narratives, or bogus theories, even from those that the public has traditionally trusted, then it can be difficult to determine which sources to trust. since there is simply so much information about covid-19 available, and so much of it being tentative, it can be quite a tedious task sorting through it all not just to determine what information is most relevant and beneficial but also to determine which information is accurate or true. it is time-consuming and energy-draining just to stay up-to-date with the constantly-changing situation much less to make sure to get the most accurate information. considering that this infodemic, with constantly-changing facts among unsubstantiated conspiracy theories, is the reality for the foreseeable future — and considering the wildly different narratives that the public seem to be aligning themselves with — it seems like an opportune time for esl and efl students to hone their media literacy skills and for teachers to consider how they may nurture those skills in their students. as teachers and administrators around the world scramble to transition to online learning or other forms of distance learning (meliboeva et al., 2020), it provides an opportunity to engage and develop students’ media literacy skills in the very place they tend to use them the most often these days: the internet (khalid, 2019). teaching media literacy in the current situation despite the number of issues that teachers, administrators, and institutions have had rolling out a sudden transition to distance learning, educators’ current reliance on online learning is a perfect opportunity to teach media literacy skills to esl and efl students. an ideal time for media literacy integration there is a tremendous amount of stress involved in having to suddenly redesign and re-appropriate curricula for an online format like so many teachers have done or are currently doing. additionally, curricula are not always flexible or malleable enough to be able to integrate the development of a skillset like media literacy. however, it could be an ideal opportunity for esl and efl students to explore issues of credibility, biases, and contextualization as part of the development of their media literacy skills. for example, how might a media institution whose owners and/or reporters support reopening the economy show their bias in their online reporting on the science behind covid19? what ideologies are being reinforced by that institution’s reporting? how might an individual’s social media posts decrying shelter-in-place orders or mask-wearing requirements indicate political beliefs and cultural values? what narratives are fake online news sources manufacturing and what may be their motivations for doing so? these are some guiding questions that could be used in esl and efl classes to engage students in critical media literacy on digital platforms. gaston 55 ideas for teaching media literacy online during the current crisis even while educators are engaged in online teaching as a result of the pandemic, there are in-class activities to support the development of esl and efl students’ critical media literacy-related skills. one important aspect to reiterate prior to exploring ideas for teaching critical media literacy in the current environment is the idea of focusing on media platforms that students use instead of traditional mediums like newspapers and magazines that are no longer commonly engaged by young learners. as discussed above, students are engaging with platforms like twitter, instagram, tik tok, and youtube. of course, the appropriateness of the following prescriptions will differ depending on the age, skills, knowledge, and the digital literacy of the students, but below are some basic ideas for getting started with teaching critical media literacy online for any course. they start with more foundational skills of identifying, move to analyzing and evaluating sources, followed by a more critical analysis and evaluation of representations and ideologies, and rounded out by a media production to counteract misinformation and empower students. first, instructors can lead students through online articles about covid-19 (or other timely issues) while using zoom or other types of videoconferencing software. instructors can start by simply using the share screen feature and encouraging their students to observe or notice the search results that appear from a search about covid-19 or another topic. which websites look more reputable based on their accompanying urls and short descriptions? next, instructors can also spend an entire lesson just asking students to analyze images and headlines from articles and evaluating how the image operates as an element of the article. the instructor can ask the students why the image or headline provokes specific feelings, why it provokes those feelings, and what intent the author or organization had in using that image or headline to provoke those feelings. alternatively, students can do the same with images taken from social media posts on instagram or facebook. third, students can annotate images and articles using zoom. while an instructor is sharing an article, students can highlight or underline loaded language, they can add questions or comments about questionable or unexplained claims, or they can add links to other sources that verify claims made in the target article. instructors can then give their students a more challenging annotation assignment by using thinglink (thinglink.com). thinglink is one app that can be used to annotate images. not only can you annotate with comments and questions but you can also annotate with videos, links, or other photographs, demonstrating the interconnectedness of media and information. students can use thinglink to link to sources that provide support for the truthfulness of an image or the accuracy of an informational meme. they could link to news reports on youtube that do the same. additionally, they make a video or audio recording of themselves responding to the image. after using thinglink, students can use padlet (padlet.com) to collect data. padlet is an app that acts as a digital bulletin board. instructors and students can post messages, images, videos, and links. additionally, its interactivity allows for upvoting and for comments. there are a variety of ways that padlet can be used to teach media literacy. for example, you can task students with finding photos that have been photoshopped and spread on social media as misinformation or disinformation. students can use reverse image finders like tineye (tineye.com) or google’s own reverse image search (labnol.org/reverse) in order to find the original. since a padlet board can have multiple sections, a teacher could create sections entitled “true”, “mostly true”, “misleading”, and “false” to categorize the different media messages that the students find. this https://www.thinglink.com/ https://padlet.com/ https://tineye.com/ https://www.labnol.org/reverse/ 56 gatesol in action journal 30(1) allows learners to co-construct a database of knowledge surrounding a subject they are investigating. following the construction of their padlet database, students can begin a critical analysis by investigating the ideological underpinnings and hegemonic representations in the media that they have collected. students can be tasked with reviewing the media they collected on their padlet in order to consider who is behind the messages, what values are being expressed in the messages, who benefits from the messages, and how might different people interpret the messages differently. instructors can ask students to explore wikipedia pages and other sources that would provide background knowledge on the values and ideologies of institutions and authors of the media they are investigating. after their critical analysis of their collected data, students can create their own informational memes using canva (canva.com) or a similar digital design platform. students can be tasked with creating one informational meme with completely accurate information and then a similar one with slightly (or wildly) inaccurate information. students can send one another their memes to one another via zoom or a learning management system (lms) and then fact-check each other’s memes while also critically analyzing the assumed values or ideologies of the meme. finally, students can include their canva memes as part of a multimedia presentation through loom or another screen-casting or video-producing app. these presentations can present their research and the evidence they collected on a particular topic regarding misinformation or disinformation, how they critically analyzed the assumed values and representations behind it, and discuss what further steps could be taken to counteract or subvert the original message. these are only a few possibilities for engaging learners in order to develop their critical medial literacy skills during this uncertain period of virtual learning. conclusion considering the current covid-19 ‘infodemic’ and the proliferation of misinformation and disinformation on social media, it is clear that the current primary objective of critical media literacy education should be for the purposes of combatting misinformation and disinformation. recent studies have shown us that there is a severe lack of basic media literacy skills around the world that is having dire and dangerous effects on people, including esl and efl students. it calls for a return to teaching foundational media literacy skills, but within the context of social media and other digital technology favored by young learners. however, this foundation should be understood as a springboard for engaging students in deeper, critical analyses of representations, ideologies, and power structures. the current pandemic period provides both opportunities and challenges for this to be accomplished. teachers can take advantage of the sudden transition many of us have made to virtual learning by engaging learners in the very platforms with which they use to access information and entertain themselves. the challenges are manifold in that new scientific research regarding covid-19 is constantly coming to light, contributing to the ‘infodemic,’ and leaders are disregarding the opinions of experts and calling into question their credibility. it is uncertain just how long the covid-19 pandemic will last. however, what the last five years, and especially the last six months, has made certain is that it is absolutely imperative that educators integrate media literacy into esl and efl curricula and practices. teaching students media literacy skills during this uncertain time will benefit them in the short-term as they protect their health and the health of those around them, but it will also benefit them in the long-term as they continue to engage social media to access information for the foreseeable future. https://www.canva.com/ gaston 57 references anderson, m., & jiang, j. 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(2017). news use across social media platforms 2017. pew research center: journalism & media. https://www.journalism.org/2017/09/07/news-use-acrosssocial-media-platforms-2017/ shepherd, m. (2020, may 7). why people cling to conspiracy theories like ‘plandemic.’ forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/marshallshepherd/2020/05/07/why-people-cling-toconspiracy-theories-like-plandemic united nations. (2020). un tackles ‘infodemic’ of misinformation and cybercrime in covid-19 crisis. https://www.un.org/en/un-coronavirus-communications-team/un-tackling‘infodemic’-misinformation-and-cybercrime-covid-19 ____________________________________________________________________________ received: august 23, 2020 | accepted: september 21, 2020 | published: october 29, 2020 https://doi.org/10.1002/tesj.153 http://www.medialit.org/%20reading-room/literacy-21st-century-overview-orientation-guide-media-literacy-education http://www.medialit.org/%20reading-room/literacy-21st-century-overview-orientation-guide-media-literacy-education https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-5446.1998.00103.x https://qz.com/1720695/pew-study-shows-more-americans-rely-on-social-media-for-news/ https://qz.com/1720695/pew-study-shows-more-americans-rely-on-social-media-for-news/ http://www.medialit.org/reading-room/what-are-other-countries-doing-media-education https://osis.bg/?p=3356 https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/jmle/vol2/iss1/1 https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/jmle/vol2/iss1/1 https://www.aft.org/sites/default/files/ae_fall2017_fake-news.pdf https://blogs.worldbank.org/%20europeandcentralasia/uzbekistan-timely-response-learning-during-school-closures https://blogs.worldbank.org/%20europeandcentralasia/uzbekistan-timely-response-learning-during-school-closures https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/2562104830209108455/6180418775426933981 https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.12041 https://www.journalism.org/2017/09/07/news-use-across-social-media-platforms-2017/ https://www.journalism.org/2017/09/07/news-use-across-social-media-platforms-2017/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/marshallshepherd/2020/05/07/why-people-cling-to-conspiracy-theories-like-plandemic https://www.forbes.com/sites/marshallshepherd/2020/05/07/why-people-cling-to-conspiracy-theories-like-plandemic https://www.un.org/en/un-coronavirus-communications-team/un-tackling-%e2%80%98infodemic%e2%80%99-misinformation-and-cybercrime-covid-19 https://www.un.org/en/un-coronavirus-communications-team/un-tackling-%e2%80%98infodemic%e2%80%99-misinformation-and-cybercrime-covid-19 teaching media literacy to esl and efl students in the age of covid-19 gatesol in action journal2020, vol. 30(1), pp. 48–58 issn: 2331-6845 abstract keywords background definition approach current state of media literacy state of media literacy education for esol populations need for media literacy education for esl and efl students approaches to critical media literacy for 21st century esl and efl learners media literacy education during the covid-19 ‘infodemic’ teaching media literacy in the current situation an ideal time for media literacy integration ideas for teaching media literacy online during the current crisis conclusion references policy and perspectives shuang fu, phd candidate, department of language and literacy education, university of georgia. email: shuangfu@uga.edu (orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5788-7034) tracing the history: language education policy and emergent bilingual learners in the united states gatesol journal 2024, vol. 33(1), pp. 18-27 doi:10.52242/gatesol.176 issn: 2331-6845 shuang fu phd candidate, department of language and literacy education, university of georgia abstract since the passage of the 1968 bilingual education act, the meaning, function, and connotation of bilingual education in the united states have undergone significant changes. in this article, the author outlines the evolution of u.s. language education policies for emergent bilingual learners since the 19th century. in particular, the article demonstrates the major waves and shifts of language education policies that either support or oppress the linguistic rights of language minoritized students, and captures how the changing social, political, and economic climate has shaped the nation’s response to language diversity. importantly, reviewing the historical evolution of language policies not only echoes the importance of policy decisions in impacting bilingual students’ educational trajectories, but also informs future policy decisions in order to disrupt deficit positioning of bilingual communities. keywords emergent bilingual learners; language education policy; policy evolution introduction on january 2, 1968, president lyndon b. johnson signed into law the bilingual education act (bea), title vii of the elementary and secondary education act. in doing so, he said: the bill contains a special provision establishing bilingual education programs for children whose first language is not english. thousands of children of latin descent, young indians and others will get a better start—a better chance in school.... [w]e are now giving every child in america a better chance to touch his outermost limits—to reach the farthest edge of his talents and his dreams. we have begun a campaign to unlock the full potential of every boy and girl—regardless of his race or his region or his father’s income. (johnson, 1968, as cited in anderson & boyer, 1970, p.1) what johnson said demonstrates the establishment of bilingual programs as a political vision, a form of educational and social reconstruction, and a site that is crucial for serious democratic transformations. the implementation of bilingual education was initially to address social, political, economic, and educational injustice, but it has remained a powerful instrument of mainstreaming language minoritized students (akkari,1998). indeed, even though bea was laying out the ground for ensuring equitable educational rights for children whose first language is not english, the term and stance of “bilingual” did little to explicitly support its goal. scholars have argued that bilingual education needs to be built on the beliefs and practices that foster and sustain linguistic and cultural pluralism and embrace cultural and linguistic pluralism as part of the mailto:shuangfu@uga.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5788-7034 19 gatesol journal 33(1) democratic project of schooling (harman, 2018; paris, 2012). yet, as i reflect on the history of bilingual education and language policymaking in the u.s., i realize the fact that johnson’s lofty goals of providing equitable educational opportunities to racially and socioeconomically minoritized groups and creating pathways to social justice through bilingual programs, after more than five decades, have not been achieved. in this vein, for anyone who has been working in the field and trying to make the connections between education for emergent bilingual learners and the broader sociopolitical landscape, understanding the history of these connections ought to remain a central focus in academic inquiry. because only when we ensure that the historical progress of language policies is well documented, can we leverage the role of bilingual education in future endeavors for upholding the rights of emergent bilingual learners. since the passage of bea in 1968, the meaning, function, and connotation of bilingual education have undergone significant changes. in this article, i attempt to provide an historical review of the evolution of u.s. language education policies for emergent bilingual learners starting from the 19th century, when contemporary bilingual education programs emerged. in the sections that follow, i first describe the demographics of emergent bilingual learners in the context of u.s. k–12 educational programs. i then identify language education policies implemented over the decades that have affected the educational opportunities and resources available to emergent bilingual learners. i further introduce the dual language education (dle) model. by doing so, what i try to suggest is that while different language education policies impact the schooling experiences of emergent bilinguals in different ways, what these policies did not address are the racial, linguistic, and socioeconomic hierarchies between emergent bilinguals and white monolingual communities (fu, 2021; harklau & ford, 2022; thompson, 2017). the subtractive schooling for bilingual students in the u.s. reflects a symbolic politics that relegates latinx and other minoritized communities to second-class status in society (valenzuela, 2010). in other words, policies are subject to power relations in the broader society and can be used as a mechanism to maintain social dominance of some over others (wagenaar, 2011). nevertheless, what i want to demonstrate in this article is that critically reviewing the evolution of language education policy can be a powerful apparatus. the holistic understanding of language education policies can not only help us make links between the past, present, and future, but also allows us to see the policy’s textual meaning, rhetorical meaning, and social meaning when implemented under certain contexts. just as anyon (2005) reminded us, “as in any attempt to resolve complex issues, workable solutions can only be generated by an understanding of underlying causes” (p. 66). given that the u.s. schooling system has long remained a hegemonic structure to perpetuate racial hierarchies and reinforce english monolingualism, anyon’s quote amplifies the need for us as teachers and teacher educators to keep a reflective gaze and advance our understandings of the interplay between power, politics, and policy. understanding language education models in the united states in the u.s., it is estimated that english language learners made up 10.1% of the k-12 public school student population, representing more than 5 million school-aged children (national center for education statistics, 2021). among this group, two-thirds of them speak spanish as their primary language, with the next most commonly reported languages being arabic, chinese, vietnamese, somali, russian, portuguese, haitian, and hmong. while language diversity in the u.s. has ebbed and flowed, the diversity of language has existed in every era throughout u.s. history (crawford, 2004). fu 20 within the u.s. public educational system, there are six main programs implemented for working with english learners, including submersion or so-called “sink or swim” program, esl pull out, structured immersion, transitional bilingual education (early exit), developmental or maintenance bilingual education (late exit), and two-way bilingual education (garcía, 2011). these programs range from the ones that expect students to learn english by simply exposing them to mainstream english classrooms (i.e., submersion), or providing a portion of esl service during regular class periods (i.e., esl pull-out), to those that aim to support bilingual learners’ content and language learning through both l1 and l2 (i.e., transitional bilingual education, developmental bilingual education, two-way bilingual education). specifically, in transitional programs, teachers only focus on helping students acquire english as quickly as possible, while in developmental and two-way bilingual models, teachers use students’ home language and english to support their bilingual proficiency and construct knowledge in both languages (de jong et al., 2023). following other scholars (e.g., brooks, 2015; garcía & lin, 2017; gebhard & harman, 2011; menken, 2008), this paper will demonstrate that bilingual education in the u.s. has been primarily focused on developing english proficiency rather than the development of bilingualism and biliteracy– despite the label “bilingual” (gándara & escamilla, 2017). the ironic reality is that bilingual education in the u.s. is actually for the purpose of teaching english and not about educating students in two languages (gándara & contreras, 2009). for students who are classified as english learners in k-12 schools, access to inclusive practices in bilingual education has been deeply lacking (menken & solorza, 2014). with regard to the issue of how to name students who are dominant in a language other than english, a series of terms have been used by educational and policy officials. these terms have included “non-english proficient”, “limited english proficient”, and “english language learner” or “english learner”. in particular, state or local educational authorities prefer to use the term “english language learner” or “english learner” as protected labels to denote students’ language learning needs and their eligibility for special funds and instructions (torres-guzmán et al., 2005). however, these terms are problematic because, as wiley (2001) notes, they “attempt to apply a single label to a complex situation” (p. 29). in this regard, scholars have criticized that the ell/el label devalues other languages while intentionally putting english in “a sole position of legitimacy” (garcía & kleifgen, 2017, p. 4). furthermore, it places the focus of language development solely on the part referring to “academic english” while ignoring other aspects of students’ language development (garcía & kleifgen, 2017). for these reasons, i adopt the term emergent bilingual (garcía, 2009) in this article to recognize the value of students’ home language, acknowledge students’ social bilingualism positively, and highlight their emerging capacity of becoming fully bilingual. it is such a lens that informs my read of language education policies in ways that place bilingualism, biliteracy, and students’ language rights at the center. history of educational policies in the united states for emergent bilinguals in the following sections, i seek to outline the evolution of education language policies for emergent bilinguals in the united states since the 19th century. in particular, i attempt to capture how changing social, political, and economic forces have shaped the nation’s response to language diversity (ricento, 1998). indeed, as i follow the timeline to trace the changes in language education policy from the 19th century through the early 21st century, it has become obvious that the beliefs, models, and views on the effectiveness of bilingual education in general have undergone much evolution according to the changing historical events (crawford, 1999; kim et 21 gatesol journal 33(1) al., 2015; wiley, 2002). in sum, the aim is to assess the evolution made in language education policy with respect to emergent bilingual learners and to see where we might go from here. late 19th century-1960s until the end of the nineteenth century, bilingual education was widely authorized in a number of states. locally operated bilingual education was provided throughout the united states in many non-english languages, including french, norwegian, italian, swedish, danish, dutch, german, and spanish (kloss, 1977/1998). although, during this period, immigrant groups managed to maintain their heritage language while participating in the civic life of the new nation, it is important to note that bilingual education in the 19th century was not intentionally for the promotion of bilingualism. rather, many localities provided bilingual instruction without state sanction, and “a policy of linguistic assimilation without coercion” seemed to prevail (ovando, 2003, p. 4). with the new wave of immigrants from europe in the early twentieth century, the americanization movement came into being as many native-born residents perceived the mass immigrants as a threat to society (blanton, 2004). by educating foreigners in english and conveying “american values” in schools, the americanization movement eventually became characterized by cultural and linguistic assimilation, political loyalty, as well as construction of national identity (behdad, 2005). during the americanization era, the use of languages other than english were prohibited by harsh restrictive language policies and bilingual programs were quickly replaced by english-only instructions. the xenophobia of world war i caused the united states to push for monolingualism and curtail bilingual programs (ramsey, 2010). in particular, german as a foreign language was eliminated in most schools and english-only instruction started proliferating during the post-world war i period. from the 1920–1960s, english immersion, or “sink or swim” policies became dominant methods of instruction for language minority children (hakuta, 1986). for linguisticallyminoritized students, there were few or no remedial services provided, and education was restrictedly dominated by monolingualism (baker & jones, 1998). behind the “sink or swim” approach is the belief that language minority students themselves should be the ones responsible to assimilate into the u.s. society. language policies, during this period, served as a practical tool to tame the conquered groups’ ideological principles, destroy minority cultures, and help the nation maintain colonial domination (crawford, 1992). 1960s-1980s with the civil rights movement of the 1960s and the 1964 civil rights act, bilingual education advocates started engaging in transformative practices to acknowledge the plight of language minoritized students and endeavor to nurture linguistic diversities. the passage of bilingual education act (bea) (1968), title vii of the elementary and secondary education act, indicated a major shift of establishing and funding bilingual programs for emergent bilingual students. specifically, the amendment provided financial assistance to local educational agencies and attempted to meet the special needs of students with “limited english proficiency” (lep). however, the aim of bea was ambiguous and controversial. following the guidance of bea, it was unclear whether the purpose of the act was to help children become literate in two languages or to transition them into english at the earliest moment as possible (crawford, 2004). as crawford (2000) writes, “the bilingual education act of 1968 passed congress without a single voice raised in dissent. [but] americans have spent the past 30 years debating what it was meant to accomplish” (p. 107). despite the ambiguity of the law, bea marked a significant step in moving away from fu 22 the “sink-or-swim” approach and provided the initial foundation for ensuring the legislative credibility of supporting students in bilingual instruction. the next landmark in the evolution of language education policy for emergent bilinguals was the 1974 supreme court case lau v. nichols (414 u.s. 5637). in this supreme court case, approximately 1,800 non-english-speaking chinese students alleged discrimination grounded on the lack of supplemental english classes in the san francisco unified school district (sfusd). consequently, basing the unanimous decision on the 1964 civil rights act, the court ruled public schools receiving federal funds must provide linguistically-minoritized students with supplemental language instructions to ensure their rights of receiving equal education. the lau verdict had an enormous impact on the development of bilingual education in the u.s. and further led to the passage of the equal educational opportunities act in august 1974. with this act, congress affirmed the lau decision and expanded its jurisdiction to apply to all public school districts, not just those receiving federal financial assistance (teitelbaum & hiller, 1977). 1980s-2002 after the previous 20-year period of opportunity, however, bilingual education was challenged and attacked by a new political perspective in the 1980s, which no longer cherished minority communities’ ethnic culture. for example, in 1981, newly elected president reagan amplified his political standing with the following statement: it is absolutely wrong and against american concepts to have a bilingual education program that is now openly, admittedly dedicated to preserving their native language and never getting them adequate in english so they can go out into the job market and participate. (r. reagan, public speech, march 3rd, 1981) building on reagan’s political agenda, by 1988 english-only programs were allowed to receive as much as 25% of title i part a school program grants a significant increase from four percent adopted in 1984. the increase in funds for english-only programs reflected the political strategies that intentionally eliminated languages other than english from the educational system. at the state level, a clear consequence of language prejudice is reflected in the passage of proposition 227 in california (1998), also known as the “english for children” initiative. the endorsement of proposition 227 in california came close to placing emergent bilingual students back onto the “sink-or-swim” approach. that is, students can now only receive a maximum oneyear instruction in their home language before being placed in mainstream english classrooms (garcía & curry-rodríguez, 2000). following the passage of proposition 227, similar legislation was passed in arizona (proposition 203) in 2000 and massachusetts (question 2) in 2002. simply put, these initiatives represent a trend of the modern english-only movement across the states that threw bilingual programs into turmoil. 2002-2015 after the passage of no child left behind (nclb) in 2002, bilingualism as a resource and tool in the education of emergent bilinguals has been increasingly marginalized (crawford, 2004). that is, under nclb, education was envisioned as an activity that measures students’ success solely based on performance on english-only high-stakes tests (menken, 2008). as part of this process, the term bilingual, which crawford (2004) has called “the b-word”, was systematically been erased from the legislation and from the names of official bureaus and laws. garcía (2009) 23 gatesol journal 33(1) documented how the progressive elimination of the term bilingual was represented at the federal level (see figure 1). in short, the erasure of “the b-word” implies an intentional disarticulation of issues surrounding bilingualism. figure 1. elimination of the term “bilingual” from the names of official bureaus and laws the elementary and secondary education act (esea) was reauthorized by president barack obama in 2015, as every student succeeds act (essa). under essa, states are required to hold schools accountable for the progress of english learners towards language proficiency and academic progress. while essa continues the goals of nclb of ensuring high standards and accountability, it lessens federal oversight over education and decentralizes accountability decisions to state and local levels. by providing state and local education agencies the autonomy to establish standards and report on students’ progress, essa brought an era in which emergent bilinguals’ schooling experiences vary across states and are deeply associated with state immigrant policy contexts (callahan et al., 2020). that means, emergent bilingual learners can end up being served with very different programs depending on state and local policies. in this sense, the diversity in approaches to educating bilingual learners are across different states offers valuable insights into the political discourse within specific contexts (welton et al., 2023). contemporary dilemmas in bilingual education in the u.s. in recent years, the profile and demographics of english learners have changed tremendously. while emergent bilingual learners may typically be portrayed as students who recently arrived in the u.s. and primarily speak a language other than english, recent studies show that the majority of students identified as english learners (els) were born in the u.s. and likely have been exposed to english before entering school (johnson, 2023). in response, the model of dual language education (dle) or two-way immersion started to make inroads recently. students in dle programs are typically described as a combination of emergent bilingual learners and students who speak english as their primary language. the involvement of both groups of students signals a growing awareness of equity and language rights and offers an alternative to the pervasive englishonly stance (de jong et al., 2020). instead of solely focusing on the english proficiency of emergent bilingual learners, the goals of dle programs gear towards “developing bilingual skills, academic excellence, and positive cross-cultural and personal competency attitudes for both groups of students” (lindholm-leary, 2001, p. 30). fu 24 despite the laudable goal, it is crucial to be aware of the power dynamics in the dle classrooms. specifically, dle programs separate english and the partner language during class to provide uninterrupted instructions in each language. however, such strict language separation in dle programs inadvertently overlooks the fluid bilingualism of many emergent bilingual learners and forces students to be categorized as speakers of either english or the other (paired language), thus causing language minoritized students to be alienated (de jong, 2016; howard et al., 2007). at the same time, dle makes bilingual education a product whose consumers are not necessarily emergent bilingual learners (petrovic, 2005). in this way, emergent bilingual learners’ homelanguage proficiency becomes a commodity that is desired by white middle-class parents (palmer, 2010) and for the profit of white middle-class children (flores & garcia, 2017). discussion and conclusion in this article, i reviewed the evolution of language education policy in the u.s. from the late nineteenth century until the early 2020s. the brief look at the historical profiles of policies in the field provides evidence of the continuing need for developing more equitable bilingual education programs as well as indicating the demand for more informed policymakers, well-prepared teachers, and critical researchers. as we have observed, language education policies have seen major waves and shifts in the value and models that either support or oppress the linguistic rights of language minoritized students. the lack of coherence on policy for emergent bilingual learners rests upon the complicated relations lying between politics, language, education and society. thus, it is important to understand not just what language ideologies and value discourse are presently embedded in language education policies, but also how the ideologies and discourses have come to domination and for what reasons. for example, on a positive note, it is within the context of the civil rights movement that bilingual education emerged, as part of a broader effort to dismantle white supremacy and instill cultural pride in latinx and other minoritized communities (flores & garcía, 2017). the massive policy shifts toward standardized testing and accountability in the 21st century reflect neoliberal consideration of the language skills of individuals and the nation; the recent movement leaning towards dle programs represents a free-market interpretation of bilingual education that result in it being more accessed by privileged groups than language minoritized communities. briefly, the programs, forms, and policies of language education for emergent bilingual learners in motion in the u.s., are not absolute and isolated changes but rather a correspondence of complex, enduring and evolving elements in relation to governance (ball, 2016). overall, this review contributes to the contemporary field of language education policy related to esol programs in two ways. first, through tracing the evolution of u.s. language education policies as it pertains to k-12 emergent bilingual learners, this review enables us to have a more complex understanding of the relationship between politics, policy, and education. second, situated in the ramped up xenophobic rhetoric and the recent anti-immigration socio-political context, this review provides critical implications for esol teachers and educators to engage in the dense policy work and create liberating and healing spaces for (im)migrant bilingual students. for critical teachers and educators who are committed to advocating for students’ language rights, it is crucial to connect flows of politics, power, and language policy to acknowledge the value of students’ home language, amplify the fluid bilingualism of bilingual students, revive a sense of agency, and fight for students’ linguistic rights and educational equity (bacon, 2020; fu & aubain, 2023). 25 gatesol journal 33(1) references anderson, t., & boyer, m. 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(2011). meaning in action: interpretation and dialogue in policy analysis. sharpe. welton, a., diem, s., & lent, s. (2023). let’s face it, the racial politics are always there: a critical race approach to policy implementation in the wake of anti-crt rhetoric. education policy analysis archives, 31(109), 1-33. https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.31.7694 wiley, t. (2002). accessing language rights in education: a brief history on the u.s. context. in t.w. tollefson (ed.). language policies in education: critical issues. lawrence. wiley, t. g. (2001). on defining heritage languages and their speakers. in j. k. peyton, d. a. ranard & s. mcginnis (eds.), heritage languages in america: blueprint for the future (pp. 29-36). center for applied linguistics and delta systems ____________________________________________________________________________ received: august 3, 2022 | accepted: february 16, 2024 | published: may 24, 2024 https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cgf/english-learners tracing the history: language education policy and emergent bilingual learners in the united states gatesol journal2024, vol. 33(1), pp. 15-24 doi:10.52242/gatesol.176 issn: 2331-6845 teaching techniques elizad lizdas, undergraduate student, berry college, mount berry, ga; email ellie.lizdas@vikings.berry.edu. using self-visualization and goalsetting activities to increase willingness to communicate gatesol journal 2024, vol. 33(1), pp. 28-32 doi:10.52242/gatesol.192 issn: 2331-6845 eliza lizdas berry college abstract one obstacle many english as a second language (esl) teachers face is getting all students to participate and speak in english in the classroom. willingness to communicate (wtc) is therefore a relevant topic, as it is the probability of initiating communication, given both the choice and opportunity to do so. some of the many factors that play into wtc are how students view themselves as learners of english, the kind of learners they hope to be, and what goals they set for themselves. this teaching techniques piece describes a five-week intervention utilizing goal-setting and self-visualization activities in an adult esl class to increase students’ wtc and provides suggestions for adoption in other contexts. keywords willingness to communicate (wtc), self-visualization, goal-setting, confidence, motivation, esl introduction willingness to communicate (wtc) is the probability of initiating communication, given the choice and opportunity to do so (macintyre, 2007). wtc is a complex construct to study, as it involves factors such as motivation, classroom setting, and students’ self-perception as learners of english. students with higher levels of motivation are more likely to communicate in their second language (l2). teachers can also greatly impact students’ motivation (fen ng & kiat ng, 2015). teachers can, for example, increase motivation in the classroom by creating a positive learning environment, implementing student goal-setting, and promoting positive self-evaluation (fen ng & kiat ng, 2015). all of this, in turn, can improve learner attitude and confidence. the way students view themselves as learners of english and the kind of learner they hope to become, meaning their vision of their future self (e.g., as an effective and capable user of english) also affect wtc. students who establish a strong self-image as competent users of english are more likely to communicate in the target language inside and outside the classroom (lee & lee, 2020). enhancing learners’ vision of their ideal l2 self increases students’ confidence and motivation to learn (magid & chan, 2012). goal-setting and self-visualization activities have led to significant increases in wtc and motivation when implemented in an esl class (al-murtadha, 2018). the goal of this teaching technique was to increase esl students' wtc by implementing a five-week intervention program including self-visualization and goal-setting activities. this technique combined aspects of previous studies (e.g., al-murtadha, 2018; magid & chan, 2012) that looked at the impact of self-visualization and goal-setting activities on wtc to evaluate their effectiveness in the success of esl students. these activities included guided visualization, scripted imagery, and creating specific goals and action plans. mailto:ellie.lizdas@vikings.berry.edu 29 gatesol journal 33(1) description of the intervention prior to starting the intervention, students completed a demographic form to collect preliminary information. one class session was video recorded, and the teacher completed an observation scheme to evaluate students’ participation during whole group discussions and activities. the criteria for the observation scheme (adapted from cao, 2014) are listed below. 1. the student responds to a question asked by the teacher about vocabulary. 2. the student responds to a question asked by the teacher about language form/grammar. 3. the student volunteers to participate in a class activity. 4. the student volunteers an answer without being prompted/asked by the teacher. 5. the student reads a question/text off the board. for five weeks, the intervention activities were implemented once a week for 20-30 minutes during regular class time. all students participated in the intervention. based on the observation scheme, four students were selected to participate in semistructured one-on-one interviews with the teacher-two students with low class participation, and two with high class participation. levels of participation were defined by the number of times they participated in whole group discussions, as measured by the observation scheme. the purpose of the semi-structured interviews was to gather more information on students’ desire to participate in class and what obstacles they faced regarding participation. students were asked questions about their desire to participate in class, in situations in which it was easy for them to participate in group discussions, and what obstacles they faced in participating. students reported that they wanted to participate in class more often, but that they were uncomfortable speaking in front of a group because they were nervous that they would make a mistake or that others would not be able to understand them. week one in week one of the intervention, students completed a general visualization activity (based on sun, 2019, see below). students were instructed to close their eyes and then the instructor read the numbered steps aloud. 1. close your eyes and begin slowing your breath to a calming, relaxing rhythm. 2. visualize a place where you feel content and calm. this might be somewhere you’ve visited or an imagined scene of somewhere you’d like to go. 3. use your five senses to add as much detail to your image. what do you hear? can you smell relaxing fragrances, such as trees, blooming flowers, or something cooking? are you warm or cool? can you feel the air on your skin? is the sky bright, dark, stormy, full of stars? 4. imagine yourself moving forward, feeling calmer and more peaceful as you enter your vision more deeply. 5. continue breathing slowly as you look around the scene you’ve created, fully experiencing it with all of your senses. 6. with each inhale, imagine peace and harmony entering your body. visualize exhaustion, tension, and distress leaving your body as you exhale. lizdas 30 after the guided visualization activity, students listened to success stories of other english learners. one of the classroom volunteers who recently moved to the united states and learned english shared her story, including her successes and challenges learning english. in the last and main activity, students created a list of their strengths and weaknesses as english learners. week two in week two, students described and pictured themselves as future l2 learners, speakers, workers, etc. through guided and scripted imagery (see below). students first closed their eyes and listened to a scripted imagery activity about the perfect job interview (from magid & chan, 2012). close your eyes and imagine that today is the day of a very important job interview in a large, famous, international company that you have been dreaming of working in for a long time. this job could be in any part of the world where you would like to live. you have prepared very well for the interview and as you get dressed, you are feeling really confident that you will do well. as you look at yourself in the mirror, you are happy with how professional and mature you look. you arrive at the company a few minutes before the interview and are feeling very calm as you wait to be called into the boss’s office. when you step into his or her office, you can see that the boss is impressed by your business-like appearance, your friendly, confident smile and your firm handshake. he or she asks you to sit down and starts to ask you questions. although some of the questions are quite difficult, you are able to use your excellent english to answer all of them extremely well. you can see that the boss is pleased and very satisfied with all of your answers. the boss is also impressed by your fluency, grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation in english. you show him or her that you have so much knowledge, so many skills and are highly qualified for this job of your dreams. as the interview ends, there is no doubt in your mind that you will get this job. stay with this feeling of complete confidence as you open your eyes and come back to this room. after listening and reflecting on the scripted imagery, students spent time reflecting on a positive and successful experience they had using english in the past. students wrote down notes about their experience and then described it to a peer. week three in week three, students discussed broadly their goals as future learners/speakers of english. for example, they were prompted with questions such as: “do you want to be more confident speaking english?” “do you want to engage in more conversation in english?” "do you want to speak more fluently in english?” students then made a list of any obstacles they might face in reaching these goals and shared these lists with each other, then with the teacher. week four in week four, students reflected on how they could reach their broad goals from the previous week by setting smart goals (doran, 1981), which are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and 31 gatesol journal 33(1) time-based. students were taught a brief lesson on smart goals, were given some examples (see below), and then they each wrote down three goals one for the semester, for the next year, and for the next five years. smart goal examples this semester: i will watch a tv show in english for one hour a week for the next two months. next year: i will finish reading 3 books in english within the next year. next five years: i will be able to speak english fluently and be confident communicating with others in english. the purpose of writing three smart goals was to create specific, concrete goals that students would be more likely to achieve, especially because they would be completed outside of the classroom. week five in week five, students revisited the smart goals they created the previous week. they discussed their progress since the previous week and how realistic their goals were. they also discussed whether they enjoyed the intervention activities, their effectiveness on students’ wtc, and whether students planned to do similar goal-setting activities in the future. the discussion took place in pairs, then as a whole class. outcomes at the outset of the intervention, students exhibited hesitancy towards engaging in the activities, reflecting a common apprehension among english language learners regarding speaking and participation. many expressed concerns about making mistakes and felt uneasy speaking in front of their peers. during the initial stages, students found it challenging to identify their strengths, likely due to their unfamiliarity with such introspective exercises. however, as the intervention progressed, a noticeable shift occurred in the classroom dynamics. over subsequent weeks, their receptiveness to the activities grew, along with an increasing willingness to participate in the class. students began to vocalize their appreciation for the exercises, acknowledging their newfound ability to reflect on their language learning journey. in post-intervention semi-structured interviews, this sentiment was echoed, with students attributing their enhanced confidence and reduced anxiety toward speaking english to the intervention activities. conclusion this teaching technique was done in an adult esl class, but it can be adapted for any age or skill level by modifying the language and the topic of the activities. the activities in the intervention were targeted for students with an intermediate-advanced proficiency level as they are conducted completely in english, which required students to reflect on their english language learning journey in their l2. activities could be modified for more novice l2 learners by conducting parts in the students’ l1. this teaching technique requires little preparation, and although this intervention was implemented over five weeks for twenty minutes each week, it can be shortened or lengthened based on the students’ specific needs. these activities could be implemented, for example, for a few minutes at the beginning of class as a warm-up. lizdas 32 the teaching technique was adopted in an adult esl class with the goal of increasing student wtc and participation. the idea was that by completing activities to help students reflect on their strengths and weaknesses and create goals, they would understand the need for speaking in the target language, gain confidence in the target language, and therefore speak more frequently in class. students responded positively to these activities, as described in the section above, and there is potential for these activities to increase the confidence and wtc of english language learners across contexts. references al-murtadha, m. (2018). enhancing efl learners’ willingness to communicate with visualization and goal-setting activities, tesol journal, 53(1), 133-157. https://doi.org/10.1002/ tesq.474 cao, y. (2014). a sociocognitive perspective on second language classroom willingness to communicate. tesol quarterly, 48(4), 789–814. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.155 doran, g. (1981). there’s a s.m.a.r.t. way to write management’s goals and objectives, management review, 70(11), 35-36. fen ng, c. & kiat ng, p. (2015). a review of intrinsic and extrinsic motivations of esl learners, international conference on culture, languages, and culture, 1(1), 24-31. lee, j. & lee, k. (2020). role of l2 motivational self system on willingness to communicate of korean efl university and secondary students. journal of psycholinguistic research, 49(1), 147-161. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10936-019-09675-6 macintyre, p.d. (2007). willingness to communicate in the second language: understanding the decision to speak as a volitional process. the modern language journal, 91(1), 564–576. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1540-4781.2007.00623.x magid, m. & chan, l. (2012). motivating english learners by helping them visualise their ideal l2 self: lessons from two motivational programmes. innovation in language learning and teaching, 6(2), 113-125. https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17501229.2011.61469 sun, q. (2019). eastern thoughts, western practices: meditation and mindfulness relaxation activities for learning and well-being in adult and higher education, new directions for adult and continuing education, 2019(161), 45-55. https://doi.org/10.1002/ace.20310 _____________________________________________________________________________________________ received: january 26, 2024 | accepted: april 5, 2024 | published: may 24, 2024 https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.474 https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.474 https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.155 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10936-019-09675-6 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1540-4781.2007.00623.x https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17501229.2011.61469 https://doi.org/10.1002/ace.20310 gatesol journal2024, vol. 33(1), pp. 25-29 using self-visualization and goal-setting activities to increase willingness to communicate doi:10.52242/gatesol.192 issn: 2331-6845 article stephen aram guptill, curriculum design associate, the welcome project, somerville, ma; email saguptill@letterboxes.org. engaging the neighborhood: english learning and peacefocused service in a multilingual community gatesol journal 2022, vol. 32(1), pp. 39–50 doi:10.52242/gatesol.148 issn: 2331-6845 stephen aram guptill the welcome project (somerville, ma) abstract community-based organizations are a vital source of english language acquisition and community involvement for adult immigrants and refugee populations in the united states. by employing a framework of peace-oriented service-learning, educators can simultaneously develop english language skills while nourishing and sustaining students’ agency and empathy in localized civic engagement. this article provides practices and perspectives for educators and administrators to create a curriculum that promotes a language for peace approach framework coupled with a service-learning framework to establish and advance a civically engaged community. keywords immigrant education, civic engagement, language for peace approach (lpa), servicelearning introduction how can students, teachers, and community members work co-intentionally and collaboratively to create and sustain a civically engaged community? this article outlines a curriculum design for an adult english course titled multilingual community peace leaders (mcpl), providing pedagogical frameworks and teaching activities to develop students’ civic involvement. the purpose of the mcpl curriculum is twofold: firstly, the course facilitates community involvement by incorporating service-learning and language for peace approach frameworks into a class as a means for students to develop localized civic engagement while simultaneously increasing students’ agency and empathy. secondly, the course aims to strengthen and develop english language skills alongside other spoken languages for multilingual students at community-based schools and organizations. in this instructional design, i will begin by reviewing the literature regarding several supportive foundational frameworks for the mcpl curriculum. i will provide an overview of the contexts for where an mcpl curriculum could be relevant in adult civic engagement or ell classes. an outline for conducting a needs assessment with potential civic partnerships will follow. finally, examples of suggested activities created from the foundational frameworks will give the reader ideas for incorporating civic engagement into their classroom. curriculum frameworks critical pedagogy and language for peace approach (lpa) frameworks serve as a foundational base to shape the goals and vision of the mcpl curriculum. emerging from these concepts is an mailto:saguptill@letterboxes.org 40 gatesol journal 32(1) emphasis on service-learning education. finally, the multilingual students enrolled in the class will improve their english skills through a pedagogy that validates and emphasizes translanguaging in the classroom. critical pedagogy in freire’s (1969/2018) seminal work pedagogy of the oppressed, the brazilian activist and educator argued that liberation for marginalized groups can occur through communal education. a framework of “critical pedagogy encourage[s] students to identify inequalities in society and redefine their role in changing society” (yep, 2014, p. 51) and allows students to think critically about the englishes (both spoken or written) that they interact with, raising the learner’s awareness of their environment and allowing for liberation from oppressive political and cultural ideologies (sichula, 2018). by bringing a critical pedagogy into a communal classroom, students can engage in a critical examination of societal injustices that immigrants or non-standard english speakers experience. this engagement can allow students to recognize that their marginalization is not absolute but rather that they have the agency to liberate themselves through transformative work (freire, 1969/2018). collaborative education is predominant in critical pedagogy, which states that both teachers and students are responsible for practicing co-intentional education and unveiling knowledge in a discerning and critical fashion (freire, 1969/2018). with students, teachers, and civic partners working in tandem, communal education can take form both in classrooms and in the daily lives of the participants, transforming relationships and communities (waterman, 2009). transformative learning theory. transformative learning theory (mezirow, 1991) emerged from a critical pedagogy framework to capture the need for personal and internal change. mezirow (1997) declares that transformative learning is the process of effecting change in a frame of reference—that is, as adults adjust their cognitive and emotive habits of mind and points of view to new thoughts, they are undergoing transformative learning. this shift in frames of reference occurs when individuals critically reflect on the assumptions upon which “interpretations, beliefs, and habits of mind, or points of view are based” (p. 7). mezirow (1997) also argued that a core feature of civic engagement was the development of “thinking as an autonomous and responsible agent” (p. 7). in discussing the role of the educator in the classroom, mezirow stresses the importance of developing both shortand long-term goals. short-term goals tend to be at the forefront of a student’s agenda (e.g., graduate from this course, teach my child how to read in english, improve english pronunciation). however, long-term goals, such as nurturing critical thought or improved socio-civic engagement, are also tantamount and should be balanced alongside the short-term goals. theater of the oppressed. one way to stimulate the development of agency and critical empathy in the classroom is by including theatrical exercises that encourage collaborative relationships and critical reflections. heavily influenced by the work of freire, boal’s (1974) theater of the oppressed focused on a collaborative critical pedagogy in the public sphere by using theater activities. boal’s theatrical framework sought to transform the spectator of drama from a passive to an active participant. by placing the viewer into the creation and production of theater, boal’s goal was to provide an active viewer with the tools necessary to act against marginalization in their own lives, believing that, “theater is a form of knowledge; it should and can also be a means of transforming society. theater can help us build our future, rather than just waiting for it” (p. xxxi). by encouraging agency through active participatory theater, the student and teacher can link performative theater exercises in the classroom with both short-term goals guptill 41 (e.g., expanding writing techniques while working on scripts or pronunciation while developing dialogue) and long-term goals (e.g., developing social empathy while engaging with scripts that may focus on controversial storylines) while also explicitly addressing localized issues through the lens of critical pedagogy. language for peace approach a curriculum that draws heavily from a language for peace approach (lpa) is another way to bring transformative peacebuilding strategies into a civically engaged classroom. first theorized by oxford (2013), lpa’s purpose is to foster peace understanding and peaceful communication through peace language activities, peace-oriented art, multi-method research designs, and peacecoded linguistic analysis (oxford et al., 2020). the transformative essence of peace in promoting harmony, equality, justice, and agency within and among individuals, communities, nation-states, and the earth is employed to uproot the direct, structural, and cultural violence prevalent in societies (galtung, 1969, 1990). a classroom dedicated to peacebuilding allows for a space where individuals can create a culture of peace. students can move toward transformative change by developing awareness about managing conflict without resorting to violence and establishing practices that create dignity and secure rights for the community (jakar & milofsky, 2016). while oxford (2013) outlines six strategies for peacebuilding (peace through military strength, peace through justice, peace through politics, peace through sustainability, peace education, and peace through transformation), classroom educators can approach peacebuilding through the route of peace education and peace through transformation. peace educators focus on identifying and advocating for peaceful policies, guiding students on how to manage conflict non-violently, and challenging systematic violence and oppression in societies. to increase peacebuilding through transformation is to respond to “violence, injustice, and inequality with nonviolent action” (oxford, 2013, p. 43). to foster peace understanding the lpa framework calls for the incorporation of peaceoriented art to develop peace values and to consider creative ways to uproot violence in its many forms. oxford (2013) and oxford et al. (2020) describe innovative techniques to increase students’ awareness of peace through critical discourse analysis, peace poetry, visual imagery, peace journalism, and body movement. by employing creativity and empathy through art, students can approach issues of marginalization in their lives with creative solutions. service-learning service-learning components of education have a long history of use in higher education classrooms across the country. while many different types of service-learning education exist, generally speaking, service-learning components consist of students spending time outside of the classroom working on neighborhood projects where they devote energy to serving community partners’ needs (tinkler et al., 2014). in the language classroom, service-learning projects have been found beneficial in increasing students’ english skills in an efl setting (suwaed, 2018), improving self-awareness and adhesion of multicultural identity within immigrant youths (knight & watson, 2014), and raising students’ confidence in communicative language practice in an intensive english program (douglas, 2017). despite the varied research on service-learning in the past 20 years (salam et al., 2019), and perhaps because of the many varied types of service-learning programs, substantial confusion still exists over what exactly service-learning entails. service-learning differs from community service in a couple of distinct ways. furco and billig (2001) highlight the distinction between the two, emphasizing that community service is 42 gatesol journal 32(1) often considered to be acts of altruistic kindness carried out by elite individuals to benefit their communities. on the other side of the spectrum, the authors emphasize the notion that community service is often stereotyped as something that convicts or juvenile delinquents perform to satisfy a government-mandated sentence. therefore, service-learning advocates follow a rigid set of parameters to lend credibility to their courses (suwaed, 2018). for example, furco and billig (2001) discuss how service-learning programs tend to have clear learning objectives, student agency in selecting an organization for collaboration, a solid theoretical framework, integration with an academic curriculum, and the opportunity for reflection. recent use of service-learning as a tool has started to take root in english for speakers of other languages (esol) classrooms, particularly in intensive english programs (iep) for students matriculating into higher education, where it is presented as a beneficial addition to iep classrooms (douglas, 2017). outside of higher education, recent arguments have been made for servicelearning elements to be incorporated into adult education as it increases the development of problem-solving skills and critical thinking in students’ additional languages while also creating reciprocal, authentic relationships in a space that is conducive to socialization and language acquisition (riley & douglas, 2016; schneider, 2019). meanwhile, some critics of service-learning argue that service-learning classes focus to strongly on student outcomes and meeting classroom goals and not on long-term community impact and sustainment (burth, 2016). unfortunately, there is a significant gap in civic engagement or service-learning classes for adult ell immigrants throughout the united states (wurr, 2018). when service-learning programs occur in the ell classrooms, ell students are the focus of service-learning projects with l1 english speakers performing the service of working with ell students, creating a “native”/“non-native” english speaker power dynamic. very rarely are ells in the position of “serving” during service-learning experiences but rather are the “served”. to that end, the servicelearning that the teachers, community partners, and students undertake should strive to be decolonized (santiago-ortiz, 2019). stakeholders should interrogate the power and privilege that can be present in service-learning environments to create a holistic, transformational, and peaceoriented curriculum that reframes student-teacher-community power dynamics. when coupling service-learning with a framework of critical pedagogy ell students can take pro-active roles in service-learning programs helping to disrupt a power imbalance. by ushering in a critical examination of political and cultural ideologies in the civic realm, the students have the power to make both the classroom and the service-learning locations spaces for equitable transformation. translanguaging as this is a multilingual classroom, a framework of translanguaging will be fundamental to the curriculum design. translanguaging, first coined by welsh linguist cen williams (vogel & garcía, 2017), is a pedagogical practice where students are encouraged to alternate between multiple languages in their repertoire. translanguaging allows students the agency to communicate using a complete set of linguistic features that are not fixed to “the socially and politically defined boundaries of named (and usually national or state) languages” (otheguy et al., 2015, p. 281). further explored by garcía et al. (2017), the act of translanguaging also provides students additional resources to secure their voice in organizations that are dominated by monolingual language policies and ideologies by giving space for students’ complex linguistic repertoire and personal identities. english has a long and troubled history as a form of colonization. the forced acquisition of the english language and western-style education has uprooted and destroyed various diverse guptill 43 languages and cultures (coelho & henze, 2014; sichula, 2018). “named languages” (such as english, kazakh, spanish, or basque) are social constructs arranged and maintained through political or social entities. by developing a critical awareness of what constitutes a named language and by encouraging students to bend the rigid barriers created by named languages, students can develop ownership of how they communicate their ideas and feelings (otheguy et al., 2015, p. 281). students should be encouraged to employ their multiple languages collectively to scaffold their english acquisition. by using a translanguaging framework, the students are “emancipated from many negative ideas about bilinguals and bilingualism in the first half of the 20th century” (lewis et al., 2012, p. 642) that are still prevalent in society today. encouraging translanguaging helps protect and promote minoritized languages (yilmaz, 2021) while also allowing for deeper academic participation and syntactic transfer (dougherty, 2021). as multilingual students interact and collaborate with collective knowledge-building (duarte, 2019), they can use their realities as a basis for development, allowing a reconstructing of their history and culture in tandem with the creation of a new culture (rivera, 1999). context the concepts laid out in this curriculum design are adjustable for adult language learners in various settings. the first focus of mcpl is to develop immigrant students’ relationships with their neighborhoods and communities. this engagement could occur in adult education schools or immigrant-focused non-profits in high-density urban areas, or likewise, in organizations and institutions in mid-size cities, small towns, or rural villages. the secondary focus of mcpl is to increase students’ targeted english language goals. common at many adult english schools are students that have diverse language capabilities and are english users of varying degrees of proficiency. an mcpl curriculum is adaptable to courses containing students with low, intermediate, or high english skills. the collective students do not need to be from a monolingual background or share a common language within the class. english classes composed of multilingual and multicultural groups should be inclusive to immigrants, refugees, migrants, or second-generation immigrants. by implementing the targeted language goals of an educational site, or incorporating learning objectives of the students through a needs assessment, educators of the mcpl curriculum can tailor the foundational frameworks and teaching activities of the mcpl to help students meet learning objectives. needs assessment to incorporate the mcpl curriculum into a community, a needs assessment of the various stakeholders involved will need to be implemented. first, an examination of the adult school or organization needs to be completed. meet with the administration and discuss the resources available to implement a service-learning class at their organization. it is important to understand the school’s educational goals to determine how a service-learning class can be adjusted to meet the needs of the school. many u.s. colleges have toolkits that can be adapted to the adult ell classroom to guide the teacher in implementing a service-learning course. for additional guidance, i recommend: boston university’s center for teaching and learning service-learning: a guide (cordner, n.d.) additionally, if the organization cannot accommodate a stand-alone mcpl class, the following activities in the next section can be adapted to general english classrooms to increase civic engagement and as a creative approach to language learning. https://www.bu.edu/ctl/guides/service-learning/ 44 gatesol journal 32(1) since the mcpl curriculum allows students to be co-leaders and co-educators in their classroom, it is essential to conduct a needs assessment of the students who will be in the class. what is it that students hope to discover about themselves and their community during the course? which language skills would students like to improve? what fears or anxieties may they have during a service-learning class? consider other potential questions that may arise while discussing the mcpl curriculum with students. in a partnership between the school and a civic institution it is equally important that the partner organizations’ needs are being addressed and met. partner organizations may have many different reasons for participating in a relationship; however, common reasons include feeling that it is part of their organization’s mission to mentor students, helping produce future non-profit/civic professionals, and satisfying short-term needs through extra staffing (stoecker et al., 2009). to have a successful collaboration the partner organizations needs to be informed about the goals of the class and the student. communication is one of the most important aspects of a community partnership. other key elements, according to tinkler et al. (2014), include: 1. be attentive to the community partner’s mission and vision. 2. understand the human dimension of the community partner’s work. 3. be mindful of the community partner’s resources. 4. accept and share the responsibility for inefficiencies. 5. consider the legacy of the partnership. 6. regard process as important. (p. 141) the civic engagement component of the course will have students engaging with various organizations in their community that have a strong vision for meeting community needs or shaping local policy. organizations should be chosen due to their mission of advancing and advocating for their local community and should represent the many different forms of civic institutions. examples of organizations where students can be partners are food banks and resource centers; art museums and local theaters; mosques, synagogues, and churches; libraries; ngos; public health organizations; or environmental non-profits. structure of curriculum the multilingual community peace leader curriculum incorporates data from the needs assessment and the pedagogical frameworks to create a holistic course focused on collaborative education. the curriculum comprises of three units that contain critical reflection, communal education, and civic engagement. in unit one, the students and the teacher, together as coeducators, will learn about different civic organizations in their community and the role of individuals in civic life. in unit two, they will spend time working at different organizations, with self-reflection being a key component of their in-class work. lastly, in unit three, the students will think about their future roles in the city and what type of changes they want to witness in their lives and the lives of their neighbors. within these three units, students will be encouraged to become transformational agents of change in their neighborhoods and communities through a curriculum built from the frameworks of critical pedagogy, language for peace approach, and service-learning. for a more general overview of the multilingual community peace leader curriculum, as well as sample lesson plans, visit here. https://docs.google.com/document/d/19hqzw46ebiqhpclr-cd-ciylcuyhqrgl/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=117405461703659645852&rtpof=true&sd=true guptill 45 overview of curriculum activities in creating a curriculum centered around critical pedagogy, lpa, and translanguaging, it is vital to have activities that support and deepen students’ critical thought and peace understanding. by incorporating lpa activities into a service-learning classroom, students will think critically about localized violence within the community. furthermore, the lpa advocates for communicative practices that encourage critical and creative problem-solving in a safe and cohesive environment (rothman & sanderson, 2018). a bottom-up approach to creating and analyzing peace indicators in local communities will help participants take stock of their neighborhoods and become successful agents of transformational peace (mac ginty, 2013). the process of introducing community-based service-learning projects into the classroom can serve as a resource for broadening students’ points of view and counteracting preconceived thoughts leading to transformative learning (mezirow, 1997). students will have many opportunities to improve and reflect on their shortand long-term goals throughout the course. for instance, in unit two, as the students work on a biographical article of a person at their community site, teachers can guide students in improving writing skills, which can satisfy students’ short-term goals in english development while also meeting long-term goals of more substantial civic engagement. when the students are at their service-learning locations, they could be called upon to utilize their multilingual language skills to engage with the community. the linguistic features, (lexicon, register, cadence), will differ when talking to a monolingual english speaker in an office versus a neighbor with the same linguistic background versus their local shop cashier. translanguaging allows them to pull the specific linguistic features they need, from a myriad of languages, to achieve their communication goal. through preand post-service activities, teachers can work with students to create communicative links between their multiple languages that are brought into the service-learning site (see table 1 in dougherty, 2021) for ways to infuse translanguaging into the general content of a lesson plan). while teaching a class that incorporates translanguaging, key resources and lessons could be in english; however, students should be encouraged to strengthen cognitive and emotive skills in all their languages. teaching lessons in additional languages, focusing on overlapping linguistic features in multiple languages, and allowing students to express themselves in a deviation from standardized english are ways a teacher can promote peace linguistics in their classroom. in advocating for and allowing translanguaging in the classroom, “one can imagine a positive peace through language, one that can be achieved by long-range respect for and maintenance of linguistic rights, the ecology of languages, cultural and linguistic diversity, and language education” (friedrich, 2007, pp. 74–75). through a joint use of critical pedagogy and multilingualism, students can produce new forms of knowledge accessible to themselves and their community. the following examples of activities are created using lpa, translanguaging, and critical pedagogy while also keeping in mind adaptability to different art teaching contexts and needs assessments. these activities encourage personal and collective agency while also increasing english capabilities through in-class exercises and service-learning projects. lastly, like a ripple, they are designed to encourage peace to oneself, one’s family, one’s community, and one’s environment. 46 gatesol journal 32(1) examples of curriculum activities service-learning sites a significant component of the course are service-learning sites where students can develop a broader understanding of the multi-faceted elements of civic life. organizations such as nonprofits, food banks, resource centers, religious institutions, libraries, art institutions, and government agencies are excellent sites for student placement. allow for a partnership that lasts several weeks to promote interpersonal community-building (tinkler et al., 2014). after creating clear guidelines and community expectations, incorporate self-reflective exercises to guide students’ service-learning experiences. see below for activities that include reflective practices or visit kansas university center for service learning community engagement toolbox (2022) for an adaptable guide to implementing reflective practices in the classroom. everyday peace indicators during unit one, conduct alongside students an analysis of peace indicators in your neighborhood or community by using the research outlined in mac ginty (2013). through group work, have students consider what elements in their neighborhoods indicate a peaceful community. this exercise could be a simple in-class discussion, or students could be encouraged to do field research in their neighborhoods. use the collecting and analyzing of data as a jumping-off point to consider what the community values and how the city may be marginalizing individuals or communities. for example, ask your students if these indicators change from neighborhood to neighborhood in your city, and if they do, what might be some reasons for that change? this activity will develop students’ critical empathy of their community and help them name aspects of direct, cultural, or structural violence in their communities. reflection journal students can write a reflection journal during the three units about their role in the community and their plans for civic engagement. the reflection journal can be composed of individual and collective entries that address prompts centered around civic engagement. instead of writing, students can also answer prompts via voice or video recorder if desired or can even be encouraged to answer via multimedia collages, drawings, or photography (oxford, 2013). students can reflect in multiple languages, encouraging the translanguaging aspect of the curriculum and providing a space for linguistic justice. by reflecting, not only will students work on language development, but students can also consider the dynamics of service-learning. biographical article students can choose an individual in the organization to interview at their service-learning site. the focus of the interview could be a biographical article on the individual and their choice to work in a civic role. partner with a local community newspaper or news website to publish the interviews and raise awareness about important individuals and institutions in their neighborhoods, while simultaneously increasing the bond between student, teacher, and the community as coeducators. a sample lesson plan that introduces a biographical article activity can be found here. community panel consider hosting a panel with community members centered around a specific theme relevant to your students. have students participate, ask questions, and discuss their personal histories with https://servicelearning.ctb.ku.edu/ https://docs.google.com/document/d/19hqzw46ebiqhpclr-cd-ciylcuyhqrgl/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=117405461703659645852&rtpof=true&sd=true guptill 47 prominent community members. for example, by hosting a community panel focused on gender inequality, community members (such as domestic violence responders, female government leaders, and local business leaders) can discuss wage discrepancy, domestic violence, or legal protection for lesbian, bisexual, or trans individuals. multinational students should feel encouraged to share differences in gender inequality in past locales where they lived compared to their current residence, allowing for fresh and differing perspectives. by hosting a panel of community members, the students will be able to learn more and discuss specific topics and become connected to new individuals and agencies in their community. theater activities self-reflective monologues. to develop students’ critical opinions on specific topics participants can be given the same prompt and asked to write a monologue. open-ended prompts such as, “how have you changed in the last five years,” “write a letter to your teenage self,” or “what do i want most in life?” work well. afterward, participants compile their monologues and, after coding them for similar themes, can shape and combine the monologues together in a process similar to documentary theater. while doing so, the participants cultivate self-reflective practices and simultaneously understand the multidimensional relationship between inner peace and interpersonal peace. for a deeper look at verbatim/documentary theater and additional resources, visit council of ontario drama and dance educators: verbatim theater (n.d.). participatory theater. adapted from boal’s theater of the oppressed (1979), participants will choose a prevalent issue in their community. small groups will write and create a scene about the issue and how it could or could not be solved. they will present the scene to the rest of the group once. then, they will perform the scene again, but this time, the spectators can pause and enter the scene with their own version of how to resolve the issue. this activity encourages agency and critical problem solving, could stimulate translanguaging, and would allow for full integration of comprehension skills to meet students’ targeted language goals. for additional information, a detailed sample lesson plan can be viewed here. on the street interview. students can interview individuals in their community about a particular localized issue, such as new housing developments, increased fare rates, or pollution from local infrastructure. after interviewing the community, students can create dialogue from the interviews to highlight the multiple sides of the issue. after completing a script, students can take turns acting out different points of view. following this, students can reflect on different solutions for each person’s viewpoint. this activity encourages peaceful solutions to disrupting patterns of cultural or structural violence while allowing students to consider long-term goals for their community. environmental field trip. the class can reflect on their relationship with the earth and the natural or urban environment around them by going on an environmental field trip. the students, in small groups, will reflect on their relationship with well-known landmarks or neighborhoods. each group will then write a scene placed in a different setting around the community. then the class can visit each location (a park, a river, an alleyway, a prominent landmark, the public market) and present their scene to the rest of the group (and, perhaps, curious onlookers) at that location. connecting person to place expands the element of peace into the neighborhood and can highlight the intersectionality of individuals with the environment around them, highlighting how the same spot can hold different values for individuals. this activity becomes a critical practice that draws upon the reflective nature of both oxford et al.’s (2020) and boal’s (1978) frameworks. https://www.code.on.ca/resource/verbatim-theatre https://docs.google.com/document/d/19hqzw46ebiqhpclr-cd-ciylcuyhqrgl/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=117405461703659645852&rtpof=true&sd=true 48 gatesol journal 32(1) conclusion in developing this instructional design, multilingual community peace leaders, i hope to present a peace-focused curriculum that encourages personal and collective agency in adult learners of english as they navigate being active members of their neighborhoods. the overarching frameworks of critical pedagogy, language for peace approach, service-learning, and translanguaging can be adjusted and formatted to serve the shortand long-term goals of students and civic institutions in various neighborhoods and municipalities throughout the 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(2021). translanguaging as a pedagogy for equity of language minoritized students. international journal of multilingualism, 18(3), 435–454. https://doi.org/10.1080/ 14790718.2019.1640705 ____________________________________________________________________________ received: november 2, 2021 | accepted: february 22, 2022 | published: april 18, 2022 https://tupress.temple.edu/book/0534 https://tupress.temple.edu/book/0534 https://doi.org/10.22492/ijll.4.1.02 https://doi.org/10.22492/ijll.4.1.02 https://libjournal.uncg.edu/index.php/prt/article/view/944 https://libjournal.uncg.edu/index.php/prt/article/view/944 https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.013.181 https://doi.org/10.1080/15235880802640698 https://doi.org/10.1080/15235880802640698 https://journals.sfu.ca/jslhe/index.php/jslhe/article/view/171 https://journals.sfu.ca/jslhe/index.php/jslhe/article/view/171 https://journals.iupui.edu/index.php/muj/article/view/20581 https://journals.iupui.edu/index.php/muj/article/view/20581 https://doi.org/10.1080/14790718.2019.1640705 https://doi.org/10.1080/14790718.2019.1640705 gatesol journal2022, vol. 32(1), pp. 39–50 engaging the neighborhood: english learning and peace-focused service in a multilingual community doi:10.52242/gatesol.148 issn: 2331-6845 article mary baxter is an esl program supervisor at georgia piedmont technical college, clarkston, ga; email baxterm@gptc.edu. engaging adult english language learners in distance education: an esl program’s experience during the covid-19 pandemic gatesol in action journal 2020, vol. 30(1), pp. 59–69 issn: 2331-6845 mary baxter georgia piedmont technical college abstract traditionally, adult english as a second language (esl) programs, also known as english as an additional language (eal), deliver instruction through in-person classes rather than distance education, as was the case at georgia piedmont technical college (gptc). however, due to the global covid-19 pandemic, distance education became a tool used at gptc to engage students in learning while school campuses were closed. this paper gives details about how administrators, instructors, and staff at gptc quickly built a distance education program for adult english language learners in response to the pandemic, including resulting challenges, insights, and successes. research on the topic of distance education and its possible benefits for adult english language learners is explored in order to inform the efforts of building this type of program. the information provided can help guide other adult eal programs seeking to incorporate distance education for adult english language learners. keywords adult esl/eal programs, language program administration, english language learners, distance education background on thursday, march 12th, we were in the midst of a robust and successful adult english as a second language (esl)1 program at georgia piedmont technical college (gptc). our program consisted of day and evening classes and our building housed students from 8:30 in the morning until 9:00 at night most days. with 43 paid instructors, administrators, and staff and approximately 700 students, we were one of the largest adult english as an additional language (eal) programs in the state of georgia. our student population consisted of immigrants and naturalized citizens who had been in the u.s. for many years as well as recently arrived refugees and immigrants. students represented more than 50 countries and more than 70 languages. educational experiences covered the spectrum, from students with graduate degrees to students with interrupted or no formal schooling. on march 12th, aside from normal classroom instruction, our staff was planning 2020 census activities, working to incorporate digital literacy in each class, connecting volunteer 1 the official name of the school is georgia piedmont technical college’s esl program. therefore, the term esl is used in coordination with the program name while the term eal is used elsewhere in the paper as a recognition that english may not be a student’s second language but an additional language to several already learned. mailto:baxterm@gptc.edu 60 gatesol in action journal 30(1) tutors with students, and preparing for our program’s annual international fashion walk and talent show. when classes were dismissed on march 12th, staff had no way of knowing that none of these preparations would come to fruition, nor did we have the opportunity to prepare our students for the drastic changes they were about to experience. friday, march 13th brought the sudden, but not entirely unexpected, news that due to covid-19 in-person classes would not resume on monday. the news prompted a scramble to quickly develop and implement a fully online eal program to serve as many students as possible. this paper details that process and our staff’s efforts to create an inclusive distance education (de) environment that serves our students in the midst of a global pandemic. it shares our staff’s experiences and draws from research about de in order to provide insights into building a de program for adult english language learners (ells). for the purposes of this paper, de is defined as “…the delivery of instruction to students who are separated from the instructor, using some type of technology to support regular and substantive interaction between the students and instructor, synchronously or asynchronously” (mccain, 2009, p. 10). literature review diversity is inherent to an eal program. students have a variety of backgrounds and identities including age, religion, education, occupation, cultures, learning ability and motivations (eyring, 2014). students also have a wide array of learning styles, which can vary depending upon a student’s background and cultures (eyring, 2014). because of this diversity, inclusivity and equity are fundamental to a successful program. this is especially true in the current climate of racial tension, policies against minoritized populations, including immigrants, and growing divisiveness: at present, a strong anti-immigrant sentiment has resurfaced in the country…the new immigration policies are negatively impacting immigrants living and arriving in the united states…this antiimmigrant sentiment has generated anxiety and confusion among immigrants who are afraid of being deported. even immigrants who are legal residents fear losing their jobs or their work permits. (larrotta, 2019, p. 54) students of diverse backgrounds need a safe and inclusive environment that supports rather than hinders language acquisition. while this is most often considered within the traditional classroom, de programs can also serve to foster inclusivity and participation by offering accessibility, varied and relevant content, and opportunities for autonomy and self-directed learning. the administrative team of gptc sought to capitalize on these strengths in order to engage as many students as possible when transitioning to de during the pandemic. at the same time, the team recognized that de is not a perfect solution for all students. a common assumption is that adult ells are unable to access de due to age or lack of access to a computer or the internet (mcclanahan, 2014). there are, however, many ways these students can engage in de learning, beginning with their personal devices. in the united states, 81 percent of adults now own a smartphone and “smartphone ownership is relatively common among americans of different economic, educational and racial and ethnic backgrounds” (anderson, 2019, para. 10). this wide ownership of smartphones suggests many ells may have access to de via their phone even if they do not have a computer or tablet, provided that the de is designed to be accessible via smartphone. it also suggests a level of comfort with a technological device because smartphones are likely readily available and already familiar to students (mcclanahan, 2014). another benefit to the smartphone is that it can provide connectivity for adults who have no access to traditional broadband. many people now rely on their smartphone baxter 61 instead of broadband to access the internet (anderson, 2019). as a result, our administrative team and instructors selected platforms that worked well with smartphones, acknowledging that this is how a majority of our students access the internet. however, as we discovered, despite having access to such devices students often ran into technical difficulties when attempting to participate in de via these devices. in addition to the potential accessibility of de via smartphone, de is capable of providing engaging and interactive content that can appeal to learners of diverse backgrounds and experiences. this is in part due to the scope of available content. according to mccain (2009), “technology does provide access to a far wider range of material than is available from a bookstore, library or school, and frequently at low or no cost to the individual” (p. 13). while many instructors in classroom settings may depend on textbooks, the de environment necessitates instructors finding a variety of material to use with students, including audio, video, and interactive activities. as the awareness that many people use smartphones to access online content increases, more materials are designed to be accessible via smartphone and thus can be used by students on their personal devices. our program administrators and instructors took advantage of this diverse online content and identified varied synchronous and asynchronous material to offer to our students. another benefit to de is the relevance it has in the lives of students. increasingly, social interaction is taking place via technology and ells need to learn how to navigate technology in order to participate (nisbet & austin, 2013). de can help students develop a knowledge of both language and technology by incorporating authentic materials such as email, videos, podcasts and phones, which in turn provide opportunities for connecting language learning to authentic communication (huang et al., 2011). our staff used technology both as an instructional tool and as a means to communicate with students, particularly in regard to smartphones and email. it is important to acknowledge, however, that not all students want to participate in technology and may find it intrusive or unnecessary, which can lead to de programs being inaccessible to these students. this was the case for some of our students who did not want to participate in de despite having the technology. finally, de has the potential to promote autonomy, motivation, and self-guided learning by giving learners varied opportunities for participation (ally et al., 2007; eyring, 2014; nisbet & austin, 2013). one of the reasons is due to the frequent access students have to their personal devices, although this access can be constrained by factors such as having to share the device with other family members (pettitt, 2017). this availability allows students to interact with instructional content from any location, and as they progress through material and achieve success they may be more motivated to continue their learning (ally et al., 2007). many asynchronous online platforms are accessible by personal devices and allow students to complete work on their own time, according to their own schedules, and around the responsibilities of other commitments. instructors can provide various activities and opportunities for students to accomplish work outside of the synchronous classroom and students can self-pace and self-direct their learning. at gptc, administrators hoped that moving to a de program would give students additional opportunities for autonomous and self-directed learning beyond the traditional classroom setting, particularly through the offering of asynchronous material, and would motivate them to continue studying during the pandemic. de can be an asset to students and eal programs by engaging students in these ways and thereby fostering inclusivity. it must be viewed as a viable instructional method. as mccain (2009) states, “evidence abounds that distance education offers increased flexibility, costeffectiveness, and successful outcomes, but until the classroom is no longer viewed as the focal 62 gatesol in action journal 30(1) point for all learning, significant change . . . will not occur” (p. 19). in the case of gptc, the pandemic forced staff to shift our perception of the classroom as the focal point to embracing de as an effective instructional method. the remainder of this paper details our staff’s efforts to bring our program online and what we learned in the process. program administration successes a vital component to any program’s success is administration. gptc’s esl program has a strong administrative team of five full-time staff that worked collaboratively to make the transition to de classes possible. the administrative team recognized the need to capitalize on the strengths that were already in place. we initially accomplished this transition in two ways. the first was to use existing teacher and student relationships. administrators were prepared to call and email students and explain our de classes to them but determined that it would be more efficient and effective for each instructor to reach out to his or her own students. by doing this we believe we received a greater response from students. second, administrators drew on instructor and staff strengths and expertise. when we transitioned to de in march, we were able to maintain the positions of only three of our 25 instructors due to the low number of participating students. we gave all instructors the opportunity to apply and then selected three instructors who were flexible, creative, and demonstrated a high comfort level with technology. these instructors were already regularly incorporating technology into their classes and were able to shift easily to teaching online. they were also creative and selfmotivated to develop their own online curriculum. in addition to the instructors, staff stepped up in various ways to brainstorm how to move processes online or how to redesign processes to fit the de environment, such as student intake and testing. each person was eager to participate and saw the circumstances as an opportunity rather than as an insurmountable obstacle. when gptc transitioned to de classes, our staff went from 43 employees consisting of 38 part-time instructors and staff and five full-time administrators to eight employees consisting of three part-time instructors and five full-time administrators. in building our de program, administrators gradually added back staff and instructors as our student numbers increased rather than trying to maintain the same or a similar number of classes and staff as we had with in-person instruction. once the need for another instructor or staff member became evident, we opened the opportunity to those who were not teleworking and they had the chance to apply to join as a de instructor or staff member. as of august 2020, we have 19 employees, an increase that took place over four months. one of our administrative team’s first tasks when transitioning to de was to create a working student database that helped us track student contact efforts and enrollment. pulling the initial data from the georgia adult learners information system (galis) into a working spreadsheet, which included student names, class levels, and contact information, we then added columns to track new phone numbers or emails, whether or not the student had been contacted and enrolled in class, and the student’s access to technology, such as a computer or smartphone and wi-fi. administrators housed the database in a central drive that all staff had access to, and as staff heard from students, we updated the spreadsheet. this became a helpful tool in all our contact efforts and record keeping and is a form that we continue to work from as we connect with additional students. when starting de classes, the majority of instructors taught in the morning with the exception of a couple of afternoon classes. the morning classes were to mirror the program’s original morning class schedule, although the de classes were shorter, and the afternoon classes baxter 63 were scheduled based on student availability. as our student numbers increased and administrators added instructors and classes, we scheduled synchronous classes based on instructor availability. we had classes at 10am, 12pm, 12:30pm, 1pm, 2:30pm, 6pm, and 8pm. however, this soon proved to be too difficult for our staff and the students to keep up with, and fewer students were available in the afternoons. in hindsight, our administrative staff should have established a strong schedule at the onset of de classes rather than deciding what to do with each class as we added it. we have since reorganized our schedule to be more clearly structured into nine mostly morning and evening classes that start and finish at the same time. in order to create a robust de presence, we as administrators knew we needed to offer not only classes but all program services, including intake and testing. therefore, our staff worked hard to create de processes for these services. intake staff piloted a new student enrollment procedure for the technical college system of georgia (tcsg) which has now become our regular system for enrolling new students. this process includes registration appointments using the video conferencing tool webex (webex.com) during which intake staff take screenshots of student documents, go over our school documents and have the student electronically sign, and review all student information in galis. if classes are in session during a registration appointment, intake staff will often show the class to a new student by entering the class session and sharing the screen with that student. the new student then receives a welcome email from the instructor with information about joining the class. staff members are also administering the best plus 2.0 speaking test once again to our students, which we did not have the capacity to do when we first moved to de. test administrators are either meeting students during a registration appointment or scheduling appointments throughout the day to conduct both preand post-tests. similar to registration, the test is administered via webex using methods approved by the center for applied linguistics (cal), creator of the best plus 2.0 test. gptc’s esl program has been successful at de because it was built with long-term goals and vision rather than as a short-term stop gap measure. instead of giving up on our program and resigning ourselves to the seemingly impossible task of engaging adult ells in de, our staff and instructors rose to the challenge, going above and beyond in effort and creativity to assemble and implement a fully de program. the administrative team’s vision is that this will not only benefit the program and students during the pandemic, but will broaden the scope of our program when we are finally able to return to in-person instruction. student contact efforts one of the first challenges staff faced was contacting students to notify them of our de classes. as stated above, our staff and instructors were unable to prepare our students for this shift but instead had to reach out to them once the move to de classes had been made. our first effort was simply to notify students that we would not have class that following monday, march 16th. the administrative team spent most of friday and the weekend calling and texting students to tell them not to return to school the following week. our subsequent contact efforts were focused on bringing students into our de classes. this process took place in three phases: phase i – our initial efforts focused on what we termed ‘low-hanging fruit.’ administrators focused on higher-level students we could easily contact and encourage to come to de classes. four of our five administrative team members began contacting students by phone and email. we chose to start with these students because they had a strong grasp of the english language and were able to communicate easily, and also because most of them were comfortable http://www.webex.com/ 64 gatesol in action journal 30(1) with and had access to wi-fi and a computer or smartphone. students responded quickly and positively and were soon participating in the new de classes. another effort during this phase involved our instructors. they each contacted the students from their classes to explain our developing de program. this allowed us to reach students quickly across all levels and begin developing de classes to meet the demand of students interested in de. in addition, our instructors had a stronger rapport with their students than the administrative team did, and we believe we received more responses as a result. phase ii – during the first phase, staff heard from many students who wanted to participate in de classes. however, the numbers of participating students were much smaller than those who originally expressed interest. we therefore went back to our student database, identified students who were not yet attending but who had expressed interest, and reached out to them again. not only did we call to tell them about classes, but we also took extra measures to assist students with understanding the technology and how to enter classes, which are discussed later in this paper. we believe these efforts brought more students into our program. phase iii – having focused on higher-level students during the first two phases, the final efforts of staff consisted in calling through the remainder of our student database, primarily intermediate and lower levels, and encouraging them to join classes. for our lower-level students, this often involved speaking with multiple family members and having bilingual staff make phone calls to students whose languages with which they were familiar. if our staff did not speak a common language with a student and no bilingual family members were available to assist, the effort often involved numerous phone calls to that student with creative explanations for how to access the classes. as before, we began with the higher levels and gradually moved to the lower levels, knowing that the lower-level students would require more time and effort. an unexpected benefit to this method was that we as staff grew in our understanding of how to communicate with students regarding de so that by the time we reached the lower-level students we had identified wording and techniques that allowed us to more easily engage them. while we had students participating from all levels by june 2020, we recognize that we still have not engaged many students, especially our pre-literate students. contacting over 700 students required a great deal of work, but it was rewarding to see students via online platforms and watch them re-engage in english language learning. communicating with students by phone or email also gave them the opportunity to engage in authentic language use via technology. administrators recognize, however, that despite our efforts many students remain unengaged and either unable to access classes or unwilling to participate in de. when speaking with many of them by phone, they tell staff that they want to wait until inperson classes resume. this is not because they have tried de classes and disliked them, but because they prefer in-person classes and do not want to try de classes. students’ attitudes about the usefulness of de, therefore, can preclude them from participating in classes. our current students can help change these attitudes as they spread the word about the dynamic classes. many students have asked to join de classes not because of a phone call from gptc staff, but because of what they heard from other students. there is still much for our staff to learn with regard to engaging students in the de environment. one of our recent challenges is student attrition. staff members who contacted students to inquire why they have stopped attending were most often told that the cause is being unable to connect. therefore, even though de can be more accessible to students because they can participate via smartphones both synchronously and asynchronously, that accessibility is largely dependent upon overcoming technical difficulties. as a possible solution, administrators plan to baxter 65 open the computer lab on campus for two days each week with safety protocols in place to provide a space where students can meet with an instructor to resolve technical problems that have been unresolved via phone call or email. another possibility for administrators to explore is equipping higher-level students to assist lower-level students and pre-literate students with whom they share a common language with accessing de. curriculum and learning platforms another challenge administrators faced when moving to a de program was the selection of curriculum and online platforms. we needed asynchronous programs that provided eal content, were easily accessible to students, and tracked student hours. we needed synchronous programs that were intuitive for both instructors and students and facilitated classroom dynamics. finally, we needed programs that were free of cost because neither our program nor the students had the resources to pay for subscriptions or memberships. prior to the pandemic, when offering in-person instruction, a majority of our instructors used the ventures curriculum from cambridge university press. it provided a framework for our classes at each level, helping our instructors maintain consistency. instructors had student books, instructor manuals, and access to online materials such as additional handouts and activities. when administrators implemented de classes, some of these materials were still useful for some instructors and students, but they no longer met the needs of all. instructors therefore had to deviate from their traditional materials and develop web-based curricula that included synchronous and asynchronous instruction. they were able to draw from the variety of online resources, including videos, images, and websites, that were easily integrated into de. synchronous instruction when administrators and instructors began setting up de classes, we did not have any experience with video conferencing platforms. in order to select a platform that was user-friendly for our students, who sometimes had beginning-level digital knowledge in addition to being ells, we experimented with several before selecting. we looked at popular internet platforms such as skype (skype.com) and zoom (zoom.us), as well as webex, which was provided by our college. after working with the various features available with these platforms, we decided to begin our de classes using zoom. we chose zoom because the features it offers (such as breakout rooms and polling) created multiple methods for engaging students and because it was easy for students to access. they did not need an account but could simply follow a link they received by email in order to access the class. while getting students onto zoom sometimes proved to be a challenge due to device incompatibility or the time needed for students to become familiar with the platform, once everyone learned the process and resolved compatibility issues there were few problems. shortly after beginning zoom classes, administrators were notified of potential security concerns and encouraged to discontinue usage. around the same time, tcsg made collaborate (blackboard.com/blackboard-collaborate) available, which is a video conferencing tool used in conjunction with blackboard, a learning management system. collaborate offers features similar to zoom that facilitate engaging de classes, including breakout groups, polls, and file sharing. moving students to collaborate after they were comfortable with zoom was challenging. students had to familiarize themselves with a new platform and staff had to help them make their device compatible with collaborate by instructing them on how to update permissions and settings. administrators and instructors were able to gradually move our students to the new platform, but http://www.skype.com/ http://zoom.us/ https://www.blackboard.com/teaching-learning/collaboration-web-conferencing/blackboard-collaborate 66 gatesol in action journal 30(1) having to change platforms with our students reinforced the importance of researching and establishing the appropriate platform before onboarding students. asynchronous instruction it was important for administrators to identify ways for students to accumulate student contact hours, which drive funding for the program. de class times were initially greatly reduced from inperson class times and fewer students participated. we therefore needed an asynchronous component in order to increase student contact hours and give students additional learning opportunities. we hoped that by adding this component our students would have more autonomy in their learning and be able to self-direct their studies in a way that best fit their needs. we had two classes that easily incorporated asynchronous instruction in addition to the synchronous classes, while increasing contact hours. first, gptc was already piloting an online curriculum with burlington english (burlingtonenglish.com) before the pandemic began. that class moved seamlessly to de due to the instructional content being web-based. a major benefit to the program is that it includes builtin student lessons that track student hours spent outside of class. students had been introduced to the student lessons while still in the physical classroom, and they were able to continue this work remotely in order to accumulate more contact hours. as of the writing of this paper, administrators plan to expand the use of burlington english to other classes for fall 2020. another class that transitioned well to the de environment and includes asynchronous learning was our integrated digital english acceleration (i-dea; sbctc.edu/collegesstaff/programs-services/i-dea) class. this is a curriculum that integrates digital literacy and english language learning into one course. it is a flipped classroom model in which students complete assignments before the lesson is taught. under non-pandemic conditions, the material is presented in the classroom by displaying web-based content on a smartboard, and this portion of the class was easily moved to a de classroom via a video conferencing platform. students in this class had been using school laptops as a part of the curriculum, which also facilitated their transition to the de environment. in-class assignments became online homework assignments that allowed students to accumulate contact hours. for the remaining classes and instructors, a platform was needed that gave students english practice while tracking their hours and that was no cost to our budget or our students, as described earlier in this paper. administrators settled on a program that some of our students had already used on campus for computer lab practice and that was approved by tcsg for tracking student hours: usa learns (usalearns.org). usa learns is a free program with four courses that provide beginning and intermediate english practice. according to the website, the curriculum includes videos and activities that focus on “listening comprehension, vocabulary, grammar, spelling, pronunciation, reading, writing, speaking and life skills” (sacramento county office of education, 2020, para. 1). the site also has a citizenship course that helps immigrants prepare for the naturalization interview and civics test. it was a significant benefit that many of our students were already familiar with the program as this helped with the onboarding process. one of our de instructors spent the first week of telework aligning usa learns content to our class levels. while the program offers only beginningand intermediate-level english courses, the citizenship course covers a higher level of english and was appropriate for our higher-level classes. instructors who did not already have an asynchronous component to their curriculum assigned homework in usa learns and then incorporated some of the material into synchronous instruction, along with instructor-created materials. http://www.burlingtonenglish.com/ https://www.sbctc.edu/colleges-staff/programs-services/i-dea/ https://www.sbctc.edu/colleges-staff/programs-services/i-dea/ https://usalearns.org/ baxter 67 usa learns allows instructors to create an account and assign a class key to each english course in the program. students can then enroll in the instructor’s course using that class key and the system reports the hours and progress of each student. realizing it would be difficult for our lower-level students to create accounts and enroll in specific courses, we created their accounts for them using their personal email addresses and a common password which we then shared with them along with instructions on how to access the classes. this process reduced confusion for the students, ensured that all students were enrolled in our classes and having their progress tracked, and gave staff the ability to update student accounts or help students make changes. our higherlevel students were given detailed instructions on how to create an account and enroll, which gave them practice with authentic english language use. these students were able to access usa learns and enroll in our courses on their own. overcoming technology barriers an inherent challenge of using technology to deliver instruction is the prevalence of technical difficulties. like other adult education programs moving to de during the pandemic, our staff had to learn flexibility and patience as we dealt with our own technology issues as well as those of our students. we learned how to share important information and to stay connected, whether by video call, email, chat or phone call. this helps us to maintain the same vision and goals and to align our work efforts. while our school staff had our own challenges with technology, they are modest compared to the learning curve our students faced when joining de classes. for most of them, de was a new experience and we knew we would need to offer a great deal of support to help students develop the digital literacies necessary to succeed in this modality. technology difficulties such as unfamiliarity with devices and programs or device incompatibility, coupled with the lack of a common language and an inability to see students’ screens in order to provide support for whatever they were attempting, presented challenges during the onboarding process. through the process, however, we discovered several ways of providing assistance that proved beneficial to students and helped them to access classes. one of the most effective methods for helping students was done before we even introduced them to de platforms. administrators and instructors spent ample time on each platform, familiarizing ourselves with how the platforms operated on computers, tablets, smartphones and other devices to better understand and prepare for guiding students through the various experiences. for example, if an instructor tells a student that icons are on the bottom of the screen, this may be true on a computer but may not necessarily be the case on a smartphone. this step also helped administrators to select platforms, knowing that a large portion of our students only have internet access via smartphones. finally, while experimenting with various platforms we made notes of what issues might arise with students so that we would be able to help them with those issues. these problems included selecting the best web browser, giving permission for programs to access the features on a personal device such as the camera and microphone, understanding and using links, and accessing email accounts. having an email account was particularly important because it was the way gptc staff sent links and class websites to the students. many students had family members who let them use their email address if the student did not have one, but there were also scenarios in which staff helped to create new accounts for students. a staff member spent several days working with one particular student to set up an email account and teaching the student how to access that account, all by phone. it was an arduous process but the student felt included and validated by the time 68 gatesol in action journal 30(1) spent on it and was better equipped to participate in de. if a student had an email address, staff were able to use that method to correspond and show the student how to access other platforms. for example, when trying to encourage a student to use the chrome web browser (google.com/chrome) because another browser was not compatible with a particular platform, a staff member emailed the student pictures of the chrome icon along with a link to download the browser. this was done while attempting to explain the process by phone. upon receiving the email, the student then understood what was meant by “web browser” and “the program you use for the internet.” staff would often use email and phone calls to explain to a student how to access a video conferencing call if they were unable to access it on their own. once students successfully accessed video calls, we were able to share our screens and explain other platforms and websites such as usa learns. another method that proved successful was working with students individually outside of class to identify and troubleshoot issues. in order to do this, instructors often had other staff members on standby during class hours to assist students. if a student was unable to access the class or had other problems and contacted the instructor, the instructor was then able to refer the student to the designated staff member for help so that the class was not disrupted. we were able to help many students access their de classes as they were being conducted using this method. finally, with the student’s permission, staff found family members of students to be useful in our efforts to help students access their class. this was especially true of students at beginning levels of english and even more so for students at beginning-level digital literacy. many teenage or adult children or other household members would be able to speak with gptc staff and then work with the student to accomplish the task at hand. if there was not a family member at home who could help, we at times enlisted the interpretation help of a higher-level student who spoke the same language, provided that both students gave their permission. during our first several weeks, instructors and staff spent many hours working with students to overcome technological challenges. we still have those interactions occasionally, although they are less frequent. during these interactions it is important to maintain patience and to be willing to think creatively in order to explain a concept in different ways. throughout this process, our view has been that if a student wants to participate, we can make it happen no matter the challenges. this vision for supporting students who desire to and are able to attend english classes helped sustain our staff during long and sometimes exasperating phone calls and email chains and ensured that we maintained an inclusive environment regardless of students’ prior experience with technology. the result is that as of the writing of this paper, we have had close to 300 students participate in our classes, almost half of our pre-pandemic population. conclusion while the pandemic shut down gptc’s in-person classes, creating incredible challenges, it also facilitated new opportunities for expanding beyond the status quo and creating innovative solutions to meet students’ needs. in order to transition our esl program to de, administrators relied on the strengths and expertise of instructors and staff and we exercised patience and creativity when working to engage students. we also maintained the strong central vision that we were developing a long-term de program that will continue even after in-person classes resume, rather than offering de classes as a stop-gap measure during the pandemic. as we experienced, with work from program staff and instructors, de can be accessible to many students with various devices and flexible enough to accommodate their schedules and competing priorities. additionally, via de, our instructors can incorporate a wide range of content and learning opportunities through http://www.google.com/chrome baxter 69 synchronous and asynchronous instruction with the hope of promoting student autonomy and selfdirected learning. challenges remain, however, and gptc staff continue to seek ways to engage additional students, prevent attrition, address technical issues and counter assumptions that inperson classes are more effective and that de participation is too difficult. we will continue to work together and grow in our understanding of how to serve ells through de for the remainder of the pandemic and beyond. references ally, m., mcgreal, r., schafer, s., tin, t., & cheung, b. (2007, october). use of mobile learning technology to train esl adults. proceedings from the 6th international conference on mobile learning, melbourne, australia. canadian council on learning. https://www.academia.edu/32256655/ anderson, m. (2019, june 13). mobile technology and home broadband 2019. pew research center. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2019/06/13/mobile-technology eyring, j. l. (2014). adult esl education in the us. the catesol journal, 26(1), 120–149. http://www.catesoljournal.org/volume-26-1/ huang, j., tindall, e., & nisbet, d. (2011). authentic activities and materials for adult esl learners. journal of adult education, 40(1), 1–10. larrotta, c. (2019). immigrants learning english in a time of anti-immigrant sentiment. adult literacy education, 1(1), 53–58. https://doi.org/10.35847/clarrotta.1.1.53 mccain, m. (2009). the power of technology to transform adult learning: expanding access to adult education & workforce skills through distance learning. council for advancement of adult literacy. https://tcall.tamu.edu/twcael/docs/pdf/power_of_tech.pdf mcclanahan, l. (2014). training using technology in the adult esl classroom. journal of adult education, 43(1), 22–27. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ej1047373.pdf nisbet, d., & austin, d. (2013). enhancing esl vocabulary development through the use of mobile technology. journal of adult education, 42(1), 1–7. https://files.eric.ed.gov/ fulltext/ej1047363.pdf pettitt, n. (2017). social positioning in refugee women’s education: a linguistic ethnography of one english class [doctoral dissertation, georgia state university]. https://scholarworks. gsu.edu/alesl_diss/42 sacramento county office of education. (2020). english courses. usa learns. https://www. usalearns.org/free-online-english-courses ____________________________________________________________________________ received: august 14, 2020 | accepted: september 22, 2020 | published: october 29, 2020 https://www.academia.edu/32256655/ https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2019/06/13/mobile-technology-and-home-broadband-2019 http://www.catesoljournal.org/volume-26-1/ https://doi.org/10.35847/clarrotta.1.1.53 https://tcall.tamu.edu/twcael/docs/pdf/power_of_tech.pdf https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ej1047373.pdf https://files.eric.ed.gov/%20fulltext/ej1047363.pdf https://files.eric.ed.gov/%20fulltext/ej1047363.pdf https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/alesl_diss/42 https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/alesl_diss/42 https://www.usalearns.org/free-online-english-courses https://www.usalearns.org/free-online-english-courses gatesol in action journal2020, vol. 30(1), pp. 59–69 engaging adult english language learners in distance education: an esl program’s experience during the covid-19 pandemic issn: 2331-6845 research article emily patterson, student, winthrop university, rock hill, sc; email pattersone9@winthropalumni.com. elke schneider, professor, winthrop university, rock hill, sc; email schneidere@winthrop.edu are wida test results appropriately reflecting multilingual learners’ language skills according to esol teachers’ experiences? results of a pilot study gatesol journal 2024, vol. 33(1), pp. 3–17 doi:10.52242/gatesol.184 issn: 2331-6845 emily patterson elke schneider richard w. riley college of education, winthrop university abstract within the field of multilingual learner (ml) education, esol teachers’ voices are often overlooked and underrepresented despite their integral role in developing productive and knowledgeable future citizens. this study sheds light on the experiences of esol teachers that administer the federally mandated annual standardized testing created by world-class instructional design and assessment (wida). it uses focus-group interviews to gather qualitative data from two neighboring school districts in order to gain insight into the wida assessments’ reflection of language proficiency. wida testing evaluates english language development by measuring academic and social language skills within the four language domains: reading, writing, listening, and speaking. mls without severe, classified disabilities in grades k-12 participate annually in the assessing comprehension and communication of english state-to-state (access) assessment by wida. results place students into proficiency categories ranging from entering (a student new to english) to bridging (a nearfluent ml), as defined by the wida language proficiency standards. the interviews allowed the esol teachers to share their experiences with mls’ classroom performances in the four testing domains compared to their performances on the online wida assessments. the interview data was analyzed and categorized into three main themes based on teacher responses: assessment preparation techniques, common perceptions of the assessment, and proposed changes to improve the assessment. each of these themes, with their local and national implications, are discussed as they affect the nature of esol instruction and assessment. keywords language proficiency assessment, multilingual learners, wida access, esol teacher perspectives introduction appropriate instruction and assessment of multilingual learners (mls) within education has become an increasingly important field of study. as the percentage of mls within public schools continues to rise, research within the field of esol, especially pertaining to the assessment of mailto:pattersone9@winthropalumni.com mailto:schneidere@winthrop.edu 4 gatesol journal 33(1) english language development, remains limited. the purpose of this study is to explore the experiences of esol teachers from two local school districts in the east coast region of the u.s. regarding the nature and authenticity of wida access testing (wisconsin center for education research, 2023). wida access assessments provide data that indicate the development of english in students whose first language is not english to appropriately guide ensuing instruction. esol teachers share personal experiences through focus group interviews to shed light on the various perspectives of educators regarding the authenticity of the wida access test results in measuring english language development. authenticity, in the context of this study, is defined by varga and guignon (2020) as “a reliable, accurate representation” of mls’ english language proficiency (p. 1). this study is significant due to general esol teachers’ perceptions of, and anecdotal references to, the discrepancies between student performance on standardized wida tests and perceived english language development within the classroom. these anecdotal comments have alluded to challenges with wida testing as an adequate representation of mls’ language development based on teachers’ daily interactions and continual monitoring of language acquisition in the classroom. these teachers share the seemingly common frustrations of perceiving the wida language proficiency assessments as an ineffective measure of language proficiency across grade levels, schools, and districts. although most u.s. states measure english language proficiency using wida, limited independent research exists exploring teachers’ perceptions of the assessments as an accurate measure of language development (king & bigelow, 2018). currently, the existing body of independent research into the authenticity of wida language proficiency assessments is limited to the quantitative findings of coulter (2017) and the qualitative findings of lopez and garcia (2020) and waters (2020). coulter (2017) compared wida access proficiency ratings with previous alternative standardized testing. lopez and garcia (2020) interviewed esol teachers and found out that most teachers struggle to utilize standardized data for instruction. moreover, waters (2020) examined the variance in teacher perspectives of wida access testing based on demographics and teaching environments to determine the impact of test results on esol policy and decision-making. these findings support the inquiry into the authenticity of wida access testing. to the knowledge of the authors to this date, esol teachers’ experiences with the preparation for, administration of, and comparison of test results with in-class language performances of mls have not been explored in the esol literature. therefore, this study creates a unique forum to share teachers’ experiences through inquiry into pedagogical techniques and beliefs surrounding the standardized assessments. moreover, the consistently growing number of mls in public schools creates an increasing demand for appropriate and authentic testing to track language development (ariza & coady, 2018). the following sections provide readers with background information to better understand the relevance of this study in terms of (a) mls’ language acquisition, (b) legal support for appropriate language performance assessment, and (c) the nature of wida access testing. mls and language acquisition when acquiring a second or additional language, mls develop language in two domains: basic interpersonal communication skills (bics) and cognitive academic language proficiency (calp) (cummins, 2016). developed and defined by cummins (2016), bics encompasses oral conversational fluency that generally develops within one to three years of consistent social immersion in an additional language and culture. calp includes spoken or written academic patterson & schneider 5 language used in informational exchanges, typically within a formal academic setting. on average, mls develop near-fluent calp over the span of five to seven years with regular exposure in an academic setting and up to nine years with limited exposure (cummins, 2008). however, cummins’ theory of language acquisition receives criticism for “creating a binary view of language” that does not always adequately reflect language acquisition (scarcella, 2003, p. 6). in her critique, scarcella (2003) refers to cummins’ model as a stagnant representation of language development encompassing fixed choices of language comprehension and production. however, she overlooks the progressivity of cummins’ model, in which students continuously acquire new social and academic language skills simultaneously in diverse environments (ariza & coady, 2018). cummins’ theory of language acquisition remains pertinent to the assessment of language proficiency because, when measuring language development, language proficiency assessments should consider the disparity between social and academic language acquisition. mls’ language acquisition is influenced by the learning environment (makarova, 2019), where they can gain exposure to and authentic experiences with using social language to engage in social interactions that serve as the dominant language function within a positive setting. however, authentic experiences using academic vocabulary can be limited because the language is often decontextualized and used primarily in academic endeavors (ariza & coady, 2018). this decontextualization results from the expectation that students utilize academic vocabulary solely within content-specific settings, such as language unique to geometry during mathematics instruction, rather than integrating domain-specific vocabulary in a variety of authentic settings. furthermore, language-level properties and child-level properties (paradis, 2019) can affect mls’ language acquisition rates. language-level properties include features that impact language acquisition, such as the complexity and structural dynamics of the new language. child-level properties are properties that relate to the individual learner to influence language acquisition, including input and output opportunities and cognitive capacity (coulter, 2017; paradis, 2019). within these domains, mls possess complex, higher-order thinking and executive functioning skills but struggle to verbalize their thoughts in a new language, resulting in a language gap (coulter, 2017, p. 1) rather than an achievement gap (kudo & swanson, 2014). the educational environment also contributes to the language gap by limiting input and output opportunities on which language acquisition heavily relies. for example, classroom instruction that limits peer discussions prevents mls from developing academic oral language during critical thinking tasks. the properties of language acquisition combined with knowledge of the complex capabilities of mls create a foundation for effective esol pedagogy and assessment. legal support for appropriate performance assessment the legal support for appropriate language proficiency tests in public schools is based on several legal developments starting in the early 1960s. these landmark court cases related to ml populations and esol education, including lau v. nichols (1974), plyler v. doe (1982), castañeda v. pickard (1981), and united states v. texas (1970) (mceachern, 2022), impact the pedagogy and classroom experiences of mls. the first federal acknowledgement of the needs of mls within public education deemed segregation of schools unlawful and mandated federal grants to support programs for mls (bilingual education act, 1968). as ml populations rapidly expanded, claims arose that identical education did not present equal educational opportunities for mls. the case ruled that schools must take affirmative actions to remove educational barriers for all students, including mls (lau v. nichols, 1974). subsequently, multiple court cases led to esol programs in public education by requiring education for undocumented immigrants (plyler 6 gatesol journal 33(1) v. doe, 1982), research-based pedagogy (castañeda v. pickard, 1981), and progress monitoring through standardized testing (united states v. texas, 1970). see appendix a for a detailed overview of these court cases. nature of wida access testing mls are federally mandated to complete a large-scale, norm-referenced, summative language proficiency assessment on an annual basis, as required by castañeda v. pickard (1978). wida currently provides assessments to 41 u.s. states and 2 u.s. territories. originally funded by a u.s. department of education grant, wida was established in 2003 by the wisconsin department of public instruction to design language proficiency standards and assessments for mls (wisconsin center for education research, 2023). to identify mls’ home languages, new students in u.s. public education must complete a home language survey (castañeda v. pickard, 1978). mls without classified disabilities in grades 1-12 take the online access test administered by a local esol teacher and scored by affiliates of the wida organization. the wida access test determines mls’ english proficiency based on vocabulary usage, language forms and conventions, and linguistic complexity in the following content areas: social and instructional language, english language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies (wisconsin center for education research, 2023). according to wida-based research, the access assessment aligns national common core state standards (ccss) with wida language standards (cook, 2014; wisconsin center for education research, 2023) by assessing content knowledge and critical thinking skills (coulter, 2017). students take this online test in four separate parts for a total of 265 testing minutes. local esol teachers administer and supervise the test, following an administration model provided by wida. assessed language domains include reading, writing, listening, and speaking (see appendix b1). esol teachers then use the test scores to guide future instruction based on mls’ strengths and areas for improvement. wida uses criterion-referenced scoring to place students at different levels of language proficiency, as described in appendix b2 (coulter, 2017). the six levels of language acquisition are associated with a number system (1-6) starting at entering (1) for students with minimal language proficiency, beginning (2), developing (3), expanding (4), bridging (5), and reaching (6) (wisconsin center for education research, 2023). the online nature of this test impacts mls’ language performances in a variety of ways. according to coulter (2017), teachers consider the negative effects of extended online testing on mls’ performances when reviewing test scores. also, having to record themselves speaking into a computer using a headset and microphone creates an unnatural language interaction for mls that differs from speaking with others in person (coulter, 2017). additionally, the writing portion requires students to type constructed responses within a time limit and deviates from mls’ writing tasks with a writing utensil and paper. coulter’s (2017) wida-independent study also describes the disconnect in test scores and classroom performances because the assessment requires mls to apply grade-level content knowledge and critical thinking skills in english without considering mls’ deficits in both areas. according to coulter (2017), only 20 percent of the testing material measures social language skills, which is evident in the updated wida english language standards statements (2020). only standard 1 explicitly addresses the assessment of “language for social and instructional purposes” (wisconsin center for education research, 2023) while the remaining four language standards for language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies exclusively emphasize academic language and content knowledge (wida, 2020, pp. 24-25; wisconsin center for education research, 2023). patterson & schneider 7 research methods this study delved into the wida access tests used to measure language proficiency to answer the research question: how do esol teachers perceive the wida access language proficiency assessment as an authentic representation of mls’ english language proficiency? discussions in focus-group interviews were chosen for data collection in order to allow participants to interact with each other and share their personal experiences with wida testing. nine of 34 invited esol teachers from two local suburban school districts voluntarily participated in virtual focus group interviews. participants were identified using a sample of convenience by locating the names of local esol teachers on district websites and contacting them directly through email to request participation. following university international review board (irb) protocols, participation was voluntary, and participant identities remained anonymous. all participants were female, white, native speakers of english who had previous or current experiences as elementary esol teachers in two contiguous school districts. three of the nine participants were employed in the largest school district in the county of interest, and, at the time of the study, 16.5% of the student population were classified as mls according to the local school district website. the remaining six participants were employed in an adjacent school district with similar demographics. three participants taught in both middle school and elementary esol classrooms but shared their experiences specifically pertaining to the administration of wida assessments in elementary settings to maintain consistency and specificity in the gathered data. four participants requested individual interviews. one session consisted of two interviewees, and another session held three participants. during 30-minute individual and group interviews, six prepared questions were posed as follows. the researchers clarified any necessary wording, such as defining authenticity in the context of this study, to ensure participants fully understood each question and answered the questions to the best of their abilities. 1. in what ways do you prepare your students for wida access testing, and can you provide examples of preparation techniques? 2. which of the four domains (reading, writing, listening, and speaking) is harder or easier to prepare students for? why? 3. in your personal experience as an esol teacher, how has the online nature of the assessment affected student performance when compared to your informal assessments and interactions with the students? 4. to what degree does the wida test reflect mls’ english proficiency in the four testing domains? 5. what changes could be made to the wida assessment to ensure students demonstrate their english proficiency with more authenticity than the current assessment results? 6. based on your experiences, to what degree does wida testing require students to access cultural understandings, prior academic knowledge, and keyboarding skills? findings the researchers analyzed the interview transcripts generated automatically by the virtual meeting platform. they independently coded the transcripts according to recurring themes, discussed commonalities in their theme-coding, and resolved coding differences through negotiated agreements (belotto, 2018), ensuring interrater reliability. they then used the coded transcripts to 8 gatesol journal 33(1) identify three common themes within the data: (a) teacher preparation techniques for the test, (b) teacher perceptions of the test, and (c) proposed changes to the test. theme 1: preparation techniques the first theme, preparation techniques for the test, was separated into four categories: preparation for speaking, writing, reading, and listening. all interviewees commented on common preparations, such as conferencing with students to discuss the previous year’s test scores (7 out of the 9 participants), setting goals for the upcoming year (6/9), organizing students into abilitybased small groups (2/9), and practicing sample test questions (5/9) to “simulate the test as much as possible,” as one teacher stated. speaking test preparations. the interviewees built a comprehensive list of preparation techniques to improve each skill required for a satisfactory test score. for instance, eight of the nine teachers discussed incorporating recording technology to allow students to practice physically speaking into a microphone with a headset as a means to simulate the test format. five teachers mentioned practicing the mechanical functions of clicking the record button, speaking for a set time, and then ending the recording. to familiarize students with talking about a topic for an extended period, one teacher has students describe a displayed picture using details and academic vocabulary while timing responses with a running sand timer. all nine interviewees emphasized the importance of acclimating students to the test format rather than providing direct instruction to improve mls’ oral responses. lastly, four teachers have students identify relevant academic and content-specific vocabulary to track the vocabulary usage in their responses so students “use as much academic language as possible.” writing test preparations. similar to the speaking preparation, seven teachers simulate the writing portion of the test in their preparation. to mirror test formats, students in grades 1-3 write responses on paper while students in grades 4-5 type responses on the computer. three teachers discussed their focus on developing the writing process with brainstorming, drafting, revising, and editing responses. these same three teachers also dedicate units of study to each of the writing functions, such as comparing and contrasting or cause-and-effect. one teacher uses a color-coding strategy to ensure students effectively organize their responses. three participants also discussed a technique similar to the speaking preparation in which students describe a picture using details and academic vocabulary. the majority of described writing preparation emphasizes identifying and incorporating key vocabulary and academic language into the responses. four teachers also push into general education classrooms with their mls in a separate academic environment to connect academic content to their writing. reading test preparations. similar to speaking and writing, a common preparation technique used to familiarize mls involves simulating the test format by using practice questions that require students to read and answer content-related questions. four teachers found this crucial because they noticed mls getting confused by unfamiliar academic content when answering the questions. for example, questions may provide students with a brief passage involving mathematics and u.s. currency. although the answer to the question is provided in the given passage, mls can become distracted by the mathematical nature of the question as well as a possible lack of prior knowledge surrounding u.s. monetary values. this distraction often affects mls’ abilities to apply language skills to effectively answer the question. therefore, eight of the patterson & schneider 9 nine teachers pose discipline-specific questions repeatedly. additionally, these eight teachers mentioned that the instruction provided within general education classrooms, combined with their direct support, strengthened mls’ reading skills. thus, all interviewees did not see a need to emphasize direct preparation for the reading portion of the test. listening test preparations. all nine interviewees direct little attention to listening practices because both social and academic listening skills develop naturally within school environments, which provides mls with daily listening practice in their classrooms. one teacher described having mls listen to their own recordings from the speaking practice to discuss strengths and areas for improvement using student-friendly rubrics provided by wida. another teacher records prompts for students to listen to and answer questions that mirror the test. overall, the interviewed esol teachers prepare mls for each of the four testing domains similarly by mirroring the test format and emphasizing the development of academic language. theme 2: teacher perceptions of the assessment the second theme encompasses teachers’ perceptions of the test and its ability to appropriately measure english proficiency. two main categories arose from these perceptions: domain-specific difficulties and emphasis on academic content. domain-specific difficulties. all nine participants agreed that the listening portion of the test poses the least difficulty for mls, and they devote minimal direct instructional time to listening test preparations. one teacher credited the lack of difficulty to the natural academic and social listening practice occurring in general education classrooms. six teachers observed consistently higher scores on the listening and reading domains’ multiple-choice format and partially attributed mls’ success to the limited pool of answer choices and frequent exposure to multiple-choice questions. also, seven participants attributed annual growth in reading scores to adequate practice in the general education classroom. five interviewees consistently identified the reading portion as more difficult than the listening portion due to content-specific questions. they noticed that some mls tend to use academic background knowledge rather than language skills to answer content-based questions. to illustrate, and referring to the aforementioned example of students encountering a question based on u.s. currency and mathematics, interviewees described mls’ tendency to use knowledge of u.s. currency to answer the question rather than their reading skills to locate the answer provided in the passage. despite these difficulties, all nine teachers found the reading and listening portions less difficult than the speaking and writing domains. in contrast, every teacher identified speaking and writing test sections as significantly more difficult than listening and reading tasks. all nine teachers attributed the difficulty of the speaking test first to the unnatural test format and repeatedly described mls’ struggles with the process of recording their answers while speaking to a screen rather than a real person. they also pointed out that recording an oral response for an extended period without verbal or nonverbal feedback (i.e., prompting or nodding) creates, according to one teacher, an “intimidating” setting. another teacher shared, “i have kids who speak perfect english who score very, very low on [speaking]” because of the students’ discomfort with the response format. additionally, eight of the nine teachers mentioned that the speaking test sets higher expectations for language than commonly found in daily conversation by requiring students to use academic vocabulary not typically used in everyday speech. to combat this discrepancy, during class time two teachers rely heavily on having mls speak in complete sentences using relevant academic vocabulary. all nine teachers described the writing portion of the test as comparably difficult to the speaking test because the writing format 10 gatesol journal 33(1) differs from state-standardized tests in which students conduct prompted text-dependent analyses with an expected response length (writing component, 2022). seven interviewees also pointed out that the writing tasks require writing stamina beyond developmentally appropriate levels. mls respond to three prompts that each demand lengthy responses with academic language and relevant content. all teachers commented that questions often referenced academic content, and four participants found that the topics were often unfamiliar or unnatural to write about for mls. in sum, teachers perceived the writing and speaking portions to be the most difficult because of their unnatural format and the high expectation of students’ command of academic language. emphasis on academic content. all nine participants commented on the test’s emphasis on academic language and content knowledge. six teachers viewed the content-oriented questions as inaccurate measures of language proficiency because “language proficiencies come out much lower than where the child actually is,” as one teacher stated. students receive daily scaffolding and academic support, such as visual aids, but the test provides minimal support when students use academic vocabulary. teachers perceived the test as “very content-oriented” and “testing [mls’] academic language” rather than measuring language proficiency. five interviewees also noted that one challenge for mls was that relevant grade-level standards have often not been taught at the time of testing. these circumstances create a disconnect between the test’s expected prior knowledge and the students’ actual knowledge, despite attempts by wida to align the assessment to national common core standards (center for public education, 2014). one teacher commented, “trying to get a student who already struggles with the language to write about something that they don’t have any background knowledge about makes zero sense.” overall, the teachers perceived the test as content-driven rather than focused on language. theme 3: proposed changes the final theme presents proposed changes to improve the testing experience for mls and teachers. suggested changes include: (a) comparison of mls’ test results with those of native english speakers, (b) alterations to the test format, (c) consideration of multiple data points to measure language proficiency, and (d) administration of the test later in the school year. comparing test results of mls and native speakers of english. each interviewee stressed the importance of defending the validity of the test by having native english speakers take an identical test to compare their results with those of the mls and provide insights into where the test fails to accurately measure language proficiency. eight teachers expressed their doubts that a native speaker would receive a passing score because of the length, format, and content of the test. one teacher cited an instance in which an esol teacher appealed to wida by asking for a native speaker to take the test, but wida representatives stated the results would be insufficient to disprove the accuracy of the test because of the discrepancy in language abilities between native speakers and mls. therefore, one teacher asked, “if a native english speaker can’t pass this test, how do you expect this [ml] to?” all nine interviewees agreed that comparing the test scores of native speakers and mls could improve performance expectations. altering test format. interviewees provided multiple suggestions to maximize the authenticity of the test results, such as making the format developmentally appropriate by balancing the online and written portions of the test. while the kindergarten version of the access test is taken almost entirely on paper and involves developmentally appropriate skills, such as allowing for the use of manipulatives, the first-grade version of the test requires students patterson & schneider 11 to complete three of the four testing domains online. this format requires developmentally inappropriate technology skills and testing stamina, as exemplified by one teacher who stated, “i hardly ever have any first-grade students that exit the esol program.” existing research by waters (2020) on teacher perceptions of the wida access assessment also supports the use of developmentally appropriate testing practices by arguing for a shift back to paper forms to center the focus on language proficiency rather than computer and keyboarding skills. moreover, every teacher discussed the unnatural format of recording the speaking portion on a computer. six of these teachers mentioned the benefits of administering the speaking test in person to create a more natural testing environment for mls. six participants described students tiring during the test and rushing as their concentration fades near the end, particularly in the constructed-response portions of the test, including speaking and writing. overall, these teachers felt that by reducing the testing time spent online, young mls were less likely to exceed their testing stamina. the final suggestion involves content-reliant questions. five teachers proposed including more social language, and three of these teachers recommended utilizing academic content from the previous grade levels’ standards rather than those of the current grade. this would decrease students’ encounters with unfamiliar content and allow students to use higher-order thinking processes while measuring students’ daily language capabilities. using multiple data points to determine language skills. all nine teachers recommended collecting and triangulating data to determine language proficiency with summative and formative assessments to “look at a child holistically,” as one teacher described. the court case united states v. texas (1970) also supports the use of additional data points to measure language proficiency development by demanding appropriate progress monitoring of mls’ language development. unanimously, participants perceived the test as an inaccurate measure of language proficiency. the most common suggestions for improved measures of proficiency included using student portfolios and running records (7/9) and gathering various formative assessments throughout the school year (6/9). altering access testing time. four teachers proposed a later test administration time to a) provide teachers with more instructional time before assessing student growth, and b) provide students with more time to improve their language and content proficiencies. currently, testing in this district occurs in february, leaving nearly three months of further instruction and possible proficiency growth unassessed. additionally, esol teachers first gather data on mls at the start of the school year and then begin working with them in early october, leaving students with only three to four months of instruction from esol teachers before taking the test. while four teachers also considered possible conflicts with annual state standardized testing taken near the end of the school year, they continued to stress the shortcomings of the current testing dates. implications despite the small scale of this study, many significant local and national implications became evident that are relevant to the esol field as a whole. locally, one crucial implication arose based on the teachers’ perceptions of the varying difficulty of the test through consistent anecdotal comments about students feeling “stuck” in the program as student test scores did not align with their perceived language proficiency. a feasible solution to remedy this identified disconnect between test performance and perceived language proficiency would be to alter the state exit criteria. the state’s esol exit criteria is based solely on student performance on the wida access test, as students must receive a 4.4 composite score and 4.0 in each individual testing 12 gatesol journal 33(1) domain (wida, 2023). this single test determines whether students “are just going to be mls for life because they can’t pass the test,” as one teacher noted, despite appearing proficient in daily activities. lowering the individual domain requirements while maintaining the composite score would relieve testing pressures to create a more authentic, and holistic, reflection of students’ abilities. nationally, alterations to the exit criteria would also improve the authenticity of language proficiency measures. one change includes considering multiple data points to triangulate data, make educational decisions, and assess progress to allow esol educators to determine mls’ language proficiency more accurately. educators rely on the most effective assessment practices to measure and reflect language development and proficiency. a single test score, however, appears to not reflect mls’ authentic language capabilities based on this study’s findings. effective assessment methods integrate natural language measures and provide multiple opportunities for authentic expressions of language proficiency (coulter, 2017). this study contributes to coulter’s research on wida testing by providing a unique perspective with qualitative interview data from in-service esol teachers and further supports the use of multiple data points to measure language proficiency. secondly, the wida consortium could benefit from accepting input from esol teachers with experience implementing access testing and a multifaceted knowledge of their mls. valuable suggestions to consider include aligning testing situations with the classroom environment, integrating more social language while reducing the number of content-related questions, and providing testing later in the year so mls can demonstrate growth with more authenticity. these implications provide insight into the challenges of the wida access test and possible solutions to improve the authenticity of the assessment. moreover, these findings could be considered to improve aspects of standardized assessments within general and specialized educational fields. for example, holistic assessment approaches such as collecting multiple data points improve the quality of instruction and assessment throughout the field of education. therefore, this research and its findings serve to benefit the entire educational community. conclusion this study intended to shed light on elementary esol teachers’ experiences with wida access testing regarding its authenticity compared to mls’ proficiency in the classroom. the passion with which the teachers shared their views encourages future research on this topic. in response to the drastically increasing number of mls in the u.s. (park et. al., 2017), further studies could help improve teacher and student experiences with wida access testing and the quality of language assessments. our findings contribute to a small body of research related to wida access testing. while wida-affiliated studies identify wida access testing as effective for decision-making based on standardized test data, pedagogical approaches, and evaluation of teachers, independent studies like ours identify several challenges with the efficacy of wida access testing. these are validated by coulter (2017), waters (2020), and lopez and garcia (2020). these independent studies highlight the need for improved standardized language proficiency measures to combat the discrepancy between measured and perceived language proficiencies of mls (coulter, 2017; lopez & garcia, 2020; waters, 2020). however, wida access tests currently serve as the sole consideration to determine ml’s language proficiency. further studies are needed to appraise the authenticity of wida access testing from the perspective of esol teachers to expand upon this small-scale study. such studies could include patterson & schneider 13 geographic, socioeconomic, and ethnographic diversity with larger participation pools, including voices of early childhood, elementary, middle school, and high school esol experiences along with responses from rural, suburban, and urban schools. additionally, it would be insightful to compare wida assessment practices and exit percentages with results from other standardized language testing used in states that do not implement wida access testing. overall, the esol field and the educational community can benefit from the findings of this study and bring the improvement of esol education and assessment to the forefront of educational research. references acheson, k., & gall, m. d. 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(2014). examining relationships between alternative access and state alternative assessments: exploring the notions of english language proficiency. university of wisconsin. https://wida.wisc.edu/sites/default/files/resource/report-examining relationshipsbetweenalternateaccessandstatealternateassessmentsal.pdf coulter, k. (2016). effectiveness of wida english language development standards meeting proficiency for english language learners [doctoral dissertation, tennessee state university]. proquest. cummins, j. (2008). bics and calp: empirical and theoretical status of the distinction. in n.h. hornberger (ed.), encyclopedia of language and education (2nd ed., pp. 487–499). springer. https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-0-387-30424-3_36 cummins, j. 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(2020). wida english language development standards framework, 2020 edition: kindergarten–grade 12. board of regents of the university of wisconsin system. https://wida.wisc.edu/sites/default/files/resource/wida-eld-standards-framework2020.pdf wida (2023, april 28). south carolina english language learner identification and placement guidance document. south carolina department of education. https://wida.wisc.edu/ sites/default/files/id-placement/sc-id-placement-guidance.pdf wisconsin center for education research. (2023). access for ells. wida. https://wida.wisc.edu/ assess/access https://doi.org/10.1080/14675986.2019.158621 https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2022.2078653 https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/457/202/ https://escholarship.org/content/qt6pd082d4/qt6pd082d4.pdf https://escholarship.org/content/qt6pd082d4/qt6pd082d4.pdf https://ed.sc.gov/tests/%e2%80%8cmiddle/sc-ready/writing-component/ https://ed.sc.gov/tests/%e2%80%8cmiddle/sc-ready/writing-component/ https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/22pdf/22-58_i425.pdf https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/22pdf/22-58_i425.pdf https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/authenticity/ https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/%e2%80%8ccgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=7262&context=etd https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/%e2%80%8ccgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=7262&context=etd https://wida.wisc.edu/sites/default/files/resource/wida-eld-standards-framework-2020.pdf https://wida.wisc.edu/sites/default/files/resource/wida-eld-standards-framework-2020.pdf https://wida.wisc.edu/sites/default/files/id-placement/sc-id-placement-guidance.pdf https://wida.wisc.edu/sites/default/files/id-placement/sc-id-placement-guidance.pdf https://wida.wisc.edu/%e2%80%8cassess/access https://wida.wisc.edu/%e2%80%8cassess/access patterson & schneider 15 appendix a table 1 legal developments in support of ml education legal development court ruling implications for mls bilingual education act (1968) the segregation of non-native english speaking students in public general education classrooms is unlawful. this court ruling was the first federal acknowledgment of mls in public education. the ruling in favor of ml education also established federal grants to support ml education programs. united states v texas (1970) an annual review of school districts by measuring the growth of mls’ language development is required in all public educational institutions. this ruling established progress monitoring standards to track english language development and resulted in the widespread use of annual standardized testing to measure language proficiency growth. lau v nichols (1974) identical education does not present equal learning opportunities for all students. public education must take affirmative action to remove educational barriers for all students and schools are to be held accountable for ensuring all students receive appropriate education. casteñada v pickard (1981) all instructional strategies must be based on legitimate educational theories and supported by existing research. schools must implement instructional programs, resources, and personnel necessary to provide appropriate education to all students. educators must also be appropriately qualified and knowledgeable. plyler v doe (1982) public schools cannot deny education to undocumented immigrants. this ruling ensures education for all students despite background, culture, or home language. the passing of this ruling also resulted in steadily increasing ml student populations in public schools. (table adapted from ariza & coady, 2018) 16 gatesol journal 33(1) appendix b wida language domains and expectations table b1 language domains domains time allotted expected tasks answer format scoring type reading 60 minutes -view a picture -read a passage -read the question -click the correct answer selected response answers automatic scoring writing 90 minutes -view a picture -read a short passage -read the question -write an appropriate response constructed response -grades 1-3 paper response -grades 4-5 typed response triangulated scoring by independent, trained test delivery partners listening 65 minutes -view a picture -listen to a voice talk -listen to the question -click or drag the answer selected response answers automatic scoring speaking 50 minutes -listen to a brief exchange -listen to the question -record answer using a microphone constructed oral response recorded on a computer triangulated scoring by independent trained test delivery partners (table adapted from coulter, 2017; wisconsin center for education research, 2023) patterson & schneider 17 table b2 language domain expectations relating to english proficiency levels proficiency listening speaking reading writing entering understand oral messages that include visuals and gestures and contain everyday words in english communicate orally using gestures and language that may contain a few words understand written texts that include visuals and may contain a few words or phrases communicate in writing using visual sand symbols that may contain few words beginning understand oral language related to specific familiar topics and participate in class discussions communicate ideas and information orally using short sentences and everyday words and phrases understand written language related to specific familiar topics and participate in class discussions communicate in writing using language related to familiar topics developing understand oral language related to specific common topics and participate in class discussions communicate ideas and details orally using several connected sentences and participate in short conversations and discussions understand written language related to common topics and participate in class discussions communicate in writing using language related to common topics expanding understand oral language related to specific topics and participate in class discussions communicate orally using language related to specific topics in school and participate in class discussions understand written language related to specific topics communicate in writing using language related to specific topics bridging understand oral language and participate in all academic classes to recall examples and expand on ideas communicate orally and participate in all academic classes to discuss, summarize, present, and defend ideas understand written language from all academic classes to compare and summarize ideas and information communicate in writing using language from all academic classes reaching understand oral language and participate in all academic classes to synthesize information and recognize differing viewpoints communicate orally and participate in all academic classes to react, respond, persuade, and clarify multiple viewpoints understand written language from all academic classes to evaluate and synthesize ideas and information communicate in writing using language from all academic classes to produce clearly organized writing pieces of varying functions table adapted from wida (wisconsin center for education research, 2023) _____________________________________________________________________________________________ received: december 28, 2022 | accepted: september 24, 2023 | published: may 24, 2024 | updated: august 23, 2024 gatesol journal2024, vol. 33(1), pp. 3–14 are wida test results appropriately reflecting multilingual learners’ language skills according to esol teachers’ experiences? results of a pilot study doi:10.52242/gatesol.184 issn: 2331-6845 mls and language acquisition legal support for appropriate performance assessment nature of wida access testing theme 2: teacher perceptions of the assessment theme 3: proposed changes implications conclusion from the editors building inclusive environments that support access and success for emergent multilingual learners gatesol journal 2022, vol. 32(1), pp. 1–3 doi:10.52242/gatesol.170 issn: 2331-6845 david l. chiesa university of georgia robert a. griffin university of west georgia the spring 2022 issue of gatesol journal provides language teachers, administrators, community developers, curriculum designers, and advocates of the emergent multilingual population in georgia, the u.s., and around the world with insights on developing inclusive practices. inclusion is “the act of creating environments in which any individual or group can feel welcomed, respected, supported, and valued to fully participate. an inclusive and welcoming climate embraces differences and offers respect in words and actions for all people'' (yw boston blog, 2019, para. 8). this issue will showcase how inclusive practices can be supported in language, culturally and linguistically responsive teaching practices, and peace-oriented education. teacher educators, international students, immigrant/refugees and inclusion classroom observation for both supervisory and non-supervisory purposes is a fact of life in second language and foreign language teaching. in fact, a widely accepted teacher development practice is for classroom teachers to be observed by more experienced teachers who are expected to provide helpful feedback on relevant qualities of classroom instruction. unfortunately, few programs prepare language teachers or teacher educators to serve as either feedback providers (e.g., supervisors, supportive peers) or as feedback receivers (e.g., teachers). this issue opens with the multilingual researcher, tuğba nur doğan faitour, and her empirical study about herself and her experiences. she examines her role as an emergent bilingual speaker of english who provides peer support to her colleague abroad who also identifies as an emergent bilingual. doğan faitour takes a mixed-methods approach and examines the quantity and quality of english mitigation devices used to discern the effectiveness of her feedback to create a safe, non-threatening, and inclusive context for the purposes of increasing teacher awareness. how to build an inclusive and safe space for multilingual learners is a theme ji ma also addresses in her literature review, which examines the challenges and strategies facing international students and faculty in the u.s. higher education system. ma’s literature review utilizes one book and 37 journal articles and aims to challenge “the normativity of the value of international education and international students by examining clr [culturally linguistically responsive] practices” (p. 32) to support international students. her paper uncovers the deep complexity of the varying relationships among international students, faculty, staff, and domestic students. ma proposes five instructional strategies, five classroom environment practices, and two 2 gatesol journal 32(1) student services that universities in the u.s. can implement which could alleviate challenges that international students face. with the efforts from faculty, staff, scholars, and students from multiple cultures, ma emphasizes that “we can build linguistic and culturally diverse spaces in academia that could benefit all” (p. 32). also interested in building inclusive learning environments that support access and success for multilingual learners is guptill, who discusses his original instructional design for adult immigrant and refugee populations. his curriculum design employs critical pedagogy and a language for peace approach, which aims to support language educators to teach english language skills and nourish and sustain students’ agency and empathy in localized civic engagements. his paper walks us through the process of answering the following inquiry: how can students, teachers, and community members work co-intentionally and collaboratively to create and sustain a civically engaged community? guptill provides readers with possible needs assessments, suggested activities for peace-oriented service-learning, and will provide you with ideas for incorporating civic engagement into your classrooms. inclusive and engaging pedagogical practices for language teaching and learning spaces the final three articles of this issue address best practices for engaging emergent bilingual students in learning. reyes, leckie, and stevenson use the term emergent bilingual, and not english learner, to strive for inclusivity because they argue that emergent bilingual emphasizes students’ linguistic assets (not deficiencies) and what these students bring to the teaching/learning space in schools. (gatesol journal recognizes the importance of this terminology and will strive to use it henceforth in all its editorials and promote it with authors who submit papers.) reyes, leckie, and stevenson emphasize the imperativeness for language educators to make “language and concepts visual and visible” (p. 52) in the learning environment because imagery can leverage access to content concepts and facilitate academic language development. they have identified several strategies and structures that are recognized to support students’ language and literacy development among emergent bilinguals, such as using anchor charts, interactive vocabulary walls with pictures, and sentence frames. reyes et al. draw our attention to the importance of enhancing family-school partnerships and connections among culturally and linguistically diverse students and their families. mobley and ramsay-jordan’s paper builds upon best practices for emergent bilingual students and transitions our understanding of the teaching environment to include virtual classrooms and spaces for learning. the article has us examine our own pedagogical practices and calls us to review the importance of providing meaningful interactions, understanding the power of student motivation, placing importance on vocabulary instruction, learning about the partnership model, and using graphic organizers. mobley and ramsay-jordan’s paper is a response to the current teaching and learning climate and is meant to support educators to produce creative ways to utilize virtual spaces for reading development and inclusivity. the final paper by kristensen addresses the best practices for engaging young emergent bilinguals and explains clearly and succinctly the teaching techniques of reader’s theatre and roleplay. kristensen summarizes how readers’ theatre was successfully implemented in a kindergarten classroom in atlanta, georgia, and outlines the procedure in a nine-step process. the guidelines shared in this teaching technique piece can support emergent bilinguals to engage in meaningful learning experiences while also increasing their language skills. chiesa & griffin 3 finally, i (david) would like to express my deepest gratitude and appreciation to my colleague, dr. robert griffin. the gatesol journal’s growth is due to his endurance and willingness to dedicate valuable time, energy, and resources to provide our readership with substantial and quality articles. his vision and persistence is going to be missed but we at gatesol journal look forward to reading his scholarship and seeing how it blossoms and influences the academic fields that he is a part of. thank you for all you have done dr. griffin. huzzah. reference yw boston blog. (2019, march 26). beyond the de&i acronym: what are diversity, equity, and inclusion? https://www.ywboston.org/2019/03/beyond-the-acronym-dei/ ____________________________________________________________________________ published: april 18, 2022 https://www.ywboston.org/2019/03/beyond-the-acronym-dei/ building inclusive environments that support access and success for emergent multilingual learners gatesol journal2022, vol. 32(1), pp. 1–3 doi:10.52242/gatesol.170 issn: 2331-6845 teaching technique allessandra elisabeth dos santos, research group vice-leader: technologies, education, and applied linguistics (tecla/cnpq), universidade federal de sergipe, brazil; email bethparis25@gmail.com. optimizing ai text generators for multilingual learners: the art of crafting effective prompts gatesol journal 2025, vol. 34(1), pp. 35–43 doi:10.52242/gatesol.193 issn: 2331-6845 allessandra elisabeth dos santos universidade federal de sergipe abstract the transformative role of generative artificial intelligence (genai) in language learning has shifted perspectives on the concept of writing. the challenges of writing are uniquely complex, encompassing a range of cognitive, cultural, and emotional dimensions. this article explores the crucial role of prompt engineering in leveraging the potential of genai platforms as a scaffolding strategy for writing with a focus on multilingual learners. by showcasing practical applications and examples, this teaching technique underscores the significance of well-structured prompts in providing scaffolding to support writing as a social practice, based on the prompt creation reference chart (dos santos et al., 2025). keywords generative artificial intelligence (genai), prompt engineering, scaffolding, writing, multilingual learners introduction generative artificial intelligence (genai) occupies a prominent position in the contemporary landscape of technological advancements impacting societal contexts, including education. the transformative capacity of ai text generators in language learning has shifted perspectives on the concept of writing (dos santos, 2024). the prior advent of digital technologies, which broadened the scope of literacy to encompass diverse multimodal forms – visual, auditory, and textual elements, has influenced this shift (casanave, 2020). this expansion of literacy perspectives enriches learning experiences and challenges traditional educational frameworks. the challenges of writing are uniquely complex, encompassing a range of cognitive, cultural, and emotional dimensions (casanave, 2018, 2020; boa sorte et al., 2021; russell-pinson & harris, 2019). specifically, writing anxiety impacts writing ability since it can affect the brainstorming of ideas and can lead to writer’s block (wern & rahmat, 2021). the introduction of ai-powered tools such as chatgpt has significantly altered second language (l2) writing pedagogies by automating and enhancing the writing process, offering new methods for student engagement and learning (yan, 2023). genai can be a powerful ally, providing tailored support through customized prompts that guide learners in navigating writing challenges (dos santos et al., 2025). this article explores the crucial role of prompt engineering in leveraging genai platforms as a scaffolding strategy for writing, with a focus on multilingual learners (mls). by showcasing practical applications and examples, this teaching technique underscores the significance of developing well-structured prompts to provide scaffolding to support writing as a social practice. mailto:bethparis25@gmail.com 36 gatesol journal 34(1) chatgpt: applications in language learning and education ai text generators, of which chatgpt is one example, can offer educators opportunities to develop higher levels of critical thinking by identifying and applying creative strategies for their integration (dos santos et al., 2023). educators can use chatgpt to create study plans tailored to each student's needs, allowing for more effective and efficient learning (skrabut, 2023). ai text generators1 can assist in generating questions that promote critical thinking and active engagement. genai platforms can help educators develop rubrics for assessing assignments, ensuring consistent grading. teachers can employ chatgpt to create realistic problem scenarios and case studies, providing students with practical applications of theoretical knowledge, thus preparing them for real-world challenges. chatgpt: ethics and implications the utilization of genai in education presents opportunities and challenges. while students may benefit from improved writing efficiency, significant academic integrity concerns have surfaced (jarrah et al., 2023; yan, 2023). these include potential threats to traditional learning paradigms and the necessity to revisit plagiarism definitions in an ai-dominated era. additionally, ai tools like chatgpt pose ethical challenges in academia, especially in research and publishing. reviewers and editors struggle to distinguish ai-generated content from original work, raising concerns about biases or misconduct like data fabrication (casal & kessler, 2023). given these ethical challenges, it is important to discuss ai text generators’ impact on authorship, creativity, and plagiarism (boa sorte et al., 2021). there is a need to integrate clear guidelines into curricula to promote the ethical usage of ai tools, while acknowledging their limitations and biases. such integration is crucial for maintaining educational value and fostering an environment that supports innovation and ethical responsibility (yan, 2023). practical applications of ai text generators as a scaffolding strategy for writing in writing instruction for mls, scaffolding is crucial (de oliveira & jones, 2023). by building on learners’ existing knowledge and progressively increasing task complexity, scaffolding enhances l2 writing skills. scaffolding includes guided practice, tailored feedback, and demonstrations of writing strategies through modeling, with explicit guidance gradually decreasing as learners' competence and confidence grow. when effectively employed, scaffolding can promote linguistic accuracy and integrate writing as a critical social practice. it equips learners to convey complex ideas and engage with diverse tasks across genres and disciplines, preparing them to navigate and contribute to various social contexts through skillful communication. modern pedagogical frameworks can incorporate ai tools like chatgpt and quillbot, adapting traditional scaffolding to enhance interaction and personalized learning (duncanson, 2024; barrot, 2023). teaching example in this ninth-grade english language arts (ela) class, students strengthen argument-based writing skills by producing 250 to 500-word book reviews. the students’ goal is to persuade peers to read the book they reviewed, part of their reading project. the task aligns with the ‘argue’ key language use in the wida framework (wida, 2020, p. 219), requiring well-supported arguments with robust evidence and reasoning. this cognitive load can be challenging and may 1 “ai text generators” refers to a variety of text-based genai platforms (rather than other forms of genai such as music, images, or code). chatgpt is one such example and is the platform used for the teaching technique illustrated. dos santos 37 trigger emotional reactions such as anguish and anxiety, especially when learners struggle with abstract thinking or articulating ideas (casanave, 2018; russell-pinson & harris, 2019). to address these cognitive and emotional challenges, learners are encouraged to collaborate in pairs or small groups, using chatgpt as a resource. the collaboration is structured into five steps, described below. step one: initial exploration of prompt writing and chatgpt’s responses. students are encouraged to explore chatgpt freely by writing prompts and discussing the outputs. for instance, one student’s prompt, “write a review about the book [title]”, lacks specific information (e.g., background, detailed characteristics of the task) and exemplifies unethical use of this platform since it bypasses the intellectual effort involved in writing, including critical analysis and creativity. another student tried the prompt “how can i write a book review?” chatgpt’s response was an extensive 14-step guide in bullet-point format, which can be overwhelming for some students because of the excessive amount of information. nevertheless, the output provided general insights and some initial characteristics of a scaffolding strategy for writing. these humanai interactions highlight the need for additional guidance to help students overcome writing challenges with chatgpt. step two: introducing the prompt creation reference chart. the teacher facilitates a discussion about the important role of prompt engineering in leveraging the potential of genai platforms. the teacher presents the prompt creation reference chart (dos santos et al., 2025), a tool that enables learners to customize well-structured prompts to generate outputs that serve as scaffolding during writing. the prompt creation reference chart (see figure 1) consists of three essential elements for the engineering of a well-structured, effective initial prompt: author, request, and purpose. the chart further describes each element as “(1) the prompt’s author: background information, (2) the main characteristics of the request: design, target audience, and theme, (3) and the purpose of the prompt: what the prompt is for, what the user wants to achieve” (dos santos et al., 2025, p. 17). step three: completing the prompt creation reference chart. following the structure of the prompt creation reference chart, students can include the necessary descriptive information related to each of the three elements (see figure 1). the teacher guides students through the chart completion process by eliciting information based on the format of the assignment. step four: crafting the prompt following the prompt creation reference chart. with the importance of the teacher-to-student gradual release of responsibility in mind, the teacher modeled writing a chatgpt prompt. the teacher used the chart as a guide, resulting in the following prompt (see figure 2). 38 gatesol journal 34(1) figure 1 prompt creation reference chart (adapted from dos santos et al., 2025) figure 2 creating a customized prompt dos santos 39 the selection of three colors aids in visually understanding prompt engineering. upon analyzing the color-highlighted segments, it becomes apparent that the elements author and request are straightforward, boosting students’ confidence to begin writing their own prompts. however, the purpose element is pivotal in employing genai ethically as a scaffolding technique. at this point, educators should raise students’ awareness about ethical and purpose-driven questions directing the writing of prompts: “what is my prompt for?” and “what do i want to achieve with it?” these replace command-based prompts like “write a review about the book [title],” a misuse of genai in education settings, emphasizing the need for ethical modeling in human-ai interactions. step five: discussing chatgpt’s response. unlike the general guide created from the prompt “how can i write a book review?,” chatgpt generated a structured set of instructions for composing a book review tailored for ninth-grade students. chatgpt meticulously segments the review process into distinct parts, guiding students during the writing of the review. these include an introduction with a catchy title, a concise summary that avoids spoilers, character analysis, and themes (see figure 3). figure 3 chatgpt output (openai, 2023) 40 gatesol journal 34(1) dos santos 41 continuing with the review process, the guidance covers writing style, emotional impact, and a persuasive conclusion. each section is equipped with precise word count limits and strategic advice, such as incorporating personal reflections, notable quotes, and comparisons to familiar works, enhancing both the engagement and analytical depth of the review. this structured guidance simplifies the writing task by encouraging critical thinking and effective communication among students. conclusion this article demonstrates how genai can be used as a scaffolding strategy for mls writing a persuasive book review assignment, and how prompt engineering can encourage students to engage critically with writing. although planned with an ela ninth-grade context in mind, the recommendations in this paper are transferable across other subjects, school grade levels, and higher education, supporting mls as they navigate cognitive and emotional challenges in writing. the prompt creation reference chart (dos santos et al., 2025) highlights key characteristics—author, request, and purpose—that guide the creation of structured prompts. these prompts scaffold mls’ writing by breaking down the process into manageable steps, fostering ethical genai engagement, and enhancing ai response efficacy. integrating genai supports various writing stages (barrot, 2023; duncanson, 2024; yan, 2023), from idea generation to content structuring and grammar refinement, creating an adaptive and personalized learning environment. this approach maintains learner engagement through interactive feedback and fosters independence as genai gradually adjusts the support level based on learner progress. the adoption of structured prompts guides students in interacting with ai text generators, building their confidence and autonomy in writing. 42 gatesol journal 34(1) references barrot, j. s. (2023). using chatgpt for second language writing: pitfalls and potentials. assessing writing, 57, 100745. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asw.2023.100745 boa sorte, p., farias, m. a. de f., dos santos, a. e., santos, j. do c. a., & dias, j. s. dos s. r. (2021). artificial intelligence in academic writing: what is in store with the gpt-3 algorithm? revista entrelinguas, 7(00), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.29051/el.v7i00.15352 casal, j. e., & kessler, m. (2023). can linguists distinguish between chatgpt/ai and human writing?: a study of research ethics and academic publishing. research methods in applied linguistics. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rmal.2023.100068 casanave, c. p. (2018). performing expertise in doctoral dissertations: thoughts on a fundamental dilemma facing doctoral students and their supervisors. journal of second language writing, 43(4), 57–62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2018.02.005 casanave, c. p. (2020). controversies in second language learning: dilemmas and decisions in research and instruction. the university of michigan press. de oliveira, l. c., & jones, l. (2023). teaching young multilingual learners. cambridge university press. dos santos, a. e., boa sorte, p., & de oliveira, l. c. (2025). generative artificial intelligence in writing: chatgpt and critical questioning for multilingual learners. in c. wang & z. tian (eds.), rethinking writing education in the age of generative ai (pp. 138–154). routledge. dos santos, a. e. (2024). generative artificial intelligence and its impact on writing [doctoral dissertation, federal university of sergipe]. https://ri.ufs.br/jspui/handle/riufs/20805 dos santos, a. e., olesova, l., vicentini, c., & de oliveira, l. c. (2023). chatgpt in elt: writing affordances and activities. tesol connections. https://tcnewsletter.s3. amazonaws.com/newsmanager.commpartners.com/tesolc/issues/2023-05-01/2.html duncanson, j. (2024). supporting l2 writing using quillbot. gatesol journal, 33(1), 33–39. https://doi.org/10.52242/gatesol.195 jarrah, a. m., wardat, y. & fidalgo, p. (2023). using chatgpt in academic writing is (not) a form of plagiarism: what does the literature say? online journal of communication and media technologies, 13(4). https://doi.org/10.30935/ojcmt/13572 openai. (2023). chatgpt (mar 23 version) [large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat russell-pinson, l., & harris, m. l. (2019). anguish and anxiety, stress and strain: attending to writers’ stress in the dissertation process. journal of second language writing, 43(1), 63– 71. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2017.11.005 skrabut, s. (2023). 80 ways to use chatgpt in the classroom: using ai to enhance teaching and learning [e-book]. stan skrabut. https://books2read.com/u/bqnv1w wern, t., & rahmat, n. (2021). an investigative study on the types and causes of esl writing anxiety: a case study of learners from a chinese independent middle school. european journal of english language teaching, 6(3). http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejel.v6i3.3553 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asw.2023.100745 https://doi.org/10.29051/el.v7i00.15352 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rmal.2023.100068 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2018.02.005 https://ri.ufs.br/jspui/handle/riufs/20805 https://tcnewsletter.s3.amazonaws.com/newsmanager.commpartners.com/tesolc/issues/2023-05-01/2.html https://tcnewsletter.s3.amazonaws.com/newsmanager.commpartners.com/tesolc/issues/2023-05-01/2.html https://doi.org/10.52242/gatesol.195 https://doi.org/10.30935/ojcmt/13572 https://chat.openai.com/chat https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2017.11.005 https://books2read.com/u/bqnv1w http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejel.v6i3.3553 dos santos 43 wida. (2020). wida english language development standards framework, 2020 edition: kindergarten–grade 12. board of regents of the university of wisconsin system. yan, d. (2023). impact of chatgpt on learners in a l2 writing practicum: an exploratory investigation. education and information technologies, 28(1), 13943–13967. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-023-11742-4 ____________________________________________________________________________ received: february 2, 2024 | accepted: may 2, 2025 | published: october 2025 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-023-11742-4 gatesol journal optimizing ai text generators for multilingual learners: the art of crafting effective prompts 2025, vol. 34(1), pp. 35–43 doi:10.52242/gatesol.193 issn: 2331-6845 article dr. rong liu, associate professor, georgia gwinnett college, lawrenceville, ga; email rliu@ggc.edu. have you tilted? promote student success by tilted assignments gatesol journal 2022, vol. 32(2), pp. 43–50 doi:10.52242/gatesol.149 issn: 2331-6845 rong liu georgia gwinnett college abstract transparency in learning and teaching (tilt) has been found to result in student success through avenues such as academic confidence, sense of belonging, and motivation. this article discusses the application of tilted writing assignments in a multilingual, college english composition course designated for english for academic purposes (eap). the author shares the steps involved in transforming existing assignments into transparent tilted assignments and discusses how tilted assignments in the classrooms have the potential to promote student engagement and help eap students succeed in college classrooms. keywords tilt, transparency in learning and teaching, student success, english for academic purposes (eap), writing assignments introduction the deficit in literacy in the united states is dire; according to the national center for education statistics (nces, 2019), 20% of adults are having problems in english reading comprehension and writing. multilingual students face even greater literacy challenges because of restricted linguistic input and cultural knowledge. i am fortunate to teach at one of the most diverse colleges in the southern united states. many of my students were not born in the u.s., and english is their second or additional language. as a result, many students face many reading and writing challenges. the problem is further exacerbated by the limitations on the number of learning support courses available for students. currently, the college has merely a single learning support course. thus, it is very challenging to close the gap in english within the span of just one semester with only one learning support course. to find new ways to improve student success in freshman courses, the composition committee searched for high impact teaching practices (finley & mcnair, 2013) and decided to adopt tilt, which stands for transparency in learning and teaching (tilt) to promote student success (winkelmes et al., 2016; also see below for details). tilt emphasizes teachers making conscious efforts to ensure learners understand how and why they are completing the target assignment. the initiative for this model was started by the association of american colleges & universities in 2014 and has since gained popularity in various institutions (association of american colleges and universities, 2011; gianoutsos & winkelmes, 2016). the tilt framework has gained traction due to books including small teaching (lang, 2016), how college works (chambliss & takacs, 2014), and transparent design in higher education teaching and leadership (felten & finley, 2019). as a member on the composition committee and a participant of the tilt practice, the author shares the steps and discusses potential benefits of the tilting teaching technique in an english for academic purposes (eap) course, a learning support course for first-year composition. mailto:rliu@ggc.edu 44 gatesol journal 32(2) purpose of this study this paper aims to introduce tilting, a teaching technique to promote student success, to interested teachers. the paper intends to provide guidance to create tilted assignments by discussing one exemplar writing assignment in an eap writing course in higher education. after providing a brief explanation of the framework, the paper offers a short review of the research showing the positive benefits of the technique. the paper then describes the teaching context, and illustrates the three steps, i.e., purpose, task and criteria, for implementing a tilted assignment by comparing a non-tilted assignment and a revised tilted assignment. finally, the paper offers the observed benefits of tilting for student success and discusses its possible impact for classroom teachers. the tilt framework the tilt framework is the result of the transparency in learning and teaching in higher education project, which started in 2009 and led by mary-ann winkelmes. the framework stresses the importance of making teaching and learning transparent, i.e., making learning processes explicit and accessible (winkelmes et al., 2016). communicating how and why students learn course content leads to transparency in teaching and learning. to design tilted assignments, teachers need to include three key elements: purpose, task, criteria for success. purpose includes information why students are completing the assignments and what knowledge or skills they will gain and how they will apply the knowledge or skills in real life. task informs students the specific steps needed to complete the assignment and pitfalls to avoid. criteria tells students what successful assignments may look like and how their work will be evaluated. criteria could include checklists, rubrics and samples with comments. impact of tilted assignments in the classroom the teaching method has been found to enhance students’ academic confidence, sense of belonging, and awareness of skills valued by future employers (hart research associates, 2015; winkelmes et al., 2016). about 1800 students and 35 faculty participated in the winkelmes et al.’s study, and 89% of the student participants were students from non-white backgrounds. faculty only made two assignments transparent and students became more confident academically, felt more affiliated with the school, and learned more job skills. gianoutsos and winkelmes (2016) found that tilting increased students’ retention rates, especially those of underserved students. their study showed that one year later, students who were in primarily transparent courses continued as registered students at a rate of 15.5% higher than the rest of their counterparts. in addition, studies found that the sense of belonging and confidence that students gained from transparent classes positively correlated with greater persistence and better academic performance (aronson et al., 2002; walton & cohen, 2011). moreover, a recent study by howard et al. (2020) showed that transparent assignments reduced the negative impact of online learning for non-white students. creating tilted assignments may also promote student engagement and success in a covid-19 environment where many students struggle to focus in a hybrid or online teaching mode. during remote teaching, many students may have difficulties communicating frequently with the instructor due to barriers such as internet connectivity, sickness, and lack of access to childcare. fortunately, creating tilted assignments does not interrupt normal teaching and does not require extra resources as demonstrated by the following exemplar application. liu 45 description of the teaching context the author went through a tilt training workshop and successfully integrated tilted assignments into his english for academic purposes (eap) section of a collegiate freshmen composition course. students in the course were english language learners who were taking developmental writing concurrently with freshman composition. this eap course aims to provide just-in-time support for students’ writing. tilted assignments are an ideal, high impact teaching practice which promotes student success and can be applied across curriculums with little interruption of the current classroom teaching; for english language learners, this is especially beneficial because they need more scaffolding than their native english-speaking counterparts (nces, 2019). when teachers design a task, the level of detail provided in instructions must parallel the degree of language proficiency and more importantly, provide a roadmap to success. otherwise, the instructions are not appropriate (or even accessible) for the multilingual students. steps for implementing tilted writing assignments three key elements including purpose, task, and criteria must be incorporated into any successful tilted assignment (winkelmes et al., 2016). according to winkelmes et al., these three elements are essential to transparency, as well as student understanding, learning, and success. purpose answers the question why students should do the task and motivates students; task answers the question what exact the assignment is and helps eliminate any misunderstanding; criteria address the question how the assignment is going to be evaluated and provide clear expectations of the product. these elements are incorporated into tilted lessons as three steps, all of which make the writing assignments transparent to promote student success. step one: articulate the purpose of the assignment during the purpose step, the instructor clearly articulates to students the critical writing and reading skills they should learn or practice while completing the assignment, the content knowledge students should gain from assignment completion, and how students might use the skills they have gained later, both inside and outside of the classroom. the instructor may use terms such as understanding, analyzing, evaluating, and others from bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives to communicate the purpose of the assignment to students. thus, after tilting, the assignment now should have four layers of purpose: real world connections, career connections, college performance, and course outcomes. providing these four layers of purpose may engender students to view tilted assignments more favorably, since the assignments and their associated skills are relevant to their lives (winkelmes et al., 2016). the students in this course are advanced english learners who are college students; thus the author chose the bloom’s taxonomy as the objectives as suggested by winkelmes et al. (2016). however, depending on the proficiency level of students, teachers can adjust the purpose of the tilt model. for example, instructors may choose objectives based on the wida levels for k–12 english learners (wida, 2020). for advanced multilingual college students, instructors may design objectives based on level 6 of the wida scale. as seen in table 1 below, my initial non-tilted writing assignment lacks transparency as to the purpose of the assignment. the tilted assignment is transparent with four lays of the above-mentioned purpose. 46 gatesol journal 32(2) table 1 articulation of purpose before and after the application of the tilt framework in an assignment assignment before tilt purpose not transparent assignment after tilt purpose transparent purpose: not articulated purpose: real world connections: we make evaluations for various purposes and audiences, sometimes without realizing that we are making judgments. when you make a decision about going to a particular college, choosing a career, or even dating someone, you have evaluated the subjects. the evaluation project will help you make quality judgments. career connections: the goal of this project is to evaluate a specific major or career. using the widely accepted standards of judgment, you will determine if your chosen major or career is a good fit for you or not. the skills you will acquire from completing this assignment will help you make more informed decisions in your career as well. for example, you will learn what standards or criteria are appropriate for your purpose and audience for decision making. college performance: you will practice the writing literacy that is essential for most of your college courses such as history, arts and others. course outcomes: (1) to engage individually and collaboratively in the writing process including: prewriting, writing, editing, assessing, and revising; and (2) to become acquainted with research and documentation techniques. step two: define the task during the task step, the instructor holds a class discussion in which he or she names, defines, and outlines the assignment so that students know what they are to do and how to go about accomplishing it (winkelmes et al., 2019). specifically, the instructor outlines the procedure for completing the assignment, provides a few recommended steps which will aid students as they complete the assignment, as well as offers suggestions as to how to best overcome various assignment challenges (winkelmes et al., 2016). the detailed outline of the procedure provides students with a blue-print or scaffold for creating their assignment, boosting students’ confidence in their abilities to complete the task, while reducing their anxiety (winkelmes et al., 2019). during the discussion, the instructor may ask students direct, targeted questions, ones which will help them to make connections between the posed questions and the assignment. targeted questions, and the guided discussions which follow, should be crafted to foster better understanding of the assignment and help students to relate to it, thus creating transparency (winkelmes, 2013). as shown in table 2, although the original assignment names the task students are to complete and provide them with a general procedure for completing it, the initial, non-tilted writing assignment lacks the procedural details found in a tilted assignment and does not offer liu 47 them any suggestions or aid as to how to best tackle assignment problems. furthermore, although students are asked one question related to the assignment, the assignment does not cover the importance of evaluation, how to conduct a reliable evaluation (an important life skill), and how the assignment might be used to help them make better life choices in the future, such as choice of major or career. therefore, transparency is not accomplished with the initial assignment. table 2 definition of task before and after the application of the tilt framework in an assignment assignment before tilt task not transparent assignment after tilt task transparent task: for this assignment, you will write an evaluation paper which will be due in the dropbox on d2l 9:00 am on monday, april 30. the task will be to assess your choice of major or career path. why is the major or career a particularly good one? once you have determined the primary audience on which to focus your evaluation, you will need to come up with different criteria for evaluating the major or career and then compare and contrast different majors or careers based on the audience and criteria you have chosen. you will need to justify your evaluation by presenting evidence from 3 articles which will come from a bibliography list provided to you by your instructor. task: this assignment will focus on evaluation— assessing your choice of major or career path. why is the major or career you have chosen (or are considering) a particularly good one? why is it significantly better than other choices? you will continue to develop your critical thinking and analytical abilities as you make an evaluative argument about its comparative nature and provide evidence for how it meets (or does not meet) specific criteria that you determine. we will practice identifying appropriate criteria to evaluate your chosen major or career and will provide specific examples to support those criteria. the final evaluation should be 3-4 pages double-spaced in length excluding the works cited page. steps first, choose an audience to whom will you be directing this evaluation? your parents? a future employer? a scholarship committee? you need to create some reason for making this kind of evaluation at this particular time, so that you can better tailor your evaluation’s focus. remember that your credibility is vitally important here, as it is in all good arguments, so take care to present yourself as someone who is well-informed about the issue you are discussing. your credibility will also be influenced by how well you present yourself as the kind of person your audience wants to listen to: a reasonable, thoughtful, and considerate individual. next, research and develop your argument to create an evaluative argument, you will work through the following stages: 48 gatesol journal 32(2) develop a thesis statement that makes a claim about the quality of your major or career path establish criteria for evaluating the target major/ career under discussion, research information about your major or career, and present and discuss details to demonstrate how your chosen major or career does or does not fit your criteria. step three: make criteria clear during this step, the instructor details his or her expectations of the finished writing product, as well as the criteria used for grading. it is recommended to list information such as characteristics of a successful paper, providing real samples of papers of various degree of success to help students distinguish a successful paper from a poor paper, and including a checklist of requirements (formatting, thesis, citations, grammar, page length, etc.) in order to assist students in evaluating their work (burton, 2006; winkelmes et al., 2019). providing a rubric if appropriate for the assignments is also recommended (pui et al., 2020). as table 3 demonstrates, the original assignment is less transparent; the revised assignment is more transparent with a list of expected features of the paper, and it provides a rubric and example papers with comments for students to examine. during the classroom teaching, the students use a rubric and a checklist to evaluate example papers and complete peer reviews. the rubric and the checklist provide students with opportunities to self-check. table 3 criteria before and after the application of the tilt framework in an assignment assignment before tilt criteria not transparent assignment after tilt criteria transparent your paper should be 3-4 pages double-spaced in length. you will need to justify your evaluation by presenting evidence from the web sites themselves and evidence from 3 articles which will come from a bibliography list provided to you by your instructor. your project should show your proficiency with writing mechanics. criteria: your evaluation should… possess a clear, evaluative thesis statement in terms of the defined criteria show attention to audience values through word choice, selection of details, tone, and organization identify and define clearly the criteria used to evaluate the text in question provide specific examples to support each criterion incorporate at least three secondary sources (cited in mla format); one of the three must be academic your entire project should show your proficiency with writing mechanics. this includes the appropriate use of citations, sentence structure, word choice, grammar, spelling, and punctuation. rubric and checklist: see d2l content week 10—rubric; checklist liu 49 see d2l content week 10 for example evaluation papers. closing thoughts in tilted assignments, students are provided with a well-articulated purpose for completing assignments, and the task and criteria for completions are made transparent. the targeted question, detailed procedures, and recommendations have provided students with a roadmap to success. as a result of tilted assignments, many of the students are more motivated to complete assignments because they have found both academic and real-world value in completing their assignments. many students also had less anxiety and less confusion about the assignment. since the research on tilt is quite new (winkelmes et al., 2016; winkelmes et al., 2019), there is no particular past research targeting the language acquisition in specific areas such as grammar, listening and speaking. however, the tilt technique has the great potential to improve students’ language learning based on the past research and the current informal observation. for instance, students in general were found more motivated and felt more confident about learning as shown by several studies (e.g., winkelmes et al., 2016; yong, 2017), which will lead to more success in language acquisition. future research is necessary to confirm the observed benefits for language learners. for instructors, creating tilted assignments requires time and efforts. initially, the transformation may be difficult due to the explicit directions and extra time. however, once it is completed, teachers may find the rewarding is worthwhile since the transparency of the lessons enhances student engagement and success. teachers can use their existing assignments and transform them into tilted assignments following the three steps outlined above. the change requires little resources and does not disrupt normal teaching. teachers can also use this transformation as a chance to examine their teaching objectives and criteria in order to design fully transparent assignments which are better aligned with their course outcomes. although the population is advanced language learners in a college composition course, the tilt teaching technique can be adapted to other settings. for instance, for k–12 language teachers, to make their assignments more transparent, they could adapt the tilt method by using the wida levels as the purpose, provide recommended steps to complete a task and supply grading criteria and example products. references aronson, j., fried, c., & good, c. 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(2019). transparent design in higher education teaching and leadership: a guide to implementing the transparency framework institutionwide to improve learning and retention. stylus publishing. ____________________________________________________________________________ received: november 07, 2021 | accepted: july 26, 2022 | published: october 26, 2022 https://doi.org/10.1080/15512169.2018.1550420 https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2020.1795811 https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.3092 have you tilted? promote student success by tilted assignments gatesol journal2022, vol. 32(2), pp. 43–50 doi:10.52242/gatesol.149 issn: 2331-6845 criteria: your evaluation should… from the board published: november 2025 our shared commitment gatesol journal 2025, vol. 34(1), p. 3 doi:10.52242/gatesol.208 issn: 2331-6845 dear colleagues, across the country, educators of multilingual learners are navigating a period of uncertainty and change. conversations about language policy, equity, and access in u.s. schools have intensified, often leaving teachers, families, and advocates feeling both hopeful and anxious about what comes next. these shifts remind us how deeply connected our work is to the broader social and political landscape of education. while policies evolve and guidance shifts, what remains constant is our shared commitment to the rights and success of multilingual learners. this moment calls upon us to reflect, not retreat. federal guidance may change over time, but our shared values do not. gatesol has always stood for the principles of access, equity, and justice in education, and those principles continue to guide our mission. on behalf of the 2025 gatesol board, we reaffirm our collective dedication to multilingual students, their families, and the educators who serve them with care, professionalism, and heart. even as national directives evolve, our responsibility remains the same. we will continue to ensure that educational programs are grounded in sound research, informed by effective practice, and responsive to the linguistic and cultural strengths that students bring to their learning. we remain committed to creating classrooms that recognize multilingualism as an asset and that sustain high expectations for all learners. at gatesol, we also recognize that this moment reinforces the importance of collaboration. the challenges before us cannot be addressed by individual effort alone. they require coordinated partnerships among educators, families, communities, and policymakers who share a common purpose. our work benefits from listening, learning, and working together to support the success and well-being of every multilingual learner. we remain focused on promoting meaningful family engagement, preserving and honoring heritage languages, and developing learning environments that foster belonging and academic growth. through professional learning, shared knowledge, and community connection, gatesol continues to serve as a trusted resource for educators and leaders throughout georgia and beyond. rescinded or not, the foundational principles of access, equity, and justice for multilingual learners are non-negotiable. these principles define who we are as an organization and as a professional community. our work is not dependent on any single policy but on our enduring belief that every learner deserves the opportunity to succeed. together, we affirm our conviction that linguistic diversity is an essential strength of our schools and our society. in every classroom, every district, and every conversation about the future of education, gatesol will remain committed to ensuring that multilingual learners are fully supported, valued, and included. the 2025 gatesol board: dr. david l. chiesa, ms. susan mann, dr. anna yang, dr. benjamin bradshaw, dr. alisa leckie, ms. maria gillentine, dr. nihal kote, dr. jennifer pendergrass-bennefield, dr. nadine lucatepierre, mr. terrence burger, ms. rochelle ememifar, dr. geraki marie kossonou, dr. george daniels, dr. elizabeth webb, dr. eliana hirano, dr. alexandra j. reyes; email info@gatesol.org. gatesol journal2025, vol. 34(1), p. 3 our shared commitment doi:10.52242/gatesol.208 issn: 2331-6845 teaching techniques dr. adil bentahar, assistant professor, english language institute, university of delaware, newark, de; email badil@udel.edu kenneth cranker, assistant professor, english language institute, university of delaware, newark, de; email kcranker@udel.edu enhancing intensive english program reading and writing courses through integrated-skill activities gatesol journal 2021, vol. 31(1), pp. 54–60 doi:10.52242/gatesol.113 issn: 2331-6845 adil bentahar university of delaware kenneth cranker university of delaware abstract in an increasingly competitive global intensive english programs (ieps) environment (benshoff, 2018), developing courses that efficiently meet student needs and equip students with skills essential for university success is paramount. many ieps develop reading and writing (rw) courses around one textbook for reading and another for writing, essentially separating rw skills from listening and speaking skills (oxford, 2001). however, our university foundation-year program has started to integrate listening and speaking skills with instruction and assessment into rw courses. instructors have observed what appear to be increased gains in learning when students pre-read, read, discuss, listen to related lectures, present, and then write about academic topics. students’ writing reveals greater voice as they seem to understand topics more deeply and have developed greater fluency with ideas and terminology and an increased ability to paraphrase, summarize, and synthesize, aligning with findings in related literature (e.g., horowitz, 1986). this integrated-skill approach also more closely resembles university tasks than the segregated-skill approach does. this article explains the integrated-skill approach, examines its impact on revitalizing iep rw instruction, and showcases some sample activities. keywords reading and writing (rw), extensive reading, integrated-skill approach (isa), student success, intensive english programs (ieps) background although the concept of the integrated-skill approach (isa) is not new to intensive english programs (ieps; brauer, n.d.), there seems to be little agreement among iep instructors regarding which specific components should be included in reading and writing (rw) courses. some programs employ a segregated-skill approach to language instruction, where the mastery of discrete language skills (e.g., reading or speaking) is deemed paramount to successful learning (oxford, 2001). however, many scholars have described the effectiveness and merits of isa (bentahar, 2021; ellis & yuan, 2004; gautam, 2019; lee, 2006; mitrofanova & chemezov, 2011; su, 2007), where several of the four main skills, as well as related or associated skills (e.g., mailto:badil@udel.edu mailto:kcranker@udel.edu bentahar & cranker 55 spelling, vocabulary, and syntax), are “interwoven during instruction,” leading to “optimal esl/efl communication” (oxford, 2001, p. 2). isa is an effective teaching approach that “focuses on [the] mastery of meaning, fluency and communication as a whole language system” (gautam, 2019, p. 106). in taiwan, for example, 90% of the student participants recommended continuing isa after 65 english as a foreign language (efl) students were exposed to authentic materials and realistic activities through isa, enhancing seamless interaction with texts and classmates (su, 2007). isa has also been associated with enthusiastic student attitudes (mitrofanova & chemezov, 2011) and greater language proficiency when compared to instruction with content organized and delivered with the intent to teach grammar (alptekin et al., 2007). while isa has been linked to natural language production by students (sanchez, 2000), it has also positively influenced student writing performance when reading, listening, and writing are integrated (heffernan, 2006). one final note worth sharing is that the sequencing of the activities used in a lesson or series of lessons should begin with receptive skills before proceeding to productive ones (mcdonough et al., 2013). impact of isa informed by the classroom the new credit-bearing foundation-year program at our university successfully uses an isa to rw instruction and assessment. using isa, classroom activities combine several skills to equip lowadvanced level international students, predominantly from china and saudi arabia, with the competencies and knowledge they need to succeed with university reading and writing tasks. prior to 2017, our program taught pre-university courses following the segregated-skill approach, with listening and speaking skills being minimized in rw instruction. in transitioning from the segregated-skill approach to isa, and having taught rw using both approaches, we have observed several positive changes after implementing isa in the classroom. we have observed that students more confidently use vocabulary acquired through reading and discussion in their summary, response, and synthesis writing. moreover, the students seem to enjoy freer and more natural discussion leading to more appropriate language in writing using isa. one student who took the same course twice, once in an rw-only manner, and once by isa, even voluntarily reported on three occasions the isa course was considerably more enjoyable. considering these observations, it is our view that learning gains increase and are likely more permanent, and activities are more affectively appealing when several learning tasks and skills are integrated. more satisfactory levels of student engagement and grasp of content were also manifest in the students’ speaking and writing performances. based on classroom observations, we agree with kebede (2013) that isa increases purpose for learning, brings variety and authenticity, improves transfer of knowledge to other areas, develops overall communicative competence, and enhances analysis and synthesis better than segregated-skill courses do. amidst declining student populations in schools and plummeting enrollments in ieps, which suffered 26% loss of enrollment in 2016 and 2017 at the national level (benshoff, 2018), perhaps the advantages of isa are noteworthy. college students, both domestic and international, are consistently required to write or speak about what they hear in lectures or read in textbooks or other sources; therefore, iep rw instruction that requires the integration of all skill areas aims to match university requirements and to equip students to be successful at processing the information they are expected to master. the goal is the effective and economical acquisition of multiple skills simultaneously. 56 gatesol journal 31(1) sample integrated-skill activities from the language classroom what follows are several typical assignments used in isa classes in our iep. while the focus of this article is on reading-based techniques integrating other language skills, not all isa activities have to begin with reading, so sharing one activity involving listening as the basis of integration is worthwhile. listening-oriented activity one integrated-skill activity is for esl/efl students to listen to a lecture and take notes. preteaching the techniques of effective note-taking before students engage in this activity is vital. some of these techniques include using outline-style organization with relationships displayed by indentation with dashes, abbreviating, telegramming ideas without worrying about grammar, employing symbols, and noting spoken details in addition to information on slides. then, they use their notes to answer discussion questions in small groups. each group can eventually collaboratively write a summary of the lecture based on its answers to those questions. many researchers (e.g., khazaal, 2019; oxford, 2001) agree that summarizing or analyzing text, including auditory text, in written form helps esl/efl students activate their writing skills. this activity incorporates listening, note-taking, speaking, and writing, building a wide variety of skills necessary for university study. reading comprehension activity one textbook unit deals with health. after completing pre-reading and reading activities associated with four key texts in the unit, students also listen to and watch a video created by the second author of this article, while taking notes they will use for discussion. after the discussion, they write a synthesis paper using ideas from at least two textbook readings, the video, their discussion, and a supplemental source of their choosing, all cited in apa format. this assignment helps students learn content knowledge on the topic of health with targeted reading and vocabulary development and assessment. it also consolidates their ideas orally and culminates with a synthesis paper where the students demonstrate essential skills of paraphrasing, summarizing, and synthesizing. overall, this entire process weaves in and out among reading, listening, speaking, and various forms of writing. similar progressions may be followed in textbook units dealing with any topic that is applicable to esl/efl students. another typical isa task is for esl/efl students to read an article and to highlight the main ideas while they are reading it. after reading and highlighting, they create a list of bullet points summarizing the main ideas of the text to share in a small or large group discussion; the group must then discuss the significance of each bullet point. this activity integrates reading, short-form writing by creating the bullet points, speaking, and listening. the condensation of a text into bullet points and subsequent re-expansion of those points in group discussion is an effective way for students to acquire the language and ideas of a text while still activating their writing skills (oxford, 2001). a third integrated-skill activity involves students reading an article, processing it, and answering comprehension questions and vocabulary exercises. after checking the text comprehension, the instructor dictates a short (20–50 words) passage from that article, and students write down the passage as dictated. then, they can compare what they wrote to the actual text in the source and discuss what parts of the dictation they missed and why. this self-assessment and “languaging” by the students about their own strengths and weaknesses in listening helps them notice peculiarities in the language and consider strategies to apply for personal improvement. if bentahar & cranker 57 the results are presented to the class, the entire class becomes more aware of the subtleties and challenges of listening, such as catching word endings, reductions, and vocabulary that they recognize visually but not aurally. this activity integrates listening, writing, discussing, presenting, and using metacognitive skills. extended reading activity one method of integrating skills requires the incorporation of extensive or extended reading into speaking or writing learning activities. fields (2017) noted that extensive reading is long reading that is at or below level, freely read, and unassessed (day & bamford, 1998), while extended reading uses relatively long articles that are above level, assigned, and assessed. he also found extended reading an effective alternative to extensive reading. in the context of our university academic transitions program, the aim of which is to enable students to bridge the gap between reading at perhaps a 9th-grade level and being able to read college textbooks, a 200+ page book that may be above student reading levels is used. for example, one book presents findings of a major scientific study related to longevity, so it has a lexile level of 11th to 12th grade. students read this extended reading book over the course of the semester, at a pace of a chapter with approximately 20 pages per week. this pace might approximate a few articles similar to those described by fields (2017). students are instructed to highlight the main ideas and note unknown vocabulary from their assigned pages. during discussion, students present that vocabulary to the class, teaching each other vocabulary from their own annotations. then, in small groups, they discuss comprehension questions prepared by the instructor. each group then presents its answers to a set of questions to the class. finally, each student writes a summary of the chapter, properly emphasizing the most important point of the chapter and including the main idea(s) of each section of the chapter. students are also instructed to include a small quotation from the chapter with the proper citations and references per apa format. alternatively, they may write a reflective response to the chapter with similar citation instructions. this activity integrates reading, vocabulary building, discussing, presenting, writing, and academic citing. an additional method for integrating skills can be employed when the extended reading book is related to a theme or themes from the reading textbook because, as sedita (2018) posited, readers’ knowledge about a given topic can lead to improved reading comprehension. after building knowledge through longer and deeper reading, students can compare and contrast the ideas from the extended reading book and the reading textbook in small or large group discussion (see table 1). this discussion can then be the springboard for writing assignments such as a compare-and-contrast essay (see figure 1). the processing and re-processing of material fosters students’ understanding of language and content, as well as voice in their writing. simultaneously, such work cultivates students’ essential university-level skills, such as paraphrasing, summarizing, synthesizing, thinking critically, and using varied sources. another effective exercise is for the instructors to use a national public radio interview with the authors of the longevity book, wherein the students hear the authors’ voices and responses to callers’ questions and/or comments. this exercise is well integrated because the students connect what they have read over several weeks with what they are hearing. in addition, instructors provide group discussion questions, with each group member responsible for answering 2-3 questions, synthesizing information from the interview and the book and connecting this information with the students’ own culture. 58 gatesol journal 31(1) table 1 results of discussion comparing textbook with extended reading factor textbook extended reader sanitation very important more important than medicine vaccines may help eradicate malaria one of the strengths of medicine medicine extend life but expensive; access not equal overmedicalization is a problem education key to future increases education per se not important; conscientiousness and success much more so diet important u.s. obesity has increased with greater public attention to diet (since 1960s) personality factors not addressed conscientiousness extremely important; catastrophizing deadly social factors not addressed social networks, altruism and steady marriage important career success not addressed important, but conscientiousness is underlying factor note. this figure demonstrates results of discussion where the students compared content from the textbook unit readings(s) and the extended reading bentahar & cranker 59 figure 1 basic instructions for the compare-contrast essay assignment your reading textbook and your extended reader both shared views on factors that influence longevity. sometimes they were similar, but sometimes they were quite different. compare and contrast the claims of the two sources in a compare and/or contrast essay. begin with a definition of longevity. then assert that similarities and/or differences exist between the two sources and mention three points you will discuss (this all will be in your introduction.) then continue to explain those similarities and/or differences in the following paragraphs, and wrap up your essay with a conclusion. ● you must cite the textbook and the extended reader. ● the table you filled out in your group discussion will be of great use to you. ● citations and a reference list must be properly formatted ● include one quotation and cite it properly. ● use academic language. note. this figure demonstrates an assignment where the students compare and/or contrast longevity factors using two sources, the textbook unit and the extended reading. conclusion the core strength of the aforementioned activities within the course is that students not only read and write, but they also listen, discuss, and present content. per our observations and student feedback, the integrated-skill approach (isa) to reading and writing (rw) instruction and assessment seems to be more effective than teaching skills in an isolated manner. while we have observed the expediency and feasibility of this approach to teaching rw in language institutions and have informally evaluated its effectiveness merely through anecdotal evidence, future empirical research using mixed-method designs is needed to further support student perceptions of their learning outcomes using isa. references alptekin, c., erçetin, g., & bayyurt, y. (2007). the effectiveness of a theme-based syllabus for young l2 learners. journal of multilingual and multicultural development, 28(1), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.2167/jmmd470.1 benshoff, l. (2018, may 16). with international student enrollment declining in the u.s., intensive english programs feel the pinch. https://www.marketplace.org/2018/05/16/internationalstudent-enrollment-declining-us-intensive-english-programs-feel/ bentahar, a. (2021). four key factors of reading instruction. https://sites.udel.edu/eli/2020/12/03/ eli-insights-four-key-factors-of-reading-instruction/ brauer, d. (n.d.). the evolution of alp: an overview. https://u.osu.edu/osuiep/ day, r. r., & bamford, j. (1998). extensive reading in the second language classroom. cambridge university press. ellis, r., & yuan, f. (2004). the effects of planning on fluency, complexity, and accuracy in second language narrative writing. studies in second language acquisition, 26(1), 59–84. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0272263104026130 fields, m. (2017). extended reading: a teacher-directed alternative to extensive reading. journal of asia tefl, 14(1), 197–204. https://doi.org/10.18823/asiatefl.2017.14.1.15.197 https://doi.org/10.2167/jmmd470.1 https://www.marketplace.org/2018/05/16/international-student-enrollment-declining-us-intensive-english-programs-feel/ https://www.marketplace.org/2018/05/16/international-student-enrollment-declining-us-intensive-english-programs-feel/ https://sites.udel.edu/eli/2020/12/03/eli-insights-four-key-factors-of-reading-instruction/ https://sites.udel.edu/eli/2020/12/03/eli-insights-four-key-factors-of-reading-instruction/ https://u.osu.edu/osuiep/ https://doi.org/10.1017/s0272263104026130 https://www.researchgate.net/journal/journal-of-asia-tefl-1738-3102 https://www.researchgate.net/journal/journal-of-asia-tefl-1738-3102 https://doi.org/10.18823/asiatefl.2017.14.1.15.197 60 gatesol journal 31(1) gautam, p. (2019). integrated and segregated teaching of language skills: an exploration. journal of nelta gandaki, 1, 100–107. https://doi.org/10.3126/jong.v1i0.24464 heffernan, n. (2006). an integrated approach to teaching academic writing. the asian efl journal quarterly, 8(3), 151–170. https://www.asian-efl-journal.com/main-editionsnew/an-integrated-approach-to-teaching-academic-writing horowitz, d. m. (1986). what professors actually require: academic tasks for the classroom. tesol quarterly, 20, 445–460. https://doi.org/10.2307/3586294 kebede, d. (2013). the implementation of language skills integration in english as a foreign language (efl) classes [unpublished master’s thesis]. jimma college of teachers. https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/handle/20.500.12413/6973 khazaal, e. n. (2019). improving postgraduates’ academic writing skills with summarizing strategy. arab world english journal, 10(3), 413–428. https://doi.org/10.24093/awej/ vol10no3.29 lee, y. (2006). the process-oriented esl writing assessment: promises and challenges. journal of second language writing, 15(4), 307–330. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2006.09.003 mcdonough, j., shaw, c., & masuhara, h. (2013). materials and methods in elt: a teacher’s guide (3rd ed.). wiley-blackwell. mitrofanova, k., & chemezov, s. (2011). introducing integrated approach in undergraduate blended learning environments. proceedings of the education in a changing environment (ece) 6th international conference: creativity and engagement in higher education. http://usir.salford.ac.uk/17012/ oxford, r. (2001). integrated skills in the esl/efl classroom (ed 456670). eric clearinghouse on languages and linguistics. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ed456670.pdf sánchez, m. a. (2000). an approach to the integration of skills in english teaching. didactica, 12, 21–41. https://bit.ly/3vmnwax sedita, j. (2018, may 22). background knowledge and reading comprehension. literacy lines: the keys to literacy blog. https://keystoliteracy.com/blog/background-knowledge-andreading-comprehension/ su, y. (2007). students’ changing views and the integrated-skills approach in taiwan’s efl college classes. asia pacific education review, 8(1), 27–40. https://doi.org/10.1007/ bf03025831 ____________________________________________________________________________ received: january 2, 2021 | accepted: april 6, 2021 | published: july 30, 2021 https://doi.org/10.3126/jong.v1i0.24464 https://www.asian-efl-journal.com/main-editions-new/an-integrated-approach-to-teaching-academic-writing https://www.asian-efl-journal.com/main-editions-new/an-integrated-approach-to-teaching-academic-writing https://doi.org/10.2307/3586294 https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/handle/20.500.12413/6973 https://doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol10no3.29 https://doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol10no3.29 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2006.09.003 http://usir.salford.ac.uk/17012/ https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ed456670.pdf https://bit.ly/3vmnwax https://keystoliteracy.com/blog/background-knowledge-and-reading-comprehension/ https://keystoliteracy.com/blog/background-knowledge-and-reading-comprehension/ https://doi.org/10.1007/bf03025831 https://doi.org/10.1007/bf03025831 gatesol journal2021, vol. 31(1), pp. 54–60 enhancing intensive english program reading and writing courses through integrated-skill activities doi:10.52242/gatesol.113 issn: 2331-6845 article dr. lindsey a. chapman, clinical assistant professor, special education, school psychology, and early childhood studies, university of florida, gainesville, fl; email l.chapman@coe.ufl.edu; orcid 0000-0001-7515-5013 dr. chelsea t. morris, assistant professor, department of literacy and special education, university of west georgia, carrollton, ga; email cmorris@westga.edu; orcid 0000-0002-4266-5559 dr. katherine b. green, associate professor, department of literacy and special education, university of west georgia, carrollton, ga; email kbgreen@westga.edu; orcid 0000-0001-8280-5061 supporting practitioner inquiry in teacher education: opportunities and challenges in esol contexts gatesol journal 2021, vol. 31(1), pp. 36–46 doi:10.52242/gatesol.116 issn: 2331-6845 lindsey a. chapman university of florida chelsea t. morris university of west georgia katherine b. green university of west georgia abstract formal preparation and professional development with an explicit focus on the teaching of english to speakers of other languages (esol) is essential. thus, teacher preparation programs play a vital role in meeting this pressing need. practitioner inquiry has the potential to be a powerful anchor in clinical field experiences for teacher candidates working with emergent bilingual/multilingual students (eb). the purpose of this paper is to present practitioner inquiry as a promising pedagogical practice for teacher education, drawing from examples of implementation in an elementary, preservice teacher preparation program that leads to state credentialing in esol. opportunities and challenges related to the use of this practice with teacher candidates, as well as recommendations, are discussed. keywords practitioner inquiry, professional development, teacher education, english to speakers of other languages (esol), bilingual/multilingual students background as the cultural and linguistic diversity of the k–12 education system increases, the need for wellprepared teachers for emergent bi-/multilingual (eb) students has never been greater (castro, 2010; coady et al., 2011). in recent decades, georgia has seen rapid growth in immigration (hooker et al., 2014), and consistent with nationwide trends (loeffer, 2007), its growing population of ebs in k–12 schools outpaces general student enrollment. according to the georgia state department of education, ebs currently make up approximately 8% of the state’s pk–12 student population (sugarman & geary, 2018). both nationwide and in georgia, wide and alarming gaps have been reported between ebs and their peers in both achievement and graduation rates (sugarman & geary, 2018) despite increased accountability and performance monitoring under federal regulations described in the every student succeeds act (callahan et al., 2020). to remediate these gaps, formal preparation mailto:l.chapman@coe.ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7515-5013 mailto:cmorris@westga.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4266-5559 mailto:kbgreen@westga.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8280-5061 chapman, morris, & green 37 and professional development to develop expertise for teaching english for speakers of other languages (esol) is essential for all teachers, especially given widespread efforts toward inclusion in general education classrooms (lucas & villegas, 2013). to this end, all teacher preparation programs must have a strategic and intentional focus on the academic, linguistic, instructional, and socio-environmental needs of ebs. teacher preparation programs as the first phase of the teacher development continuum, teacher preparation programs play a vital role in the educator pipeline (lucas & villegas, 2013). strong teacher preparation programs support teacher candidates in developing the knowledge, disposition, and pedagogical skills to effectively meet the needs of ebs in terms of language development and content acquisition (coady et al., 2011; torres et al., 2019). effectively prepared teachers are also better positioned to serve as advocates for and with ebs and their families (athanases & de oliveira, 2008; linville, 2020). effective teacher preparation programs also challenge misunderstandings around multiculturalism and social justice in order to foster the critical consciousness necessary to teach in culturally and linguistically diverse settings (castro, 2010). likewise, smolcic and katunich (2017) emphasized that practice-oriented programs (i.e., those that utilize field experience opportunities) are a necessary pathway for developing educators who are prepared to work effectively across cultures. however, a “pivotal dilemma of teacher education” (p. 354) is determining how to fully prepare educators to meet the nuanced and varied needs of ebs within a short period of time (reeves, 2010). field experiences are a frequently used approach in teacher preparation programs to develop teacher candidates’ pedagogical skills. these experiences can provide teacher candidates the opportunity to work directly with ebs and the teachers who support them. field experiences offer an opportunity to provide deeper connections between coursework and the practical realities and daily experiences of ebs in local classrooms (reeves, 2010). these experiences, combined with a strong framework for content and language learning embedded within coursework, can contribute to teacher candidates’ perception of general preparedness to support ebs (coady et al., 2011) as well as the overall quality of their pedagogical practice (bollin, 2007). however, teacher educators need to be intentional in the design and implementation of field experiences for teacher candidates to maximize their effectiveness. careful attention needs to be given to where teacher candidates are placed, with whom, and the expectations once assigned to their placements. practitioner inquiry practitioner inquiry, defined by cochran-smith and lytle (2009) as “systematic and intentional inquiry carried out by teachers” (p. 3), is increasingly being used as an anchor for field experiences. as an umbrella term that sometimes encompasses related approaches such as teacher research, action research, and self-study (dana, 2015), this type of disciplined inquiry blurs the lines between research and practice (cochran-smith & lytle, 2009). it positions teacher candidates as reflective practitioners and natural inquirers (delane et al., 2017), and therefore, can be both a valuable learning tool and an ideal professional stance. according to ginns and colleagues (2001), practitioner inquiry is particularly well suited for use with teacher candidates because it can “empower teachers to examine their own beliefs, explore their own understandings of practice, foster critical reflection, and develop decision making capabilities that would enhance their teaching” (p. 129). in this way, engaging in practitioner inquiry can help dismantle deficit perspectives and stereotypes of ebs commonly held 38 gatesol journal 31(1) by teacher candidates that impede the likelihood of student success (castro, 2010; schroeder, 2020). by providing teacher candidates with a greater and more nuanced insight into the varied ways that ebs experience the social, academic, and environmental dynamics of a specific classroom (nguyen et al., 2019), practitioner inquiry helps teacher candidates to be more responsive to the unique needs of their students. it also allows them to use their own voice by sharing their experiences through “insider stories of learning to teach” as they develop and study their practice simultaneously (phillips & carr, 2009, p. 223). athanases and colleagues (2015) noted that inquiry often emerges from problems of practice identified by teachers. these problems are sometimes characterized as “felt difficulties” (ma et al., 2018, p. 17) or something puzzling that occurs in daily practice. when coaching to use the process of practitioner inquiry with teacher candidates, they are often simply asked to reflect on burning questions they have. these initial wonderings are the catalyst for short, iterative inquiry cycles embedded within the classroom’s natural rhythm and occur regularly over time (dana, 2015). the goal of engagement in these cycles is improved classroom practice that supports students’ learning and development (dana & yendol-hoppey, 2019). dana (2013) put forth a five-stage cycle that serves as the backbone of the practitioner inquiry process (see figure 1). the five stages are: (a) develop a wondering (i.e., a burning question about practice), (b) develop a plan to collect data (e.g., field notes, documents, interviews, quantitative measures of student achievement), (c) analyze data (i.e., carefully examining the data to identify its story), (d) take action (i.e., make adjustments to your practice), and (e) share with others. it is important to note this process is neither linear nor fixed; in other words, inquirers move back and forth between stages as needed rather than through a prescriptive and restrictive progression from one stage to the next (dana & yendol-hoppey, 2019). that is to say, the process is intentionally iterative to account for the complexities and ebbs and flows of daily classroom practice and lends itself to implementation that is recurring over time (dana et al., 2011). figure 1 inquiry cycle (adapted from dana et al., 2011) we agree with the argument by schroeder and currin (2019) that to be most effective, practitioner inquiry must always start with teacher candidates, regardless of the context. therefore, in this paper, we present practitioner inquiry as a promising pedagogical practice for developing chapman, morris, & green 39 teacher candidates who are effectively prepared to support ebs within and beyond the esol classroom. we first provide an overview of practitioner inquiry within a teacher preparation program and then describe the experiences of two teacher candidates who engaged in the process. next, we use insights from these experiences to share opportunities and challenges learned. finally, we conclude with recommendations for teacher educators to embed practitioner inquiry into their teacher preparation programs. insights from implementation here, we share the implementation experiences of two former teacher candidates, kimberly and shauna (pseudonyms), in order to discuss both opportunities and challenges when using practitioner inquiry with teacher candidates. at the time of implementation, they were enrolled in a formal teacher preparation program that grants certification in elementary education (k–6), as well as endorsements in both reading (k–12) and esol (k–12). like many other programs of its kind, theoretical and pedagogical knowledge specific to esol is taught through two standalone courses in addition to content infusion across eleven different courses (e.g., reading methods, teaching strategies) in the program. each semester of the program is also teamed with a field experience of varied intensity, duration, and focus. the program’s initial field experience occurs in a rural setting with an emphasis on esol. however, typically, students have had infrequent opportunities to engage with ebs in their subsequent field experiences. in the advanced field experience (i.e., practicum) that occurs during the program’s final semester, teacher candidates work alongside their assigned mentor teachers (mt) for three full days per week. they also attend a weekly seminar, focused on supporting teacher candidates to process and reflect on their field experience, while simultaneously completing their remaining program coursework. the seminar is led in small groups by an interdisciplinary team of university supervisors who also provide direct observations and feedback to students during their placements. practitioner inquiry is a central feature of the advanced practicum. the process as defined by dana et al. (2011) is used to explicitly teach students each component of the inquiry cycle. they are also expected to engage in at least one inquiry cycle during their placement while being coached through the process by their supervisor. each student presents the findings of their inquiry at the end of the semester. kimberly and shauna were advanced practicum students at parkside elementary (pseudonym), the district’s only elementary school designated as a formal esol center. in addition to being a neighborhood school, the district also provides transportation to the school for ebs from across the county so that students have access to specially trained teachers and staff with expertise and experience in esol. the four most represented languages in the school are spanish, chinese, portuguese, and korean; however, the school has rich linguistic diversity with more than 20 languages spoken by its staff, students, and families. kimberly’s inquiry kimberly’s advanced field experience placement was in a second grade english language arts (ela) class. a white female from out of state, kimberly was interested in becoming an esol teacher after graduation and enjoyed studying spanish as a second language. she was pursuing elementary certification but hoped to pursue further her expertise in esol in graduate school after completing her initial program. kimberly’s mt was a monolingual english speaker and the esol lead on the grade level team. nearly half of the students in her assigned general education 40 gatesol journal 31(1) classroom were identified as eb. their english proficiency levels varied widely, and many received formal esol services via a pull-out model during the ela block. kimberly’s practitioner inquiry emerged from observations of her students’ daily interactions within and beyond the classroom. broadly, she was puzzled by the limited engagement of ebs in class activities and discussions and wondered how she could be more intentional in her practice to support positive and frequent verbal interactions among students. at the same time, she was attuned to patterns of language use among her students. more specifically, the ebs appeared to reserve use of their first language (l1) to non-academic settings (e.g., during lunch, at the playground) and were expected to interact entirely in english during class time. from these observations, she wondered if and how adoption of a translanguaging pedagogy (garcía, 2009), an approach she learned through her esol coursework and further explored in the practitioner literature, would facilitate more positive interactions for the ebs in the class by encouraging them to draw from the entirety of their linguistic repertoires (kleyn & garcía, 2019). translanguaging pedagogy encourages fluid languaging practices of ebs and is a teaching method that promotes equity, valuing language policies in schools that do not position students’ language as singular processes (sánchez et al., 2018). shauna’s inquiry shauna’s advanced field experience placement was in an esol classroom where she, alongside her mt, supported ebs in second and third grade in a pull-out model. she was a white female who had recently improved her ability to communicate in spanish after living abroad for an extended period prior to the start of the semester. she explicitly requested an esol placement for her advanced field experience upon returning to the united states and her program. shauna’s mt was a bilingual latina, and spanish and english were frequently used interchangeably in the classroom among the adults and students. their classroom was also supported part-time by a paraprofessional who was bilingual in english and mandarin. among the students in the class, six languages were spoken. however, more than half of the students were spanish speakers. shauna and her mt’s frequent use of spanish in their classroom is what initially triggered her inquiry. she recalled a puzzling encounter with a student whose primary language was arabic. he greeted her one morning in spanish and then stated that he wished he could speak spanish. this interaction made shauna wonder how students who did not speak spanish experienced its frequent use in their classroom, especially because of her inability to communicate in the other students’ l1. she believed that this discrepancy was likely a common dilemma for teachers supporting linguistically diverse students, though she had not previously considered how to approach it. shauna wondered how she could provide more l1 support for students whose primary language she could not speak, and like kimberly, drew from practitioner literature and resources on translanguaging pedagogy (e.g., a translanguaging guide for educators; celic & seltzer, 2013) as a guide to her practice. closely examining the inquiry experiences of kimberly and shauna provided important insight related to understanding the implementation of this practice to support ebs. several exciting opportunities emerged, both for the teacher candidate as well as for the mt. however, the use of practitioner inquiry to support teacher candidates to develop effective practice for ebs is not without challenges. these opportunities and challenges center around: (a) bridging coursework and practice through the inquiry process, (b) the teacher candidates’ preparedness to implement practitioner inquiry, and (c) the frequency of practitioner inquiry’s use in practice. chapman, morris, & green 41 bridging coursework and practice one of the most exciting opportunities related to practitioner inquiry is the teacher candidates’ ability to build on the knowledge gained in their formal esol coursework. practitioner inquiry allows teacher candidates to strategically “try out” practices from their coursework in order to determine what works and for whom. through the inquiry process, kimberly found that she initially had misconceptions about adopting a translanguaging pedagogy in her classroom. for example, she believed translanguaging necessitated a common spoken language between teacher and student. with support from her supervisor, using the practitioner literature base as a data source and useful resource helped her identify and remediate these misconceptions in ways that extended her knowledge and ability to implement in practice with all ebs regardless of language background. shauna, too, drew heavily from her prior esol coursework in conceptualizing her research action plan and potential data collection sources, a part of the process that effectively provided her with insight into her wondering (dana, 2015). through their respective inquiries, both teacher candidates demonstrated “critical competencies of a professional educator as they practice a cycle of assessment, planning, and implementation based upon data collected in the classroom” (p. 208). however, because the students’ inquiry experiences were formally tied to participation in a practicum and its corresponding seminar course, it was easy for some students to equate inquiry with an assignment or project rather than as “stance” (cochran-smith & lytle, 2009). while kimberly and shauna appeared to embrace this notion in their written and oral reflections, schroeder (2020) advised all teacher preparation programs to make this distinction an explicit goal of the inquiry process. the seminar supervisor is an integral part in meeting this need. supervisors must be aware of this potential misconception to combat it. streamlining expectations—focusing on the process rather than compliance—and fostering ongoing and reflective dialogue can help students to differentiate a course assignment from an approach to practice (schroeder, 2020). another potential challenge relates to power dynamics and decision-making, resulting from the teacher candidates’ unique positioning as guests within the classroom space (phillips & carr, 2009). while this challenge did not affect shauna’s inquiry experience, kimberly found herself making decisions about her own practice that were at times contradictory to the preferences of her mt. these disagreements centered on the mts preference to uphold a traditional, englishonly approach in the classroom space versus kimberly’s insistence on a translanguaging pedagogy. this discrepancy reflected broader shifts in language pedagogy and policy and illustrated kimberly’s ability to disrupt monolingual approaches that she is likely to encounter again in the field (menken & sánchez, 2019). likewise, the high-stakes accountability context can pose similar barriers to implementation (schroeder, 2020), something experienced by shauna when working with her third-grade students. she encountered a heavy emphasis on test preparation and supporting ebs in developing strategies to navigate the state assessment when the content is incomprehensible. preparedness to implement embedding practitioner inquiry within advanced field experiences in formal teacher preparation programs equips teacher candidates with a highly specialized and useful skillset that they can utilize across their career span. done well, teacher candidates enter the field as reflective educators equipped to systematically use data to inform and enhance their practice. practitioner inquiry can serve teacher candidates as a professional learning tool as they continue to develop their practice. building a cadre of reflective educators who are prepared to adopt inquiry as a stance also 42 gatesol journal 31(1) necessitates well-prepared faculty who can facilitate and coach this process. in this way, the practitioner inquiry experience builds a community of practice not just among teacher candidates engaging in the process, but among teacher candidates coaching it as well. at the same time, several researchers (e.g., phillips & carr, 2009; schroeder, 2020) have raised critical questions about the effectiveness and trustworthiness of practitioner inquiry among preservice teachers. they raise crucial questions about teacher candidates’ preparedness to implement systematic and intentional inquiry that improves academic outcomes for students, including ebs. while the supervisor is intended to scaffold the process, it is worth noting that often supervisory teams are interdisciplinary. while they may be well-equipped to coach the inquiry process, they may have less expertise in particular disciplines (e.g., esol, special education) or content areas that would enhance their ability to offer suggestions about best pedagogical practice. collaboration within and among the supervision team must play a central role in rectifying these gaps. frequency of use in practice while many teachers do not frequently engage in practitioner inquiry in the classroom (cole, 2020), shauna’s engagement in the inquiry process served as an invitation for her mt to do the same. though shauna initiated the process through the identification of an initial wondering, the two collaboratively used what they were learning about their students to make data-informed decisions (cole, 2020). on the one hand, their collaborative approach speaks to the potential spread of the practice within classrooms partnered with university field experiences. at the same time, their dynamic was unique in that shauna’s mt was a graduate of the same teacher preparation program and was therefore somewhat familiar with the practice from the start. a bigger question arises, then, as to why the mt did not choose to continue engaging in practitioner inquiry as a professional learning tool. it is also not clear if changes to the support provided to teacher candidates in using practitioner inquiry would have increased the frequency of use in practice by shauna’s mt and other earlier graduates of the program. there are often logistical challenges (e.g., time, training support; cole, 2020) to the implementation of practitioner inquiry among practicing teachers, especially when considering the varied and numerous demands and expectations placed on teachers. some teachers may also be under the misconception that research activities are irrelevant to their practice (kezar, 2000) or feel unprepared. as a result, mts are often not prepared to support the inquiry process with their students. in kimberly’s case, her mt took a hands-off approach to the inquiry process. kimberly engaged in the inquiry cycle nearly independently within the classroom, instead drawing from her peers and supervisor during meetings and when attending seminar. it is unclear if the mt was unwilling or unable to support kimberly through the implementation of practitioner inquiry within the classroom. recommendations all teachers must accept the responsibility for creating and sustaining learning environments that foster success for culturally and linguistically diverse students, and ebs in particular. thus, teacher educators play a critical role in preparing teacher candidates who are equity minded (bensimon, 2012). practitioner inquiry can be a useful tool in teacher education in that it provides structured opportunities for teacher candidates to reflect on their role in disrupting educational disparities and inequities for ebs (ching, 2018). even more promising, practitioner inquiry provides an avenue for teacher candidates to reflect critically and intentionally on the extent to which their current chapman, morris, & green 43 practices effectively meet the unique and nuanced needs of the ebs in their classroom. considering the opportunities and challenges presented, we conclude with three recommendations for teacher educators looking to implement practitioner inquiry with their preservice teacher candidates in esol placements. first, we recommend providing multiple opportunities for collaboration centered on inquiry and best practice for ebs. this collaboration should be facilitated amongst and between varied stakeholders (e.g., supervisor to supervisor, peer to peer, teacher candidate to mt, teacher candidate to supervisor). collaboration between the supervisor and mt centered on practitioner inquiry may also be particularly useful. this type of collaboration can help build school-university partnerships and bring practitioner inquiry into more classrooms as an equity-driven professional development tool that centers the experiences of ebs in the classroom. it can also leverage the specific content and pedagogical expertise of the mt (e.g., in esol pedagogy) to guide pedagogically sound practice that is reflective of the home languages and cultural backgrounds of the students in the classroom (baker, 2019). in exchange, the supervisor serves as a support for practitioner inquiry and coaching its implementation in the classroom. second, it may be helpful to provide teacher candidates with structured support to guide the implementation and documentation processes by providing a structured journal for students to reflect on initial wonderings, field notes, pictures of student artifacts, and relevant literature from their coursework. the journal can also house additional guidance (e.g., reminders related to data analysis procedures, expectations related to timelines, visuals of the inquiry cycle) and other resources on both the inquiry process (e.g., embedded links and videos, examples from previous semesters) as well as best practices in esol taught in program coursework. using a shared, virtual platform like those available in the google suite (e.g., google slides, google docs) integrated within an existing learning management system (e.g., canvas) allows supervisors to monitor the implementation process and provide asynchronous feedback to students using comment features, an ideal space to pose questions or seek clarification related to students’ entries. this asynchronous feedback can be teamed with ongoing, synchronous discussion and professional development that may occur through field experience seminars or other relevant meetings in order to provide robust and comprehensive support for the teacher candidates on practitioner inquiry and esol pedagogy. these discussions and opportunities for feedback are crucial in ensuring teacher candidates are engaging in practitioner inquiry from an asset-oriented (schroeder, 2020) view of diversity, bilingualism, and ebs (baker, 2019). finally, we encourage other teacher educators to engage in their own practitioner inquiry cycles, echoing campbell’s (2013) call to lead by example. campbell (2013) noted the “unique position of teacher educators to address the research/practice divide” (p. 3), highlighting the power teacher educators hold in preparing teacher candidates who are equipped to do the same. likewise, through studying their own practice, teacher educators can model how they identify and respond to challenges they encounter (e.g., providing pedagogical support and feedback in areas outside of their primary expertise). in this way, teacher educators can make visible and transparent what it means to engage in equity-minded (ching, 2018) risk taking and reflection that is the core of the practitioner inquiry process. we encourage other teacher educators to develop interand intrainstitution communities of collaborative practice centered on practitioner inquiry to support ebs, fostering the collaboration we hope that teacher candidates will emulate in their own practice. 44 gatesol journal 31(1) references athanases, s. z., & de oliveira, l. c. 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(2019). syncing our cycles: an inquiry-based coaching model for distant supervision. journal of practitioner research, 4(1), article 6. https://doi.org/ 10.5038/2379-9951.4.1.1098 smolcic, e., & katunich, j. (2017). teachers crossing borders: a review of the research into cultural immersion field experience for teachers. teaching and teacher education, 62, 47– 59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2016.11.002 sugarman, j., & geary, c. (2018). english learners in georgia: demographics, outcomes, and state accountability policies. migration policy institute. https://www.migrationpolicy.org/ sites/default/files/publications/el-factsheet2018-georgia_final.pdf torres, k. m., arrastia-chisholm, m. c., & tackett, s. (2019). a phenomenological study of preservice teachers’ perceptions of completing esol field placements. international journal of teacher education and professional development, 2(2), 85–101. https:// doi.org/10.4018/ijtepd.2019070106 ____________________________________________________________________________ received: january 28, 2021 | accepted: april 6, 2021 | published: july 30, 2021 https://doi.org/10.5038/2379-9951.4.1.1098 https://doi.org/10.5038/2379-9951.4.1.1098 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2016.11.002 https://www.migrationpolicy.org/%e2%80%8csites/default/files/publications/el-factsheet2018-georgia_final.pdf https://www.migrationpolicy.org/%e2%80%8csites/default/files/publications/el-factsheet2018-georgia_final.pdf gatesol journal2021, vol. 31(1), pp. 36–46 supporting practitioner inquiry in teacher education: opportunities and challenges in esol contexts doi:10.52242/gatesol.116 issn: 2331-6845 from the editors dr. alexandra j. reyes, associate professor, georgia southern university, statesboro, ga; email areyes@georgiasouthern.edu dr. eliana hirano, professor, berry college, mt. berry, ga; email ehirano@berry.edu staying the course through challenging currents gatesol journal 2025, vol. 34(1), pp. 1–2 doi:10.52242/gatesol.207 issn: 2331-6845 alexandra j. reyes georgia southern university eliana hirano berry college amid the volatile waves of rapidly shifting expectations, unpredictable policy updates, and everchanging circumstances, many educators are struggling to stay afloat. it is from within this context that we publish the fall 2025 issue of gatesol journal. while the articles featured in this issue vary in focus (i.e., supporting teachers of newcomers in rural schools, utilizing closed-model artificial intelligence to streamline standards alignment, and refining generative ai prompts to scaffold writing), all address the challenge of meeting student and teacher needs, despite changing demographics and evolving technologies. taken as a whole, this journal issue envisions the educational horizon as one in which technological tools and human expertise are thoughtfully harnessed in service of educational growth and english language development. shifting tides in leckie and wall’s empirical research article, they detail their work with four rural elementary school teachers to identify pragmatic approaches in supporting newcomer english learners. although seasoned professionals, these general education teachers had little or no prior experience working with this student population, a situation that is not uncommon in rural schools. compounding the challenges of unfamiliarity, many rural school districts lack the resources and supports more often found in their counterparts with established multilingual communities and larger numbers of identified els. employing a formative experiment approach, the researchers guided the participant teachers through cycles of observation, goal setting, and reflection to modify and refine instruction. with mentorship, the teachers were able to use the students’ home languages, incorporate visual supports, and foster culturally sustaining learning environments in general education settings to propel academic and english language development. braiding a strong rope shafer willner’s pedagogical practice piece delineates how educators can utilize a closed artificial intelligence system to align content standards, the wida eld standards framework, and k-12 ela literacy foundations standards to streamline the planning process. rather than resisting technological innovation or becoming mired in the minutiae of aligning curricular, literacy, and language development standards, the author proposes braiding these standards with the assistance of closed ai. using georgia as an anchor, shafer willner outlines how educators can use the tool mailto:areyes@georgiasouthern.edu mailto:ehirano@berry.edu 2 gatesol journal 34(1) for generating unit goals and lesson objectives that are accurate, relevant, and well-aligned. this time-saving strategy efficiently integrates academic content, foundational literacy, and english language development goals, potentially freeing up teachers to focus energy on collaborative planning and differentiation. helming the craft dos santos’s teaching technique explores how teachers can guide multilingual learners in crafting well-structured prompts to leverage generative ai for writing support. the article describes how students in a ninth-grade ela class employed the prompt creation reference chart (dos santos et al., 2025) to refine structured prompts to provide scaffolding for a persuasive book review assignment. by using the chart to determine the author, purpose, and request, multilingual students engineered generative ai prompts that resulted in customized scaffolding. the students then revised the prompts to produce a manageable set of steps to steer their writing. applying the output to the writing task allowed learners to build confidence and develop their skills in writing as a social practice. through this example, dos santos highlights the potential of generative ai to serve as a tool for critical engagement and suggests that the structured chart encourages thoughtful prompt engineering, thereby fostering the ethical use of artificial intelligence platforms. navigating the currents the fall 2025 issue of the gatesol journal shines a light on the numerous ways that educators can embrace the opportunities that are often overshadowed by uncertainty. while educators may feel unmoored by the relentless fluctuations that currently impact our profession, we can take inspiration from the educators, learners, community members, and leaders in the field who are striving to chart a course to safe harbor. the articles in this issue illuminate inspiring ways for those who work with multilingual learners to embody adaptability and resilience in the face of changing contexts. although shifting currents create challenges, they also offer possibilities for us to recommit to our mission and set out on new routes. references dos santos, a. e., boa sorte, p., & de oliveira, l. c. (2025). generative artificial intelligence in writing: chatgpt and critical questioning for multilingual learners. in c. wang & z. tian (eds.), rethinking writing education in the age of generative ai (pp. 138–154). routledge. ____________________________________________________________________________ published: october 2025 gatesol journal2025, vol. 34(1), pp. 1–2 staying the course through challenging currents doi:10.52242/gatesol.207 issn: 2331-6845 teaching technique julia duncanson, doctoral student, department of language & literacy education, university of georgia, athens, ga; email julia217@uga.edu (https://orcid.org/0009-0003-5210-619x). supporting l2 writing using quillbot gatesol journal 2024, vol. 33(1), pp. 33–39 doi:10.52242/gatesol.195 issn: 2331-6845 julia duncanson university of georgia abstract as artificial intelligence (ai) grows in accessibility and popularity, educators are faced with the challenge of adopting this new form of information disbursement. ai platforms could benefit language learning by providing individual writing support in addition to instructional support for the classroom teacher. ai platforms could pose risks to student fidelity with aiproduced work products. this paper will discuss and exemplify the use of quillbot, an ai writing platform, that could be used as a teaching and learning tool for second language (l2) writing instruction. by using this technology to plan meaningful and student-tailored lessons, educators can continue to provide an interactive learning space for multilingual learners (mls) in the language classroom. keywords artificial intelligence (ai), language learning, teaching and learning tool, l2 writing instruction, multilingual learners (mls) introduction as artificial intelligence (ai) platforms emerge, teachers and academics are interested in exploring how this new technology supports multilingual learners’ second language writing development. teachers may integrate ai tools throughout the writing process – planning, drafting, editing, and revising. in the planning stage, ai tools may be used to help learners begin writing (barrot, 2023) – a commonly challenging aspect for writers of all proficiency levels. subsequently, in the drafting and editing stages, multilingual learners (mls) could use ai as an editing tool to make suggestions on vocabulary usage, syntax, and discourse structure. one can simply prompt chat gpt with the following request: “hi, chat. can you please provide me with suggestions on how to fix the cohesion and coherence of this paragraph?” ultimately, these tools have the potential to assist students across all stages of the writing process. from a research perspective in second language writing, jia et al. (2022) discovered that learners' writing skills improve with ai-generated corrective feedback. additionally, toward the end of the writing process, students' language can be supported with automated writing evaluation (awe) systems when implemented in a context-appropriate manner (alharbi, 2023). this growing body of research indicates the potential of ai tools to support language learners at various stages of their language development. specifically, this teaching technique piece will highlight the utilization of quillbot, a tool designed to bolster sentence structure and vocabulary proficiency among multilingual learners. however, before delving into strategies for incorporating quillbot into instruction for multilingual learners, it is imperative to first examine the potential risks associated with ai. mailto:julia217@uga. https://orcid.org/0009-0003-5210-619x duncanson 34 risks of ai although ai provides various language support platforms, educators should view ai with a critical lens. ethical considerations will include considerations relating to the ai platforms chosen. ai is limited in that it only knows the information that it has been given by its program users. according to vaccino-salvadore (2023), there is possible biased language generation and the perpetuation of stereotypes, discrimination, and prejudice in language learning interactions with ai. ai could produce misinformation, such as incorrect information relating to historical data. in his research, barrot (2023) claims that teachers should provide students with appropriate ways to engage with technology, including ethical considerations and precautions. therefore, it is essential to highlight the risk of ai platforms becoming biased, racist, and discriminatory based on information received. in the ml classroom, educators should be mindful of which programs will produce the most accurate language support. mls are learning academic and communicative language, so teaching the differences between written and spoken language is imperative. ai is a tool to support the acquisition of these different language domains. moreover, students should learn ways in which to use ai as a learning support tool and not as a tool for plagiarism. when using quillbot as a teaching tool, educators should plan for student writing to occur within the classroom space and under their supervision. this will prevent any student from using this platform or any other ai writing tool to do their work for them. quillbot quillbot is an ai platform that provides writing support by displaying sentence structure and vocabulary variations in a side-by-side format (see figure 1 below). a writer may input a sample of their writing and see the changes by mode, quillbot’s term for writing style. the modes available through the platform are labeled as standard, fluency, formal, academic, simple, creative, expand, and shorten. each mode provides distinctive wording and phrasing at the platform’s discretion. additionally, there is a custom writing mode, with the premium account, that enables the writer to use writing style variations like shakespeare, a social media influencer, and gen z slang, to name a few. figure 1 35 gatesol journal 33(1) the platform is available in 26 languages and provides paraphrasing, a grammar checker, a plagiarism checker, quillbot flow which is a co-writer feature, a summarizer, a citation generator, and a translator feature. the grammar checker scans any writing input and makes grammar corrections and/or suggestions. the plagiarism checker scans writing for parts of the text that may not be cited correctly. the co-writer feature (see figure 2) provides grammar, spelling, and phrasing suggestions to the right of the screen as the writer types into the quillbot platform. it also provides feedback on writing similar to what a human instructor may give. in the classroom, quillbot may act as an additional resource for learning about different writing styles. when using the paraphrase tool in the program (see figure 3), writing that is input into the left-hand side of the screen results in changes in phrasing and vocabulary on the righthand side of the screen. a valuable aspect of this platform is that it provides a visual comparison of writing so the learner sees the changes that may happen throughout changes in writing style. figure 2 figure 3 duncanson 36 teaching example when teaching narrative writing in a seventh-grade classroom, quillbot could act as a co-teacher, aiding students in their writing process by providing suggested revisions. i will demonstrate how to use this platform for a 10-minute warm-up exercise. step 1: provide a writing prompt asking students to write about their best birthday memory. step 2: display a sample writing about a birthday memory in quillbot. 37 gatesol journal 33(1) step 3: show the birthday memory sample in different genres of writing, discussing the variations in phrasing and vocabulary use. students then compare and contrast the two genres formal and academic below. formal academic duncanson 38 step 4: students will take their previous writing sample and write it in a different genre. in a separate lesson, the students could divide into small groups, with their writing samples, and practice making changes to these samples when given a particular genre. by focusing on a particular genre, each group would have the opportunity to not only practice writing in this genre but also to work with other students to make genre-specific changes in phrasing and vocabulary. as a whole class activity, students would share their original writings and their new writings in the chosen genre for their group. other groups would have the chance to make suggestions for changes or to ask questions about the reasoning behind the changes made. samples from each student group would be compared in quillbot to samples given by the platform. the class discussion would continue with a list of common features seen in each genre of writing. after a few lessons of writing practice as a whole group and in small groups, a final individual student assessment could be a writing assignment where students are given a sample of writing and asked to change it to a particular style. l2 writing & quillbot in the language classroom, quillbot may be a tool for building student efficacy in l2 writing. quillbot provides several supports for l2 writers, most notably the paraphrase tool. using quillbot’s paraphrase feature, l2 writers may explore various styles of writing. this ai platform creates a visual learning experience for the l2 writer by highlighting vocabulary and phrasing changes when comparing two modes of writing, hence supporting the development of writing style variations for l2s. conclusion educators have the opportunity to integrate ai as a beneficial tool for writing in the classroom so students may use these programs effectively outside of the classroom. leveraging platforms like quillbot empowers teachers to assist l2 writers by providing grammar and phrasing suggestions, essentially allowing ai to function as a collaborative co-teacher, exemplifying writing learning processes. references abdalgane, m., & othman, k. a. j. (2023). utilizing artificial intelligence technologies in saudi efl tertiary level classrooms. journal of intercultural communication, 23(1), 92–99. https://doi.org/10.36923/jicc.v23i1.124 alharbi, w. (2023). ai in the foreign language classroom: a pedagogical overview of automated writing assistance tools. education research international, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1155/ 2023/4253331 barrot, j. s. (2023). using chatgpt for second language writing: pitfalls and potentials. assessing writing, 57, article 100745. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asw.2023.100745 jia, f., sun, d., ma, q., & looi, c.-k. (2022). developing an ai-based learning system for l2 learners’ authentic and ubiquitous learning in english language. sustainability, 14(23), article 15527. https://doi.org/10.3390/su142315527 langreo, l. (2023, september 18). beyond chatgpt: the other ai tools teachers are using. education week. https://www.edweek.org/technology/beyond-chatgpt-the-other-ai-toolsteachers-are-using/2023/08 https://doi.org/10.36923/jicc.v23i1.124 https://doi.org/10.1155/2023/4253331 https://doi.org/10.1155/2023/4253331 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asw.2023.100745 https://doi.org/10.3390/su142315527 https://www.edweek.org/technology/beyond-chatgpt-the-other-ai-tools-teachers-are-using/2023/08 https://www.edweek.org/technology/beyond-chatgpt-the-other-ai-tools-teachers-are-using/2023/08 39 gatesol journal 33(1) vaccino-salvadore, s. (2023). exploring the ethical dimensions of using chatgpt in language learning and beyond. languages, 8(3), 191. https://doi.org/10.3390/languages8030191 ____________________________________________________________________________ received: march 2, 2024 | accepted: april 12, 2024 | published: may 24, 2024 https://doi.org/10.3390/languages8030191 article claire l. holman, linguistics, spanish, theatre major; tesol minor, university of georgia, athens, ga; email claire.holman@uga.edu. theatre as a means for teaching a second language gatesol journal 2022, vol. 32(2), pp. 14–26 doi:10.52242/gatesol.163 issn: 2331-6845 claire l. holman university of georgia abstract this paper discusses theatre as a way to enhance and/or revitalize the language classroom both in second and foreign language contexts. theatre and drama have been identified as creative pedagogical approaches to engage students to interact in situations and realistic scenarios in which their second language would be used in an accessible, safe way that adequately prepares them for language use in the real world. using theatre and drama as instructional support does not disregard current language teaching practices, but provides educators options to enhance their teaching and learning spaces. i hope the discussion presented here will inspire educators to integrate theatre into their classroom contexts because when language is accessible, approachable, and relevant in a fun and meaningful way, language learning and acquisition are achievable. keywords theatre, drama, product-based, processed-based, creation, devised work introduction i regard the theater as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being. –oscar wilde performance theorist schechner (2020) describes performance as being which is existence itself, doing which is the activity of all that exists, and showing doing which is performing: pointing to, underlining, and displaying doing. more than just an actor reciting a soliloquy on stage, performance is the way a student feigns attention in class, the way one carefully selects an outfit for a job interview, the way we binge the newest netflix hit. performance, according to schechner, is central to our very existence. all that we do and all that we are is performance. discourse analyst gee (2011) similarly connects language to performance. he asserts that meaning in discourse is created in/by the ways we communicate who we are and what we are doing in the here and now. in order to co-construct meaning, interlocutors must perform effectively in the role(s) they wish to portray (i.e., identity). each component of language (i.e., phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, pragmatics) develops the grand performance of one’s identity with the external processes of speaking and writing, which fronts the performance, while reading and listening inform the choices one makes toward that performance. gestures and other forms of non-verbal communication contribute to this performance. thus, an important inquiry arises: how can language be taught in accordance with this idea? common in english as a foreign language (efl) classrooms but also salient in english as a second language (esl) contexts is a way of teaching language that “decontexualizes mailto:claire.holman@uga.edu holman 15 language,” directing the focus entirely to “grammar, syntax, vocabulary, pronunciation and functional aspects” (dinapoli, 2009, p. 98; see also lei & huang 2012; kuyumcu, 2013; pandian et al., 2014). these elements are unequivocally important and necessary, but they depict language as a system of sounds and words and tends to overlook the rich and complex fixture of culture and communication. to truly communicate and participate in the target language (tl), students must be taught in a way that recontextualizes language into its culture and builds their communicative skills. as gee (2011) illustrates, “it is not grammar alone (or primarily) that carries out the work of achieving status and solidarity, but the ways in which words are spoken, or, we might say, how one ‘designs’ one’s utterances” (p. 113). viewing language as a performance, as something grander than the words, and as something richly dependent on context allows one to understand these complexities and visualize a new way of teaching. since the end goal of learning a language, for many, is to be able to communicate effectively or, as defined by schechner (2020), to perform effectively, language should be rehearsed and practiced before students encounter it outside the classroom. to create an environment where language can be rehearsed, language curricula should be infused with drama and theatrics in order to transform language from simply conjugation drills and vocabulary quizzes into a breathing piece of art, culture, and life. wagner (1979) asserts that dramatic instruction is “particularly well suited” to not only hone skills, but also to learn the rhetorical effect of vocabulary and grammatical structures in usage with others (pp. 268–269). wagner’s (1979) work develops that dramatic instruction furthers the skills taught from those drills and quizzes and turns them into usable units of language. ultimately, the incorporation of theatre and drama into the language classroom creates an effective rehearsal environment that mimics real world scenarios for language use, developing both interpersonal/intrapersonal skills and language competency, breaking typical classroom constraints. in this paper, i will discuss the benefits of using theatre before addressing the instructional practices used by teachers for incorporating theatre and drama into the language classroom. readers will then be able to understand how theatre increases motivation and self-confidence, decreases language-related anxiety, and could improve command over language skills. the general approaches discussed will break down theatre versus drama and establish the specific benefits and details of each as well as the contexts they are best suited for. i will then address the major concerns educators have about changing their teaching approaches into these more artistic educational practices before i summarize my points. at the end of the paper, i hope to create new perspectives on theatre’s place in the language classroom and motivate readers to incorporate theatre and drama into their pedagogical repertoire. benefits of theatre this section will discuss how theatre creates a unique environment that allows for realistic practice of and a strong connection to the target language. then, it will explore the positive impact this context could have on the learner’s interpersonal/intrapersonal skills by decreasing anxiety and improving motivation and self-confidence. finally, it will discuss the ways theatre can support language development. a realistic environment as discussed above, language can be academic and can be studied, but its true utility comes from its basis as a contextualized speech act, an utterance spoken for a purpose, within a discourse, within a culture. one commonly used instructional style that emphasizes the academic nature of 16 gatesol journal 32(2) language is focus on forms, an explicit method that is targeted toward supporting learners to “master the structural features listed on the syllabus” (ellis, 2015, p. 262). dinapoli (2009) asserted that this method and others like it that focus almost entirely on the more academic qualities of language “lack affective commitment” (p. 101), meaning these pedagogical approaches do not inspire connection to the language. through drama, however, students are provided with “more opportunities for encountering contextualized exposure to the language, in which they could experience the signaling value of natural and more spontaneous communication” (dinapoli, 2009, p. 106) which raises affect, or students’ positive attitudes toward the language, via turning students’ attention to the real-world contexts beyond the classroom. by eliminating focus on forms and putting language into its natural context, language can be understood as it exists naturally. theatre and drama could create a naturally occurring context by establishing a scenario within the classroom space that is as close to reality as possible, which can be particularly useful in foreign language education settings when the culture is not easily accessible to the learners. it is just as useful in second language or immersion settings where learners may need the benefit of a rehearsal space to explore and try new forms and features before needing to use these structures in real world scenarios where mistakes can lead to confusing, embarrassing, or even potentially dangerous misunderstandings (pang, 2019). acting, as meisner et al. (1987) defined, is “behaving truthfully under imaginary circumstances” (p. 27) meaning that despite pretend circumstances, acting encourages students to use their target language (tl) with their true selves. in theatre productions and drama exercises, the circumstances may be whatever the director wishes, such as a sticky situation in a foreign country or an important interaction with proficient speakers of the language. through this reliance on imagination, students could develop a sensitivity to the intricacies of tl interaction and become familiar “with the cultural appropriateness of words and expressions to specific settings and social situations” (stern, 1980, p. 79). the students develop these essential skills out of a need to act truthfully in the scene, to communicate as they would in their first language with attention to the new context they are speaking in. by creating these opportunities, the learners are able to take their passive knowledge from the textbook and classroom assignments and shift what they know into useful communicative information, made accessible by the use of theatre. personal skills overcoming fears. a benefit of these imaginary circumstances is the removal of the performance-related anxiety that stems from interaction with proficient speakers. the classroom, even when turned into a parisian café or the set of a korean drama, is still a classroom, designed to be a safe space with only the intention of facilitating learning and exploration. stern (1980) asserts that in addition to the inherent safety of the classroom, students find safety in numbers while working as a performing ensemble and can find security behind a role. it is easy to feel secure when the words and personalities expressed are not one’s own. there is less risk being laughed at after making a mistake, especially if everyone in the class is in the same situation. even the anxious, quiet student can find security in the understanding that these projects and exercises are rehearsals, prefacing success within the tl. the risks are low and the benefits are high. of course, some students will likely still feel uncomfortable with performing even in this situation. stern (1980), who examined dramatic role-play specifically, asserted that: holman 17 if they fail to communicate outside of class, the results can be embarrassing or even harmful. but in role-play, having the courage to demonstrate the ability to use the second language is in itself a success, and they should therefore not be embarrassed by a poor performance. it follows that they should be less inhibited using the language in role-play than in real life, and therefore function better than they thought they could. this in turn should raise their self-esteem. (p. 85) stern’s observation demonstrates the weighted risks inside and outside of classroom spaces and examines the positive effect that this vulnerability can have on the learner, proving that the implementation of theatre practices creates a safe space to truly be culturally and linguistically vulnerable. additionally, one study at keimyung university that examined how adult english learners in south korea perceived the way that drama use in their classroom impacted their second language (l2) development found that, across three case studies, students gained self-confidence from compliments and good advice from teachers and the realization that hard, scary things like communicating in the tl are possible (park, 2015). the result resolved preliminary fears and the students believed they ended better than they began, establishing that stage fright is combatable and worth the work to overcome. motivation. another difficulty that can sometimes trouble the second language classroom is overcoming low motivation. in a traditional class based around tests and quizzes, the only motivation for students may be to get a good grade, which could push their focus to memorize information for passing tests. when the unit is over and the exams are done, the students no longer have use for what they just studied and lose what knowledge they have just gained. however, in a classroom that utilizes a communicative approach based in theatre and drama, student motivation could change and increase greatly because when we speak, “we risk our psychological well-being” which can either be an inhibitor or a motivator to students (smith, 1984, p. 6). as discussed above, theatre and the safe space it creates might be able to decrease fears surrounding risk taking and at the same time increase student motivation with the knowledge that there is safety behind a character and safety in numbers. furthermore, one of the most important ideals of theatre is creation, which supports student motivation. ntelioglou (2011) states that the “process of creation, rehearsal, and performance of these dramatic performances” (p. 603) motivates the students greatly. thus, giving students a platform to create and tell the stories they wish to tell transforms the classroom space into a studio for creativity to thrive. maley and duff (1978) define this creativity in conjunction with the opportunity for imagination and discovery through working together as “imaginative personal involvement” (p. 13). the students' performances are created uniquely by them and the people they perform with. even if another student performed the same role or acted in a similar scenario, the performance would not be the same. this idea is the beauty of the ephemerality of theatre and a great motivator for each student. creating something that is truly yours and performing it in such a vulnerable way can raise motivation in a way that the average classroom cannot (lee et al., 2020). introducing fun. moreover, performing is fun. acting can be silly and exciting. placing students into a scene with the intent to perform gives students reason to elicit some emotion or reaction from the audience. acting could also empower learners to explore language play, which is the “manipulation of the surface properties of language . . . [that] encompasses with the flavors 18 gatesol journal 32(2) of past uses of words or phrases, and play with the interpretative frameworks that a particular context allows” (hann, 2017, p. 223). as hann (2017) established, creativity and humor can turn mistakes/errors into positive experiences the students can “literally laugh off” (p. 240). mistakes become both something to learn from and something to laugh about. by allowing the students to have fun and develop their personalities/unique senses of humor in the tl, students enjoy their time and thus feel unified with the other learners, proving that language play is “central to the process of making a community of practice with its own culture” (hann, 2017, p. 240). this creation of an in-class culture bolsters the previously mentioned ‘safety in numbers’ principle found when examining why the classroom doubles as a rehearsal hall/safe space. academic skills and theatre knowledge aside from the affective importance of theatre and drama, these practices are also beneficial for the learners’ command over the target language and theatre understanding. davies (1990) asserts that “drama activities facilitate the type of language behavior that should lead to fluency” and fortify “the bond between thought and expression in language, provides practice of suprasegmentals and para-language, and offers good listening practice” (p. 96). dodson (2002) investigates how drama activities (see tables 1 and 2 below) improved advanced esl university students’ self-perception of their english skills and knowledge of theatre as a genre. table 1 drama activities and practical applications for developing english skills (dodson, 2002) skill activities application reading reading classic american play scripts (often revised to the esl readers’ level) and articles about theatre not only enveloped students into the genre, but also promoted their reading comprehension in english reading louise fletcher’s sorry wrong number (1948) and an article about a recent performance of the play writing daily collaborative and individual writing of responses to course materials and their own scripts boosted writing fluency. the collaborative exercises gave opportunities for discussion and negotiation. writing an alternate ending to sorry wrong number or a response to the show speaking vocal warm-ups: tongue twisters and choral readings allowed a focus on the suprasegmental elements of pronunciation that provided for a deeper look at sounds that caused difficulty for the students. in these exercises, students were asked to vary in pitch, level of projection, stress/intonation, and finding a natural pattern of breathing in english speech. these activities forced students to make the speech their own instead of simply memorizing patterns of stress and pitch. using classic tongue twisters like “she sells sea shells” or “unique new york” to speed of speech and command over individual sounds holman 19 table 2 activities and practical applications for developing theatre genre (dodson, 2002) theatre activities application improvisation short games that allowed students to practice spontaneous speech and work on extending the length of speech. playing games like “scrapbook,” a game where two students pose as if they are on vacation and a third student must tell the story behind the ‘photo’ of the two students, or “one word story”, a game where students go around in a circle each contributing one word with the intention of collaboratively telling a story theatre production students modified a script for their performance; rehearsed with it; designed costumes, lights, and a set, and worked on publicity. this project gave the class a real-world application and demonstrated students' improved control over the english language in a public setting. a production of sorry wrong number complete with costumes and a set (even if just a few chairs and a hat or scarf to show the different characters) and rehearsed over several weeks and performed one night for friends and family each activity tackled a specific part of the students’ path to fluency and provided creative, exciting ways for students to work on what were often trouble areas. such was the case with vocal warmups being an excellent space for the teacher to tackle the smaller problems with suprasegmentals that were a source of self-consciousness and created comprehension problems from more proficient speakers. these findings from dodson’s (2002) study provide support for the academic value of theatre. in summation, aside from the fun, creative way it can create scenarios as close to real life language use as possible and raise the students’ motivation to take the risk of speaking in their tl, theatre/drama also benefits the academic skills of the student. methods: product-based versus process-based learning the differences between theatre and drama must be broken down. throughout this paper, the terms theatre and drama have been used interchangeably because of their similarities in benefits, but the two refer to different styles of drama-based education. theatre is the process and subsequent product of staging a theatrical production that combines performance, technical aspects, and an audience while drama refers to “classroom exercises” that “combine dialogue and action” (burke & o’sullivan, 2002, p. xiv). each carries similar utility to the student, but has varying levels of commitment. no style is inherently better than the other as they have similar positive effects on the student. theatre instruction may look like a unit where students audition and are assigned parts for a script. that script can be rehearsed in class or outside of class depending on the context and available resources. the final product would involve some level of technical elements like costumes or a simple backdrop, which can also be created by students if the time/resources are available, and an audience whether it be parents or other classmates. drama is more flexible and can be utilized in any classroom for multiple class periods or for a single part of a lesson. drama activities could take the form of a script writing project where, 20 gatesol journal 32(2) over several classes, students write and perform their own play, or it could be a five-minute vocal warmup aimed at improving pronunciation of a difficult sound. the biggest difference between the two practices lies in the end goal of each. the result of theatre is a performance for an audience with complete design and technical elements, but the result of utilizing drama is to supplement a lesson plan or unit of the course with exercises and games based in drama. for example, theatre-based instruction would be a production of alice and wonderland performed for parents with costumes, lighting, and a publicity campaign. drama could be conceptualized as a role play exercise during the class period to help spanish learners practice in various contexts to appropriately use tú versus usted (informal or formal forms of the pronoun you). a role play example to practice tú versus usted, for instance, could be performing at a made-up family dinner in mexico. using theatre or drama-based instruction can be equated to product and process-based learning. product-based (i.e., theatre-based instruction), emphasizes a formal, final performance “wherein the concluding dramatic realization in front of an audience is viewed as one of the primary goals of the learning experience” (moody, 2002, p. 136). process-based (i.e., drama-based instruction), draws focus to “the dramatic medium itself, in which the negotiation, rehearsal, and preparation for a more informal, or improvisational, in-class dramatic representation becomes the focus for language learning” (moody, 2002, p. 135). it is paramount to note that neither of these instructional strategies are necessarily more important than the other; each practice has its own positives and negatives and not all teachers will have the means to execute both. moreover, the overlap between the two can obscure any definite pros or cons as they are not distinct and mutually exclusive styles that absolutely cannot exist together. in the end, incorporating theatre into the classroom at all is more important than the specific styles you may choose. product-based learning product-based learning is often heralded for its practical uses. even in non-theatre instructional contexts, this style of learning and its real-world connections gives a practical utility to the instruction and the final product becomes clear evidence of their inquiry and the agency given to the learners in completing their project (anderson, 2021). in short, this manner of instruction creates an emphasis on authenticity to introduce the learners to the practical, real ways language is used (carson, 2012). another important piece of the real-world connection is an emphasis on interdisciplinary learning (fonio, 2012). utilizing this cross-disciplinary instruction deepens the level of authenticity by granting opportunities for creative integration of other subjects. in the context of theatre as product-based learning, the connection to theatrical production makes up the interdisciplinary connection. aside from increasing students’ abilities within the dramatic arts, students can be exposed to artistic skills with designing the show, business skills through publicity, and also using science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (stem) skills with lights and sound. what they learn when putting on a full production can be carried on into other classrooms and into the real world. additionally, needing to have a complete product by a certain day that will be performed for an audience motivates students “to accomplish the various activities effectively and on time” (fonio, 2012, p. 20). furthermore, by assigning students clear roles on and off stage for the production, they have a greater grasp of the impact they have as individuals on completing a project and forming an ensemble—a group dedicated to producing a cohesive, single product. also, when students feel their efforts are essential to the success of the performance, they are more likely to holman 21 participate, contributing to a richer dialogue and creative process (fonio, 2012). underscoring the efficacy of product-based learning, carson’s (2012) study identified that dramatic products shape learners into co-agents which bridges the gap between individual and social. learners must work together to create a shared knowledge or understanding through this process. as carson (2012) later points out, the authentic connection that arises among learners in the foreign or second language classroom usually happens in students’ l1 or occurs artificially in the target language. with fonios’s ideas in mind, we can postulate that in order to authenticate classroom target language use, more meaning must be given to these activities. the meaning students create together through the collaborative nature of a theatrical production possesses an inherent, authentic meaning that supersedes any artificial meaning manufactured through typical language classroom activities. that is to say, the creation of a product by nature authenticates the conversations and discussions students have in the target language. when students are forced to risk their sense of self by performing and when they are forced to communicate in a real world, cross-disciplinary situation, they truly become co-agents, creating a shared meaning and a shared product. to summarize, product-based learning is understood in this context to be the process of creating the final presentation of a theatrical performance. this style of instruction may be favored if the resources are available because of its real-world applications and cross-disciplinary nature that fosters authentic communication in the target language and authentic knowledge of other subject areas. process-based learning process-based learning, on the other hand, is ideal for educators with fewer resources, less time, or less experience working with theatre because it can be incorporated into just about any lesson plan with varying degrees of commitment. process-based learning can take the form of improvisational games, role plays, exercises using tpr (total physical response), miming, or script writing activities; anything based in the dramatic arts. aside from the benefits for classes desiring a lesser commitment, a classroom that utilizes process-based learning becomes as moody (2002) stated, “an open learning environment” (p. 138). he highlights this environment to be one of the strengths of the process-based approach; it is highly democratic and is the most successful when “participants are willing to take ownership of the dramatic process and embrace its outcome” (p. 139), meaning that this process works best in a collaborative classroom with motivated students. moody then suggests the value of this instruction is augmented when small-scale products are used. these products can be accomplished in several ways such as through an in-class performance of a short skit or scene, having one student write a scene for a group of classmates to read, or through a reflection on what was learned through a casual game or role play. moody (2002) cites the reasons why these products are needed as the opportunity for reflection and assessment from an audience there to specifically value their efforts and the structure of the product-based approach that motivates students to perform well. the students can also reap some of the benefits of the product-based approach such as developing a shared meaning with other students and seeing a real-world application to their classwork. even so, the emphasis of the activity will still lie in the process. devised work occasionally larger-scale products, reminiscent of those from the product-based approach, can develop as a result of process-based activities when similar themes emerge from the activities and the class truly forms a cohesive ensemble. in theatre, this event is known as devising–a process 22 gatesol journal 32(2) where an ensemble creates a performance around key ideas and themes. to define it further, scally (2019) explained the process of devising: devised work is here very much viewed as a process, that can find its stimulus or beginning in anything–moving away from conventional notions of a pre-existing script. additionally, pliability and openness are considered appealing to practitioners who wish to work as far removed as possible from pre-conceived notions of creativity or performance, especially with participants who are unfamiliar with working with drama. (p. 33) this quotation establishes devising as a culmination of the process-based approach, a summation of the “open learning environment” and the compromise needed from educators more hesitant to leap into theatre as well as emphasizing the products often required from a process-based approach. mermikides and smart (2010, as cited in scally, 2019) emphasize that devising is the product as well as the process, providing the benefits of both product and process-based approaches. as outlined by wagner (2002), one history lesson taught to elementary aged students (aged 7 to 9) exemplified the idea of a process-based product and a devised project done in a class environment. the teacher, christopher ford, led the children in the class through a series of “drama, reading, and writing exercises” based around their responses to the story of an 1869 boiler explosion that killed several mill workers and eight children playing during recess in a playground right by the sight of the explosion. the students conducted library research of primary and secondary sources that allowed them to place themselves into the period as the surviving students of the accident. after an exploration through dance and drama of the different perspectives and emotions the children must have felt that day, the students narrowed the focus of their project to what the “first scream” must have been like. they created images with their bodies and poems about that first scream. their work was displayed for parents and was subsequently praised for the emotional depth and technical writing skills the work showed from students of such young ages. here the product was clear: a physical and a written representation of the first scream. however, the focus of the lesson was on the exploration of the topic. the product came from the process. it was never intended for their project to take the form of writing about the first scream; this result was just where their exploration led them. this lesson exemplifies devised work in that the product, the final performance of the imagery and poetry, developed from a broad idea and narrowed with the interests of and talents of the group before taking the final form. in addition to exemplifying one of these approaches, this lesson is a testament to the efficacy of theatre in the language classroom. one eight-year-old students’ poem was noted for its maturity and complexity of language that conveyed a “powerful impact of this profound response to a real but at first distant historical event” (wagner, 2002, p. 15). not only did the student’s control over language and use of rhetoric devices like juxtaposition and sensory imagery improve, but so did their connection to this event. their affect was raised, thus improving motivation and emotional connection to the source material. in the language classroom, this process would work the same. students’ academic skills improve and so does their affect as a result of the devising and the completion of the final product. while that example may not be suitable for modern students, it still stands to show the power of devising on students’ skills. devising can come from anything. instead of personal journals and newspaper articles around a horrific event, teachers could have students follow the same process about personal memories or lighter, less traumatic stories from history. for instance, as a final project, the students could all share verbally or write down their favorite memories from holman 23 the class which would spur discussion that would lead to the creation of a performance of favorite classroom activities, funny in-class jokes, and sweet moments between friends to summarize the semester or year. in my own experience, this devising process was done using fairy tales. students were asked to pick a fairy tale or legend from any region and with a small group, research the fairy tale’s history, art, and the actual story before creating an informed retelling of this story to perform for the class. the topic is up to the educator, the needs of the students, and the demands of the curriculum, but the process and benefits remain the same. thus, the two approaches established here, process and product-based, fit classes differently and provide countless opportunities to learn. the two also share a considerable deal of overlap, fitting the needs of every class. practicality the dramatic arts are not every teacher’s forte, so hesitation is to be expected. however, the beauty of the theatre is that it is what one makes of it. royka (2002) identified four key fears language teachers have that bar them from using theatre in their classroom. this section will address three of those fears. the first fear she discussed was a teacher’s lack of knowledge of dramatics. we generally stick to what we know and many teachers feel they just would not know what to do (royka, 2002). this fear can be assuaged by the aforementioned levels of commitment provided with the processbased style. one can start with a simple exercise and build up to more involved product-based lessons such as a full production if desired. royka also highlights that there is a plethora of resources written specifically for the untrained language teacher that guide one through exercises, activities, and projects of varying difficulty. theatre as a discipline can be as structured or unstructured as one wishes and the beauty of the artistic process is that even the simplest of activities can create the most profound outcome. the second fear she presented was the fear of embarrassing oneself in front of students. a perilous fear indeed, but in order for a teacher to establish a community of safety where students can be vulnerable, take risks, and have fun, the teacher must also be willing to step outside of their comfort zone. the artistic process of theatre should be “all members creating the experience together” which involves risk taking on both sides (royka, 2002, para. 7). a teacher should never ask students to do something they would not be comfortable doing themselves. if hesitant, a teacher should slowly move from warm-ups and smaller activities into ones that require more from both teacher and student. the third fear is more of a hesitancy from the more traditional teachers who do not view drama as a serious study method or worry they would lose control of their class (royka, 2002). this fear can certainly be the case in college preparatory programs or any program where academic language is the focus. because teacher education can often emphasize “the one-way transmission of knowledge from the teacher to the student, rather than the creation of a learning situation in which the student is also the teacher” (wessels, 1987, p. 14), some traditional-minded teachers may face boundaries with their personal ideas of pedagogy, worry about being unable to reach standards, or feel inadequate to prepare their students if they are asked to implement drama in their classes. additionally, some may worry that in adult esl settings where attendance and class structure work differently, it may be hard to engage students who may not come in each week or have more immediate needs. once again, royka (2002) establishes that warming up to drama is key. by slowly exploring this non-traditional approach to language education, teachers can find methods that work for them and implement new classroom management styles that keep things more contained. for the more academic classes, i suggest that drama activities can be seen as 24 gatesol journal 32(2) breaks from the typical routine of studying and helpful at engaging students amidst even the most boring history lesson. additionally, the malleable nature of theatre allows it to fit into any curriculum. an adult class with varying attendance can prioritize lessons that take place completely within each class period or a part of it. the beauty of using theatre and drama-based approaches is the flexibility. educators can start small and move to bigger things, exploring what works for them and their students. students may also experience similar fears. some may lack the emotional or physical energy to exert toward performing, while others may experience stage fright. the solution to these problems goes back to what has been reiterated above: theatre and drama-based instruction is a process that must be undergone with the consent of both educators and students. when one moves from simple, low risk activities into the complex, both parties can grow into comfort and familiarity with theatre. taking this care throughout the process will ease the fears and hesitancies of both parties and ultimately, augment the positive effects of theatre. conclusion performance is at the very center of our existence as people. one of the most prominent ways we perform the roles we play in our lives is through language. when approaching teaching language and developing fluency in that language, too often is language education approached as if it is an academic subject no different than history or chemistry; however, language must be taught as it exists naturally, as a performance deeply ingrained in our identities and personal histories. when we teach language through theatre, we create a classroom that mimics the real world, providing a safe rehearsal for real world scenarios that is as close to reality as possible. this creation of a rehearsal space eases fears about using the tl in interactions with more proficient speakers and encourages them to take risks in this safe space. the creative nature of drama also establishes a more relaxed class environment where the rest of the class (the audience) may reward risk-taking that results in playful, humorous language or mistakes with laughter. the audience reaction and the gratification of successfully communicating bolster greater self-confidence. this style of instruction will also improve control and fluency over language with a wide variety of activities tailored towards helping improve various areas of language. to accomplish theatre/drama-based instruction, there are two main ways to approach the integration: either through process or product-based learning. product-based is typically done on a larger scale and involves an interdisciplinary aspect. the goal of this style is the culmination of the lesson or unit as a project, or in this case, a production. process-based is typically more malleable and the emphasis is on what is learned along the way. the two are not mutually exclusive and many process-based methods rely on smaller scale projects to show learning or guide the process. sometimes, process-based projects can produce a product that resembles product-based projects in what is known as devising. finally, it is important to note the malleability of this integration and the importance of an open mind when shifting the instruction. hesitation is natural and expected, but the openness of theatre allows for much flexibility so that one can ease in. theatre recontextualizes language and creates an environment ripe for learning. when educators shift their mindset, they can create great personal change and significant linguistic development within their students. i hope the discussion presented here have inspired educators to integrate this art into their classroom. when language is accessible, approachable, and relevant, language is achievable. holman 25 references anderson, j. 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(1987). drama. oxford university press. ____________________________________________________________________________ received: december 1, 2021 | accepted: july 29, 2022 | published: october 26, 2022 https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.487 https://doi.org/10.1108/etpc-06-2015-0047 https://doi.org/10.1108/etpc-06-2015-0047 http://iteslj.org/articles/royka-drama.html https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-1770.1980.tb00152.x theatre as a means for teaching a second language gatesol journal2022, vol. 32(2), pp. 14–26 doi:10.52242/gatesol.163 issn: 2331-6845 article shuang fu, graduate student, department of language and literacy education, university of georgia, athens, ga; email shuangfu@uga.edu. breaking the silence: a critical review of language policy and planning for long-term english learners gatesol journal 2021, vol. 31(1), pp. 17–35 doi:10.52242/gatesol.125 issn: 2331-6845 shuang fu university of georgia abstract despite scholarship on emergent bilingual students that continues to evolve, the subgroup of emergent bilinguals who are labeled as long-term english learners (ltels) have been overlooked and underserved for too long. ltels refer to english learners who have been educated in a u.s. school for six years or more. this literature review is aimed at bringing awareness to this subgroup population and identifying the characteristics and classification process of ltels described in the present scholarship. the review critically examines the de facto policy about ltels from perspectives of the current climate of standardized tests (language management), the label itself (language ideology), and programs and schooling experience of these students (language practice). the literature review not only speaks to the stereotypes, struggles, and challenges that ltels face, but also calls for future research studies to be conducted in addressing these problems pedagogically, institutionally, and systematically. keywords long-term english learners, english proficiency, language policy, standardized test, labeling introduction recent estimates from the national center for education statistics (nces, 2019) indicate that emergent bilingual learners are one of the fastest growing populations in u.s. schools. over the past decade, there have been several seminal works generated in the field. these studies cover students’ school experience, linguistic repertories, cultural diversities, and digital literacies (e.g., garcía & kleifgen, 2010; garcía-mateus & palmer, 2017; johnson, 2019; reyes et al., 2016). however, as the scholarship on emergent bilinguals continues to evolve, the subgroup of emergent bilingual students who are labelled as long-term english learners (ltels) has been overlooked and underserved for long. in broad terms, the label ltels tends to include the following entities: students who speak a language other than english, who have been educated in the u.s. for six years or more, and whose social listening and speaking skills are similar to native english speakers but are still designated as english learners (els). they typically perform far below grade level in academic tasks that require discipline-specific english oral language and literacy (olsen, 2012). despite there being a small but growing body of literature on understanding the educational backgrounds and unique needs of these students, knowledge about ltels comes from studies conducted in only a handful of states (e.g., new york, california), and the development of pedagogical approaches and instructional programs serving ltels still remains very low (ascenzi-moreno, 2017; king & bigelow, 2018). mailto:shuangfu@uga.edu 18 gatesol journal 31(1) there is no national standard nor estimate identifying the number of bilingual learners having long-term status, but data at the state and city level indicate ltels are a sizable percentage of the student population. for example, the new york city department of education reported that 11.7% of the student population was classified as ltels during the 2015–2016 school year (kieffer & parker, 2016); earlier research conducted in 40 districts in california found that ltels constitute 59% of the multilingual student population (olsen, 2010). in chicago, ltels comprise approximately one-third of secondary emergent bilinguals (de la torre et al., 2019). these striking statistics indicate an urgent need for great attention to ltels, as ltels are disproportionately represented in national dropout and grade retention (callahan, 2013). because these students come to school with a wide range of home languages, literacy proficiencies, and education experiences, their academic needs may be different from those of typical bilingual learners who have arrived in the u.s. in recent years. due to issues such as disrupted schooling and transnational experiences, ltels generally do not have opportunities to develop literacy in their home languages. therefore, these students have been described as having less than full proficiency in either l1 or l2 (e.g., freeman et al., 2002; olsen, 2010) and have been socially constructed in connection to the concept of “semilingualism” (cummins, 1979, p. 40). the label ltels was created to make educators aware of this group of students and was aimed at improving the educational outcomes of these students. however, as a bilingual educator in the u.s. with a transnational background, i find the label problematic, particularly because i realize the label ltels often frames students as deficient and views students solely based on english language proficiency testing results, while ignoring other complex factors, such as racial/ethnic backgrounds, transnational/disrupted educational experiences, and everyday language practices. i argue ltels engage in flows of values, beliefs, cultures, and languages through “technological, financial, and other global infrastructures” (skerrett, 2019, p. 502) of students’ home culture and u.s. culture. immigrant students’ schooling experience is more than a simplistic “acquisition of knowledge and skills in english language and u.s. culture” (valenzuela & rubio, 2017, p. 4360). but more importantly, under the globalized context, els are constantly learning and unlearning the cultures, values, and beliefs of u.s. society and socializing into the communities that they become a part of. therefore, the first goal of this literature review is to bring awareness to this subgroup population and identify the characteristics and classification process of ltels described in the present scholarship. the second goal orients from the perspective that a systematic understanding of research studies should be critical and humanizing. labelling students as ltels, for example, omits the bilingualism of these students and perpetuates inequities in the education of this population. my third goal is to inform future research concerning ltels. through reviewing and examining the existing literature, we can better set up goals for policy reforms and pedagogical practices in classrooms for ltels. the research questions i’m seeking to address in this literature review are: 1. what differentiates students who are classified ltels from dual language speakers who are placed in the mainstream classrooms? 2. how does the classification and reclassification system relegate ltels to a perpetual status of academic and linguistic deficiency? 3. how does the label affect the ways students are perceived in schools, and to what extent does the perception impact students’ opportunities to learn? fu 19 methods of literature search and selection to address the research questions, i sought empirical studies pertaining to ltels within the past decade. i set the parameters of publication years because the population of school-aged els has significantly increased over the past decade, transforming language policies and school instructions around them. the literature search process involved several steps. first, i included only peer-reviewed journal articles. eric, jstor, and web of science were used as the primary search engines. in the database searches, i searched a variety of terms referring to the same population, including long-term english learners, long-term english language learners, ltels, and ltells. then i visited scholars’ websites that i identified as renowned in the field to see their related publications. these scholars are kate menken, tatyana kleyn, nelson flores, laurie olsen, and maneka deanna brooks. these publications also represent scholars’ different approaches to conducting research and how they shift the framing of ltels over the years. it is worth noting the paucity of literature discussing the education of ltels. the majority of studies were conducted in california (29%), texas (18%), and new york (4%), and few were found in other states. presumably, this is because the three states have more than half of the nation’s el population (ruiz-soto et al., 2015), and my identified scholars also reside in these areas. i did not apply other reduction criteria at this step if the studies were focused on ltels. finally, i searched google scholar for articles that were not found with the first two search steps. after these steps, i initially reviewed 26 articles at the abstract level and started eliminating those that didn’t meet my review criteria. for example, i didn’t include studies that focus on ltels outside of the u.s. finally, i included 19 articles in this review. the literature search procedures have several limitations. first, considering only peerreviewed journal articles may have caused me to miss many important studies that are presented in other ways, such as doctoral dissertations, academic presentations, and edited collections and books. second, i selected key words in the title as the search setting, which could possibly exclude related empirical studies as well. despite these limitations, the systematic searching process was thorough enough to address the research questions. theoretical framework language planning and policy (lpp) has been broadly defined as an approach to solve social problems created by language differences in nation development since its emergence from the beginning (fishman, 1968a). with its aim to solve language problems after the independence of new nations, lpp in the post-colonial years of the 1950s and 1960s concentrated on the language planning at the state or national level. as rubin and jernudd (1971) explain, “language planning is deliberate language change; that is, changes in the system of language code or speaking or both that are planned by organizations that are established for such purposes or given a mandate to fulfill such purposes” (p. 29). these earlier frameworks in the field of lpp focused on top-down authoritative language planning and the resolutions of language problems at the national or state level (fishman, 1968b; haugen, 1966). in other words, during the earlier period of lpp development, how a policy was implemented and what the implementation process looks like was ignored and overlooked. while lpp studies primarily focus on the policies of government officials promoting systematic linguistic change in a community or a society, there are various forces at the macro and micro-levels at work. across stages of language planning, different individuals and social agencies are distinctively linked to the rules, regulations, and practices and hold important roles in achieving the intended language policy. therefore, each individual language user and different 20 gatesol journal 31(1) social agencies cannot be isolated from the sociopolitical contexts in which they dwell or are educated (canagarajah, 2005; kaplan & baldauf, 1997). in this way, lpp moves beyond the topdown or bottom-up construct to a conceptualization of being a more dynamic, interactive, and nonlinear process (garcía, 2009). to highlight the complexity within the lpp creation and implementation, ricento and hornberger (1996) introduced the metaphor of an onion framework to evoke a multi-layered understanding of how language policies work. the layers of the onion from outer to the center illuminated the political processes from the state and national agencies to institutions and individuals to enact language policies. within the framework, agents at the national, institutional, and interpersonal levels are all engaged in the process wherein interacting with one another. thus, through the application of the onion metaphor, we can see the connection across different layers and how power moves at different levels. furthermore, spolsky (2004) suggested that language policy encompasses three interrelated but independently describable components: “language practices, beliefs and management of a community or polity” (p. 9). specifically, language practices refer to the actual linguistic choices and behaviors; language beliefs are the values and statuses assigned to named languages and language varieties; language management refers to the explicit and observable effort by someone or some group that claims authority over the participants in the domain to modify related practices and beliefs (spolsky, 2004). according to spolsky (2004), language policies can be both overt and covert, and can include all decisions people make about language in the society. spolsky’s inclusive definition of language policy redefines who can be policymakers. that is, people with all different positions in the social, political, and economic world are capable of enacting macro-/meso-/microlevels of language policies. this three-component lpp framework provides us an important approach to examine a wide range of language issues, such as the establishment of official language(s) in a country, the discussion of official language(s) in schools, as well as language ideologies embedded in education and so forth. education is seen as central to lpp and schools serve as an important space for education policy implementation (menken, 2008; menken & garcia, 2010). informed by spolsky’s (2004) lpp framework, shohamy (2006) spoke of “language education policy” as the “mechanism used to create de facto language practices in educational institutions” (p. 76). shohamy (2006) investigated how the three components contribute to the construction of de facto language policy and in what ways de facto language policies are connected with language beliefs and practices. shohamy argued that language education policy has often been determined by political considerations or sociopolitical ideologies instead of pedagogical factors in the field of bilingual education. shohamy’s perspective aligns with johnson and johnson’s (2015) ethnographic studies with el students where he found lpp is political in nature. because for students who speak english as their second or foreign language, their performance on standardized testing can decide what content is being taught in schools, how and by whom it was taught, and in which language. the significant impacts of the testing policy on el students’ schooling experience, in other words, becomes the de facto language policy. i adopt this perspective of seeing standardized testing as the de facto language policy in my literature review. i argue the issues with language policy, specifically within the educational contexts, are deeply intertwined with the status of languages in the society and illuminate the sociolinguistic ideologies. by examining the previous literature around ltels labelling and exploring their educational trajectories, i argue the binary thinking that categorizing students into english learners and english speakers and even with a subcategory of ltels tells a set of fu 21 ideologies about languages. and the tactic binary sociolinguistic logic can powerfully transfer over to the ways how bilingual learners are treated and educated in the u.s. school context. furthermore, the el and ltel labels establish a deficient perspective of bilingual learners and ignore the linguistic skills and assets of knowledge bilingual learners bring into their schools and classrooms. consequently, the labelling and the current el classification system fails to challenge the logic of sociolinguistic ideologies and continue to frame students who embrace language practices other than english as inherently deficient. thus, we must seek an alternative approach to racial assemblages and understand students who are labelled as els and ltels inhibit various historical, political, and economic positionalities as they migrate to the country and enroll into the public school system, so that we can ensure their academic rigors and continue honoring minority communities’ racial, cultural, and linguistic practices. findings to understand how the status of ltels impacts their learning opportunities and learning outcomes, i align my arguments with spolsky’s (2004) three components of de facto language policy framework. first, the use of standardized testing to decide students’ further educational experiences indicates the perception of els’ linguistic proficiency as inadequate. thus, regulating students’ language use through the current classification and reclassification system to fix el students’ language problems is an example of language management. second, i find the label ltel used in policies, reports, and academic journal articles is indicative of a language ideology that privileges english monolingualism. the monoglossic language ideology works to exacerbate educational inequities and fosters a systematic negation of minoritized students’ cultures and languages. third, i reviewed literature on ltels’ schooling experience for illustration of individuals’ language practices. recognizing the inadequacy in educational programs and pedagogies development for ltels can help us better counter the subtractive educational practices and undergird ltels’ schooling experiences. long-term english learners in the context of high-stakes standardized tests according to nekvapil (2006), language management can range from micro levels such as a family to macro levels such as a nation-state. in the domain of english language education, a state english language proficiency (elp) exam can be considered as a type of language management, determining whether an el exits english language learner status. elp exams, in the u.s. k–12 context, were developed after the no child left behind (nclb) act, which required els to be tested annually for english proficiency (nclb, 2002). nclb mandated the assessment of language proficiency, thus determining programming, instruction and curriculum. with the reauthorization of the federal elementary and secondary education act of 1965 (esea), the every student succeeds act (essa, 2015) replaced the previous law of nclb and required schools to build english proficiency rates into their accountability framework. although federal policy dictates all states use elp exams to assess els, proficiency is essentially a cut score decided by convening a committee within each state. for example, in california, an overall proficiency level 4 on the english language proficiency assessments for california (elpac) must be identified to be considered for reclassification. in texas, students must score 40th percentile or above in the state standardized reading assessment before their reclassification case can be sent for review. in new york, students must score at the commanding level on the new york state english as a second language achievement test (nyseslat) to be classified. in the end, where the cut scores are set is a matter of a state committee’s judgment about how students ought to perform on 22 gatesol journal 31(1) the test (rosenberg, 2004). moreover, there is no homogeneous definition of proficiency to exit el status across and sometimes within states, either. according to title iii of essa, an el is defined as: an individual . . . whose difficulties in speaking, reading, writing, or understanding the english language . . . may deny the individual the ability to . . . (a) meet the state’s proficiency level of achievement on state assessments; (b) successfully achieve in classrooms where the language of instruction is english; or (c) the opportunity to participate fully in society. (title iii, essa, 2015) as demonstrated from the text above, current policy in practice places great emphasis on assessing language proficiency through the lens of state assessments. under essa, states are authorized with much control of accountability. as a result, the proportion of bilingual students who are identified as els varies across states, suggesting that one student who is considered an el might be reclassified as a non-el in a different state, thus leading to different programs and learning opportunities. in new york city, approximately half of els are able to be reclassified within three years of school (conger, 2009; slama, 2014). however, umansky and reardon (2014) found that in california, the time for students to be reclassified is much longer. the median time necessary for reclassification to occur for the latino els in california was 8 years (umansky & reardon, 2014). in fact, an el student in new york city is only required to demonstrate proficiency on the state elp exam to become reclassified. the same student in the state of iowa is required to demonstrate proficiency on the state elp exam and academic content test to be reclassified. moreover, that same student attending school in california would be required to demonstrate proficiency on the state elp exam and on the academic content test in english language arts, plus teacher evaluation of the pupil’s curriculum mastery using a locally developed protocol and parent consultation are both needed for the student to be reclassified (cook & linquanti, 2015). this is significant because as the measures used to determine student acquisition of the english language vary, so does the number of students reclassified from state to state and district to district (cook & linquanti, 2015). the implementation of essa requires states to answer the question, “how long does it take for els to become proficient?” because each state has its own criteria for reclassification, it is difficult to compare results across states (linquanti & cook, 2013). there have been several concerns and questions raised about elp exams (clark-gareca, 2016), among which are whether the tests solely assess students’ language proficiency or whether they evaluate students’ knowledge of the content areas represented in the common core state standards (ccss). after reviewing a variety of elp assessments in use across the united states, solórzano (2008) found the tests had different definitions of proficiency and thus assessed proficiency quite differently. based on the synthesis of the literature, solórzano concluded the continued use of high-stakes test results for decision making has adverse consequences for els and ltels. in fact, because of the complex components to define proficiency in the test, some teachers have questioned whether non-els from mainstream classrooms would score highest if they took the elp exams. with the adaptation of ccss and to support el students in meeting the rigorous content standards for college and career readiness, each state was required to adopt elp standards that correspond to the college and career-ready standards (u.s. department of education, 2016a). in particular, the latest reauthorization of esea clarifies that each state must adopt elp standards that “(i) are derived from the 4 recognized domains of speaking, listening, reading, and writing; (ii) address the different proficiency levels of english learners; and (iii) are fu 23 aligned with the challenging state academic standards” (u.s. department of education, 2016b, p. 24). i find it troubling when tests attempt to measure the integration of literacy and content standards, because it might not portray accurately what students know and are able to do. the washback effects of high-stakes tests have drawn attention from test developers and educational researchers due to the impacts of such tests on education and society (e.g., fox & cheng, 2007; green, 2013; menken, 2006). for example, menken (2006) examined the washback effects of policy-driven high-stakes tests on els and found that the curriculum and instructions for els were driven by the tests rather than aligned with students’ learning needs. thus, it’s doubtful whether the instructions students received have a positive impact on their learning. in other words, students’ learning needs can be easily overshadowed by the massive washback effects of high-stake tests. as a comprehensive system made up of 40 u.s. states, territories, and federal agencies, wida (formerly world-class instructional design & assessment) is a consortium that aims at developing, designing, and implementing a high-quality culturally and linguistically responsive system to support english language learners in k–12 contexts. in 2019, wida published a research report and estimated the potential ltel population across 15 states, representing all four quadrants of the u.s. in the study, the minimum threshold was defined as a composite proficiency level (cpl) of 4.5 for the prior school year on the access for ells test. this minimum cpl was also the standard for els to be reclassified as english proficient across all 40 wida states and territories. among the cohort of 167,000 students in grades k, 1, or 2 during the 2009–2010 school year, approximately 13% of els were identified as potential ltels, 65% were classified as potentially proficient, while 22% dropped out from the analysis prior to 2014 (sahakyan & ryan, 2018). the study also found that the proportions of potential ltels varied significantly across states from 2% to 24%, and this was true even after adjusting for states’ varied reclassification requirements (sahakyan & ryan, 2018). the findings here raise questions to what extent state language policies affect the observed variability and make implications for stakeholders to further work on understanding factors that are associated with ltel rates. another approach for better understanding the process of els becoming ltels is to investigate els’ time to be reclassified. els’ reclassification not only provides details of students’ progress in the pre-ltel period, but also sheds light on why some bilingual learners enter longterm status. studies by cummins (1981) and collier (1987) were representative among early research in the 1980s. based on analysis of a dataset from over 1200 immigrant students in canada, cummins (1981) suggested that it takes between five and seven years for an el to acquire nativelike english language proficiency (elp) for academic purposes. later research conducted by collier (1987) confirmed and extended cummins’ finding. collier additionally suggested students’ age and basic literacy in l1 upon arrival are essential variables to determine time to attain elp for academic purposes. however, these findings have also been discussed much in later literature. as conger (2009) noted, the studies relied on small samples of participants during the 1970s and 1980s, and participants were concentrated in only one or two schools. as a result, the length of time needed to achieve proficiency estimated in these studies should be viewed critically. generally, students move through six steps that include el screening, initial proficiency testing, assignment of service, annual proficiency testing, analysis of scores, and exiting el status. however, a significant number of els have difficulty exiting because they are not gaining proficiency at the expected rate. for example, parrish et al. (2006) estimated that the probability of an el remaining classified as an el after 5 years in the u.s. is 75%, and fewer than 40% of els are reclassified out of the status 10 years after designation. parrish’s result is based on examining data from california over a period of five years, where the population of els and 24 gatesol journal 31(1) ltels is the largest across the nation (nces, 2017). the protracted progress of els limits their understanding of the grade-level content courses that are taught in english and also precludes them from advanced coursework that is prerequisite for higher education opportunities. therefore, instead of blaming ltels for lack of language proficiency and academic literacy, it is of greater importance to view the current designation system critically and examine whether it is serving els and ltels and providing them with enough learning opportunities. to have a better understanding of els’ language developmental trajectories, larsen-freeman (2016) proposed complex dynamic systems theory (cdst) in tracing els’ language proficiency growth over time. according to cdst, language can be depicted as a dynamic system (i.e., a set of variables that interact over time), and language development can be viewed as a complex dynamic process. larsen-freeman (2016) argued that spontaneous occurrence of new changes arises from the interaction of the components of a complex system. by applying cdst in studies of second language acquisition, the findings will help policymakers and educators develop programs that facilitate students gaining english proficiency and reduce the risk of bilinguals entering long-term status. as shown by the studies we’ve discussed in the section, standardized test results play an important role in assessing students’ english proficiency. though the test is not necessarily considered to be bad, the washback effects of the test reflect the negative effect of a type of language management. while the problematic process of classification and reclassification of els is not the sole cause for students to become ltels, it is influential in deciding subsequent programming and school experience which should not be overlooked. thus, sometimes els become ltels, not due to their actual english abilities, but due to errors in bureaucratic processes (brooks, 2018; thompson, 2015). given that el students are heterogeneous in many ways (e.g., race, age, learning progress), more evidence other than elp test score needs to be gathered to fulfill students’ needs more adequately. rather than relying on one single assessment for making high-stake decisions, other assessments or measurements should be incorporated to counteract the adverse impact of any one poorly devised test (stokes-guinan & goldenberg, 2010/2011). in terms of the assessment use and purposes, formative assessments gathered from classroom activities can provide deliberate collection of information on student performances at the micro level, and el learners’ needs can be responded to by teachers more incrementally. in this way, we are using assessment for and in learning rather than of learning (wiliam & thompson, 2017). connotations of the label of long-term english learners guided by spolsky (2004), the second component of the lpp framework is language beliefs, sometimes called language ideologies. the established ideologies are significant to language policy and planning as they associate with the values assigned to languages and language variations. in examining the label of ltels, i suggest that the label can be understood as a symbolic term naturalizing monolingual and english-only ideology. as link and phelan (2013) said, any label is a “package deal” (p. 528), encompassing both costs and benefits. garcía (2009) demonstrates how the language used to identify bilingual learners impacts their educational experience in multiple ways. for example, she notes that referring to students as emergent bilinguals instead of limited english proficiency (lep) or english learners (els) highlights their potential rather than shortcomings or limitations of english skills. therefore, labelling to some extent may lead individuals to experience injustice and discrimination. in specifically looking at the literature associated with the ltel label, this part of the review attempts to uncover the powerful ideologies inherent in the term and provide a more complex understanding of students fu 25 who are labelled ltels. through analyzing the label, we will be able to recognize that the description of these long-term bilinguals is not as neutral as it may appear. california was the first state to adopt the term ltel as an accountable category in state official policy. assembly bill 2193 defines ltel in its section 313.1 and further requires the department to “annually ascertain and provide to school districts and schools the number of pupils in each school district and school, as specified, who are, or are at risk of becoming, long-term english learners” (chapter 427). the passage of assembly bill 2193 was influential in helping raise the visibility of the subgroup of bilingual students and attempting to address their special educational needs. weeks after the passage of the bill, a guidance book was released by a statewide advocacy organization named california together. in this document, olsen (2012) provided suggestions and instructions to educators and administrators for best practices. despite the justicerooted orientation, olsen’s (2012) recommendations discursively positioned ltels as deficient and assumed a monolingual-english standard. for example, in the guidance, olsen defined ltels as students “struggling academically and stuck in progressing towards english proficiency despite six or more years in us schools” (p. 4) and noted the urgent need for schools and districts to address the “academic gaps of these students”. while emphasizing students’ failure in language and academics, there is no mention of bilingualism nor translanguaging (garcía 2009; garcía & wei, 2014) that can be regarded as dynamic linguistic and semiotic resources of this student population. therefore, the label of ltels demonstrates a monolingual language ideology and views these students from a deficient perspective. this monolingual and english-only approach is also a reflection of the state’s anti-bilingual education policy. in fact, california was the first state in the nation that initiated a ballot asking voters to eliminate bilingual education in favor of an english-only approach. in june 1998, the proposition (proposition 227) passed with 61% for and 39% against. since then, california had started requiring bilingual learners in all public schools to be taught only in english and enter mainstream classrooms within a maximum of one year of instruction in their home language (gándara et al., 2000). in this case, instead of viewing students’ social and home language practices as language resources, the english-only movement treats bilingualism as a problem that prevents students from fitting a monolingual ideology. a large-scale study investigated the long-term effects of the english-only approach, finding that english-only instruction did not contribute much to improving bilingual students’ academic performance (parrish et al., 2006). though recently more people began realizing the importance of bilingualism and proposition 227 was overturned in 2016, the twenty-year implementation of english-only instruction results in sharp declines in the number of bilingually certified teachers in the state (garcia, 2020). recently, there has been criticism about the notion of ltels and some scholars have specifically reformed the ways they talk about the students who are ltels (flores et al., 2015; menken, 2013). flores et al. (2015) critique that the notion of ltels oversimplifies the broad categorization of students and ignores their highly varied educational and linguistic backgrounds. to understand this subcategory population, they studied ltels’ lived experiences through the lens of students as emergent bilinguals, students, family/community members and transnational individuals. data in the study includes interviews with 28 students from 2 secondary schools in new york city and class observations that serve for data contextualization. countering the discourse of deficiency that is often attached to the ltel population, the study by flores et al. (2015) employs the discourses of partiality framework, through which to better understand how these students perceive themselves in a more complex and innovative way. the discourses of partiality are constructed by two interconnected manifestations. one is the discourse of linguistic 26 gatesol journal 31(1) partiality, which constructs students who immigrated to the u.s. at a young age as lifelong learners of english because of their partial development of both their home language and english. the other is the discourse of academic partiality, which positions els as unprepared learners for academic work because of their limited english language skills (flores et al., 2015). flores and colleagues concluded the study by emphasizing that such complexities of these students’ experiences in schools must be recognized and addressed through more responsive schooling. besides, flores et al. (2015) point out from the study that the label serves more than as a categorization but a racial project, “perpetuating white supremacy through the marginalization of the community of color’s language practices” (flores et al., 2015, p. 6). in the u.s, a monolingual english speaker would not be considered as an el no matter whether he masters academic discourse in english or not. however, someone who is bilingual must be academically proficient to be considered as fully proficient in the language. what is behind this is a language ideology that’s driven by white supremacy, prioritizing english monolingualism and monoculturalism (flores et al., 2018). similarly, menken (2013) raised the argument that the label causes students to be seen as linguistically deficient even in their home language despite their proficiency likely not being questioned in their home country. menken (2013) stressed to use the term emergent bilingual instead of long-term english learner, emphasizing students’ bilingual language and literacy skills at secondary schools. the following excerpt is an example in which menken (2013) applied a translanguaging lens to critique her own earlier research about the deficient positioning of emergent bilinguals: one example is the article entitled “the long-term impact of subtractive schooling in the educational experiences of secondary english language learners” (menken & kleyn, 2010), in which the authors described these challenges in detail while failing to acknowledge the creative and dynamic ways the students actually use language. taking this further, these students have been termed “non-nons,” “clinically disfluent,” “languageless,” and “semilingual” by educators and linguists (rosa 2019; valadez et al., 2000) and are seen as deficient in linguistic knowledge largely due to their failure to become english monolinguals (menken, 2013, p. 462). in this example, students are deprived from native speaker status due to their demonstration of low academic literacy skills. ltels are forcefully positioned in the “dual nonnative speaker” status because of their failure to be monolingual and monocultural. these bilingual speakers, under the category of ltels, are conceptualized as speakers of nonstandard english or even “languagelessness” (rosa, 2016, p. 162). so, the label of ltel is a product constructed by the normalization of monolingualism and idealization of academic english. conversation surrounding the label goes beyond words. labelling students as ltels also impacts the ways educators read and understand their needs and abilities. in exploring how prolonged classification as ltels impacts students’ opportunity to learn, brooks (2015) analyzed the “in-school experience with and ideas about academic reading” (p. 386), drawing data from five case studies of ltels in the ninth grade. based on classroom observations, brooks found learning opportunities for ltels are limited in terms of access to rich literacy practices and structured by the teacher. the teacher determined ltels’ in-school reading experiences with three revolving rules: reading involved more than one person; reading entailed meaning-making aloud; and the teacher provided official interpretation. however, such reading practice does not provide ltels with the necessary literacy skills needed to increase proficiency as measured by state testing. brooks’ work highlights the fact that current labelling practice with the term ltel prevents students from getting access to necessary literacy skills and learning opportunities. the label not fu 27 only blinds us to students’ bilingual abilities, but also blocks students’ way to further learning opportunities and success. through reviewing literature surrounding the label of ltels and examining the impacts on students to whom the label is applied, the de facto language policy of labelling reflects an ideology that prioritizes english monolingualism and further disadvantages students who fall within the categorization. connecting it to the colonial history of the united states, the ideology illustrates a rather contradictory belief expected in democracy as it holds that everyone ought to learn english despite immigration waves (spolsky, 2004). in fact, discussion around language ideology cannot be disentangled from language practice. thus, in the next section, i’ll review studies that investigate ltels’ language practice and schooling experience. services and school experiences of long-term english learners within the theory of language policy, language practices are “the most observable behaviors and choices—what people actually do” (spolsky, 2009, p. 4). language practices are also the component that provide the linguistic context for anyone who learns a language (spolsky, 2004). overall, researchers in the field have generally reached a consensus that the greatest need of ltels is to build up academic language and literacy skills to meet the current testing climate (freeman et al., 2002). however, directed by the popular sink or swim approach in u.s. public schools, adequate language development services are not provided to ltels throughout their schooling (menken & kleyn, 2010). in california, survey data shows that more than one-third of els were placed in mainstream classes without language support (olsen, 2010). similarly, in new york city, menken and kleyn (2010) found that a vast majority of ltels have not received systematic, consistent language services during their schooling, and more than half of ltels experienced a complete language gap. in the study, menken and kleyn interviewed 29 ltels, five school administrators, and four teachers of ltels over three years to learn about the past and present educational experience of ltels and to what extent the services they received were matched to their specific educational needs. they argue the educational programming that ltels received in the u.s. has been characterized as subtractive, thereby limiting students’ academic literacy skills and negatively impacting their overall academic performance. to counter these subtractive approaches, menken and kleyn (2010) suggest focusing on home language literacy and bilingual education in future program development, so that students’ educational opportunities can be improved and the resources they bring can be viewed from more of an additive perspective. in fact, although there is an increasing awareness of the special linguistic and academic needs of ltels, there are few designated intervention programs and curricular designed to support the student population (e.g., ascenzi-moreno et al., 2013; brooks, 2019). according to the council of great city schools (2019), ltels in secondary schools are typically served in one of the following three placements: (a) an english language support program (e.g., esl, esol) designed for newcomers; (b) reading remedial programs developed for low performing students or students with specific learning disabilities; or (c) mainstream classrooms with limited or no support for english. however, these programs hardly meet ltels’ needs because none are designed for them. to exacerbate the problem, the current education system tends to provide ltels a second-class education because of certain assumptions and low expectations for them. because they only receive simplified content and basic language skills, it’s difficult for ltels to develop the necessary knowledge to succeed in school. callahan and shifrer (2016) reviewed the policy and placement of els in the public high school system that created inequity and segregation. the study found most students identified as 28 gatesol journal 31(1) ltels in high school were placed in courses without discussing with the students what their goals were for the future: whether it was going to college, career technical school, or the workforce. as callahan and shifrer (2016) indicated, “poorly implemented programs and policy result in the byproduct of students identified as ltels” (p. 486), and shifts must occur for students to access courses that prepare them for future academic study or careers. specifically, callahan and shifrer called for local schools to identify and develop programs to meet the needs of their el population and to improve academic access and equity to content. furthermore, ltels are commonly overrepresented in special education. in new york city, 23% of ltels were identified as having learning disabilities, compared to the average number of 6.2% for students districtwide (kieffer & parker, 2016). similarly, in california, it’s reported that 30% of ltels are qualified for special education (thompson, 2017; umansky et al., 2015). the overrepresentation of ltels in special education requires careful examination and consideration of the diagnostic criteria. of course, the linguistic and academic challenges that ltels are confronting may come from specific learning disability, that “may manifest itself in the imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematical calculations” (individuals with disabilities education act [idea], 2004, § 300.8.10). but there is a greater possibility these difficulties are linked with their cultural backgrounds, interrupted education, transnational experiences, or previous subtractive schooling. the misidentification of ltels in special education is a critical problem because placing students who are not disabled in special education is depriving them from full curricular and learning opportunities. recently, there have been experimental studies shining lights on ltels and attempting to find ways for meeting students’ particular needs better. in krashen’s (2018) “do libraries and teacher librarians have the solution to the long-term english learner problem?” he reviews theory and research to propose the concept of “self-selected pleasure in reading in english” (p. 16). krashen argues that a focus on direct instruction on academic language is not sufficient to increase ltels’ acquisition of the english language. in his research, krashen further hypothesizes there are three essential stages to acquire language through the encouragement of reading for pleasure: storytelling and read-aloud; sustained silent reading; and self-directed reading should encourage the “area of special interest” (krashen, 2018, p. 18). krashen recommends the development of english proficiency should start from promoting students’ habits for reading and giving them access to vast reading materials. in this way, english learners are given freedom to explore the language through the lens of their topic of interest. krashen states that habits inclusive of self-directed reading allow english learners to acquire the english language fluency in the forms of language required to succeed in school. krashen’s (2018) study accords with cummins’ (2009) earlier recommended transformative multiliteracies pedagogy framework, where he suggested better service for struggling els should be culturally, linguistically, and socioeconomically responsive. this framework positions students as intelligent active learners in classroom interaction and enables them to construct knowledge through active language practice. it is important to keep the transformative multiliteracies pedagogy framework in mind while designing language programs and services for ltels as it emphasizes the language practice of learners and meaningful interactions with teachers. the literature illustrates the collective impacts of monoglossic language ideologies and the prioritization of standardized testing on students’ actual language practices and schooling experiences. as demonstrated above, the de facto language policy of labelling and high-stakes testing creates consequential material conditions that fundamentally marginalize el learners and fu 29 relegate them to a perpetual status of academic and linguistic deficiency. the troubling schooling experiences of ltels signal the systematic inequalities and injustice as well as linguistic and racial oppression el learners are constantly faced with. on another note, the complexities within the education language policy regime also put teachers of ltels in a complicated position. as they try to balance between meeting the needs of bilingual learners and accommodating teaching to the monolingual testing, educators thus become agents of enacting language policy. considering the teachers’ pedagogical struggles, i argue policy making must go beyond the top-down approach and include voices from the ground so as to resist the hegemonic construct in the educational domain and by extension the broader society. discussion and conclusion in the last part of the paper, i wish to stand back a little and identify some of the broader issues arising from the literature review. this review provides an overview and a critical evaluation of studies around ltels. by using spolsky’s (2004) multi-dimensional lpp framework, i examine the de facto policy about ltels from perspectives of the current climate of standardized tests (language management), the label itself (language ideology), and programs and schooling experience of these students (language practice). to answer rq1, i have shown that the categorical distinction between students who are classified ltels and other els is not fully based on students’ language proficiency. rather, the label orients from a constrained view of “ability” (linguistically and intellectually) that is solely decided by the high-stake standardized test in the contemporary language education realm. in terms of rq2, though the test is represented to the public as an objective measurement, my analysis has shown that the washback effects of the elp test can negatively impact the instructions els received, thus causing els’ learning needs being overshadowed. through the examination of the current classification and reclassification system, i find elp tests are problematic because the tests don’t differentiate language proficiency from students’ knowledge in the content areas, and the standards adopted by each state vary from each other, making the designation procedure messy and vague. additionally, the state-to-state variability is shaped by state policy context. for example, the english-only instruction law in california was not overturned until 2016, which partially explains the monolingual-driven standards and deficient language adopted in earlier instructional frameworks (e.g., olsen, 2012). given these complexities, i suggest that any credible education policy and practices for equity and justice must address issues at the macro and micro level. specifically, policy reforms should be informed by an awareness of contextual complexities. as gillborn and youdell (2000) said, “equality policy statements and target setting at the national level are worthless without mechanisms to translate them into changed activities at the school level” (p. 220). thus, it is vital for stakeholders to work with researchers in the future to better understand which factors are more importantly associated with rate variations of ltels. as i move forward in the analysis, i find the term is not as neutral as it appears to be but demonstrates a monolingual language ideology in the current system. i do not question that the label has drawn the attention of educators and scholars to the special needs of this subgroup population of emergent bilinguals and the well intention to improve students’ academic outcomes with the creation of the label. however, the label has socially constructed these students in a deficient way, which on the one hand, ignores students’ multilingual and multicultural characteristics and, on the other hand, positions white supremacy as the linguistic and academic capital intentionally. in place of semilingualism or languagelessness, an initial and necessary step 30 gatesol journal 31(1) for us to take would be to recognize all els have the potential to become fully bilingual and gain comparable academic english skills to their monolingual english-speaking peers. next, we should be precise and conscious of what the category and label could mean and how the designation can possibly affect minoritized bilingual students’ learning and being. in this way, it helps us capture the profound meanings in ways that authorities and institutions may not ever give voice to. finally, we must acknowledge that acquiring a language, especially acquiring high levels of academic proficiency in a language is indeed a long-term process. labelling students as ltels is implicitly calling those who didn’t meet people’s impatient expectations as slow learners (cushing-leubner & king, 2015). to address rq3, i pointed out in the last section that the current programs and services for ltels are inappropriate and underdeveloped. further consideration of the overrepresentation of ltels in special education leads me to ask the question—whether special education has become a default intervention approach for ltels. the fixed, normalized, and yet problematic placement of ltels reflects the false perception of bilingual learners’ intellectuality and reinforces the deeply racialized stereotypes. the lack of appropriate language support and programs is also related to the broader socio-political context, which can never be separated from the colonial history of the nation. setting english as the correct or standard language practice in program and curriculum design is a result of linguistic imperialism (phillipson, 1992). researchers, educators, and policy makers must resist the dichotomous framing of language. by enabling students to use their entire linguistic repertoires to demonstrate their meaning making, we are also challenging the monolingual ideologies while embracing the assets of cultural and linguistic knowledge students bring in. with it being said, we need to develop a framework that can help us 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(2017). subtractive schooling. in the tesol encyclopedia of english language teaching (pp. 4356–4362). wiley-blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/ 9781118784235.eelt0139 wiliam, d., & thompson, m. (2017). integrating assessment with learning: what will it take to make it work? in c. a. dwyer (ed.), the future of assessment (pp. 53–82). routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315086545-3 ____________________________________________________________________________ received: may 3, 2021 | accepted: june 28, 2021 | published: july 30, 2021 https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118784235.eelt0139 https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118784235.eelt0139 https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315086545-3 gatesol journal2021, vol. 31(1), pp. 17–35 breaking the silence: a critical review of language policy and planning for long-term english learners doi:10.52242/gatesol.125 issn: 2331-6845 issn #2331-6845 critical service-learning in adult esol teacher preparation: reflections from the field by dr. nicole pettitt youngstown state university npettitt1@ysu.edu ashley ekers auburn university ashley.ekers@auburnglobal.org chanelle campbell georgia state university ccampbell49@student.gsu.edu marwa gure minneapolis public schools mkgure@gmail.com in the united states, few universities offer preservice training for new teachers entering adult esol teaching and learning contexts. this paper reports on a pilot service-learning course offered during spring 2015 at georgia state university, “teaching adult esol in community settings,” one of few courses of its kind in the country of which we are aware. we begin by introducing the course and its philosophy, then share reflections on our experiences in the course and lessons learned. we conclude with a call for others to take up this work at universities and communities in georgia. keywords: tesol, teacher education, service learning 1 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 mailto:npettitt1@ysu.edu mailto:bbb@ggg.edu mailto:ccc@gsu.edu mailto:mkgure@gmail.com introduction in the united states, few universities offer preservice training for new teachers entering adult english to speakers of other languages (esol) teaching and learning contexts. this is perhaps unsurprising, since preand in-service training requirements for adult esol teachers vary greatly from state to state and program to program. around the country, some publicly funded programs require a k-12 or adult education teaching license, others a state-level alternative credential, others a bachelor’s degree in any professional field (as in georgia), and others have no minimum education or credentialing requirement. (for a list of the professional requirements for adult education instructors by state as of 2007, see http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/briefs/teacher_credentialing_table_red_mbxl s.pdf). thus, many new teachers come to adult esol in unexpected ways, such as through volunteering in nonprofit adult esol programs, or teaching in other contexts, for instance, k-12, higher education, or overseas. this has created an ongoing need for in-service training for adult esol educators, especially in small, community based programs run with insufficient funding (perry & hart, 2012). such training is particularly important when working with adult learners who were denied access to formal schooling in their home countries and those who may be at beginning levels of working with alphabetic print (peyton et al., 2007) this paper reports on a pilot course offered during spring 2015 at georgia state university, “teaching adult esol in community settings.” the central purpose was to prepare preservice teachers to teach in community based adult esol programs in the atlanta area. a fuller description of the course appears below. 2 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/briefs/teacher_credentialing_table_red_mbxls.pdf http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/briefs/teacher_credentialing_table_red_mbxls.pdf the need when i (pettitt) arrived in atlanta in fall 2012, i began visiting adult esol programs. as a former teacher and administrator, i wanted to begin to understand the strengths of, and challenges facing, adult esol professionals in this city and state. as i sat with administrators and listened to teachers after visiting their classes, a common theme emerged: the desire for more in-service teacher development, especially since no formal preservice training, such as that required of k-12 teachers, was available. “i never learned to teach in this context,” and “i need more support with literacy,” and “i’m not sure how to assess,” were frequent refrains. teachers’ reflectiveness and desire to learn for the benefit of the adult immigrants and refugees in their classes and communities impressed me. their dedication is one of the reasons i responded to those requests by conducting on-site professional development for adult esol teachers at various community based organizations during my few first years in atlanta. at the same time, some undergraduate and master’s level students at georgia state university, where i was earning my ph.d., began to ask me questions specific to teaching in adult esol contexts. many of the undergraduate students were earning certificates to teach english overseas, but were not yet ready to move out of the country. some of the master’s students were teaching in community based adult esol programs to gain more teaching experience, but had understandably not received training specific to teaching non-academic esol or to working with learners with interrupted formal school-based learning. 3 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 based on these expressed needs, i wondered what possibilities might emerge from offering university based preservice teacher training specifically for non-academic adult esol. i knew some of our department’s students would find this useful, but could not presume to know whether adult esol programs would as well, so i asked three administrators for their feedback. their responses were overwhelmingly positive. the administrators were especially interested in the possibility of having future pools of job candidates who would already be familiar with the unique constraints and demands of many adult esol programs (e.g., few technology resources, three or more english levels in one classroom, managing volunteers, cobbling together part-time teaching positions, amongst others), as well as teacher candidates who were trained specifically for working with refugees and immigrants who were emergent readers and/or had experienced interruptions in formal schooling. the course i proposed such a course to dr. kris acheson-clair, then-director of undergraduate studies in applied linguistics, who invited me to develop and pilot the course. we agreed the class would be designed with a critical academic servicelearning model (mitchell, 2008), with georgia state teacher candidates serving for at least 12 hours in an adult esol classroom at one of four sites in atlanta, in addition to their university based learning requirements. according to howard (1998), “academic service-learning is a pedagogical model that intentionally integrates academic learning and relevant community service” (p. 22) and “utilizes the service experience as a course ‘text’ for both academic learning and civic learning” (howard, 2001, p. 10). in this teaching and learning model, guided and 4 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 purposeful reflection plays a vital role, as it spurs students to make connections between their community based service sites and academic learning (hatcher & bringle, 1997). academic service-learning, then, differs from volunteering, internships, one time service opportunities, and other kinds of experiential learning in that it ideally marries meaningful service with rigorous academic work, including guided reflection. this course was further designed from a critical perspective; this entailed orienting academic and service objectives toward questions of power and social justice (mitchell, 2008), as well as ensuring that students understood the systemic “injustice(s)...(that) created the need for service in the first place” (wade, 2001, p. 1). to design rigorous critical reflection activities that spurred both academic and civic learning for teacher candidates, i drew on resources provided by the university of minnesota’s center for community engaged learning http://www.servicelearning.umn.edu/info/reflection.html). these reflections served several important purposes in our course. as i read the teacher candidates’ written reflections each week, i reconsidered our course texts, the topics we needed to discuss during class in upcoming weeks, and concepts from previous courses to which we needed to return. i also remarked on the challenges some of the teacher candidates were navigating in their service sites, as well as the transformations some of them appeared to be going through that semester; these themes figure in the reflections shared below. additionally, in ongoing efforts at reciprocity and sharing power, i invited community partner participation from the outset of the course, including syllabus design, service opportunity design, open door policy to visit the university based course component i was teaching, and more. i also invited ongoing reflections and feedback; 5 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 http://www.servicelearning.umn.edu/info/reflection.html some took me up on these opportunities, including ashley ekers, whose written reflection appears below. collectively, we authors offer the reflections below as a means to share our lessons learned, as well as our remaining questions, as participants in this pilot course. importantly, we have all participated in different capacities: pettitt as the course designer and university instructor, ekers as a cooperating teacher and coeducator of a teacher candidate, and campbell and gure as teacher candidates. we hope readers will find that the diverse experiences and perspectives we bring to the endeavor of teaching adult esol enrich the discussions that follow. teaching a language: it’s inseparable from teaching culture chanelle campbell i stepped into academic service-learning thinking it would just be another thing to check off my list in order to graduate with my bachelor’s degree in applied linguistics. nothing prepared me for the eye opening and life changing experiences i would encounter during those three months of service. i was assigned to tutor a somali woman who worked as a housewife and mother of three. during our weekly sunday english lessons in her apartment, my main responsibility was to help my student learn the language and literacy practices that would enable her to meet her goals in her new life in the united states. however, during my time with her, i also got a glimpse of the daily struggles she and her family faced; these often left me questioning whether or not i was well-enough prepared to guide them through the obstacles they encountered, which, interestingly, was not part of the curriculum i had been given by my service site. 6 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 it seemed like so many things were new and daunting for my student and her family, such as reading a letter sent home by their children’s school to say their child had too many unexcused absences, or my student’s husband not knowing how to call his employer to request time off to visit the doctor. during my time with my student, my most impactful encounter occurred during a lesson on filling out medical forms; this was timely, since my student was around nine months pregnant at the time. before the lesson, i decided to get her talking about her previous experiences visiting doctors’ offices in the u.s. in our esol service-learning/teaching methods class with nicole pettitt, we had learned about the importance of establishing real-world contexts for using english, as well as helping language learners create personal connections to the topic at hand; i was trying to help my student link her previous knowledge to our lesson. during our conversation, she said her due date was wednesday; my mind immediately went into overdrive with a thousand questions, since wednesday was only two days away. she tried to walk me through her plans of getting to the hospital, which entailed taking public transportation by herself. question after question raced through my mind: what happens if she has the baby on the bus? would she know how to communicate for help if she encountered a dangerous situation? i was overwhelmed with concerns and fear. as i sat flabbergasted, i tried to hide my concerns by changing the subject, and asking if she had a name for the baby. she asked why i asked, and i said she needed to have an idea about names because she would need to provide that information for the baby’s birth certificate. she told me that, in her experiences in somalia, babies are named about three months after birth. i wondered if this cultural practice came about in case of some unforeseen circumstances during a baby’s first 7 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 three months; this left me puzzled and at a loss for words. i did not know how to express my concerns about what my student might face at the hospital or where to begin my explanations of cultural differences she might encounter. this experience was enlightening for me: it showed me that some of the challenges my student and her family faced were not only due to language, but potentially to cultural differences as well. in the united states, many cultural practices may be unfamiliar and somewhat overwhelming for them for a while. as a new teacher, i realized that i needed not only to put into practice the things i had learned in my teaching methods courses, but also to gain an understanding of adult students’ unique needs. i also realized i needed more knowledge related to assisting adult students through difficult situations that might not occur on a daily basis, such as how to prearrange transportation for when one goes into labor. while our adult esol teaching methods course provided me with many tools to prepare effective lessons and ways to understand students’ social and cultural backgrounds, we had no formal training for handling situations that presented challenges outside of learners’ educational needs. fortunately, our course was also a platform for teacher-learners like me to share our ideas and community based teaching experiences, which helped me glean ideas for handling situations that came up during tutoring sessions. if my classmates’ suggestions did not quite work, i would turn to my instructor, nicole pettitt, who always had useful advice ready to share. before this community engagement experience, i did not know about or pay attention to the needs of refugees and other immigrants in my community. now i realize that being a teacher is about connecting with students on a personal level, and that 8 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 being an esol teacher specifically means i am always teaching about culture, as i teach the language and literacy practices that will support adult learners in reaching the goals they have for themselves and their families. these are lessons i brought into my work after gradution, teaching adult refugees at the international rescue committee. coming full circle: my argument for adult bilingual education marwa gure as a child of refugees i know firsthand how important adult esol teaching can be. when my parents arrived from somalia, my father spoke english but my mother did not. so, on the days she was off from work, she would take my siblings and me to the clarkston community center where she took english classes. as a bored 6-year-old in that classroom, i would have never imagined that almost 16 years later, i would be in the position to teach people like my mother: people who left their countries because of civil war, famine, or just for better opportunities. adult refugees and immigrants are often forgotten when it comes to english teaching or even literacy instruction. that is why i was interested in georgia state’s class on teaching adult english learners. a year prior to taking the adult esol community engagement course, i planned on learning arabic and going overseas to teach english. i initially took the course because it fulfilled graduation requirements i wanted to get out of the way. then i met nicole pettitt, ashley ekers (my cooperating teacher, whose reflection appears below), my classmates, and the students at my community engagement site, and i felt at home. i felt something change in the way i looked at myself as a future educator. i realized there was a group of people being ignored and i knew who they were: they were my 9 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 mother, my aunts, uncles, and older cousins who had to start working and providing the second they arrived in the u.s. they could not read or write in their own languages, yet, they were expected to live in a country that was not their own, and start working without having a basic understanding of english. i wanted to do something to help even the odds. our service-learning course and my service site helped me to reevaluate my future goals. our course instructor, nicole, and the teachers at my service site genuinely do care for adult english learners, and i learned so much. i learned how my experiences and my knowledge as the daughter of refugees could be used to make me a better teacher. i learned that even though i am a refugee, i am not as connected to that identity as someone who came here more recently and may be struggling, and i should listen to recent arrivals. i learned that the experiences of immigrants are not monolithic, but we may experience some similar difficulties. i am not arrogant enough to believe that i alone will change how adult esol is taught, but the adult esol teaching profession needs people like me: young people, who are multilingual, and are not discouraged by teaching adults. it seemed like we learned everything about adult esol in our service-learning course, and i'm not exaggerating. we learned about adult esol delivery systems in the u.s. and how different kinds of programs are funded. we learned about different types of teaching styles, how they can be used, and for what learners they might be appropriate. we learned about the curricula and standards that adult esol professionals use around the u.s. additionally, we were always sharing our experiences with one another. we wrote reflections about all of the new things we were 10 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 learning in our course and at our service sites, constantly critically examined our ideologies and how we could improve our teaching. we did more in one semester than i have in any class ever and it was worth it. this course has helped to foster my interest in bilingual adult education. in this educational model, i could leverage my knowledge of the somali language to teach both english and somali literacy and would like to work on this with the somali community in minnesota. according to cummins (2001), “children's cultural and linguistic experience in the home is the foundation of their future learning and we must build on that foundation rather than undermine it” (p. 19). i believe the same is true for adults. currently, i am employed at a linguistically and culturally diverse school in the minneapolis public school district; our surrounding community is quite diverse, and this is reflected in the school’s workforce. whether children attending our school speak spanish, somali, hmong, or oromo, they always have access to an educator, either in their classroom or in the building, who can support their literacy skills in their home and community language(s). from my experiences at my service-learning site to my current employment, i have witnessed how educational models that support immigrants and refugees in their home and community languages are of great benefit to those who are just beginning to read or write in any language. in the future, i hope that bilingual education will become the norm for all. because of my community engagement experiences, i am more comfortable teaching and more interested in becoming not only an educator, but also an advocate for refugees and immigrants of all ages and their right to an education. i am happier 11 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 about the trajectory my life is taking post-graduation because i am genuinely interested in what i am going to do and with whom i get to teach and learn. a reflective approach to mentoring new teachers ashley ekers i have taught adult esol in various classroom settings for the past 6 years, however i still see myself very much as a beginner teacher. so, when i was asked to participate in this course as a community partner, and specifically as a mentor teacher, i began the way i do almost all of my professional experiences: unsure of my abilities, but hoping i would learn by doing. as a teacher, i have received mentoring through observation, of course, both observing other teachers, as well as microteaching in others’ classrooms. i am always grateful when teachers open their classrooms to me, so i hoped i could pass along my positive associations with classroom observation to the teacher candidate assigned to me, marwa gure. my experiences in graduate school also helped prepare me to host a teacher candidate, as these showed me the value of deconstructing everything i do in the classroom. creating habits of reflection (e.g., asking myself why i framed an activity a certain way, what hidden curricula might be present in my teaching, or what images of a teacher i am attempting to emulate and why) has helped me understand the successes and mistakes in my teaching, and mitigate the insecurities that come with being a new teacher. realizing that i could bring these strategies to mentoring marwa made me feel better prepared for receiving her in my classroom. 12 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 additionally, equipping me for the task was the thorough explanation of my role as a community partner and the expectations that came with it, provided by nicole pettitt the course instructor, as well as her very present support throughout the whole semester. the structure of the program framed my role as a supporter and facilitator, not someone with additional teaching responsibilities. i knew that the teacher candidates would be learning adult esol methods and practices during their campusbased course, so my classroom would simply be where they looked for examples of those in use, or not in use, and tried out various methods for themselves. during or after each class session in which marwa participated, i tried to reflect with her: what were her perceptions about the class, and what did she perceive the students might need? as marwa became more comfortable with me, the students, and our classroom routines, i invited her to teach a portion of the class. to set up this opportunity, i first projected where we would be in the textbook by the chosen date and asked marwa to choose any of the vocabulary or grammar points from that unit, using either the text materials to teach it or creating her own. she opted to design her own materials, and was attentive enough to her students’ everyday lives to create a “how many/how much” activity to coincide with an upcoming school-wide garage sale. during marwa’s teaching, i took detailed notes, and we later met to reflect upon her teaching. since marwa fit so seamlessly into my classroom, my only challenge as a teacher in this project was being too stretched for time and resources. i would have liked to find ways to make marwa an even closer collaborator in teaching, perhaps with 13 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 scheduled time for her to give me feedback or ask questions, or by inviting her into lesson planning. while i did not have the time for this, or for taking full advantage of resources like the course syllabus and materials provided by nicole, i think these would have made the teacher candidate/community partner interaction more cohesive. as i think about what would have made this experience even more successful, the work of several stakeholders comes to mind. for university programs, i would emphasize the advantages of not only giving their students more practical training, but also the potential to foster cooperative relationships between community partners and teacher candidates, leading to graduates who are more equipped to network in the field and pursue potential employment opportunities within community organizations. for teachers who receive university service-learning students in their classrooms, i would emphasize the advantages of having an additional supportive presence in their classroom, rather than taking the perspective that there is another “student” to think about planning activities for. overall, programs like this stand to benefit all parties involved in practical ways, but as a mentor teacher specifically i found the greatest advantages to be the additional resource for my students and the reflection required to explain my classroom practices to an observer. discussion: reflections from the course instructor the reflections above provide a glimpse into some of the concerns, passions, questions, and lessons that campbell and gure as teacher candidates, and ekers as a community partner, experienced during this pilot service-learning course. while each woman shared both professional and personal realizations she had made about herself 14 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 and her relationship to the course content, each reflection offers something unique. campbell was the only teacher candidate in the course to work with an adult learner one-on-one in the learner’s home; her reflection helps me to see how impactful such relationships can be, and thus the need for professionalism and maturity on the part of teacher candidates, and ever-present support and mentoring from course instructors, since high levels of intimacy can develop through in-home tutoring. campbell’s realization that teaching language(s) is inseparable from teaching culture(s) is, for me as a teacher educator, a fundamental and essential understanding for any language teacher. on the other hand, gure was one of two teacher candidates in the course who self-identified as a refugee and shared home/community language(s) with the adult learners in the classroom where she carried out her service. as gure’s passion surrounding bilingual adult education grew throughout the semester, she wondered what she could do about it; i encouraged her to teach herself to read in somali, and she did. gure’s reflection challenges me to consider how to overcome barriers to bilingual educational models, which were once much more accepted and prevalent (huertamacías, 2003), and how to attract and support more young multilingual teachers in the work of teaching english for adult immigrants and refugees in the u.s. finally, ekers’s reflection reminds us of the vital contributions of community partners, and cooperating teachers in particular, as co-educators of the teacher candidates who share their classrooms. in adult tesol teaching contexts, cooperating teachers frequently do not receive extra pay or course releases for opening their classrooms to teacher candidates and taking on these mentoring roles. yet the service15 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 learning component of this course, the most impactful component according to teacher candidates’ post-course surveys, would have been impossible without the participation of community partners and cooperating teachers like ekers. for ekers, her professional and personal realizations vis-à-vis her role in the course came early-on: specifically, that she did, in fact, have the knowledge and experiences necessary to mentor gure. ekers’s reflection reminds me, as the course designer, how important it is to match teacher candidates with cooperating teachers who have personally experienced some type of formal teacher induction program, including opportunities to observe, engage in structured reflection, and, importantly, practice designing lessons, teaching those lessons, and receiving feedback. my previous experiences as a service-learning coordinator, nonprofit community partner, and university service-learning course instructor all underscored for me the unpredictable nature of what students and teacher candidates might encounter in community settings, as well as what they might take away from those experiences. for example, i could not have predicted that several teacher candidates would make career shifts, setting aside plans to teach abroad in order to instead take positions teaching refugee learners in atlanta. additionally, despite many promising course outcomes, it is important to remember that service-learning can be patronizing, and serve to reinforce stereotypes (e.g., levinson, 1990; robinson, 2000). although i designed the course from a critical perspective, including texts and reflections intended to excavate and confront teacher candidates’ and my own unexamined assumptions, i cannot say all of the candidates engaged with the material as campbell and gure did, or as i had hoped. at times, i found myself extremely challenged as an educator. in my past 16 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 experiences, when i failed to reach students through texts and discussions, i turned to the guided critical reflection that accompanies academic service-learning, and found that helpful in supporting students. where was i going wrong this time? i returned to my teacher journals, re-envisioned our course texts and assignments, and asked trusted faculty members to reflect with me. i wish i could end these reflections with a tidy tale, a kind of, “...and we all lived happily ever after.” the reality is far messier. i do not know if the seeds planted in our class will sprout and bear fruit in the lives of the teacher candidates who i felt needed it most. yet, i selfishly recognize, those are the teacher candidates who taught me the most. in the same way i could not have foreseen what the teacher candidates gained through the learning that took place primarily in their service sites, i never imagined the ways i would grow as an educator when a few teacher candidates compelled me to critically examine my own ideologies and defend my stances vis-à-vis course content. epilogue as co-authors, we hope our paper underscores for readers the potential for critical service-learning in teacher education for adult esol contexts. we also desire for the course description provided above, as well as our reflections, to spur others into taking up this work where we left off. as of our writing, all of us have graduated (campbell and gure with bachelors’ degrees, ekers with a master’s degree, and pettitt with a ph.d.), and all but one of us have moved out of the atlanta area. along with the teachers and administrators who initially requested professional development workshops from pettitt in the atlanta area, as well as numerous scholars, we believe in 17 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 the importance of increasing professionalization in adult esol teaching (crandall, 1993; perin, 1999), and of expanding the number of well-qualified teachers for adult immigrant and refugee english learners in our communities. we know that teachers in atlanta and other areas in georgia have the passion necessary to continue this important work. 18 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 references crandall, j. 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(year). title of article. title of periodical, xx, pp-pp. do:xx.xxxxxxxxxx. 20 gatesol in action, fall 2016/spring 2017 critical service-learning in adult esol teacher preparation: reflections from the field introduction the need the course teaching a language: it’s inseparable from teaching culture coming full circle: my argument for adult bilingual education a reflective approach to mentoring new teachers discussion: reflections from the course instructor epilogue references research article alisa leckie, assistant dean for partnerships and outreach, college of education; professor, middle grades and secondary education, georgia southern university, statesboro, ga; email aleckie@georgiasouthern.edu amanda wall, professor, middle grades and secondary education, georgia southern university, statesboro, ga; email awall@georgiasouthern.edu acknowledgement: this project was supported by a seed grant from georgia southern university. what if there are only a few? supporting english learners in rural contexts gatesol journal 2025, vol. 34(1), pp. 4–16 doi:10.52242/gatesol.202 issn: 2331-6845 alisa leckie amanda wall georgia southern university abstract this paper describes the efforts of two teacher educators and four elementary school teachers to identify pragmatic approaches for educating newcomer english learners (els) in a rural context with a very small but rapidly growing el population. we used a formative experiment methodological approach (reinking & bradley, 2004, 2008) consisting of iterative cycles of goal setting, observations and instructional supports, and adjustments to capitalize on teachers’ experiences and expertise to identify four relevant, meaningful, and practicable approaches to instruction and assessment to benefit newcomer els. the four ways are: (1) finding ways to use students’ home languages, (2) incorporating visual supports, (3) focusing on vocabulary development, and (4) fostering culturally sustaining positive learning environments. while these approaches have been used in other settings, this study is innovative in its focus on how teachers can leverage these supports in general educational settings to respond to demographic changes in the region. our findings indicate that collaboration with experienced teachers led to the development of pragmatic approaches and policy clarifications that the school system has been able to apply in multiple contexts. these approaches, in turn, supported the els’ english language development and overall academic progress. keywords english learners, elementary education, emergent english learners, rural schools, rural esol introduction georgia is part of the new destination south, where there have been increasing hispanic and asian communities in recent decades (census brief, 2001, 2002, 2011, 2012; comparable briefs for the 2020 census were not located; marrow, 2011). census quickfacts (2024) estimated that the state population in 2024 included 11.1% hispanic people and 4.3% asian people. such patterns mirror increasing numbers of public school students who are english learners (els). in the 2023-2024 mailto:aleckie@georgiasouthern.edu mailto:awall@georgiasouthern.edu leckie & wall 5 school year, according to data on the governor’s office of student achievement (n.d.) report card, there were approximately 1,868,000 students in grades p-12 in georgia; of these, 19.24% of students were hispanic and 4.97% of students were asian american pacific islander. approximately 12% of students were els, with spanish, vietnamese, chinese, and arabic being the most common languages spoken. while 12% of students in the state are els, some districts have as many as 28% of their student population learning english as an additional language while other systems do not have any els. as such, the resources and expertise supporting effective instruction for els tend to be focused in school systems with higher numbers of english learners. federal title iii funds and fte dollars are allocated based on the number of students served, which provides districts with higher numbers of els additional dollars to provide instructional services for students and professional development for teachers. for example, while urban districts in georgia and across the nation may have newcomer schools and special classes to meet the needs of newcomers, most school systems do not have the resources to offer specialized programs or classes specifically for newcomer students. in rural schools, which often lack capacity for special programs and classes, many teachers may not have worked with els, much less newcomer students, throughout their entire careers; when they are confronted with meeting the academic and social needs of els, they often feel ill-equipped. even for experienced, effective teachers, it can be a challenge to modify instructional practices to make content concepts clear and to support els’ developing english proficiency. research indicates that there is still a struggle to prepare new teachers (e.g., chesley & jordan, 2012) and to provide professional development for practicing educators (choi & morrison, 2014) to effectively teach els. this is particularly true in rural contexts with low incidences of english learners (coady et al., 2019). in the district where this study took place, only 2% of the students were els (governor’s office of student achievement report card, n. d.). about 88% of students and teachers in the district were white. according to an annual report on the district site, more than 30 languages were spoken by els, with spanish being most common. given the low number of els, most esol teachers were itinerant, meaning they travelled between schools to provide support, thereby limiting opportunities to provide ongoing, sustained support for individual teachers or schools. one school in the district, loblolly pine elementary (a pseudonym), for the first time, had four students who were new immigrants to the country and had minimal english skills. the four teachers in this study were experienced educators at loblolly pine elementary who wanted to support the newcomer els in their classrooms but felt ill-equipped to do so. the purpose of this study was to collaborate with general education teachers to enhance their instructional practices for teaching newcomer els. relevant literature for this study, alisa leckie, one of the university researchers, worked with four elementary school teachers, each of whom had one or two emergent els in their classes. this was a new experience for each educator, despite their many years of teaching experience. one teacher, speaking with alisa midway through the year, reflected on the new-to-her experience of teaching an emergent el student, noting that, “i’m someone with 30 years of experience… i had no experience with it.” this impression connects to two main areas in the literature: effective practices for els and our rural context. gatesol journal 34(1) 6 effective practices for els effective practices for teaching english learners include using students’ home languages (krashen, 1985; sayer, 2013), incorporating visual support (gersten & baker, 2000; vardell et al., 2006), and focusing on vocabulary development (carlo et al., 2004). according to templeton et al. (2015), “[e]very teacher is a teacher of language” (p. 3), meaning that these practices are also appropriate across content areas. integrating these practices results in target outcomes for els, including oral and written language proficiency and content mastery (piñón et al., 2022). however, research does not tend to specify differential practices for els with minimal, if any, english language proficiency compared to more english-proficient peers. although guidance documents such as the wida proficiency level descriptors (wida, 2020) provide support to educators in explaining what els of varying proficiencies can do in instructional contexts, they provide little guidance for how to integrate these practices into their instruction. the majority of research on els focuses on schools and systems with high numbers of els. only a small portion of this research focuses on newcomers, or emergent els, with minimal levels of english language proficiency. rural context another key perspective that frames this work is the rural context of our college and partner school. research has identified common themes across rural contexts while acknowledging that these contexts vary widely (moffa & mchenry-sorber, 2018). this rural context, as noted, is historically and predominantly white while rapidly changing; the school, like many rural schools, is central to the community (rural schools collaborative, n.d.). recognizing this context allowed us to approach the study through an asset-based perspective, avoiding the commonly used deficit perspective in rural research (cf. white & kline, 2012). burton et al. (2013) noted that many studies draw on a “one-dimensional characterization” of rural teachers (p. 8). to counter this view, we highlight that this study focused on experienced, effective teachers facing a new situation: emergent els in their rural classrooms. alisa was familiar with the school through previous partnership efforts, and the teachers approached her for assistance with emergent els. these teachers wanted to ensure success for all students, but in the words of one teacher, they “had no experience” with els. in this way, the teachers self-selected for the study. conceptual framework two perspectives informed this work: linguistically responsive teaching (lucas et al., 2008) and culturally relevant pedagogy/culturally sustaining pedagogy (ladson-billings, 1995; paris, 2012). lucas et al. (2008) explained six understandings about second language acquisition that teachers need to consider: ● academic language proficiency differs from conversational language proficiency and takes longer to develop. ● second-language learners need input just beyond their current levels of competence and numerous opportunities with academic and conversational language. ● social interactions between els and english-speaking peers assist academic and social language development. ● els with solid literacy skills in their first language are more likely to achieve parity with english-speaking peers. ● a welcoming, positive learning environment with minimal anxiety about performing in a second language is essential for student learning. leckie & wall 7 ● explicit instruction in language function and form is essential to second-language learning. these principles informed our work with the teachers and our approach to analysis. we also drew on culturally relevant/culturally sustaining pedagogies (ladson-billings, 1995; paris, 2012). three components of culturally relevant pedagogy are a focus on student learning, cultural competence, and critical consciousness (ladson-billings, 1995). culturally sustaining pedagogies seek to foster, or sustain, “linguistic, literate, and cultural pluralism” (paris, 2012, p. 93). together, these approaches aligned with our goals. one goal was to support teachers in sustaining cultural and linguistic pluralism and funds of knowledge (cf. gonzalez et al., 2005) in their changing rural community; thus, we scaffolded teachers’ own cultural competence and recognition of the cultural and linguistic assets els brought to the classroom as a way to diminish a tendency to lean toward assimilation. the following questions guided this study: (1) how does the integration of vocabulary development, students’ home language, and visual support facilitate the academic achievement of emergent els in a rural context? (2) how does modeling how to integrate vocabulary development, students’ home languages, and visual support followed by instructional support result in shifts in educational practice among elementary teachers working with emergent els? method we used a formative design approach (reinking & bradley, 2004, 2008) for this work with four upper elementary teachers as they implemented practices to improve academic achievement for emergent els. formative experiments harness innovative instructional interventions to yield positive, pragmatic educational change (reinking & bradley, 2008). formative experiments allow for the creation of interventions responsive to particular contexts—here, emergent els in one rural school, loblolly pine elementary. since the goal of formative experiments is pragmatic pedagogical changes, we focused on changes in each teacher’s instructional practices. alisa met with the teachers at multiple points during the year to discuss student progress, representative instructional practices, curricular materials, and modifications. there were three main cycles over the course of a school year; each cycle included goal setting, observations and instructional support, and reflection and adjustments. alisa observed the teachers and met with them to discuss the topics above and how they were currently implementing best practices in their instruction. teachers would identify ways to enhance their existing instructional practice to better benefit the emergent els in their classes. then, teachers would implement ideas and monitor student progress. at the conclusion of each cycle, alisa would meet with teachers for reflection: to discuss progress and to revisit and refine goals for the next cycle. at the conclusion of the year, amanda wall, another university researcher, conducted a focus group interview with the teachers. participants and researcher roles the teachers (all names are pseudonyms) were: ms. ash, ms. donner, dr. allie, and ms. hall: • ms. ash taught fifth grade. she had 20 years of teaching experience. she had earned master's and specialist degrees. • ms. donner taught fifth grade. together, she and ms. ash divided the teaching of ela, math, science, and social studies. ms. donner had 21 years of teaching experience. she had earned a gifted endorsement. • dr. allie taught fourth grade ela, math, science, and social studies. she had 12 years of teaching experience. she had earned a master’s and a doctorate degree. gatesol journal 34(1) 8 • ms. hall taught third grade ela, math, science, and social studies. ms. hall had 29 years of teaching experience. ms. hall had a master’s degree. ms. ash and ms. donner were a fifth-grade team; they collaborated closely. dr. allie and ms. hall taught all four academic content areas in self-contained classrooms. as noted above, teachers self-selected for this initiative based on their new experience of teaching emergent el students. there were four emergent els in the upper elementary grades at the time of the study: ● lila, fifth grade. her home language is thai. her teachers were ms. ash and ms. donner. ● leon, fourth grade. his home language is french, specifically haitian french. his teacher was dr. allie. ● josé, fourth grade. his home language is spanish. his teacher was dr. allie. ● marie, third grade. her home language is french, specifically haitian french. her teacher was ms. hall. marie and leon are siblings. the small sample size connects to the context of the study and the new experience of teaching emergent els for these accomplished teachers. even among this small population of four emergent els, there were three home languages. both authors were familiar with the district through their roles as university supervisors for teacher candidates during clinical experiences. alisa knows spanish and has extensive experience teaching el students. amanda has a background in romance languages. both authors are committed to strong school-university partnerships. alisa previously provided esol endorsement coursework for other teachers in the district and worked with the district esol coordinator to support teachers working with els. this study grew from that work. data collection and analysis four approaches were identified to focus instructional supports for students. these became the framework for data collection and analysis. consistent with a formative design approach, there were three cycles throughout the year during which the study occurred. data sources included regular observation and meeting notes, sample instructional materials, and transcriptions from individual interviews and the focus group. alisa worked with the teachers throughout the school year to provide support for emergent els. she visited the school bi-weekly, observing and conferencing with the teachers. in keeping with a formative approach and our focus on practical pedagogical change, there were three goal-setting cycles. these cycles focused on modifying instruction for students (e.g., creating vocabulary lists, selecting sentence frames) and discussing these materials and student work samples with teachers. teachers shared and described student artifacts during conferences, although we did not include student work as separate data sources. audio recordings of teachers’ meetings included teachers’ interpretations and their assessment of evidence of student learning. we developed an a priori coding scheme from the promising practices identified through previous research, as noted earlier (carlo et al., 2004; gersten & baker, 2000; krashen, 1985; piñón et al., 2022; sayer, 2013; vardell et al., 2006), and aligned with the tenets of linguistically responsive teaching (lucas et al., 2008). the codes were: how teachers integrated students’ home languages, visual supports, and vocabulary development for their emergent els. information about student progress is based on teachers’ notes and interviews; we did not have access to student assessment data. the data sources align with the purpose of the study to focus on instructional practices to support emergent els in this school. leckie & wall 9 we established the beginning coding structure. to reduce bias in interpretation, due to alisa’s close work with teachers, amanda led data analysis. we initially coded the data separately. data from each cycle informed discussions with teachers for the next cycle, following the pragmatic goal of change underlying formative experiments. emergent themes (merriam, 2009) augmented the original organizational coding scheme (maxwell, 2005) as the study progressed. categories, themes, and findings evolved iteratively across the cycles. we analyzed data to note instructional practices and to note shifts in teachers’ instructional practices. through discussion after the initial analysis, we streamlined themes and resolved discrepancies. findings our research questions were: (1) how does the integration of vocabulary development, students’ home language, and visual support facilitate the academic achievement of emergent els in a rural context? (2) how does modeling how to integrate vocabulary development, students’ home languages, and visual support followed by instructional support result in shifts in educational practice among elementary teachers working with emergent els? we organized findings in four areas: 1) finding ways to use students’ home languages, 2) incorporating visual supports, 3) focusing on vocabulary development, and 4) fostering positive learning environments. finding ways to use students’ home languages students’ home languages were used in conjunction with english for some assignments and assessments. at the beginning of the year, alisa spoke with teachers about using google translate (or a comparable tool) to give assessments to newcomer el students first in their home language to assess their understanding of content, particularly on text-heavy assessments in language arts and social studies. she encouraged teachers both to focus on vocabulary development in math and science and to provide those assessments in english to see how the newcomer els’ language skills were developing. translating all assessments was not feasible in terms of teachers’ time constraints, nor would it have allowed them to assess english language development. teachers made intentional decisions about when and why to use translation. the use of students’ home languages was also helpful during writing tasks. as an example, ms. hall provided a writing prompt in french for marie mid-year. marie generated ideas in french first, then worked to write her response in english. this opportunity to write first in french, her home language, allowed marie to focus on content concepts and to list relevant examples and points for her assignment. then, with the support of a word-to-word bilingual dictionary, her own developing knowledge of english, and some peer support, marie wrote her response in english. this sequence allowed her to focus separately on content concepts and language concepts before uniting these in her written response. the structures of students’ home languages related to patterns teachers observed and the supports they provided in students’ use of english. leon, josé, and marie spoke romance languages with many words and structures in common with english. this promoted their english language development when the home language and english language words were paired on vocabulary cards. this helped both teachers and students notice the large number of cognates among english, spanish, and french. lila’s home language, however, was thai, which is structured differently from english. lila’s teachers referred to resources like the language gulper (gutman & avanzati, 2013) for information about the thai language to better support lila. for example, verb tenses in thai are structured very differently from english. instead of conjugating verbs to indicate time, thai gatesol journal 34(1) 10 linguistic structures use time-related adverbs or word order to express time. this awareness allowed lila’s teachers to notice patterns in her use of english and identify ways to develop her understanding of linguistic structures in english. in one cycle in february, lila’s teachers set an ela goal for her to focus on english verb tenses by highlighting examples of different verb tenses in selected passages. while other students were evaluated on their responses to comprehension questions, lila was assessed on her increasing knowledge of morphemes indicating verb tense. although some texts were modified so lila could develop reading comprehension skills, it was not feasible to adapt every text used. by selecting a grammar skill or linguistic feature to focus on, when adapted texts were not available, her teachers were still able to engage lila in learning. incorporating visual supports at the focus group in may, teachers noted “visual learning” and “pictures” as strategies they had used throughout the year that had worked well for their emergent els. we entered the study with the idea that visual supports referred to images, videos, and visible text (word/phrase walls and text annotations) that would enhance learning for emergent el students. the primary forms of visual support were paper or electronic flashcards and labels. teachers worked with emergent el students to use flashcards to develop their knowledge of general english terms (e.g., chair, table, flower) as well as content concepts (e.g., division, evaporation, character). in early cycles, these tended to be teacher-created flashcards. over time, the students started to create their own flashcards. this shift was related to students’ increased understanding and independence. as an example, ms. hall, marie’s teacher, further focused on providing visual support for math through labeling; this goal of providing visual support lasted through the first two cycles. ms. hall would intentionally label the aspects of graphs, shapes, and parts of mathematical sentences for marie. this labeling allowed marie to connect spoken words to their written counterparts in order to make math concepts more comprehensible. pictures were important supports for content concepts. while teachers had included visuals to support their instruction on a regular basis prior to working with emergent els, they became more intentional and consistent about their use over the span of the year. again, many students gained proficiency in selecting visuals themselves to support vocabulary and content knowledge. they also developed skills in selecting images to demonstrate their understanding of concepts to successfully complete class assignments. ms. hall described a presentation marie gave in class in may. marie gathered pictures to support her presentation about “real kids, real heroes.” ms. hall commented that, “you could hear a pin drop in this room… everyone wanted to hear what [marie] had to say.” text modifications and annotations were another aspect of visual support for students. in december, lila successfully read a text adapted with key ideas and key terms were in bold print. throughout the first two cycles, ms. ash and ms. donner, her teachers, had increased implementation of text adaptations. these adaptations allowed lila to focus her attention and effort on the parts of the text that were most critical for her comprehension. in a mid-year cycle meeting in february, dr. allie, josé’s teacher, mentioned how he marked his copy of the class novel by circling different words. earlier in the year, she had annotated texts for josé and leon, but, over time, each student began to annotate his own texts. dr. allie mentioned again how josé would mark texts during the focus group in may, suggesting the continued importance of this practice. both josé and leon had individual copies of the class novel that they could mark and write notes in. by providing copies of texts that the two boys could write in and annotate, dr. allie supported their content learning and english language acquisition. leckie & wall 11 focusing on vocabulary development there were several ways teachers focused on vocabulary development to support emergent els. this was a focus across content areas, following the idea that “vocabulary knowledge is content knowledge” (templeton et al., 2015, p. 3, emphasis in original). alisa worked with ms. hall to develop a list of keywords and phrases for marie to focus on in different units of study across content areas. here are sample keywords and phrases from one cycle: ● ela: claim, main reason, best meaning of a word, identify the main idea, organize your key points ● math: how many, number sentence, factor, expression, frequency, line plot ● science: temperature, change in temperature, warmer, cooler, thermometer. similar processes took place for other students. for lila’s fifth-grade study of world war ii through the cold war, ms. ash and ms. donner identified key terms and dates to focus lila’s learning along with her classmates. text adaptations were another way that vocabulary development was supported. texts were adapted through annotations (as noted under visual supports) and modified content. at the end of the first cycle, dr. allie explained how she presented josé with a simplified version of a book the class was reading, who was neil armstrong? (edwards, 2008). josé had gained “some basic english vocabulary,” so he was asked to circle words he did know so that flashcards could be developed for important words he hadn’t circled. in february, during the second cycle, dr. allie reported on leon’s reading books commonly assigned to first and second graders, although he was in fourth grade. these less complex texts had been given to leon to support his basic english vocabulary as well as accuracy, fluency, and rate of reading. fostering positive learning environments a positive, culturally sustaining, and responsive classroom environment provided a supportive atmosphere for each of the emergent els. these culturally responsive and sustaining environments provided encouragement and a degree of protection for the els, helping them to feel part of the class and school communities. dr. allie taught both josé and leon. she noted at one point how she structured a group for them to sit next to her and to one another, commenting that, “they have a nice little friendship.” farther along in the conversation, she reflected on the overall classroom environment: “but they just feel like part of us, you know?” ms. hall noted the positive classroom learning environment at multiple points throughout the year. in february, she relayed how “the children just are constantly building her [marie] up.” in may, toward the end of the third cycle, ms. hall summarized that marie “has been embraced by boys and girls, and certainly me.” she also specified small groups as a beneficial classroom structure. most of these examples relate to a positive classroom environment on a general level. teachers also worked to include students’ home cultures and knowledge into instruction. one specific example of a connection to a student’s home culture was when ms. donner noted how lila’s classmates enjoyed seeing examples of thai money she shared during their unit on decimals in math. when teachers recognized that lila was struggling with the money-related decimal problems because decimals are not used in money exchanges in thailand, they positioned her as an expert and asked her to share her money and commerce experiences from thailand. similarly, during a unit on trickster tales, ms. hall helped marie identify and retell a trickster tale she knew gatesol journal 34(1) 12 already. this allowed marie to expand her peers’ literary experiences, as recounting and retelling stories were part of their ela standards. mrs. hall was able to intentionally support marie’s development of skills related to that standard and the content of the trickster tale unit. using these approaches together while we highlight each of these four approaches separately, we also note that teachers drew on these approaches together to support their newcomer els. one example of this integrated approach comes from dr. allie and how she supported josé and leon during a study of george washington’s socks (woodruff, 1993). the two boys had their own copies of the text to mark and annotate. they could note unfamiliar words and make flashcards. they also used these annotated texts to read aloud to dr. allie in small group settings. through visual support, focus on vocabulary, and a positive learning environment, josé and leon showed dr. allie growth with content concepts and with the english language. in may, ms. ash reflected on lila’s year. she shared an example of when lila scored 100 on an assessment and recalled how lila was both humble and “very aware of what her abilities are.” ms. ash continued: “she knows she’s very smart; it’s just the language barrier. it’s not any kind of intelligence indicator. it’s just the language barrier.” ms. ash’s recognition of her student’s language challenges highlights how she paid attention to lila: how lila was using english, how she responded to strategies and adaptations, and how she grew in knowledge and skills with content and with english during the year. this reflection connects to the use of lila’s home language, focusing on vocabulary, and providing a culturally sustaining learning environment. discussion our research questions explored how expanded instructional practices supported the academic achievement of newcomer els, and how modeling and instructional support for teachers supported these expanded practices. the limitations of the study relate to its context and participants. the school where the study took place is a rural elementary school in a partner district with historically few el students. the new situation of four emergent el students in the classrooms of veteran teachers with little to no experience teaching els led to alisa’s collaboration with the teachers and the framing of the study. while the specific context of this study is a limitation in terms of generalizability, it is also a strength in terms of yielding tangible practices and examples for teachers of emergent els, particularly in rural contexts with very small populations of el students. we identified four key practices teachers implemented over the year in various ways to support emergent els and their academic achievement through informal assessment, teacher-created formative and summative assessments, and district assessments. first, teachers came to recognize and support students’ home language and to use intentional translation to engage students socially and to foster their academic success. teachers observed some initial school and system administration barriers due to perceptions that allowing students to use their home language would be a “crutch” and hinder their acquisition of english. in fact, emergent els self-selected to limit and eventually discontinue home language support as their english proficiency developed. second, teachers incorporated a range of visual supports, some of which the students created. third, teachers focused on students’ vocabulary development through these visual supports and other scaffolds like sentence frames. from providing images for key vocabulary terms to using bold text and other means to emphasize words and phrases, teachers designed ways to foster access to content concepts and augment their own and students’ overall leckie & wall 13 metalinguistic knowledge of english. fourth, and underlying all of the above, teachers fostered positive learning environments by creating inclusive, culturally responsive classrooms. at times, their culturally based instructional decisions were intentionally planned through work with alisa and one another, and at times incidental, such as when lila shared thai currency. through their individualized attention to these emergent els, teachers recognized some culturally incongruent aspects of content and instruction; from there, they were able to address and resolve inconsistencies. the structure of iterative cycles of goal setting, observation and instructional support, and reflection allowed teachers to identify the instructional practices they were already using and to see how those practices supported newcomer els. with increased and intentional use of those practices along with a few additional modifications, the teachers were able to notice gains in focus areas and to see how their own shifts in practice supported students. we highlight the power of a formative experiment methodological approach (reinking & bradley, 2004, 2008) in creating interventions responsive to a particular group of students in a particular context – in this case, emergent english learners in rural contexts. the goal of formative experiments is to bring about positive and pragmatic educational change, and this study documents pragmatic changes that resulted from the iterative and collaborative cycles that are the foundation of this method, as well as the utility of this approach in addressing professional development needs in changing contexts of all kinds – demographic and curricular. additionally, this work informed the development of district guidelines for evaluating newcomer els’ learning. the modeling and coaching supported teachers in noticing, discussing, planning, and enacting practices to support emergent els within the larger regular class setting. the cycles of goal setting, observation and instructional support, and reflection provided teachers with opportunities to focus on specific aspects of instruction and learning environment. in february, during the second cycle, dr. allie recalled how she had been “super overwhelmed” when she first started to teach josé and leon. at the focus group in may, dr. allie commented, “so these students come in straight from another country. it’s very overwhelming and challenging. and just… feeling like i’m failing them because i don’t know where to start.” alisa spent time with teachers in three iterative cycles discussing each student’s progress in english proficiency generally and each teacher’s curriculum specifically. each teacher was able to identify focus areas for each emergent el. subsequently, teachers made instructional modifications like developing vocabulary lists, selecting phrases to emphasize, and pairing images with content concepts. alisa suggested additional strategies to support each student. this clear focus on what to emphasize in instruction helped teachers’ intentionality. through modeling, alisa progressed from initiating ideas to discussing teacher-initiated strategies and approaches. over the course of the year, alisa modeled and discussed practices with teachers. she also listened and acted as a sounding board for teachers as they progressed with knowledge of their emergent els and types of practices; in this way, teachers’ knowledge and skills were expanded, and teachers took ownership of their own understanding (belans, 2020). ms. hall commented in february that alisa “showed me how to target words that i didn’t have to worry as much about her getting the whole sentence if we could just pull out polygon. pick out the polygon.” in this example, ms. hall discussed how she focused on key vocabulary (and related content concepts) through modeling and support. in the same meeting, ms. hall told alisa, “you made it very tangible…. it just took me back. i had no experience with it.” ms. hall repeated the idea of her novel experience teaching an el for the first time after decades in the classroom. ms. hall came back to the importance of modeling in the focus group, when she said she started gatesol journal 34(1) 14 the partnership was “a cry for help” and came to appreciate how she was able “to understand what we are allowed to do with instruction, what we aren’t allowed to do with instruction.” this modeling supported teachers in modifying aspects of instruction to support –and challenge– emergent el students while following their standards-based curriculum and district guidelines for instruction and assessment. this year-long collaboration between university researchers and experienced educators through a formative experiment approach was particularly beneficial when addressing novel educational circumstances. teachers’ knowledge of curriculum, communities, resources, the school system, and the local community informed the pragmatic implementation of best practices and related to the need for policy updates and guidance to capitalize on the expertise of experienced educators to develop school-wide capacity in teaching a new student population. conclusion this research is meaningful in its practical outcomes. this year-long initiative allowed teachers at the focal elementary school to develop capacity, and also inspired the teachers, administrators, and school system leaders to develop guidelines for assessing and grading the work of emergent els in ways that provide accurate and meaningful information to students, parents, and administrators, largely as a result of this project. collaboration with the district continued, resulting in the development of a newcomer kit with specific supports, like those used with the students in this study (cf. ladson-billings, 1995; lucas et al., 2008; paris, 2012). as the school and district continue to welcome emergent els, there are more and more teachers educating these students who can provide support to one another. the iterative cycles of goal setting, instructional supports, and reflection and implementation provide a model for teachers to continue. the guidance document was developed through collaboration with these teachers. the district can now share this guidance document with other teachers in other schools; the document includes ideas for teaching els and evaluating their learning. additionally, the teachers have gained the capacity to be teacher leaders to their colleagues who have els in their classes in future years. this research is also important in the way we frame continuing work with general education teachers of els in rural schools. while this study focused on elementary teachers, similar approaches could be adopted by teachers at the middle and secondary levels with appropriate modifications. the rural context is key to this research as we continue to expand practices for teaching els in schools where there have historically been few els and where numbers now call on general education teachers to modify their practices. the entire project united school and university partners to support students. references burton, m., brown, k., & johnson, a. 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(2024, july). census quickfacts: georgia; united states. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/ga,us/pst045224 . vardell, s. m., hadaway, n. l., & young, t. a. (2006). matching books and readers: selecting literature for english learners. the reading teacher, 59(8), 734–741. https://doi.org/10.1598/rt.59.8.1 white, s., & kline, j. (2012). developing a rural teacher education curriculum package. the rural educator 33(2), 36-43. https://doi.org/10.35608/ruraled.v33i2.417 wida. (2020). wida english language development standards framework, 2020 edition: kindergarten–grade 12. board of regents of the university of wisconsin system. https://wida.wisc.edu/resources/wida-english-language-development-standardsframework-2020-edition woodruff, e. (1993). george washington’s socks: a time travel adventure. scholastic. ____________________________________________________________________________ received: april 12, 2025 | accepted: july 19, 2025 | published: october 2025 https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.53 https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.53 https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/ga,us/pst045224 https://doi.org/10.1598/rt.59.8.1 https://doi.org/10.35608/ruraled.v33i2.417 https://wida.wisc.edu/resources/wida-english-language-development-standards-framework-2020-edition https://wida.wisc.edu/resources/wida-english-language-development-standards-framework-2020-edition gatesol journal2025, vol. 34(1), pp. 4–16 what if there are only a few? supporting english learners in rural contexts doi:10.52242/gatesol.202 issn: 2331-6845 pedagogical practice lynn shafer willner, standards researcher/developer, wida at the university of wisconsin— madison. email: lynn.willner@wisc.edu (orcid: 0000-0002-0980-7957) ai-powered, integrated unit goals and lesson objectives for k-12 english learners gatesol journal 2025, vol. 34(1), pp. 17–34 doi:10.52242/gatesol.199 issn: 2331-6845 lynn shafer willner wida at the university of wisconsin—madison abstract for the more than five million k–12 students in the u.s. who are classified as english learners (els) [also referred to as multilingual learners], school success increasingly depends on integrated instruction that seamlessly blends three types of educational standards: english language development (eld), foundational literacy, and academic content in english language arts (ela), mathematics, science, and social studies. recognizing this critical need, this article offers research-based guidance and practical planning templates for designing concise, standards-aligned unit goals and lesson objectives. to significantly reduce the burden of manually aligning multiple sets of educational standards, the author introduces a responsible artificial intelligence (ai) workflow that combines structured templates with a closed-ai system limited to vetted documents. this innovative approach empowers language educators to shift from time-consuming standards retrieval and alignment tasks to more collaborative instructional design with content area and literacy colleagues. ultimately, this approach transforms standards-aligned unit and lesson planning, enhancing efficiency and allowing these teams to dedicate more time to deeper instructional planning, specifically addressing the early literacy needs of k-12 els and the disciplinary literacy needs of longterm els (ltels). this ensures all multilingual learners can receive the targeted, coherent instruction essential for academic success. keywords english language development (eld), english learners (els), multilingual learners, integrated unit planning, wida, english language arts/literacy, artificial intelligence (ai) in education introduction over 5 million k–12 students in the u.s. are classified as english learners (els) (national center for education statistics, 2024)1. academic success for these students increasingly depends on instruction that integrates and aligns english language development (eld), disciplinary content, and literacy skills (blitz, 2025; uccelli et al., 2015). within the broader el category, distinct el student groups face persistent challenges: els in kindergarten and first grade (especially those with special education needs) often show slower early reading growth compared to non-el peers 1 in this article, the terms english learner and multilingual learner are used interchangeably to refer to the same group of k–12 students. the georgia department of education, federal policy, and wida use english learner to link english proficiency levels with assessments of students’ readiness to engage in academic content. wida also uses multilingual learner to emphasize students’ broader linguistic assets and abilities in the classroom (wida, 2023). mailto:lynn.willner@wisc.edu 18 gatesol journal 34(1) (johnson, 2022), while long-term els (ltels) in middle school (those students who remain in el status for six years or more) may plateau in oral proficiency but lag in their disciplinary literacy development, limiting reclassification from el status and general academic achievement (rhinehart et al., 2024). el language, literacy, and content achievement are impacted by the complexity involved in planning instruction that successfully integrates multiple sets of educational standards (shafer willner, 2023a; kray et al., 2023). to address these intertwined challenges for georgia educators, this article presents a georgia-specific case study for integrating three distinct sets of k–12 instructional standards: georgia standards of excellence (gse) for english language arts (ela), mathematics, and science, the wida eld standards framework (wida, 2020), and georgia's newly revised k-12 ela literacy foundations standards (georgia department of education [gadoe], 2025a). this fragmentation results in disjointed instruction, particularly affecting el subgroups with distinctive needs. the differing constructs, formats, and outcomes of these distinct k-12 educational standards often create barriers to efficient, cohesive instructional planning. in response, the article offers practical solutions for content, language, and literacy educators to align instruction without sacrificing clarity or rigor. first, it models a backward design approach (wiggins & mctighe, 2005), using standards-aligned unit goals to drive focused, measurable lesson objectives, informed by wida implementation guidance (kray et al., 2023). second, it introduces a closed artificial intelligence (ai) system—a platform limited to pre-vetted, standards-based documents—to support consistent, efficient generation of unit goals and lesson objectives. by handling timeconsuming administrative tasks, ai gives educators more time for meaningful, collaborative planning (wen & jiang, 2025), especially vital when addressing the needs of multilingual learners or those requiring specialized instruction (garcía & kleifgen, 2022; center for applied special technology [cast], 2024). by streamlining standards-aligned planning, this approach enables educators to more systematically address the early literacy needs of k-12 els and the disciplinary literacy needs of ltels, ensuring all multilingual learners receive the targeted, coherent instruction required for academic success. the next sections summarize federal guidance and research on embedding wida-based eld standards within georgia’s content standards, outline the research base and templates for standards-aligned, integrated planning, and point educators to gadoe correspondence mappings that provide expert educator recommendations for content-to-language standards integration. requirements and components of state english language development standards k-12 educational standards guide the development of coherent local instruction and assessment systems, targeting grade-level expectations. unlike curricula, which include the specific instructional materials, teaching methods, and lesson plans used in classrooms (the “how”), educational standards provide broad learning expectations that guide “what” students should achieve (fullan, 2001). this distinction allows local educators the flexibility to design or select curricula that best meet their students’ needs while still aligning with state-level shared expectations (shafer willner, 2023b).2 2 explicitly supporting the design of instruction that promotes local control is why wida refers to its standards as a standards framework (shafer willner, 2023b). this allows districts leeway to create integrated eld-ela-sor curricula while maintaining the integrity of the eld standards construct. eld standards are not equivalent to ela standards, but chart a unique, complementary set of targets. shafer willner 19 the federal every student succeeds act (essa of 2015) requires each state’s eld standards to define the language demands found in the state academic content standards in english language arts (ela), mathematics, and science. for more than two decades, federal requirements for eld standards have been firmly rooted in established eld research, including bailey and butler's (2003) academic language framework, schleppegrell’s (2020) extensive work around the language of schooling, and the strong evidence rating reported in the what works clearinghouse educator's practice guide (baker et al., 2014). thus, state eld standards promote an approach called content-based language learning. the eld standards used in georgia—the wida eld standards framework (wida, 2020)—have four components: wida standards statements, key language uses, language expectations, and proficiency level descriptors (see figure 1). figure 1 wida eld standards framework components and sample planning questions [reprinted with permission from wida] wida uses these components in the instructional planning process, recommending that educators tie together individual language lesson objectives within broader, integrated unit goals (wida, 2020, p. 46). evidence-based recommendations around integrated instructional planning research and case studies have highlighted that greater attention to collaborative, integrated planning produces statistically significant gains in els’ vocabulary knowledge, argumentative writing, content comprehension, and oral language proficiency (edelman et al., 2022). during integrated instruction, content and language objectives are intentionally paired, an instructional design approach advanced by the sheltered instruction observation protocol (siop) for the past several decades (short, 2017). siop primarily emphasizes multimodal scaffolding—such as verbal, visual, and hands-on supports—to make academic content accessible to multilingual learners while promoting english language development. this el-focused scaffolding also reflects the core principles of universal design for learning (udl) (cast, 2024), that is, offering multiple means of representation, engagement, and expression for all learners. a related type of content-based language learning draws on a k-12 variant of systemic functional linguistics (halliday & matthiessen, 2014). here, genre-based pedagogy promotes 20 gatesol journal 34(1) linguistic scaffolding by explicitly teaching students the language patterns and language features3 needed to participate in specific academic genres (martin & rose, 2007). when language objectives utilize genre-based framing, they can effectively support multilingual learners in engaging more deeply with academic language (mahan & ruiz de zarobe, 2024). collectively, these findings underscore the importance of incorporating both linguistic and udl-based scaffolding in content-based language instructional planning. integrated unit goal design using the unit goal template adapted from shafer willner (2023b), educators can first establish a content area context for language use, followed by an eld focus tied to the wida key language uses (narrate, inform, explain, and/or argue) (see table 1.) in other words, eld instruction is not decontextualized and generic, but embedded in and shaped by content area contexts. table 1 template for integrated unit goals focus template integrated unit goal template for content-based language learning in [content area], when learning [essential questions, big ideas/enduring understandings, and themes associated with this list of specific content standards], multilingual learners will [communicative purpose/key language use] using the language for learning in [wida language expectations]. example in social studies, when learning about "how people in the past helped make the world a better place" and the lives of historical figures in american history (ga standard ss1h1, ela.1.t.ss.2.a, ela.1.t.ra.iv, ela.1.f.pa.5, ela.1.f.pa.6, ela.1.f.p.1), multilingual learners will interpret and express informational texts using the language for learning in eld-si.k-3.inform, eld-ss.1.inform.interpretive, and eldss.1.inform.expressive4. note: see table 6 for an ai-generated response using this template. the process used to map connections between content and eld standards can be facilitated through a new type of wida and state resource called standards correspondence5 mappings. state panels of expert educators match content and language standards via the wida key language uses. not only do these mappings provide educators with planning options, but they also satisfy federal peer review requirements (shafer willner, 2023a). the 2022 gadoe content-to-eld correspondence mappings were created by four state-convened educator panels. they have been published in the gadoe inspire platform, with the ela-to-eld standards correspondence mapping updated in summer 2025 (gadoe, 2025b). figure 2 shows sample correspondences 3 the term language features refers to elements of a text that contribute to its meaning, style, and purpose, while the term language forms refers to observable, structural components of language. this concept is a key distinction between the foundational literacy standards in ela and the focus of language in eld standards. 4 the content-to-language relationship is encoded within the wida language expectation reference code: [wida standard statement] + [grade level cluster] + [key language use] + [communication mode]. for example: eldss.1.inform.expressive. this alphanumeric code can also be used in local learning management systems to digitally connect integrated planning with curricular resources. 5 correspondences are also referred to as alignments, associations, crosswalks, or correlations (shafer willner, 2023a). shafer willner 21 between gadoe grade 1 social studies standards (ss1h1) and wida language expectations (eld-si.k-3.inform and eld-ss.1.inform.expressive)6 figure 2 sample gadoe-wida standards correspondence mapping7 [reprinted with permission from gadoe] creating integrated lesson objectives once broader unit goals have been defined, educators can create three types of lesson objectives to guide instruction: (1) discipline-specific academic language, (2) focused language study, and (3) eld-embedded foundational literacy skills. the first two follow 2017 council for the great city schools (cgcs) recommendations; the third was created for this article.8 1. discipline-specific academic language expansion lessons. the first type of lesson objective targets discipline-specific uses of language (csgcs, 2017, p. 13). to provide all els (and their peers) with opportunities to master grade-level cluster language expectations—that is, the most prominent language uses needed for engagement in ela, mathematics, science, and social studies (wida, 2021)—this first type of lesson objective introduces a prominent language function for each grade-level cluster supported by either linguistic or udl scaffolding. table 2 provides a template and example for the language function, “describe characteristics, patterns, or behavior” from the eld-si.k-3.inform language expectation. 6 click on the circled double arrows on the left side of the horizontal menu to reveal the “associations” [correspondence matches] between these two sets of standards. 7 to download the .csv file for the correspondence mapping pictured in figure 2, click on the three vertical bullets in the upper righthand corner of the screen. choose the "table" view and the "filter" option for "associations.” ensure both "wida" and "related" checkboxes are selected. finally, "export" the file. 8 please note that the lesson objective samples provided in this article offer standard-related information for lesson objectives; educators are encouraged to add more specific, local curricular customizations to their lesson objectives. 22 gatesol journal 34(1) table 2 standards-aligned lesson objective template using a wida language function focus template lesson objective using wida language functions [for disciplinespecific academic language expansion] within the context of integrated unit goals and for a particular selection of content standards (indicated above in table 1), . . . when learning the language for [communicative purpose/key language use], multilingual learners will [a language function from a language expectation] using [appropriate linguistic scaffolding and/or udl principles]. example in social studies, when learning about "how people in the past helped make the world a better place" and the lives of historical figures in american history (ga standard ss1h1) . . . when learning the language to inform, multilingual learners will describe characteristics, patterns, or behavior using graphic organizers and educator modeling. note: see table 6 for an ai-generated response using this template. 2. focused language study lessons. a second type of lesson objective, shown in table 3, is focused language study. this activity provides multilingual learners with explicit practice in how language works in context (cgcs, 2017, p. 13). in other words, during these lessons, educators offer explicit instruction on how to use certain language features (e.g., sentences, phrases, clauses, word groups) to carry out a specific wida language function. the increased metalinguistic awareness that results from this type of genre-based lesson improves student engagement with grade-level disciplinary expectations (schleppegrell, 2020). table 3 standards-aligned lesson objective template for teaching about a language feature for a wida language function focus template lesson objective using language features [focused language study] within the context of integrated unit goals and for a particular selection of content standards (indicated above in table 1), . . . when [a language function from a language expectation], multilingual learners will learn to [key language use], using [language features] with [multimodality, scaffolding, or udl support]. example in social studies, when learning about "how people in the past helped make the world a better place" and the lives of historical figures in american history (ga standard ss1h1) . . . when describing characteristics, patterns, or behavior, multilingual learners will learn to inform using frequently used multi-word noun groups with peer support. note: see table 6 for an ai-generated response using this template. shafer willner 23 3. integrating foundational literacy lessons. in 2023, the reading league (trl) in collaboration with the national committee for effective literacy (ncel) and the cgcs issued complementary, evidence-based guidance around foundational literacy and els. both guidance documents recommended that educators: (1) offer explicit language instruction to build decoding and academic comprehension skills (trl/ncel, 2023); (2) integrate oral language development, contrastive analysis, code-based instruction, and meaning-making strategies into literacy lessons for els (cgcs, 2023, p. 7); and (3) emphasize all five foundational reading skills to support the academic progress of els (trl/ncel, 2023). supporting the development of local curricula, the third type of lesson objective in this sequence uses a dual target model to guide development of eld-embedded foundational literacy skills. this lesson objective ensures els have meaningful opportunities to develop literacy skills as they build their knowledge about how language works for a particular key language use [genre family]. as an example, the table 4 template answers the question: what sound patterns do els need to interpret and/or express the words in a multi-word noun group? this example shows how a phonemic awareness skill from the newly revised georgia ela standards can be embedded within a lesson objective related to genre-linked word choice. foundational literacy lessons should be systematic and responsive to student needs. table 4 standards-aligned lesson objective template for integrated eld—literacy lesson objectives focus template lesson objectives that integrate eld and literacy within the context of integrated unit goals and for a particular selection of content standards (indicated above in table 1), . . . while learning to select and adjust language features during an eld lesson, multilingual learners will also practice oral and/or written [foundational literacy skill(s) identified in state foundational literacy standards] with [appropriate linguistic scaffolding and/or universal design for learning support]. example in social studies, when learning about "how people in the past helped make the world a better place" and the lives of historical figures in american history (ga standard ss1h1) . . . while learning to select and adjust frequently used multi-word noun groups during an eld lesson, multilingual learners will also orally practice blending sounds using magnetic letters and a list of target rimes to build words in a “make-a-word” center. (1.f.pa.5 onsets & rimes) note: see table 6 for three ai-generated responses using this template. to summarize, effective integrated units are built around intentional alignment across content, language, and literacy standards. the next section outlines a process for using ai to develop standards-aligned unit goals and lesson objectives. https://case.georgiastandards.org/391c3abe-c1ec-4a4a-a942-c9e152b35102/5ab86f6f-5eab-4263-b830-c7102f26c164/303 24 gatesol journal 34(1) instructional planning using a closed artificial intelligence system integrated instruction for multilingual learners requires educators to navigate numerous complexities, including the alignment of content, language, and literacy standards, as well as the differentiation of materials by proficiency, modality, and cultural or linguistic background (garcía & kleifgen, 2022; cast, 2024; kray et al., 2023). traditionally, this process demands significant expertise and time. the emergence of user-friendly ai tools, such as chatgpt, google gemini, microsoft copilot, perplexity, and claude, now enables educators without technical training to use natural language prompts (vs. highly technical python coding) to automate many routine aspects of instructional planning (yan et al., 2024). by streamlining complex planning tasks, these large language models (llms) free up time for educators to focus on higher-leverage instructional decisions (wen & jiang, 2025). despite these benefits, caution is essential. uncritical reliance on open-access ai can expose educators to outputs that may contain bias, outdated information, or even fabricated sources (dziubata, 2024). for this reason, ongoing monitoring and professional guidance remain crucial when integrating ai-generated content into educational contexts. to address these concerns, closed-ai systems (that is, platforms limited to educator-vetted resources) can help ensure greater accuracy and reliability. tools like google notebooklm, which operate within secure domains and restrict the llm’s knowledge base to provided documents (lawton, 2024) can significantly reduce the risk of ai confabulation (i.e., plausible yet fabricated citations, factors, or text) (maleki et al., 2024). use of closed ai systems can be especially valuable for specialized information, such as eld standards, where precise references are necessary to avoid confusion between different resources (e.g., the wida eld standards framework vs. wida can do descriptors). indeed, uploading journal articles such as this one into closed-ai systems can transform scholarly writing into actionable templates, making it easier for educators to implement best practices. still, the role of the educator as an active reviewer is irreplaceable: verifying content accuracy, ensuring current resources, and continually refining ai interactions are key responsibilities (mosqueira‑rey et al., 2023; united nations educational, scientific and cultural organization, 2021). in effect, while ai-powered solutions have the potential to greatly enhance instructional planning for multilingual learners, they are most effective when educators leverage these tools thoughtfully and maintain a central role in oversight and decision-making. using google notebooklm to generate integrated unit goals and lesson objectives when georgia educators “seed” a closed ai with vetted standards documents and planning templates, the ai llm can draft unit goals, lesson objectives, and, with ongoing guidance, explore initial ideas for activities that braid together georgia’s state academic content standards, the wida eld standards framework, and structured-literacy routines in minutes rather than hours. table 5 includes a list of steps as well as source documents educators can upload to the closed-ai system. it includes a customized prompt designed to focus ai on the templates in this article. shafer willner 25 table 5 using google notebooklm for ai-enhanced eld planning9 step directions additional notes/resources 1 go to google notebooks: https://notebooklm.google/ use a closed ai system to restrict the range of source documents. add templates to guide and improve the structure of responses. 2 upload specific state academic standards (ela, math, science, social studies). digital versions of georgia case standards available at https://inspire.gadoe.org/standards consider limiting documents to necessary grade-level standards by copying/pasting the standards into a document to be saved as a pdf. always follow state and district guidelines about materials. gadoe and wida’s educational standards are public domain; a few states may restrict the use of their state standards with ai. digital versions of all state standards available at: https://casenetwork.1edtech.org/ 3 upload specific grade-level cluster wida language expectations from the wida eld standards framework, 2020 edition and 2025 wida language charts (the streamlined, aligned version of the 2020 wida proficiency level descriptors). use 2020 wida language expectations, not older standards editions from 2004-2016. upload only the required grade-level cluster (e.g., k, 1, 2-3, etc.). • obtain language expectations from the wida standards digital explorer10: http://standards.wida.us • wida language charts (released in may 2025, both as pdfs and spreadsheets), found at https://wida.wisc.edu/revisingaccess 4 if available, upload the state’s correspondence mapping. wida also has a correspondence mapping [associations] available in the table view in its standards digital explorer. each state’s correspondence mapping connects academic content standards with the wida eld standards framework. figure 2 provides a qr code for accessing this mapping. [the alt text for this figure contains its direct url, which is very long.] 5 upload the pdf of this article. the article itself will serve as a source document this article includes prompts, templates,11 and model responses to use when guiding the ai tool. the appendix features a 3-week integrated unit template 9 reminder about responsible use of ai: this article's ai prompts, templates, and information are designed for public, instructional planning aligned with the wida eld standards framework, 2020 edition, specifically for use with non-sensitive content. educators should avoid using them with student records or personally identifiable information (pii) and must ensure compliance with their local ai guidelines (university of wisconsin–madison, 2025). 10 kudos to gadoe staff angela ingram and margaret baker, who introduced wida staff to the content and academic standards exchange (case) (1edtech, 2025), the open access specification used to digitally encode the wida standards into the wida standards digital explorers (wida, 2025). 11 remember that ai requires ongoing dialogue between the user and the llm. over-dependence on fixed templates may result in outputs that are repetitive or lack authenticity (gierl & lai, 2013). https://notebooklm.google/ https://inspire.gadoe.org/standards https://casenetwork.1edtech.org/ http://standards.wida.us/ https://wida.wisc.edu/revisingaccess 26 gatesol journal 34(1) step directions additional notes/resources which is referenced by the sample ai prompt (churchill & shafer willner, 2024). 6 (optional) upload additional instructional planning templates. add additional relevant resources or templates. 7 (optional) upload the pdf of the cast universal design for learning guidelines: https://udlguidelines.cast.org/. incorporate evidence-based strategies to support diverse learning styles. udl offers multiple means of engagement, representation, and action/expression to help english learners. 8 enter your prompt into the ai chat box. [beginning of sample prompt] you are an expert esol educator in georgia. create two options for a 3-week integrated social studies, ela, and eld unit for grade 1 english learners [multilingual learners]. the unit should include integrated unit goals and lesson objectives for language functions, language features, and foundational literacy. refer to the templates in the uploaded copy of this article. its eld standards should be drawn from the uploaded language expectations and other components of the wida english language development standards framework, 2020 edition. the content standards should be drawn from the uploaded state standards. be sure to list the alphanumeric codes and full wording of the standards below the unit goals and lessons created. literacy objectives and activities might include lesson objectives for comprehension, fluency, vocabulary, phonics, and phonemic awareness and answer the question: what [state ela standardsaligned foundational literacy skills] might els need to interpret and/or express the language functions and associated language features identified for the eld lessons? increase personalization for students in relation to the wida language charts dimensions and proficiency levels. draw ideas for multimodal scaffolding from the cast udl guidelines. before launching the prompt, ask me questions about any additional information you may need to complete this task. [end of sample prompt] 9 refine the ai response with follow-up prompts. use additional prompts to clarify integration of content-based language uses and further customize the response to meet individual student strengths and needs. 10 ask ai to improve your prompt. save the newly refined prompt for future use. end each session with: "please improve my original prompt." note: recommended source documents, resources, and worked examples mentioned in table 5 can be accessed at https://sites.google.com/view/ai-eld-planning/home. https://udlguidelines.cast.org/ https://sites.google.com/view/ai-eld-planning/home shafer willner 27 reminders about ai prompts. the prompt in this article provides educators with a foundation for building their own standards-aligned prompts. since ai llms determine responses based on the most likely next words, their output is inherently variable, not fixed. this means even slight changes to a prompt or updates to the llm itself can produce different, yet valid, results. always review ai-generated content for accuracy and appropriateness before use. sample ai response. the following provides an excerpt from the google notebooklm response generated for this article. it spotlights integrated social studies, english language arts, and english language development unit goals for grade 1, accompanied by integrated lesson objectives for discipline-specific academic language expansion, focused language study, and literacy/eld skill development. grade 1 integrated unit draft: american heroes integrated unit goal for content-based language learning: in social studies, when learning about "how people in the past helped make the world a better place" and the lives of historical figures in american history (ga standard ss1h1, ela.1.t.ss.2.a, ela.1.t.ra.iv, ela.1.f.pa.5, ela.1.f.pa.6, ela.1.f.p.1), els will interpret and express informational texts using the language for learning in eld-si.k-3.inform, eld-ss.1.inform.interpretive, and eldss.1.inform.expressive. eld-si.k-3.inform multilingual learners will… • define and classify objects or concepts • describe characteristics, patterns, or behavior • describe parts and wholes • sort, clarify, and summarize ideas • summarize information from interaction with others and from learning experiences eld-la.1.inform.interpretive multilingual learners will interpret informational texts in language arts by • identifying main topic and/or entity and key details • asking and answering questions about descriptions of attributes and characteristics • identifying word choices in relation to topic or content area eld-la.1.inform.expressive multilingual learners will construct informational texts in language arts that • introduce and define topic and/or entity for audience • describe attributes and characteristics with facts, definitions, and relevant details ss1h1 read about and describe the life of historical figures in american history ela. 1.t.ss.2.a identify and explain the use of descriptive words in texts. ela.1.t.ra.iv. big idea: research & analysis students use, discuss, analyze, and curate texts as they engage in various conversations, activities, and projects about a range of grade-level texts and topics. 1.f.pa.5 onsets & rimes blend and segment onsets and rimes in spoken words. 1.f.pa.6 phonemic awareness identify and manipulate the individual sounds in spoken words 1.f.p.1 phoneme-grapheme correspondences identify and produce phoneme-grapheme correspondences. 28 gatesol journal 34(1) table 6 sample language objectives language functions lesson language features lesson eld-embedded foundational literacy lesson week 1: introducing benjamin franklin objective 1: when learning the language to inform, english learners will learn to define and classify objects or concepts, with appropriate linguistic scaffolding, such as sentence stems. objective 2: when defining and classifying objects or concepts, english learners will learn to select and adjust frequently used singleword noun groups, with modeling and guided practice. objective 3: while learning to select and adjust frequently used single-word noun groups during an eld lesson, english learners will orally practice blending and segmenting target phonemes in genre-specific words (1.f.pa.6 phonemic awareness) using pictures of the words and colored counters for elkonin [sound] boxes12. week 2: exploring thomas jefferson objective 1: when learning the language to inform, english learners will learn to describe characteristics, patterns, or behavior with educator modeling and the use of graphic organizers. objective 2: when describing characteristics, patterns, or behavior, english learners will learn to select and adjust frequently used multiword noun groups with peer support. objective 3: while learning to select and adjust frequently used multi-word noun groups during an eld lesson, english learners will practice blending sounds using magnetic letters and a list of target rimes to build words in a “make-aword” center. (1.f.pa.5 onsets & rimes) week 3: researching a hero objective 1: when learning the language to inform, english learners will learn to summarize information from interaction with others and from learning experiences through small-group research projects. objective 2: when summarizing information from interaction with others and from learning experiences, english learners will learn to select and adjust multiword noun groups with connectors, with opportunities for independent practice. objective 3: while learning to select and adjust multi-word noun groups with connectors during an eld lesson, english learners will practice identifying and producing phoneme-grapheme correspondences by writing the letter in a sand tray or forming it with play-doh, and saying the sound aloud. [1.f.p.1 phoneme-grapheme correspondences). due to space considerations, shortened versions are included here. the full response generated for this ai prompt can be retrieved from https://sites.google.com/view/ai-eld-planning/home. 12 expert educator advice on use of elkonin boxes to determine the difference between a language development and a disability appears on page 16 of the wida focus bulletin identifying multilingual learners with specific learning disabilities: data, advice, and resources for school teams (shafer willner, 2025). https://case.georgiastandards.org/391c3abe-c1ec-4a4a-a942-c9e152b35102/b207e2b2-38ec-4ac9-88b9-c1ffc27196d7/306 https://case.georgiastandards.org/391c3abe-c1ec-4a4a-a942-c9e152b35102/b207e2b2-38ec-4ac9-88b9-c1ffc27196d7/306 https://case.georgiastandards.org/391c3abe-c1ec-4a4a-a942-c9e152b35102/5ab86f6f-5eab-4263-b830-c7102f26c164/303 https://case.georgiastandards.org/391c3abe-c1ec-4a4a-a942-c9e152b35102/5ab86f6f-5eab-4263-b830-c7102f26c164/303 https://sites.google.com/view/ai-eld-planning/home shafer willner 29 discussion and recommendations els’ success in schooling increasingly relies on instruction that integrates eld, foundational literacy, and content standards (blitz, 2025; uccelli et al., 2015). to support georgia educators, this article provides research-based guidance and planning templates for concise, standardsaligned unit goals and lesson objectives. it illustrates how ai prompt frameworks and closed-ai systems might automate standards mapping, streamline teacher workflows and support best practices in lesson design. automating routine planning tasks gives educators more time for meaningful, collaborative planning (wen & jiang, 2025). in turn, collaborative planning among content, language, and literacy educators produces more accessible and challenging content for diverse learners (baker et al., 2014). to be effective, ai-powered, integrated unit and lesson planning must be paired with training that supports sound instructional decision-making so teachers can thoughtfully prompt, evaluate, and customize ai outputs. by combining structured templates with a closed-ai system limited to vetted documents, educators can streamline planning by leveraging ai for routine tasks, thereby reserving educator expertise for deepening instructional design and directly addressing learner diversity and leading to stronger outcomes for els. future research directions integrating foundational literacy into content-based language learning is a critical step toward improving outcomes for els. pilot studies might examine how ai tools affect content, language, and literacy educators’ collaborative planning time, conversations, the quality of resulting goals, objectives, and the broad range of activities, assessments, curricula, and scaffolding involved. an iterative cycle of research and refinement is essential to improving both planning practices and el learning outcomes. references 1edtech. 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(2023). practical and ethical challenges of large language models in education: a systematic scoping review. british journal of educational technology, 55, 90–112. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.13370 ____________________________________________________________________________ received: november 5, 2024 | accepted: august 22, 2025 | published: october 2025 https://doi.org/10.1002/rrq.104 https://doi.org/10.1002/rrq.104 https://doi.org/10.54675/pcsp7350 https://it.wisc.edu/generative-ai-services-uw-madison/generative-ai-uw-madison-use-policies/ https://it.wisc.edu/generative-ai-services-uw-madison/generative-ai-uw-madison-use-policies/ https://www.learntechlib.org/p/225906 https://wida.wisc.edu/teach/standards/eld https://wida.wisc.edu/sites/default/files/website/news/2021/february/wida-standardsfaq-languageexpectations.pdf https://wida.wisc.edu/sites/default/files/website/news/2021/february/wida-standardsfaq-languageexpectations.pdf https://wida.wisc.edu/teach/learners https://wida.wisc.edu/revisingaccess https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.13370 shafer willner 33 appendix a: sample templates for a three-week integrated unit this simplified three-week unit template was developed by njtesol/njbe presenter maggie churchill (closter public school district, nj) and shafer willner. it can be used by the ai tool as a model for the basic framing of an integrated social studies/ela/eld unit. the unit unfolds over three weeks (reflected in table a-1), with sequential activities leading to weekly outcomes. formative assessments gauge student reliance on the provided linguistic or udl scaffolding (table a-2) and occur at the end of weeks 1 and 2. to gauge end-of-unit language growth throughout the school year, classroom-based summative assessments can be utilized for individual end-of-unit assessments. these assessments of students’ linguistic growth can reference either the wida proficiency level descriptors (wida, 2020) or the may 2025 wida language charts (which offer streamlined, aligned versions of the plds). educator observations and reflections about formative or summative assessment data can be used to inform instructional next steps (wida, 2025). table a1 sample template for a three-week integrated unit (churchill & shafer willner, 2024) unit planning • essential question: create an essential question, big idea [enduring understanding], or theme that connects eld, content, and ela/literacy standards, guiding inquiry-based learning and interdisciplinary connections. • unit goals: create an overarching set of unit goals from which lesson objectives might be pulled. • formative assessments: use ongoing formative assessments to measure student progress and adjust instruction as needed. lesson planning activity sequences weekly outcome assessments week 1 lesson: build the field build student knowledge to enhance comprehension and engagement with complex texts • objective 1: introduce a language function (a prominent disciplinary language pattern) • objective 2: learn to use associated language features • objective 3: practice foundational literacy skills a ct iv ity 1 a ct iv ity 2 a ct iv ity 3 task or product week 1 formative assessment: gauge the student’s reliance on the scaffold and/or sentence stem provided for this task. [see table a-2 model.] week 2 lesson: deconstruction the process of analyzing a text to understand how its meaning is constructed through language • objective 1: introduce a language function (a prominent disciplinary language pattern) • objective 2: learn to use associated language features • objective 3: practice foundational literacy skills a ct iv ity 4 a ct iv ity 5 a ct iv ity 6 task or product week 2 formative assessment. which version of the chart was used to complete the task. [see table a-2 model.] 34 gatesol journal 34(1) week 3 lesson: co-construction the process of creating meaning through language by making deliberate choices about how to organize and use linguistic resources to achieve a specific purpose • objective 1: introduce a language function (a prominent disciplinary language pattern) • objective 2: learn to use associated language features • objective 3: practice foundational literacy skills a ct iv ity 7 a ct iv ity 8 a ct iv ity 8 culminating activity, essay, or project end-of-unit/ summative language assessment of student work using the wida plds [or the aligned wida language charts] table a2 formative assessment model emerging (1) developing (2) bridging (3) independent (4) student can complete the sentence frame/chart after working with their partner. student relies heavily on sentence frame/chart when sharing. student can complete sentence frame/chart before working with partner. sharing with partner helps to clarify student thinking. student might rely on sentence frame/chart when sharing with whole group (or be reminded to do so). student can complete sentence frame/chart before working with partner. student might share using own words; might occasionally reference on the sentence frame/chart. student can complete sentence frame/chart before working with partner. student can easily share using own words. gatesol journal2025, vol. 34(1), pp. 17–34 ai-powered, integrated unit goals and lesson objectives for k-12 english learners doi:10.52242/gatesol.199 issn: 2331-6845 article emily jarrells day, transition coordinator, gadsden city schools, gadsden, al; email eday@gadsdencityschools.org. dr. josephine prado, assistant professor, department of curriculum and instruction, university of alabama at birmingham, birmingham, al; email jprado@uab.edu (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-73284620). dr. lori edmonds, visiting assistant professor, department of curriculum and instruction, university of alabama at birmingham, birmingham, al; email lmedmond@uab.edu (https://orcid.org/0000-00021681-512x). initiating the third wave for english learners: teaching selfadvocacy gatesol journal 2022, vol. 32(2), pp. 3–13 doi:10.52242/gatesol.168 issn: 2331-6845 emily jarrells day gadsden city schools (alabama) josephine prado university of alabama at birmingham lori edmonds university of alabama at birmingham abstract in special education, self-advocacy intertwines with self-empowerment. special education teachers integrate self-advocacy skills into the curriculum to support their students’ efforts toward self-determination. in contrast, teachers of english to speakers of other languages (esol) are encouraged to advocate for their english learners but self-advocacy has received scant attention in the esol field. as the english learner population in k–12 public schools steadily rises, it is increasingly urgent for esol educators to seek culturally responsive solutions that support their students’ language, academic, and socio-emotional development. with a brief review of literature from the fields of special education and disabilities studies, authors delineate components of self-advocacy and apply them to a self-advocacy unit that supports english learners in acquiring the knowledge and language they need to develop their own form of self-advocacy. keywords advocacy, self-advocacy, english learners, k–12 education, equity introduction in birmingham, alabama in 1963, a 12-year-old child of color sat in the back of a church solving math problems while his parents listened to the civil rights activist, martin luther king, jr. young freeman hrabowski iii wasn’t paying much attention to the meeting until he heard dr. king say that the children needed to participate in a peaceful demonstration. their being directly involved in the protest would be more powerful, he said. that evening, freeman told his parents he wanted to participate. his parents firmly responded, “absolutely not!” it was too dangerous. freeman persisted to advocate for himself and by the next morning he had gained his parents’ support to participate in what would be a life-changing experience for him. he could not have realized that mailto:eday@gadsdencityschools.org mailto:jprado@uab.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7328-4620 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7328-4620 mailto:lmedmond@uab.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1681-512x https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1681-512x 4 gatesol journal 32(2) his early self-advocacy act would pave the way to a series of leadership roles that would eventually lead to him becoming president of the university of maryland, baltimore county (umbc) where he continued his work by collaborating with others to create an environment to bolster underrepresented students. the ripple effect of his early self-advocacy can be seen throughout the campus and beyond. just as freeman hrabowski was taught by martin luther king, jr., mlk successfully learned peaceful resistance to affect social change from gandhi. inherent in the models of gandhi and king, leaders are called to not only champion social justice and equity within society, but to also guide individuals to stand up for themselves and for others. gandhi and king gathered likeminded others to assist them in leading and educating many more people how to advocate for their own rights and needs. hrabowski notes that the most important lesson he learned from his experience in 1963 was that “children can be empowered to take ownership of their education” (hrabowski, 2013, 3:54). in a similar way, educators of english for speakers of other languages (esol) can empower students by teaching them to self-advocate. background the concept of self-advocacy gained attention in the late 1960s through the people first movement in sweden when people with disabilities wanted to speak for themselves and make their own decisions about their lives (people first, n.d.). as people first made its way to the united states in the 1970s, u.s. society was already moving away from institutionalizing people because of their disabilities and toward providing people with self-help skills to live independently, creating energy around self-determination and self-advocacy activism. building on the civil rights movement of the 1950s–60s, the self-advocacy movement for people with developmental disabilities led to legislation and protections to ensure continued opportunities for self-determination from birth to adulthood. (dowse, 2001; fenn & scior, 2019; pennell, 2001; test et al., 2005; wehmeyer et al., 2000). currently, special education teachers and service providers are required to foster selfadvocacy skills as part of supporting their students’ efforts toward self-determination. websites, curriculum, and instructional materials are now readily accessible for individuals with disabilities so they can become resolute self-advocates who know their strengths and weaknesses, set goals for their future, discuss their goals with others and lead their yearly individual education plan (iep) meetings. denying equitable treatment to anyone with a disability in school, employment or society has professional and legal consequences. despite the potential for english learners (els) to benefit from developing self-advocacy skills to address their own learning needs, self-advocacy has received scant scholarly attention in the field of teaching english to speakers of other languages (tesol). the connection is not necessarily obvious, since teaching self-advocacy skills to english learners requires an acute awareness of the learner’s english language proficiency and potential cultural obstacles for the individual el relating to speaking up for one’s needs. to address linguistic and cultural challenges regarding self-advocacy for els, we have drawn from our experience in special education, tesol, and teacher education, to outline successfully implemented activities for developing self-advocacy skills within k–12 curricula. using a conceptual framework for self-advocacy (test et al., 2005) to bolster first author, emily day’s (day & prado, 2020) self-advocacy unit, we examine culturally responsive ways to guide english learners toward self-advocacy and consider the potential impact on society that promoting self-advocacy could have for the future. day, prado, & edmonds 5 self-advocacy defined in special education self-advocacy is an individualized, iterative process. for a person without disabilities, selfadvocacy develops incrementally as the person gains the maturity to speak for themselves. for an individual with a disability, self-advocacy happens developmentally as they gain the ability to make choices independently and express their wants or needs for the future. in special education literature, self-advocacy is defined and researched as an extension of advocacy. pennell (2001) defines self-advocacy as “speaking up, speaking out, and speaking loud” (p. 223), describing the process as knowing your rights and responsibilities, standing up for them, and making your own choices. self-advocacy intertwines with self-empowerment and self-determination. inherent in self-advocacy is a systemic shift of power from the system to the individual. reusen (1996) defined self-advocacy as “an individual’s ability to effectively communicate, convey, negotiate, or assert his or her interests, desires, needs and rights. it assumes the ability to make informed decisions” (p. 50). petri et al. (2020) used “practice theory” (p. 207) to expand the definition into five major types of activities that self-advocates, parents, and professionals participate. the five activities of self-advocates included “informing and being informed, using media, supporting each other/solidarity in the community, speaking up, and bureaucratic duties” (p. 216). ryan and griffiths (2015) described self-advocacy from a transformational learning perspective meaning that individuals who self-advocate increase leadership capabilities and have new self-concepts, which bolsters their confidence to develop prominent voices affecting academic and local communities. collective voices of self-advocates cause increased awareness on governmental boards and committees. these governing bodies make decisions and change rules and policies emphasizing the impact self-advocacy has on us all. conceptual framework for self-advocacy related to special education is disability studies, which examines disability as a concept and explores the societal consequences for individuals with disabilities. recognizing the importance of self-advocacy and self-determination, research indicates that when young people practice selfadvocacy at school in the presence of supportive mentors, they are better prepared to self-advocate independently. however, students need explicit instruction in self-advocacy and selfdetermination skills. recognizing a gap in the literature regarding instructional strategies for selfadvocacy and its implementation, test et al. (2005) developed a conceptual framework for selfadvocacy. reviewing research on self-advocacy for people with disabilities that occurred between 1972–2003, the researchers identified 26 distinct self-advocacy definitions. from these definitions, test et al. (2005) determined that the four most frequently used characteristics to describe selfadvocacy were: 1) an educational goal, 2) a civil rights movement, 3) a component of selfdetermination, and 4) a skill or act. building on these four descriptors, test et al. (2005) designed a framework for selfadvocacy with four primary components for instruction, 1) knowledge of self, 2) knowledge of rights, 3) communication, and 4) leadership. knowledge of self requires introspection for the individual to recognize their own strengths, dreams, goals, interests, learning needs, and responsibilities. knowledge of rights entails understanding relevant laws and policies to identify the individual’s own rights. communication includes pragmatic skills such as persuasion, assertion, compromise, or negotiation, as well as additional communication skills such as problemsolving, listening skills, and interpreting body language. the leadership component calls for the 6 gatesol journal 32(2) individual to understand group dynamics, the roles of group members, and to have the skills to participate in a group. test et al. (2005) emphasized that teachers can adapt the framework’s teachable components to meet their students’ learning needs. explicit instruction in self-advocacy can be taught both situationally as well as in lessons during group instruction. when teachers take the professional stance to develop their students’ self-advocacy skills, they look for incidental opportunities to coach students through self-advocacy. as with the teacher stance if bullying is encountered, the teacher would coach the student(s) through the situation, and then guide them through self-advocacy practice as needed. the need for self-advocacy in esol within tesol literature, staehr fenner’s (2014) presentation of scaffolded advocacy most closely resembles the concept of self-advocacy for english learners. by applying the pedagogical metaphor of scaffolding to describe advocacy work, staehr fenner (2014) explains ways for teachers to determine how much support an el or their family needs at the beginning and when to encourage independence by removing the support. by analyzing individual el variables, teachers can determine whether more intensive or less intensive advocacy work is needed in the beginning. after assessing need, esol professionals gradually remove support systems as the el/family gains confidence. the important distinction is that tesol advocacy work, even scaffolded, assumes that the learner, once independent, will start self-advocating, but removing the support does not guarantee that the learner has the skills needed to self-advocate. however, self-advocacy for an english learner is not defined only by age or the ability to state future dreams. besides developing english language proficiency, individual variables (staehr fenner, 2014) need to be integrated into the self-advocacy learning process. because the concept of self-advocacy is culturally bound, els need to consider how to integrate elements of selfadvocacy into their own acculturation process, and what their own self-advocacy would look like. once an individual has the maturity as well as the language skills and cultural knowledge to actively participate in their environment, they can choose to self-advocate instead having others advocate for them. in this way, promoting self-advocacy for els builds on staehr fenner’s (2014) scaffolded advocacy by extending the process to explicitly teach els the knowledge and communication skills that promote agency and self-determination. developing self-advocacy in english learners complementing the conceptual framework for self-advocacy (test et al., 2005), we propose a set of four teaching activities to develop self-advocacy skills in els (day & prado, 2020). although originally designed and taught as a unit, several activities could be integrated as standalone complements with previously developed lesson plans. the self-advocacy descriptors of educational goal, civil rights movement, component of self-determination and as skill or act serve as reliable but flexible categories for aligning these activities with content curriculum. for example, educational goals for el self-advocacy align or overlay k12 social studies topics, such as exploring multiple voices from the 1950s–60s civil rights movement. advocacy activities afford students opportunities to practice verbal and written language skills as they learn self-advocacy skills. as staehr fenner (2014) recommends, advocacy—or teaching self-advocacy—is most effective when teachers identify the el’s background variables as soon as possible. knowing your learners is a long-held best practice in the tesol field (tesol, 2018). individual variables day, prado, & edmonds 7 include, but are not limited to, home country, home province, state, or region, home city, town, or village, home language(s), cultural background, learner age, english language proficiency, length of time in the u.s., formal educational opportunities, learning preferences, the student’s current access to resources, interests, gifts and talents, special needs, or unresolved trauma. esol educators gather some of this information by using an intake protocol and taking a needs assessment with their learners. gaining clarity about the student’s cultural background, including cultural norms and behaviors, is necessary to afford the student opportunities to bridge culture gaps when practicing self-advocacy. however, cultures are complex and fluid. other students who are originally from the same country may have a different social status than the new student due to factors such as ethnic differences, religious preferences, or geopolitical tensions. credible online sources can provide up-to-date information, followed up with a culturally sensitive conversation with the student’s family. in the classroom, teachers can assign a cultural autobiography to learn about the culture from the student’s perspective (tesol, 2018). each teaching activity integrates one or more of the self-advocacy descriptors and one or more of the four teachable components from the conceptual framework for self-advocacy (test et al., 2005). each section also includes an example lesson from emily’s secondary special education classroom that included english learners. these classroom examples include instructional strategies for students to learn laws that support english learners, the importance of selfadvocating, and how to lead their individualized-limited english proficiency (i-lep) plan. in the unit, students develop presentations to lead their i-lep meetings. the lessons were taught to a small group of learners who have both individual education plans (iep) and i-lep plans. while emily draws experience from a high school classroom, several activities offer implementation suggestions that can be adapted for all grade levels. teaching self-advocacy a compelling story, such as the vignette, makes a powerful tool to introduce any of the four components in social studies, civics, history, literature, life skills, or health lessons. since stories exemplify and contextualize the teachable components, els can use journaling activities, exit polls, or small group discussions to draw from their background knowledge to make personal connections. perhaps a student has been inspired to action like 12-year-old freeman hrabowski (2013) who was stirred by martin luther king, jr.’s speech to join the civil rights movement in 1963. a student may remember a time when they persuaded their parents to do something unusual, just as freeman did when he gained his reluctant parents’ permission to join the dangerous children’s march of 1963. the following lessons seek to inspire, challenge, and support els as they decide what self-advocacy could look like for them. negotiate cultures unlike the other sections, negotiate cultures was not taught as a separate lesson within emily’s original self-advocacy sequence, so there are no lesson details as there are in the other four sections. instead, this section is intended to raise awareness among teachers of the significant, but sometimes invisible, role that culture plays in developing self-advocacy skills among els. teachers are encouraged to analyze their self-advocacy lessons through the lens cultural responsiveness. els who acknowledge and value their cultures, can learn 1) to recognize personal (cultural) needs and wants, 2) to communicate effectively within and across cultures, and 3) to develop leadership skills. with the freedom to navigate their cultures, they have space to build their own culturally appropriate version of self-determination. 8 gatesol journal 32(2) the interplay of culture and self-advocacy. it is important to remember that selfadvocacy and self-determination originated within individualist cultures. if home cultures are more collectivist, familial expectations for appropriate behavior in school may confuse els or cause stress because principles of self-advocacy contradict their background knowledge and home culture expectations. teaching self-advocacy in multicultural settings involves negotiating the differences in individualistic and collectivistic value systems (rothstein-fisch & trumbull, 2008). before teaching self-advocacy, inform yourself about your els’ cultures (staehr fenner, 2014; tesol, 2018). ask your els to confirm culturally influenced communication styles to avoid stereotyping. for example, pose an advocacy issue to your students and ask them to explain how they would approach it in their home cultures. ask why, when necessary. in this way, you are learning from your students how to be communicatively competent when interacting with people from their community and culture. whether an els’ heritage is from a country outside the united states, or their family has lived in the u.s. for years, individual variables play an important role in the make-up of the el’s current home culture. individualist and collectivist cultures is not a binary concept. different cultures across the world fall on a spectrum between two end points. for example, both collectivist and individualist cultures value extended family. however, the role that each person plays differs within the family system. collectivist cultures perceive an individual to be an interlocking part of the extended family. the extended family unit nurtures and protects all members and each family member prioritizes the well-being of the family system over conflicting individual interests or activities. in contrast, the extended family in an individualistic culture is more loosely connected. individuals pursue unique interests and focus on developing nuclear families. finally, within each category, some collectivist cultures exhibit many individualist characteristics and vice versa. most of the world’s countries (each country having multiple subcultures) exhibit more collectivist characteristics. while the united states has many subcultures, scholars recognize it overall as one of the world’s most individualist cultures (oxford, 2017). culturally responsive teaching. when els learn about self-advocacy skills, verbally describing their feelings and experiences of marginalization may be difficult, especially if selfdetermination through self-advocacy conflicts with cultural values. art teacher educators, wellman and bey (2015) used interactive group projects to implicitly strengthen confidence in refugee els between 10 and 17 years old and from 13 countries across asia and africa. at the beginning of the program, they realized the children got lost between school and home or got bullied at school, and urgently needed self-advocacy skills. to address this need, they created a small group activity in which groups competed to build the tallest tower possible with their own shoes, requiring the children to practice the self-advocacy skills, such as leadership as they collaborated with group members, and communication as they negotiated, listened, and problemsolved to build the tower. after infusing communication and leadership skills into the art curriculum for 8 weeks, wellman and bey (2015) reported higher levels of confidence in the refugee children who practiced self-advocacy skills in a culturally responsive way. inspire lesson one aims to inspire students with multi-media stories of individuals who initiated significant societal change by speaking up for civil rights of marginalized communities. the goal is not to teach the laws but to tap into students’ knowledge of self and to expand their knowledge day, prado, & edmonds 9 of rights by modeling the technique of speaking up for oneself and analyzing the guaranteed rights stated first amendment of the u.s. constitution, particularly the right to free speech. lesson one overview. show your students what achievements are possible through multimedia content (e.g., video clips, movies, books, podcasts) that highlight the advocacy and self-advocacy work of well-known individuals such as cesar chavez, malcolm x., malala yousafzai, ruby bridges, aung san suu kyi, harvey milk, or lesser well-known success stories, such as freeman hrabowski’s. ask students to identify and explain unfair treatment and discriminatory practices they listened to, read, or watched in the learning material. tell stories of times when you have advocated for someone or supported someone in advocating for themselves. together with your students, define terms relating to being an advocate such as advocacy, selfadvocacy, self-determination, and empowerment. every leader mentioned is known for advancing civil rights, aligning with content areas of history, social studies, or current events, such as myanmar’s activist, aung san suu kyi. pre-teaching key vocabulary. for words such as, advocacy, self-advocacy, selfdetermination, and empowerment use a graphic organizer with picture support determined by students’ english language proficiency (elp). in pairs, students practice making sentences with a partner for each word and speaking the sentence to the class. involve students in the heads-up game in which students hold a vocabulary word on their forehead and their teammates verbally help the card-holder guess the vocabulary word or use pictures as additional support. experiencing advocacy stories. before sharing each multi-media story, provide a graphic organizer for students to identify who, problem faced, what advocacy looks like, results/what happened and my story (optional, since not all advocacy stories will resonate with all els). learners can use their graphic organizers to identify key elements and then write a summary of each story. adapt summaries for various language levels by including a variety of paragraph frames. share the story as many times as needed for all learners to grasp the main ideas. learners could work individually on the graphic organizer or paired with peers who have higher levels of english proficiency. reviewing the first amendment of the u.s. constitution. decide whether to use the original wording of the first amendment or a credible paraphrased version. if needed, preteach key vocabulary pertaining to the first amendment. for example, students can develop digital or paper individualized dictionaries or word cards. personalized dictionaries often include the l1 translation, a drawing or picture of the word, l2 synonyms, an example sentence. learners can also include the part of speech, a semantic map, collocations, and derivative information, such as prefixes and suffixes (hedge, 2000). depending on age and elp, conduct a choral reading or other read aloud of the first amendment. as a class, complete a concept map of the rights stated in the first amendment, and focus on the right to free speech. ask students to explain “free speech” in their own words. explain the cultural importance of free speech in the united states. because the constitution protects the right to speak, society encourages individuals to speak up for what they want or need. 10 gatesol journal 32(2) adapting for young learners. to introduce self-advocacy, consider using a digital tool to create a short video or doing a short skit with puppets. the video or skit illustrates that when one person decides what someone else wants or needs, the speaker can make a mistake. for instance, two people go to an ice cream shop, and one person orders chocolate ice cream for both. the other person may be allergic to chocolate or would rather have strawberry ice cream that day. discuss how it is important to communicate for yourself instead of others speaking for you. teach the laws lesson two aims to deepen students’ understanding of their right to be treated fairly. using the civil rights act of 1964 as the baseline, students determine the need for the passage of the civil rights act and explore additional court cases and laws that continue to develop this right. the educational goal is for students to demonstrate an understanding of their legal rights as individuals who live in the united states. lesson two overview. studying a primary source brings history alive. share the civil rights act of 1964, as the original document, a summary. if supplementing with a summary, provide a written copy of the original text for comparison, so students can analyze how the words prohibit, discrimination, race, color, religion, or national origin are used. ask students to explain why the civil rights act was passed to protect people regardless of the country where they were born, the language they speak, the color of their skin or their religious preference. discuss how the civil rights act established a legal precedent for other important court decisions, and legislative actions to address unfair treatment. examples include, but are not limited to, lau v. nichols, castañeda v. pickard, the lemon grove incident, and the american disabilities act (ada). previewing and reviewing key vocabulary. with graphic organizers or the heads-up vocabulary game, review advocacy, self-advocacy, self-determination, and empowerment. if using the personalized dictionary, ask students to explore this lesson’s vocabulary that includes prohibit, discrimination, race, color, religion, and national origin. contextualizing the civil rights act of 1964. instead of focusing on the individual activists from lesson one, select excerpts from children’s or young adult literature or poetry. use art, music, photography, or short documentary clips that describe unfair treatment to certain groups of people before the civil rights act came into existence, such as the lemon grove incident. use a cause and effect (fishbone) graphic organizer for pairs of students to record the examples of unfair treatment (causes), leading to the passage of the civil rights act of 1964 (effect). exploring additional protective actions. as time allows, introduce students to later examples such as lau v. nichols, castañeda v. pickard, and the american disabilities act (ada). depending on age and elp, students could work in pairs or small groups to research additional court cases and legislative actions, and report back to the whole group with a summary and/or illustration. adapting for young learners. use children’s literature, art, music, or games to explore the difference between fair and equal. day, prado, & edmonds 11 practice the difficult conversations the goal of lesson three is for students to practice being both an advocate for others and a self-advocate. as a class, in small groups, and individually, students are given situations and are asked to brainstorm situations in which self-advocacy is needed. lesson three overview. when practicing a difficult conversation, one goal is to provide students with appropriate language for a respectful discussion. one suggestion is to select sentence starters that are appropriate for your learners’ age and situation. examples for agreeing, paraphrasing, and disagreeing are i agree with ___ because ___. what i hear you say is ___. i see it differently because ___. with support, students can create dialogues, stories or role plays about various topics that relate to the students’ situation. sample topics include: 1) asking the teacher for help or for an accommodation in class, 2) addressing unfair treatment at work or school, or 3) responding to someone who made a hurtful remark. once students are familiar with the language, learners perform the dialogues or role plays in groups of two or three to practice advocating for each other and self-advocating to peers. preparing to self-advocate in school. for their self-advocacy project, students can lead their next i-lep meeting. provide sample presentations for the whole class to watch. ask students for their reactions to the meeting, particularly about the language used to request support or accommodations. offer organizational tips to structure the requests, such as 1) describe the need and why it is important. 2) give an example of when that need was not met. describe what happened and how it made you feel. 3) describe what you wish had happened and why it matters. 4) suggest how teachers could support you in making that wish a reality for next time (baines, 2020). besides general project guidelines, students will need additional documents, such as feasible accommodations and other support options as well as copies of their own access test scores. provide the remainder of class and a second class-period to work on their projects and to practice their structured requests with partners or small groups. design a self-advocacy plan the goal of lesson four is for students to identify situations in their own lives in which selfadvocacy is important and to develop a plan. aligning with this goal is the culmination of their advocacy project, leading their i-lep meeting. this project requires students to know themselves, specifically what support they need from their teachers, and their rights within the i-lep process. leading their i-lep project requires students to develop communication skills and to understand group dynamics, as well as participate within the group. lesson four overview. guide learners to identify a need in their own life that would benefit from self-advocacy. remaining mindful of all cultural perspectives and norms, talk through their chosen situations with small groups of students and ask them to brainstorm with each other ways to manage the situations. guide your els on choosing and planning a course of action. in future classes, students can practice their plans together through conversation, new projects, and roleplay. during part of this class, they will role play their i-lep meeting, their final advocacy project, in preparation for leading the official i-lep meeting. developing an advocacy plan. as a class, brainstorm topics where self-advocacy would be useful. then ask students to write a list of needs in their own life that they wish to self-advocate 12 gatesol journal 32(2) for. encourage them to use their notes and graphic organizers from earlier lessons for ideas. each student should select one need and write it on a fresh graphic organizer for small group discussion. before sharing their topic with the group, ask students to consider cultural ramifications and make notes on their graphic organizer. when students are ready to share, they take turns collaborating with group members to identify which skills, such as knowledge of self, knowledge of rights, communication or leadership would be most useful for that situation. circulate through the groups to offer advice as needed. preparing for the i-lep meeting. in whole group, review the i-lep meeting process and provide an agenda. review the list of likely participants—other than the student—such as the assistant principal, counselor, esol teacher, content/classroom teacher(s), family member, and interpreter. explain the purpose for the participant’s attendance. invite available members of the i-lep team to join the role plays and assign students remaining roles. give each student an opportunity to lead the role play meeting. self-advocacy in english learners after completing the unit on self-advocacy, emily interviewed her students to learn that the english learners who participated in the four lessons listed above were able to explain the meaning of advocacy, self-advocacy, and empower. several students said that they felt they were more likely to meet the goals they set for themselves than goals set by their teacher. students showed an increased positive attitude towards attending their individualized limited english proficient(ilep) meetings. i-lep meetings were student-led instead of being teacher-led. the positive attitude change included being more confident to share their culture, academic successes, difficulties, and goals with others. students demonstrated the leadership skills to lead their i-lep meetings, reflecting individual growth within the four primary concepts of the self-advocacy framework: 1) knowledge of self, 2) knowledge of rights, 3) communication, and 4) leadership (test et al., 2005). the digital presentations reflected the student’s individual culture, including what they needed as an english learner to be successful in the classroom as well as their plans for improving their access scores and entering the adult world upon graduation (rothstein-fisch & trumbull, 2008; test et al., 2005). students used their multifaceted language skills to describe their backgrounds, their progress in learning english, their current proficiency levels, and what they needed to improve so they could meet their goals. through these lessons, els learned to speak up for their home cultures, their current experiences, and their plans for the future while practicing listening, speaking, reading, and writing and developing 21st-century skills. conclusion history tells us that the greatest change for equity will come when students, the english learners themselves, find their voices. systemic change will occur when english learners advocate for themselves. whether esol educators work in a school with children, a university, or in the community, they need to speak up for rights and give voice for others. it is also imperative for professionals to understand that self-advocacy is the culmination of advocacy and a desired pedagogical practice. professionals should not stop advocating for others. instead, educators can strengthen their advocacy work by actively educating english learners in the process and promoting el self-determination through self-advocacy. our job as teachers and practitioners is not only to teach language development, but to lead students to find their own voice, so they can speak up, to be their own advocate, and change their world. day, prado, & edmonds 13 references baines, a. d. (2020). advocacy guide: leaders that listen. the practice space. https://www.practice-space.org/advocacy-guide/ day, e., & prado, j. (2020). in the classroom: a teacher’s guide to teaching students self-advocacy. ohio tesol journal, 12(1), 12–13, 17. https://ohiotesol.org/web/journal/ dowse, l. (2001). contesting practices, challenging codes: self-advocacy, disability politics and the social model. disability and society, 16(1), 123–141. https://doi.org/10.1080/ 713662036 fenn, k., & scior, k. (2019). the psychological and social impact of self‐advocacy group membership on people with intellectual disabilities: a literature review. journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities, 32, 1349–1358. https://doi.org/10.1111/jar.12638 hedge, t. (2000). teaching and learning in the language classroom. oxford university press. hrabowski, f. (2013, february). four pillars of college success in science [video]. https://www.ted.com/talks/freeman_hrabowski_4_pillars_of_college_success_in_science ?language=en oxford, r. (2017). teaching and researching language learning strategies: self-regulation in context (2nd ed.). routledge. pennell, r. l. (2001). self determination and self-advocacy: shifting the power. journal of disability policy studies, 11(4), 223–227. https://doi.org/10.1177/104420730101100404 people first. (n.d.) history of people first. https://peoplefirstwv.org/old-front/history-of-peoplefirst/ petri, g., beadle-brown, j., & bradshaw, j. (2020). redefining self-advocacy: practice theorybased approach. journal of policy and practice in intellectual disabilities, 17(3), 207– 218. https://doi.org/10.1111/jppi.12343 reusen, a. k. v. (1996). the self-advocacy strategy for education and transition planning. intervention in school and clinic, 32(1), 49–54. https://doi.org/10.1177/1053451296032 00110 rothstein-fisch, c. & trumbull, e. (2008). managing diverse classrooms: how to build on students’ cultural strengths. association for supervision and curriculum development. ryan, t. g., & griffiths, s. (2015). self-advocacy and its impacts for adults with developmental disabilities. australian journal of adult learning, 55(1), 31–53. https://ajal.net.au/selfadvocacy-and-its-impacts-for-adults-with-developmental-disabilities/ staehr fenner, d. (2014). advocating for english learners: a guide for educators. corwin. tesol international association. (tesol). (2018). the 6 principles of exemplary teaching of english learners: grades k–12. tesol press. test, d. w., fowler, c. h., wood, w. m., brewer, d. m., & eddy, s. (2005). a conceptual framework of self-advocacy for students with disabilities. remedial and special education, 26(1), 43–54. https://doi.org/10.1177/07419325050260010601 wehmeyer, m., bersani, h., & gagne, r. (2000). riding the third wave: self-determination and self-advocacy in the 21st century. focus on autism and other developmental disabilities, 15(2), 106–115. https://doi.org/10.1177/108835760001500206 wellman, s., & bey, s. (2015). refugee children and art teacher training: promoting language, self-advocacy, and cultural preservation. art education, 68(6), 36–44. https://doi.org/ 10.1080/00043125.2015.11519346 ____________________________________________________________________________ received: april 6, 2022 | accepted: october 12, 2022 | published: october 26, 2022 https://ohiotesol.org/web/journal/ https://doi.org/10.1080/713662036 https://doi.org/10.1080/713662036 https://doi.org/10.1111/jar.12638 https://www.ted.com/talks/freeman_hrabowski_4_pillars_of_college_success_in_science?language=en https://www.ted.com/talks/freeman_hrabowski_4_pillars_of_college_success_in_science?language=en https://doi.org/10.1177/104420730101100404 https://peoplefirstwv.org/old-front/history-of-people-first/ https://peoplefirstwv.org/old-front/history-of-people-first/ https://doi.org/10.1111/jppi.12343 https://doi.org/10.1177/105345129603200110 https://doi.org/10.1177/105345129603200110 https://ajal.net.au/self-advocacy-and-its-impacts-for-adults-with-developmental-disabilities/ https://ajal.net.au/self-advocacy-and-its-impacts-for-adults-with-developmental-disabilities/ https://doi.org/10.1177/07419325050260010601 https://doi.org/10.1177/108835760001500206 https://doi.org/%e2%80%8c10.1080/00043125.2015.11519346 https://doi.org/%e2%80%8c10.1080/00043125.2015.11519346 initiating the third wave for english learners: teaching self-advocacy gatesol journal2022, vol. 32(2), pp. 3–13 doi:10.52242/gatesol.168 issn: 2331-6845 article ji ma 马 骥, doctoral student, department of middle and secondary education, college of education and human development, georgia state university, atlanta, ga; email jma16@student.gsu.edu. challenges and strategies facing international students and faculty in u.s. higher education: a comprehensive literature review gatesol journal 2022, vol. 32(1), pp. 18–38 doi:10.52242/gatesol.122 issn: 2331-6845 ji ma 马 骥 georgia state university abstract with increasing numbers of international students on university campuses in the u.s., culturally and linguistically responsive (clr) practices become more important than ever in helping students fit in a new environment and achieve their academic goals. however, not all universities and faculty are prepared or equipped with the knowledge to adopt clr methods in classrooms across the disciplines. the purpose of this literature review is three-fold: (1) to examine the cultural and linguistic challenges that international students face in u.s. higher institutions; (2) to investigate faculty’s perspectives on international students and implementing clr practices in their classroom teaching; and (3) to explore clr strategies or recommendations that have been used successfully to alleviate the challenges. in assessing the current status of clr in tertiary education, this article reviewed 21 research studies and found that both international students and faculty at u.s. institutions of higher education are facing challenges in terms of language, culture, classroom discussions, academic expectations, and interpersonal relationships. these findings hold implications for promoting the development of clr practices among faculty and tertiary institutions to foster a diverse campus capable of truly accommodating and supporting students from multicultural backgrounds. keywords international students, culturally and linguistically responsive practices, challenges, faculty introduction in the past decades, the number of international students in the u.s. has continued to increase, especially in higher education institutions. according to the open doors 2019 fast facts released by the institute of international education (2019), during the 2018/19 school year, the number of international students reached 1,095,299, representing 5.5% of the total number of students in the u.s. higher education. at each of the top 20 higher education institutions in the u.s., the percentage of enrolled international students ranges from 10% to over 40% of the whole student population (martirosyan et al., 2019). this large number of international students has brought benefits to the u.s. in different aspects, such as increasing diversity and intercultural perspectives in the classroom, bringing knowledge in many fields, contributing capital to the u.s. economy, and promoting cultural exchange between countries (lee & rice, 2007). referring to the latest report from the association of international educators, international students studying at u.s. colleges and universities contributed $28.4 billion and supported 306,308 jobs in the u.s. in 2020– 2021 (nafsa, 2021). in addition to their roles as economic contributors, kaya (2020) also pointed out that international students are diplomatic and peace leaders globally. mailto:jma16@student.gsu.edu ma 19 however, this group of students faces unique challenges and pressures, including language barriers, academic challenges, social isolation, and cultural adjustments (contreras-aguirre & gonzalez, 2017; kibelloh & bao, 2014; wu et al., 2015). among these, international students’ limited english language proficiency in college-level coursework became the primary obstacle for them to achieve academic success as well as for professors to explain course tasks and concepts (wu et al., 2015). for international students whose primary language is one other than english, it may take five to seven years to achieve the level of cognitive academic language proficiency (calp), which requires a complete understanding of the cultural and linguistic knowledge in the target language (bilash, 2011). international students who plan to complete their programs or degrees in the u.s., whether at the undergraduate or graduate level, need support in disciplinespecific language learning, academic performance, and social connections to overcome language and sociocultural barriers. according to arthur (2017) and crose (2011), professors and classmates are vital resources for international students to learn the content knowledge and culture in the target language, especially for newcomers. another resource lies in the peers that share the same language or culture; however, this kind of support may not prove reliable or consistent (mcmahon, 2018). even though international students expect high levels of language and academic support from faculty, faculty often have a belief that language support for international students is not part of their responsibilities. thus, faculty prefer international students to seek assistance outside of their classes in the form of language instructors, writing centers, and staff in the international office (gallagher & haan, 2018). in other words, faculty believe that language teaching should not be covered in their classes; a belief that contrasts with our understanding of the interconnectedness of language and content knowledge (cummins, 1981). indeed, haan et al. (2017) found that there was a gap between “international students’ needs and the faculty’s knowledge of this group of students” (p. 38). further exacerbating the situation is that faculty and even language instructors have limited training and knowledge of teaching multilingual students (schneider, 2018). therefore, there is a need to help faculty and staff understand the challenges international students face and provide the skills they need to meet students’ linguistic and cultural expectations in courses. one promising practice that has developed over the past 50 years is culturally responsive teaching (crt) which aims to support students with diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds (gay, 2000; hollins, 2008; irvine, 2003; ladson-billings, 1994; lucas & villegas, 2013). it is “a pedagogy that empowers students intellectually, socially, emotionally, and politically by using cultural and historical references to convey knowledge, to impart skills, and to change attitudes” (ladson-billings, 1994, p. 13). based on crt, hollie (2017) developed culturally and linguistically responsive (clr) teaching and learning practices and describes them as “the validation and affirmation of the home (indigenous) culture and home language for building and bridging the student to access in the culture of academia and mainstream society” (p. 23). hollie (2017) stated that clr is opposite to the “sink-or-swim approach” (p. 23) that lets the students survive or fail themselves; clr emphasizes the support and appropriate instructions students received from teachers until they became independent in learning. researchers believe that clr benefits all students, especially those from different races, cultures, and languages (haan et al., 2017; hollie, 2017). similarly, describing linguistically responsive instruction (lri), gallagher and hann (2018) cited an lri framework that explains the knowledge and skills to support emergent multilingual students, 20 gatesol journal 32(1) (a) understanding ells [english language learners] from a bilingual and bicultural perspective; (b) understanding how language and culture shape school experiences and inform pedagogy for bilingual learners; and (c) ability to mediate a range of contextual factors in the schools and classrooms where they teach. (de jong et al., 2013, p. 306) however, there is a dearth of literature on clr practices. one reason for the lack of work in this area may stem from the perceptions that the academic outcomes of crt/clr/lri practices are hard to measure, or that these practices are at once comprehensive and too abstract for application in classroom teaching (hollie, 2017). also, most of the existing literature focuses on students in k–12 settings in the u.s. while scholars have stressed the importance of learner-centered education and culturally relevant teaching in k–12 settings, one finds minimal attention to clr practices at the tertiary level (han et al., 2014). while we understand pre-service and in-service teachers’ needs to understand diverse students’ needs and integrate clr teaching strategies, we do not have that same expectation for college professors. how do we equip professors in different disciplines with the knowledge to effectively teach their international students? when monolingualism is the norm in the u.s. education system, how do we prepare faculty and reexamine the higher education level curriculum when we enroll an increasing number of international students? research in this area is vital because a large number of international students struggle with adjusting to new academic and cultural standards (haan et al., 2017). therefore, the purpose of the literature review is to explore challenges faced by international students, examine how clr might improve their experiences, and make recommendations for institutions and faculty who want to help them. ultimately, the literature review will focus on the following questions: 1. what challenges do new international students face in higher education in the u.s.? 2. what are faculty’s perspectives towards international students and their academic performance? 3. how do faculty understand and apply clr practices in their classroom teaching? 4. what crt/clr/lri practices are recommended to mediate challenges for international students in u.s. tertiary institutions? methodology of literature review this literature review aims to examine the research findings in published, empirical and conceptual research on culturally and linguistically responsive teaching in higher education, focusing specifically on international students who have just started their university lives in the u.s. therefore, the review is limited to peer-reviewed articles that focused on faculty members and international students in academia between 2010 and 2020 since this is the period when the u.s. higher education institutions enrolled the largest number of international students in history (israel & batalova, 2021). first, empirical studies employing quantitative and qualitative methods and conceptual research from international sources, such as google scholar, eric, ebscohost, jstor, psyc infor, sage, and wiley online library were identified. manuals, guidelines, and books published on the institute of international education (2019) website, an organization supporting international education and collaboration across higher education institutions, were also included. the key terms included faculty, new international students, culture and linguistic or language, challenges or barriers or difficulties, linguistically responsive teaching, culturally responsive teaching, higher education, and some synonymous terms, such as professors, internationalization, ma 21 college, university, and academia. one primary aim of the review is to provide practical instructions for faculty in different disciplines to help international students achieve their academic goals and accommodate an intercultural learning environment. therefore, conceptual articles and commentaries that are related to language support programs and learner-centered pedagogical practices were examined. the last step was to examine the articles’ references to locate additional relevant articles that could be included in the literature review. finally, one book and 37 articles, 16 of which focused on k–12 and teacher education were identified. i excluded these 16, leaving a sample of 21 articles dealing with a tertiary educational context. after the initial review, i wrote an annotated bibliography entry for each article and marked the themes that emerged from the article and connected them to the research questions. the table in the appendix shows the basic information of each article and the frequency of emerged themes that include benefits of hosting international students, challenges that international students face, faculty’s opinions and knowledge on international students and crt/clr/lri practices, and suggested crt/clr/lri practices. theoretical frameworks and models the literature review is grounded on the epistemology of constructivism, which “maintains that individuals create or construct their own new understandings or knowledge through the interaction of what they already believe and the ideas, events, and activities with which they come into contact” (ültanır, 2012, p. 195). according to ladson-billings (2003), it is crucial to reinforce this epistemological concept because it reveals a system of knowing the world. it helps us understand that how one views the world is influenced by what knowledge one possesses, and what knowledge one is capable of possessing is influenced deeply by one’s worldview. the conditions under which people live and learn shape both their knowledge and their world views. the process of developing a worldview that differs from the dominant world view requires active intellectual work on the part of the knower, because schools, society, and the structure and production of knowledge are designed to create individuals who internalize the dominant worldview and knowledge production and acquisition processes (ladson-billings, 2000, p. 258). before attempting to support international students’ learning and academic success, it is necessary to understand their “ways of knowing” (kasun, 2015, p. 277) which is shaped by their cultural and educational experiences. under the constructivist epistemology, the overarching theoretical perspectives that inform this literature review are sociocultural theory and critical inquiry. first, sociocultural theory was developed by vygotsky (1978), who posited that social interactions, language, and culture play an important role in learning and understanding the world. influenced by vygotsky, bruner (1966, 1971, 1996) emphasized the impact of teachers’ instruction, schooling and curricula, cultural awareness, and interactions on students’ cognitive development. since instruction must be structured and designed with concerns of the learners’ experiences and their willingness to learn (bruner, 1966), it is necessary to examine the faculty’s thoughts in accommodating an increasing number of international students. thus, the second focus of the literature review is to investigate faculty’s awareness when they host international students whose cultures, values, languages, and studying habits are different from the dominant ones. critical inquiry is another lens to examine learning in social, cultural, and historical contexts. lewis et al. (2012) stated that sociocultural theory “has allows us to explore the intersection of social, cultural, historical, mental, physical, and, more recently, political aspects of people’s sense-making, interaction, and learning around texts” (p. 2). however, it did not address the impact of “power, identity, and agency” (p. 2) on learning and practice. power exists in our 22 gatesol journal 32(1) social micro and macro systems, and it plays a vital role in opportunities to learn and impacts people’s lives in unpredictable ways (moje & lewis, 2012), especially for those who are in marginalized and neglected positions. for international students who live in a country other than their own, they have no power against policies, routines, regulations, rules when the dominate culture reproduces, enacts, and normalizes the social and learning system that subordinate the cultures of others. according to potts and brown (2005), from a critical perspective, “research must be about empowering the marginalized and promoting action against inequities” (p. 208). in sum, the literature review examines the clr practices in higher education through sociocultural and critical lenses and includes perspectives from international students, faculty, staff, and school administrators or leaders. the following section discusses what the literature says about international students’ challenges and how faculty could help with alleviating the challenges by integrating crt/clr/lri practices. synthesis of literature international students’ challenges in addition to the barriers and struggles international students face to varying degrees, such as cultural adjustment, mental stress, academic pressure, financial hardships, and homesickness (hung, 2006; martirosyan et al., 2015; mcmahon, 2018; wu et al., 2015), they also confront cultural and linguistic challenges upon moving to the u.s. when examining the challenges that international students face, it is vital to avoid generalization. instead, there is a need to pay close attention to differences among international students since they have contextual and multifaceted needs (kaya, 2020). as heng (2018) stated, it was a stereotype and bias to generalize chinese students as passive, unsocial, and annoying learners without a theoretical framework to examine their experiences in-depth. we need to know what reasons typically cause the students’ lack of ability in language, social involvement, and academic performances. english proficiency. as the predominantly used language in classes, english is a tool with which international students survive and succeed in the u.s. higher institutions. a higher level of english proficiency is a challenge for emergent multilingual students who must meet the requirements of disciplinary knowledge, academic language, and social conventional english skills at the same time (haan et al., 2017). to make sure that international students’ english skills are proficient enough to fulfill the academic requirements, most american universities need students to pass some standardized english proficiency tests, such as the test of english as a foreign language (toefl) or the international english language testing system (ielts), as one of the required admission requirements. however, a satisfactory test score is not equivalent to a higher level of ability in listening, speaking, reading, and writing english. in heng’s (2018) study, which focused on the challenges of chinese undergraduate students who were admitted to u.s. universities, he found that participants felt inadequate in their english foundation knowledge, particularly in speaking, writing, and logical thinking skills. the chinese students achieved the required english proficiency test scores but still struggled with communicating in english, understanding lectures, and writing assignments. one of the reasons for their successful proficiency scores stems from intensive test training courses, which emphasize exam techniques over language skills (ravichandran et al., 2017; tung, 2016). in the study by ravichandran et al. (2017), researchers found their participants who were 15 international graduate students representing 11 countries from various fields of study faced ma 23 language challenges tied to academic performance. the results of their study showed that writing was the most challenging language skill for international graduate students, especially in “english grammar and vocabulary, style guide use, organization and flow of information, critical thinking, understanding of plagiarism, and assignment completion time” (p. 772). because there is a positive correlation between international students’ english language ability (writing, reading, listening, speaking) and their academic performance (measured by gpa; martirosyan et al., 2015), international students who struggle with english may have anxiety that weakens their academic performances in higher education. other researchers (e.g., daller & phelan, 2013; gautam et al., 2016; li et al., 2010) also found that language proficiency is the key determinant that could influence international students’ academic performance and international students whose first language is one other than english would take a longer time to master academic skills in the host country. therefore, martirosyan et al. (2015) stated that professors in different disciplines are critical to support the students’ english language needs by building up an international student-friendly environment and providing appropriate courses, tutoring, and pedagogical strategies. in addition, roy (2013) demonstrated that the differences between asian (chinese, japanese, and korean) international students’ native language systems and english had caused their insufficient english proficiency. she pointed out that the american professors’ teaching styles and language usages, such as using idioms, jokes, colloquialisms, and complex sentences, also created barriers for the international students’ understanding of the content of lectures. social isolation. in addition to language challenges and academic pressure, international students also face cultural shock and social disconnections. social isolation is a common issue among international students, and it has been reflected in many studies (kaya, 2020; martirosyan et al., 2015; ravichandran et al., 2017; tung, 2016). this phenomenon was caused by many reasons, such as personalities, language deficiencies, unfamiliarity with the culture (tung, 2016), and having no access to get involved in social activities (kaya, 2020). lack of social activities could impact international students’ mental health and academic performance. there were many suggested solutions, for example, providing opportunities for international students to interact with domestic students who can help with their social adjustment (martirosyan et al., 2015), and pairing international students and local students as language peers, or setting up a community for conversations and sharing different perspectives (lin & scherz, 2014). even though many universities provided opportunities to promote intercultural communication between local and international students, the outcomes did not fulfill the goals. from international students’ perspective, it is hard to build up friendships, enhance their english language skills, and get a deeper understanding of american culture through limited communication times with native-english speakers (kaya, 2020). also, ravichandran et al. (2017) found that conversational partners did not work well because the communication was not consistent. some native english-speaking peers were not talkative or had no knowledge to start a conversation with a non-native speaker. some of them just showed up one or two times and never contacted the international students because of their schedule. therefore, many international students were still in a socially isolated situation and had limited opportunities to enhance their english and understanding of the culture outside of the classrooms. in tung’s (2016) study, chinese international students’ social isolation in the u.s. was caused by lack of knowledge of western culture and their cultural heritage and traditions. these studies clearly revealed that these challenges were caused by the differences between students’ 24 gatesol journal 32(1) cultural and educational background but not their learning skills or abilities. hence, it is critical to look beyond the international students’ challenges and to avoid assumptions before constructing a supportive curriculum, a class, a strategy, or practices. in the next section, the literature review focuses on faculty’s perspectives on international students and crt/clr practices. faculty’s views on international students and crt/clr practices it is also necessary to think from the faculty’s perspective in terms of the trend of “internationalization” in the context of higher education. what are faculty facing when they have international students in their classes, yet they lack adequate awareness and training? how do faculty understand crt or clr practices in academia with full teaching and research loads? among 21 reviewed articles, only eight of them addressed this issue and studied the faculty’s position towards international students as well as clr practices. compared to the other three themes (see table 1), faculty’s opinions and experiences are underrepresented in the literature. faculty’s challenges. according to haan et al. (2017), although internationalization benefits the host campus, local students, and international students, both students and faculty face challenges caused by cultural and linguistic differences. this issue is more obvious for emergent multilinguals who need to meet the requirements of disciplinary knowledge, academic language, and social conventional english skills at the same time. haan et al. (2017) stated that international students have been considered as guests but never a host in the university. they may not have the power to request that the dominant schooling system make accommodations for their cultural and linguistic needs. from the faculty’s perspective, it is not acceptable to lower the curricular standards to satisfy the students. rather, it is the students’ responsibility to fit in the mainstream culture and meet the standards (hann et al., 2017). also, when faculty are expected to adjust their teaching and curriculum, it is necessary to consider the professional training, guidance, and even allowances to support their efforts. without any agreement between the school leaders and faculty on the goals of recruiting and cultivating international students, it is hard to expect outcomes of successful international education. as stated in ravichandran et al. (2017), it is not enough to recruit international students but ignore their unique cultural and linguistic needs. in most studies, researchers found that faculty welcome internationalization and international students, but they also face unique challenges and have low self-efficacy in serving this group of students’ needs (hann et al., 2017; jin & schneider, 2019; washburn & hargis, 2017). to illustrate, in washburn and hargis’ (2017) case study, they interviewed nine faculty in three distinct u.s. universities and found four themes of faculty’s challenges that emerged from transcripts coded by a cross-case analysis method. the themes included language/cultural challenges, teaching and learning challenges, ethnic perceptions, and enrollment desires. first, the presence of international students may have impacted the dynamics in the classroom because of cultural and linguistic differences. some faculty stated that they need to learn about cultures and be sure that the local students can respect the international students’ cultures as well. meanwhile, faculty need to make a balance between international students and local students’ needs because they cannot pay too much attention to international students and neglect local students. also, they expressed that international students’ various levels of english proficiency impacted the depth of their instruction. second, faculty face challenges regarding instructional preparation and adjustments to create a more inclusive learning environment. some of them said that they need support from the administration before preparing classes, otherwise faculty members were not able to make any adjustments since students’ names alone do not suffice for information about cultural ma 25 differences before the start of the semester. third, faculty also experience ethnic challenges with various cultures in the classroom. as kisch (2014) discussed, university professors face challenges when they have an increasing number of international students with diverse cultural backgrounds. for example, they may not be aware of the cultural norms in different countries, such as gender separation during group work for students from saudi arabia. washburn and hargis (2017) also found that faculty prefer european students over asian students because of their more potent english abilities and similar cultural backgrounds. the last challenge mentioned in the study is the enrollment pressure the faculty face. the researchers found that faculty stressed giving international students’ passing grades “regardless of their academic abilities” (p. 14) because their schools would like to keep the students for financial revenues and religious missions. overall, the faculty in this small-sample study showed a positive attitude towards international students. still, they were also stressed with enrolling a larger number of culturally and linguistically diverse students in the face of limited support from the administration. faculty’s attitudes on hosting and teaching international students. even though faculty face multifaceted challenges in supporting international students, they held a positive attitude towards internationalization and having more international students (hann et al., 2017; jin & schneider, 2019). in jin and schneider’s (2019) empirical study, the results showed that faculty held a positive stance of hosting international students on campus and would like work with them for the following reasons: “international students offer different and diverse views; they have better academic performances; they bring global perspectives to class discussions and assignments; and they contribute to campus multilingualism” (p. 89). also, the researchers found that faculty could understand the challenges that international students face, which had been categorized as “academic challenges, sociocultural challenges, and other challenges related to finances, legal status, and professional aspirations” (p. 89). however, faculty have low self-efficacy in serving international students’ needs and have a high ratio of negative responses regarding the level of support the university was providing for the students (hann et al., 2017). faculty felt that international students’ cultural and linguistic characteristics could become obstacles for them to teach, which indicated a negative attitude toward the need to adjust teaching methods (jin & schneider, 2019). the faculty also believed that the primary supports should be “outside of the classroom” (p. 44), since the university received the benefits from recruiting international students whereas faculty did not receive additional benefits, such as a salary increase (hann et al., 2017). university level crt/clr/lri support. to explore what efforts universities made to support international students, martirosyan et al. (2019) examined academic and social support services provided to international students by reviewing websites of the top 20 universities with the greatest enrollment of international students in 2016. among the top 20 institutions, the percentage of international student enrollment ranged from over 10% to over 40% of the overall student population. the researchers categorized six themes from content analysis of academic and social services offered by the institutions: english language programs, academic support and student success initiatives, targeted writing support, social and cultural events, professional development workshops, and family member programs. these services were free of charge to international students except the english language programs. most of these language programs focused on general english skills, instead of the language that is connected to the students’ content area. there is only one institution that offers english courses in students’ specific disciplines (boston 26 gatesol journal 32(1) university global programs) in addition to general english language classes. this indicates a gap between english language acquisition and content knowledge learning in the english language preparation programs. also, only one institution provided speech therapy to all students who needed accent modification. several universities provided english conversation hours and language exchange for international students to communicate or to pair up with local students. these are chances to improve their english proficiency and get to know peers from the same discipline. however, there is no data to show how many students utilize these services or their feedback about their effects. the other services, such as academic support (online or face-to-face workshops and webinars) and writing support, were available to all students at the university. among 20 institutions, there is only one university that provides writing consultants for graduate students who need to improve their writing skills and navigate graduate life. from this study, it is obvious that the packaged services are not customized for international students. the english language program charged extra and was disconnected from students’ content knowledge. in addition, this study was based on descriptions of universities’ websites that tended to recruit more international students, therefore, it was not reflective of the users’ perspectives. for example, many schools include writing centers to improve writing ability, however, there was no evidence on how international students benefit from this service when they meet difficulties in their disciplines. furthermore, none of the websites mentioned the support that international students could get from faculty in their disciplines. from these studies, it is evident that faculty have dichotomous views on international education and students. on one hand, they understand the challenges that international students face and most faculty participants in the studies agreed that international students needed extra attention and support not only in the class but also from the administration. on the other hand, faculty faced challenges in learning the international students’ cultures and languages to facilitate their academic work. to be specific, they were also expecting support to create an inclusive classroom and construct an effective teaching environment that could meet both international students and local students’ needs. furthermore, the services that universities provided are not adequate to support international students’ english language and content knowledge learning. fortunately, many researchers and educators (gallagher & haan, 2018; gopal, 2011; haan et al., 2017; roy, 2013) paid attention to the gap between students’ and faculty’s challenges and the resources provided for them. they emphasized the importance to equip faculty with crp/clrlri knowledge and implement crp/clr/lri related practices to teaching, since cpr/clr/lri practices can benefit students (hoekje & stevens, 2018). therefore, the following studies focused on clr teaching practices that could be incorporated into higher education. suggested crp/clr related practices for higher education educators the previous sections demonstrate that both international students and faculty face dilemmas in higher education. even though crp/clr /lri practices are an effective framework to serve multilingual and multicultural students, it is challenging to articulate crp/clr/lri practices or frameworks in higher education because of its complex and multidimensional features (han et al., 2014). applying crp/clr/lri practices to the u.s. higher institutions involves multiple layers of understanding about culture, language, educational differences, teachers’ cognition, students’ backgrounds, classroom practices, and administrators’ efforts. the following section describes practices that could support faculty understanding international students’ linguistic and cultural needs in higher education. ma 27 professional development first and foremost, it is necessary to provide professional development (pd) opportunities to prepare the faculty’s mindsets and intercultural competencies for teaching international students. as arthur (2017) states, “many faculty members in higher education are appointed due to their expertise in an academic discipline and they may not receive formal training in pedagogical practices for supporting international students” (p. 889). gopal (2011) asserts that it is difficult for faculty to provide equitable learning opportunities to international students if there is no adequate and systematic cross-cultural training. haan et al. (2017) advocated pd in linguistically responsive instruction (lri) for faculty because “using linguistically-responsive and supportive practices and responding flexibly to students’ varying needs promotes equitable educational outcomes for all students.” (p. 48). gallagher and haan (2018) also state that faculty need to understand the knowledge of second language acquisition as well as linguistically responsive teaching practices to support students’ language development. since faculty are vital resources for international students to make connections and adjust to the local context, it is essential to introduce the unique characteristics and challenges international students have in the new faculty orientation and ongoing professional development sessions (arthur, 2017). when discussing the faculty’s responses toward time limitation for the professional development of learning pedagogical practices of lri, gallagher and haan (2018) proposed a “university-wide effort to involve all stakeholders in planning for supporting faculty, staff, and student success throughout the internationalization process and clearly communicating these decisions and plans to all” (p. 318). faculty’s beliefs. first, faculty must learn to be open to other cultures and to avoid ethnocentricity which is the belief that one culture is superior to the others. according to arthur (2017), ethnocentrism is problematic in the curriculum since it privileges local practices and neglects students’ voices from other cultures. teaching international students provides faculty an opportunity to examine their own cultural awareness, which allows them to understand their identities and cultures from a different perspective. gopal (2011) stated that intercultural competency is essential “for navigating the continuum of globalization” (p. 379). both gopal (2011) and roy (2013) emphasized the core elements of developing faculty’s intercultural competence included self-reflection and self-awareness of cultural differences. it starts with faculty’s attitudes of valuing students who have diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds, beliefs, and habits of learning. it requires faculty awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills (roy, 2013) to realize the international students’ learning habits and struggles. faculty in international education also need to be aware that international students are not a homogeneous group. while delivering instructions (roy, 2013) and developing programs and curriculum (arthur, 2017), it is important for faculty to consider the impact of international students’ identities on their academic performances (arthur, 2017; roy, 2013). to achieve the goal, roy (2013) provided american professors recommendations in their work with chinese, japanese, and korean international students. for instance, professors need to be aware of the meaning of students’ body language because the students may feel uncomfortable asking questions in class or have difficulties expressing their feelings in english. also, professors need to understand the process and stages of international students’ english language development. roy listed methods to help overcome the language barriers between students and professors, such as using translating tools and providing notes ahead of classes. more importantly, roy pointed out that professors need to be empathetic to what international students are experiencing to overcome 28 gatesol journal 32(1) language and life challenges for their academic goals and be respectful to their efforts. even though roy’s article focused on chinese, japanese, and korean students who shared a culture distinct from that of western and local students, the strategies can be useful in other settings to support international students from other countries. kisch (2014) also provided ten practical tips for faculty to support international students, such as “being proactive in communicating with international students, normalizing office hours, checking in with students after assigning group work, talking to students individually and encouraging them to share their unique perspectives, and clarifying expectations from students” (p. 46). these tips and suggestions aim to with examining faculty’s beliefs while working with international students. because “teachers’ beliefs, pedagogical approaches, and resources” (li, 2020, p. 35) are all important in fostering the language learners’ active learning attitude. in addition to emphasizing the importance of faculty’s self-reflection and self-awareness, arthur (2017) listed two other key factors that could support international students’ transition to the host country: counselors who can help with initial adjustment and culture shock, and local students who could also benefit from interaction with international students. meanwhile, merely putting international students and local students together does not always promote cross-cultural interactions. it is a complicated and stressful process since “interacting with people from different cultures can create feelings of uncertainty and anxiety” (gopal, 2011, p. 379). effective and mutual learning happens in more structured, collaborative, and scaffolded activities (arthur, 2017). in other words, it takes systematic efforts to increase the quality of international education, not just the quantity of recruited students. in addition to suggestions on faculty pd, some researchers introduced models and strategies to alleviate the challenges that international students and faculty face. program design. kisch (2014) introduces a one-stop service that integrates academic, immigration, and student/community engagement for international students and faculty at virginia commonwealth university (vcu) in the u.s. according to kisch, the international student and scholar program contributed to international students’ retention by 3.7% from 2008 to 2013. shane et al. (2020) introduced a first-term foundation course that is required for all international graduate students who received their undergraduate or higher degrees from countries other than the u.s. the 11-week course’s overarching goal was to improve international students’ academic skills and build their self-confidence in english oral and written communication. there were several advantages of the program. first, to ensure that instructors know each students’ challenges well, the class size was limited to 16 students. second, the course scaffolded the students in different areas but was not limited to academic skills. for example, students had opportunities to interact with native english speakers and build up their social network at a place called communication cafe. to keep the program running, all the native speakers were volunteers who earned points for classes. the instructors also directed students to participate in various on-campus clubs and other university events. furthermore, the course covered required knowledge for success in the graduate programs, such as presentation skills, academic honesty, and creative thinking skills. classroom practices. in terms of strategies to help international students alleviate academic and social challenges, there are practical suggestions that could be integrated into the classroom teaching in u.s. higher education system. the suggestions provided by crose (2011), gallagher and haan (2018), and ravichandran et al. (2017) are summarized in table 1 below. ma 29 table 1 classroom practices that alleviate challenges instructional strategies  provide explicit and constructive feedback on assignments, not only research ideas but also grammatical usage.  pay more attention to linguistic errors on the writing assignments.  provide printed handouts to students and allow students to record the classes.  introduce a variety of assessment methods and grading rubrics. to provide formative feedback.  eliminate timed writing assignments to ensure students have enough time to have a deeper reflection on their writing. classroom environment  create an inviting classroom environment by not skewing to the host culture.  cultivate an internationalized classroom: encourage the local students to interact with international students who view the interaction as opportunities to improve their english and integrate into the host culture.  utilize techniques to help international students overcome the language barriers, such as further explanation of slang or an outline of key concepts of a lecture.  involve international students in classroom discussion and facilitate the discussions by providing opportunities for students to know each other before dividing them into small groups. provide discussion topics in advance so students will be more prepared. provide feedback, not a grade only.  organize group-oriented activities in the international classroom. design collaborative group activities to understand interpersonal communication better, for example, learn to pronounce students’ names correctly. student services  esl services: it is better to have a department-specific trained esl personnel to assist graduate-level academic writing.  orientation programs: provide more information and include more specific information about how to succeed academically. writing instruction. one of the biggest challenges reflected by international students is their english writing competence. further, the faculty in the writing programs also struggled with teaching multilingual writers because they lack specialized training in this area (schneider, 2018). schneider (2018) offered five macro-topics related to college writing to expand writing instructors’ and professionals’ understanding of teaching multilingual students, which the researcher believed that was necessary for faculty with an increasing number of diverse students with different linguistic backgrounds. the first topic is the nature of second language writers which could help faculty understand the differences between international students and immigrant/resident esl students. therefore, schneider suggested distinct paths for various types of multilingual writers in the first-year writing curriculum. the second topic is to help faculty understand the theories of second language development which implies that second language learning is a lifelong process. faculty, especially the writing instructors need to understand that it takes years to achieve academic proficiency in an additional language. the third topic is assignment design and teacher response, which suggests that writing assignments for l2 learners should be different from l1 students. meanwhile, multilingual students benefited from instructors’ explicit, constructive, and responsive feedback on their writing, especially in language and grammar. the fourth topic talked about grammar which schneider (2018) believed that “teachers absolutely must have solid knowledge of descriptive grammar in order to make wellfounded pedagogic choices in relation 30 gatesol journal 32(1) to multilingual students — or any other students” (p. 361). hence, he recommended writing instructors to get equipped with descriptive linguistics as well as pedagogical grammar knowledge. the last topic schneider introduced was sociolinguistics, which emphasized the connection between language and “social, political, and economic power” (p. 363). to this extent, understanding monolingualism, multilingualism, translingualism, and code-meshing in the field of writing studies is essential for teaching diverse learners. based on the macro-topics, schneider (2018) outlined four suggestions that could incorporate applied linguistics to improve language learners’ writing competence in higher education. one of those is to provide professional development in applied linguistics for faculty so they can integrate the knowledge to daily practices. this article was a strong argument in supporting educators to be linguistically and culturally responsive writing instructors. regarding writing support for international students, gallagher and haan (2018) suggested providing a fulltime writing tutor who can communicate in the students’ first languages. researchers stated that services provided by the university writing center were not enough to support international students, especially for those in the graduate programs, because the content of their papers could not be addressed (gallagher & haan, 2018; ravichandran et al., 2017). in sum, international students are part of the multilingual student population, and they are overwhelmed by the academic writing challenges. they need language support from their subject teachers. as stated by haan et al. (2017), “all faculty are instructors of language in their disciplines” (p. 47). gallagher and haan (2018) listed some strategies that could be applied to disciplinary classes, including “focusing on language demands of the disciplinary tasks, offering opportunities for student interaction, creating a supportive classroom environment, supplementing oral and written texts, scaffolding learning, and providing feedback on both disciplinary and language content” (p. 316). the practices introduced above could inform faculty’s perspectives in teaching l2 learners with diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds and help faculty understand and learn strategies to apply to their classroom teaching. discussion and implications overall, researchers employed qualitative and quantitative methods to examine international education in u.s. institutions of higher education. the topics included the challenges faced by students and faculty, clr teaching practices, faculty beliefs, and recommendations for staff and administrators. the literature indicates that international students and faculty face challenges in terms of language, culture, classroom discussion, academic expectations, as well as adjustment to each other. international students’ prior educational, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds are their funds of knowledge but also obstacles to adopt into a new learning environment. transitioning from one culture to another, the conflicts between different systems and values cause new international students to feel confused, lost, and uncomfortable (arthur, 2017). however, it is clearly shown that faculty’s perspectives are less discussed in the literature. more research, especially large-scale empirical studies focusing on faculty’s experiences are needed in the future to better understand and support the needs of those who teach international students. from the literature review, it is obvious that faculty is seen as a vital resource for international students’ development in cognition, language, social interactions, and academic performance. in a diverse classroom where students share multicultural identities, faculty’s scaffolding and supportive activities could lead students through their zone of proximal development (zpd)—“the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through ma 31 problem-solving under adult guidance, or in collaboration with more capable peers” (vygotsky, 1978, p. 86)—and achieve their potential. one important factor to consider in teaching international students is that it takes years of exposure for them to gain confidence when speaking a different language and participating in a new culture (martirosyan et al., 2015). therefore, during curriculum design and classroom teaching, instructors need to be aware that the newcomers are experiencing a long and challenging process to understand and accommodate the mainstream norms. also, students bring an abundance of prior knowledge to the class, which also greatly impacts their learning and understanding (rosenblatt, 1994). thus, it is beneficial for faculty to understand students’ cultural and language backgrounds during curriculum planning and instruction delivery. rather than judging all students’ performances with the same standards, neglecting students’ diverse backgrounds, and marginalizing the international students because of their special needs, it is vital to take them into consideration during classroom instruction. to achieve the goals, researchers recommended professional development and various clr practices for faculty to support multilingual and multicultural students. the suggestions covered teachers’ beliefs, building social connections, program design, classroom practices, and writing instruction. in general, the suggestions will likely benefit both faculty and students. however, most of the literature had small sample sizes or were conducted in one university. some suggestions were from faculty’s own experiences of working with international students. therefore, the practices may not fit into other institutions. another finding from the literature is that there is a lack of clarity about roles of supporting international students. the international offices at some universities provide immigration information. their primary goal is to make sure that the international students obey u.s. laws and regulations. the faculty’s primary responsibility focuses on serving local students and the community. an executive order like international initiatives is not motivated enough to promote a change in their curriculum and teaching if faculty’s needs, working load, and expectations are not considered. the criteria of evaluating international education were too vague as well. therefore, future research needs to investigate international students’ feedback towards these practices and compare their academic performances between groups with and without clr support. it is also necessary to examine the issue from a critical stance and see how power and people’s mindsets impact their practices. on one hand, faculty held a positive attitude towards diversity, globalization, internationalization, and international students on campus. on the other hand, without appropriate training, faculty’s monolingualist beliefs and the perception of superiority of western values may leave few spaces for equal intercultural communication. nonetheless, researchers found a significant relationship between faculty background and their beliefs about international students. compared to english monolingual faculty, faculty who have similar experiences to international students, such as studying abroad and speaking more than one language, were able to understand and empathize with them better (jin & schneider, 2019). it is clear that faculty were expecting more support from other departments, such as the international office, writing centers, and graduate offices. however, these services provided by u.s. higher institutions would be superficial to meet international students’ linguistic and cultural differences if they mainly focus on serving domestic students. hoekje and stevens (2018) believed that it is necessary to challenge the belief that “u.s. higher education can continue to open its doors to the world’s students without changing anything beyond the obvious student services” (p. 12), because it takes efforts from administrators, faculty, and cultural gatekeepers to create a linguistically and 32 gatesol journal 32(1) culturally diverse environment that could lead to a transformation of the campus ecosystem under the initiative of internationalization. to sum up, the literature review aims to challenge the normativity of the value of international education and international students by examining clr practices to support international students and faculty holistically in the u.s. higher education. since “power is involved in the determination of what will or should be learned and in how that learning will be supported and measured” (esmonde & booker, 2017, p. 168), it is crucial to consider if current policy, system, curriculum design, and assessment standards have taken account of international students and faculty’s needs. in general, there is much more to do to build up a truly international, intercultural, and diverse environment for students, especially international students who brought their linguistic and cultural experiences to the host country but were not valued. international students should be supported at an institutional level not only because of their rights but also their contributions to the hosting institutions and local economy (martirosyan et al., 2019). as stated by arthur (2017), “an absence of content about international perspectives, misinformed, or stereotypical interpretations of international practices may perpetuate bias and historical biases of colonialism and 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(2015). international student’s challenge and adjustment to college. educational research international, 2015, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/ 202753 ____________________________________________________________________________ received: february 1, 2021 | accepted: september 10, 2021 | published: april 18, 2022 https://www.nafsa.org/policy-and-advocacy/policy-resources/nafsa-international-student-economic-value-tool-v2 https://www.nafsa.org/policy-and-advocacy/policy-resources/nafsa-international-student-economic-value-tool-v2 https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.570033 https://doi.org/10.32674/jis.v3i1.514 https://doi.org/10.1215/15314200-4359245 https://doi.org/10.32674/jis.v10i2.1126 https://doi.org/10.5430/ijhe.v5n3p121 https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ed533786.pdf https://journals.kpu.ca/index.php/td/article/view/949 https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/202753 https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/202753 article appendix table literature collected and analyzed no. literature research type method participants location benefits challenges faculty views suggested practices 1 arthur (2017) commentary n/a n/a n/a * * 2 crose (2011) conceptual n/a n/a n/a * * * 3 gautam et al. (2016) empirical online survey and interview 28 survey respondents and 6 interviewees (international students) a u.s. university in a small town in the southern region * * * 4 gallagher & haan (2018) empirical surveys 197 faculty mid-size comprehensive university in midwestern united states * * * * 5 gopal (2011) conceptual n/a n/a n/a * 6 han et al. (2014) empirical collaborative self-study 7 teacher educators college of education at the university of south florida * * 7 haan et al. (2017) empirical self-reported online survey (12 likert items and open-ended items) 192 respondents (among over 500 full-time and adjunct faculty) mid-size, private, comprehensive university in the u.s. * * * * 8 heng (2018) empirical demographic questionnaire, 3 semi-structured interviews, and 4 18 chinese undergraduates three private, four-year, liberal arts colleges in a large city in * ma 37 journal entries throughout an academic year north east usa 9 jin & schneider (2019) empirical online survey 261 respondents (full-time and part-time faculty) a comprehensive private university in the midwest u.s. * * 10 kaya (2020) empirical interviews 5 international graduate students a midwestern u.s. university * * * * 11 kisch (2014) commentary n/a n/a n/a * * * 12 lin & scherz (2014) empirical interviews 5 asian international graduate students a medium-sized university in the northwest of the united states * * 13 martirosyan et al. (2015) empirical self-reported questionnaire 59 international undergraduate students 4-year university in north central louisiana * * 14 martirosyan et al. (2019) exploratory analyze website content top 20 universities with greatest enrollment of international students in 2016 united states * * * 15 ravichandran et al. (2017) empirical semi-structured interviews 15 international graduate students united states * * * * 16 roy (2013) conceptual n/a n/a united states * * 17 schneider (2018) conceptual n/a n/a united states * * 18 shane et al. (2020) descriptive discuss a required firstterm foundation an 11-week course a small, private institution in southern * * * 38 gatesol journal 32(1) course for international graduate students california 19 tung (2016) conceptual literature review chinese students u.s. higher education * * * 20 washburn & hargis (2017) empirical interviews 9 faculty 3 higher institutions in the western u.s. * * * 21 wu et al. (2015) empirical interviews 10 international students southernmost part of the u.s. * * * no. 21 11 19 8 18 note. benefits = benefits/value of embracing international students; challenges = international students’ challenges; faculty views = faculty’s views on international students and crt/clr/lri practices; suggested practices = suggested clr/clr/lri practices gatesol journal2022, vol. 32(1), pp. 18–38 challenges and strategies facing international students and faculty in u.s. higher education: a comprehensive literature review doi:10.52242/gatesol.122 issn: 2331-6845 article tuğba nur doğan faitour, graduate student, department of language & literacy education, university of georgia, athens, ga; email td48177@uga.edu. learning how to use mitigation devices: a peer-supervisory context between a non-native peer-supervisor and a non-native english teacher gatesol journal 2022, vol. 32(1), pp. 4–17 doi:10.52242/gatesol.127 issn: 2331-6845 tuğba nur doğan faitour university of georgia abstract learning how to provide effective supervision can be challenging. after all, helping language teachers increase awareness regarding their teaching practices requires the difficult task of giving them critical feedback, which, at times, can be a face-threatening act as will be defined later in the paper. to soften their criticism, supervisors make use of various language strategies. however, the task of delivering feedback using such language strategies in english can be even more difficult for supervisors who are also second language learners of english. utilizing the mitigation devices wajnryb (1994) conceptualized, this study analyzed the language used in three post-observation conferences in a peer-supervisory discourse between a non-native english teacher and a non-native peer-supervisor. the study found that mitigation devices as conceptualized by wajnryb (1994) were effective in structuring a non-threatening and growth-oriented supervisory context when consciously used by the non-native peersupervisor. keywords language teacher supervision, mitigation devices, non-native language teacher supervisor, peer-supervision introduction in the field of language teacher supervision, one of the most significant elements is the postobservation conference where the supervisor delivers critical feedback gained from classroom observation to the teacher. wajnryb (1995) states that the post-observation conference is an indispensable part of supervision since it creates a context for the improvement of teaching practices. the concept of post-observation conference is based on the idea that “teachers can improve by gaining feedback” (bailey, 2006, p. 141). the underlying assumption for the feedback is that teachers can only make the necessary changes in their instruction if they are aware of its effectiveness. freeman (1989) defines awareness as the “capacity to recognize and monitor the attention one is giving or has given to something. thus, one acts on or responds to the aspects of a situation of which one is aware” (p. 33). the importance of language teacher supervision lies in the fact that much of what is going on in a teacher’s classroom may be unknown to them as teaching is dynamic and being aware of everything in a lesson might be a challenge for the teachers. therefore, it is the supervisors who help teachers become aware by providing information gained from classroom observation (bailey, 2006). mailto:td48177@uga.edu doğan faitour 5 nevertheless, delivering such critical information can be a challenging task for the supervisors. the very nature of the postobservation conference entails the discussion between what is and what should be, which in return might create a tension between the supervisor and the teacher. therefore, it is important to set a positive tone in the post-observation conference. however, the task of delivering feedback in english while maintaining a non-threatening tone can be even more difficult for supervisors who are also second language learners of english. the concept of “nonthreatening” is vital, which places the topic of language at the core of this study’s discussion. the current study is the result of a peer-supervision process between a non-native english teacher and a non-native peer-supervisor who did not have experience in supervision prior to the study. the concept of peer-supervision is important since it allows for a supervisory context that is beneficial for both the teacher and the peer-supervisor. alfonso (1977) stated that peersupervision context could be a very important source for “relatively non-threatening” assistance for the teacher (p. 600). moreover, it also provides the opportunity for the peer-supervisor to practice supervisory language. despite the fact that the peer-supervisor is a proficient speaker of english as a foreign language, she was not familiar with the supervisory language to conduct postobservation conferences in english. for this reason, the mitigation devices conceptualized by wajnryb (1994) were deliberately utilized to structure the language used to deliver critical feedback in the post-observation conferences between the non-native english teacher and nonnative peer-supervisor by scripting them prior to the post-observation conferences. therefore, the study aims to answer the following questions: 1. what mitigation devices were scripted prior to the post-observation conferences (pocs)? 2. how were the scripted mitigation devices actually used during the post-observation conferences (pocs) and what was the response of the teacher? 3. how did the teacher comment on the language used during the post-observation conferences in her post-poc journal? by answering these questions, the study investigates the language used and to what extent it was effective in creating a non-threatening and growth-oriented supervisory context with the aim of increasing teacher awareness regarding teaching practices. literature review language in the post-observation conference research shows that in order to create an empathetic relationship to help the teachers alter their teaching behaviors, supervisors employ certain language strategies that allow them to have technical proficiency during the post-observation conferences (holland, 1989). thus, language plays a fundamental part in the post-observation conference and the delivering of feedback. wajnryb (1994) carried out one of the most comprehensive analyses of language used in postobservation conferences and found out that oftentimes, supervisors mitigate their language while delivering face-threatening acts (bailey, 2009). wajnryb (1994) defines mitigation as “the attempt by the speakers to hedge or undercut the full illocutionary force of their own assertions” (p. 201). she found that supervisors make use of mitigation to deliberately soften their message, partly to reduce the effects of the face-threatening act their message carries. according to wajnryb (1994), face is “the public, socially valued image of self which participants in an encounter claim for themselves and each other” (p. i). face-threatening act, on 6 gatesol journal 32(1) the other hand, is “a communicative act which runs contrary to the face needs of speaker or hearer” (wajnryb, 1994, p. i). face-threatening acts have also been defined as utterances “that represent a threat to another individual’s expectations regarding self-image” (erozan & shibliyev, 2007, p. 125). thus, teacher supervision can be a face-threatening act in that it requires supervisors to communicate things to the teachers that they might otherwise not want to hear. to keep away from loss of face, waite (1992) found that supervisors mostly reduce the weight of their criticisms. to do this, supervisors can choose to mitigate their language while delivering feedback. mitigation devices as conceptualized by wajnryb (1994) conducting one of the most elaborative research of supervisory language, wajnryb (1994) concluded supervisors make use of “a high degree of mitigation to ease them through unenviable tasks” (wajnryb, 1998, p. 531). this necessity for mitigation results from the emergence of “conflict of interests” between what the message demands and the need to protect the face of the addressee (wajnryb, 1994, p. 202). wajnryb identified three fundamental types of mitigation supervisors resort to while delivering critical feedback: hypermitigation, hypomitigation, and above-the-utterance-level mitigation. hypermitigation means there is too much mitigation that the message is so softened to a point that it is not clear anymore. hypomitigation, on the other hand, means that there is too little mitigation that the message is too direct and most likely threatens the face (bailey, 2006). therefore, hypermitigation and hypomitigation are at the two ends of the spectrum. while it is the clarity of the message that is threatened in hypermitigation, in hypomitigation, the danger lies not in the reception of the message. that is, when the message is too direct, teachers may get defensive, and they may assume a passive or an adversarial role which would then risk the message to be absorbed by the teacher (bailey, 2006). it is challenging for the supervisors to set the balance between hypermitigation and hypomitigation, and to deliver the critical feedback in a way that the message is clear but also not threatening. the third type of mitigation wajnryb discusses, above-the-utterance-level mitigation, refers to this balance and awareness of language, which means that softened criticism is achieved. it is evident in wajnryb’s study that supervisors achieve above-the-utterance-level mitigation by using various linguistic means, which are categorized as semantic and syntactic devices. wajnryb (1994) argues that they are all strategic since they all work to reduce the effects of face-threatening acts. below, there will be a more detailed explanation of each device. semantic devices semantic devices refer to mitigation strategies that are fulfilled with words as signals of meaning (wajnryb, 1994). they include qualm indicators, asides, lexical hedges, and hedging modifiers. to start with, qualm indicators are linguistic signals that demonstrate uneasiness and reticence by the speaker. they are used to show the speaker’s hesitation which then makes the message less certain and more ambiguous. they are a combination of aural and linguistic signals, and they are most likely to be fragments of utterances instead of whole utterances (wajnryb, 1994). some examples of qualm indicators are “um,” “well,” and “you know” (wajnryb, 1994, p. 269). lexical hedges are meaning of words supervisors choose over another to reduce the criticism and soften the impact of the message. wajnryb (1994) argues that it is not possible to identify the words over which they are chosen since they are absent but asserts that it is sufficient to suggest possibilities and identify the strategy as avoidance of certain words. lexical hedges are preferred as an alternative for the more congruent option of a word in order to mitigate the harshness of the message. by utilizing lexical hedges, supervisors can assume a shared ground in doğan faitour 7 which only the teacher can understand the meaning of the word choice since it is only accessible to the ones who the information is shared with (morallo, 2019). moreover, when hedges are used as a linguistic device, they can point to a lack of full commitment by the speaker to the message they wish to convey (fraser, 2010). finally, lexical hedges are used to avoid technical language to reduce the professional distance between the speakers, as supervisors being seen as the expert. in this case, supervisors deliberately use style-shifted lexemes to show solidarity with the teachers. asides are defined by wajnryb (1994) as short utterances that come with criticisms and they differ from qualm indicators in that they are “complete units, not fragments” (p. 272). their meaning in context is closely related to the criticism that accompany them. lastly, hedging modifiers can be in the word, phrase or clause form which can consist of a word (e.g., “just”), a phrase (e.g., “a little”), or a clause (e.g., “i feel”; wajnryb, 1994, p. 289). among their functions are making the criticism vaguer and less significant, reducing the quantity of a related item, and reducing certainty and obligation (wajnryb, 1994). syntactic devices syntactic mitigation devices account for mitigation strategies that are realized with the grammaticalization of politeness through the syntax of the language (morallo, 2019). the subcategories include tense shift, aspect shift, negating, interrogative structures, modal verbs, clause structures, and finally person shift. tense shifts allow the speakers to be politer and to mitigate their message. when the speaker chooses to use the past over the present, they distance that event from the present. shift to present, on the other hand, occurs when the speaker wants to show solidarity with the addressee. aspect as a grammatical category is concerned with how the action described by the verb is perceived, such as whether or not it is ongoing, continuous, recurring, or instant. pragmatically, aspect shift makes the event more uncertain and less specific. examples include nominalization using the -ing form to focus on the process that make the criticism more acceptable, such as “making them aware” rather than “make them aware” (wajnryb, 1994, p. 238). next, negation as a mitigation device is used to “mitigate rather than eliminate the representation of the negated concept” (giora et al., 2005, p. 83). negation serves the purposes of stating remarks that are considerably less informative, reducing the power of direct criticism, and letting the speaker reduce the criticism from an obligation to an option. for instance, “it’s not necessarily the best way to learn” (wajnryb, 1994, p. 244). another type of syntactic mitigation device is interrogative structures. they are basically questions used as a mitigation strategy by supervisors to transform the criticism into a polite request. supervisors make use of questions as an alternative to statements in that they give the opportunity to alter an “i” statement into a “you” question, turning criticism into obvious inquiry, as in “were you happy with the language analysis?” (wajnryb, 1994, p. 246). moreover, modal verbs are used as a source of pragmatic exploitation to reduce the assertiveness of the critical feedback. they can suggest a myriad of meanings such as degree of probability, attitude, and politeness (morallo, 2019). as the final syntactic strategy, person shift can come in shift to the third person, shift to the first person, or shift to the second person in the ambivalent form. shifting to third person gives the supervisor the opportunity to disguise the direction of the critical feedback, as in the example “i thought it worked well, but it wasn’t always consistent.” mitigation occurs with the shift to the first person by the supervisor focusing the conversation on him/her to create a sense of solidarity. finally, shift to second person removes the specificity of the person to whom the feedback is directed to, thus reducing the face-threatening effect of the criticism such as 8 gatesol journal 32(1) “instead of you always asking the questions is to get them ask you a question,” which makes it less obvious to tell whether the supervisor is referring to the teacher as the addressee or people in general (wajnryb, 1994, p. 265). methodology participants there are two main participants in this study. the first one is the researcher who acted as the peersupervisor and the second one is the subject who works as an efl teacher in turkey to whom the peer-supervisor delivered feedback regarding her lessons. both participants are native speakers of turkish with a high proficiency in english as a foreign language. the second participant voluntarily took part in the study as she saw it as an opportunity to improve her awareness concerning her classroom teaching practices. classroom observations are normally conducted in the private elementary school the subject is working for with teachers observing each other’s classes as part of their professional development, but the subject thought doing the study with the researcher would provide her with new perspectives as the researcher is pursuing her graduate studies in the field. the relationship between the participants allowed for a peer-supervisory context as they had known each other for more than 10 years studying at the same high school and pursuing similar career paths. data collection procedure after agreeing to take part in the study, the teacher informed the principals in her school to receive their permission for her classes to be observed by an outside researcher. following the principals’ and parents’ permission, the peer-supervisor and the teacher met for a pre-observation conference the main purpose of which was for the researcher to familiarize with the lesson plan, course materials and objectives. moreover, the goal of pre-observation conference was also to decide on areas of concern the teacher might want to address in the post-observation conferences (yürekli, 2013). after the pre-observation conference, the peer-supervisor observed a third grade class in which native turkish-speaking students are learning english as a foreign language. the peersupervisor observed the same classroom three times, following each observation with a postobservation conference where she delivered her feedback to the teacher. thus, the data collection procedure involved six steps. first, the peer-supervisor observed the lessons via zoom as all classroom instruction went online in turkey in the spring 2021 semester due to the covid-19 pandemic. while observing the lesson, the peer-supervisor took field notes while recording the lesson. the second step involved transcribing the lesson and analyzing it based on the field notes. the second step also involved deciding what type of feedback the peer-supervisor would like to give to the teacher based on the points discussed in the pre-observation conference. in the third step, the peer-supervisor scripted the feedback she wanted to deliver to the teacher using the mitigation devices conceptualized by wajnryb (1994). the next step included the post-observation conference where the peer-supervisor delivered her feedback to the teacher and the two discussed issues related to the classroom instruction over zoom. in the fifth stage, the teacher wrote in her reflective journal her thoughts about the post-observation conference using a google doc for the peer-supervisor to peruse. in the final step, the peer-supervisor transcribed the conversations between herself and the teacher and went through the teacher’s journal for a detailed analysis. doğan faitour 9 data analysis qualitative methodology was used to analyze the data from the scripted and the actual feedback delivered in the post-observation conferences as they constituted the main data in this study. qualitative methodology allows for an interpretation process which includes immersion in the data with the purpose of understanding phenomena with respect to the meanings people make of them (richards, 2009). for the current study, qualitative methodology gives the opportunity to analyze the language used in the post-observation conferences to understand the extent to which the language allows for a growth-oriented and non-threatening peer-supervisory context for the teacher. to achieve this, the peer-supervisor transcribed the conversations that took place in each post-observation conference. the peer-supervisor then analyzed the language used in her feedback in terms of what mitigation devices were utilized and what responses the teacher gave to the feedback to investigate whether the mitigation devices were successful in creating a nonthreatening and growth-oriented supervisory context. each instance of delivering feedback and the teacher’s responses were extracted from the transcription to conduct a detailed analysis of the interaction between the peer-supervisor and the teacher. moreover, the journals kept by the teacher were also analyzed qualitatively to understand if the language used in the peer-supervision process was effective in increasing teacher awareness regarding her instruction. findings language analysis in the first post-observation conference for the first post-observation conference, there were two main points of feedback (“f”) that the peer-supervisor wished to deliver to the teacher partly based on what they discussed in the preobservation conference. the scripted feedback was as follows: poc1 f1: “i noticed that students hardly ever use the target language, except for when answering your questions.” poc1 f2: “i thought the lesson was really great, but i was just wondering, could you also add more student-centered activities?” the way these scripted utterances was conveyed during the post-observation conference was similar to how they were structured. below is the actual conversation that took place between the teacher and the supervisor: f1: 1 s: i also noticed during the lesson [teacher’s name] that students hardly ever 2 use the target language. except for answering your questions. what do you 3 think is the reason for that? 4 t: as you said, how can i say, the levels of students are very different. i should 5 have some differentiation activities for them. i should check every student whether 6 they are listening or not. sometimes they are just there physically but mentally they 7 are not there so i need to check every student. i always yes i always follow english 8 but sometimes i need to speak turkish because when you speak english all the 9 time, they get blind. if you warn them in english sometimes they just don’t care but 10 when i switch to turkish, their attention is on me. so it works, when they are not 10 gatesol journal 32(1) 11 on task i switch to turkish. but they are not very actively using english. that’s one 12 of my problems. when it’s face-to-face education, it’s okay. they are always 13 pushing themselves to speak in english but when they are online something 14 happens. i don’t know why. maybe it’s because they are at home. they have 15 different distractive tools around them. sometimes the parents are talking, 16 sometimes their toys are there. something on the background is on. […………] so 17 i should always force them to speak in english. f2: 1 s: i thought the lesson was great. but i was just wondering if you could add more 2 student centered activities. 3 t: yeah, it was one of my concerns you remember. this was one of my concerns. 4 teacher talking time is a lot. maybe it is about my attitude. i always try to control 5 the students. and maybe i should give them more control. it was just a few minutes 6 i told them to become the teachers. but you’re right. i should give them more 7 opportunity. i feel like they are just passive listeners. answering the questions. in lines 1 and 2 of the first comment, the teacher used clause structure to formulate her criticism which is among the syntactic mitigation devices. clause structures are constructed with a perception word in the main clause with the criticism incorporated in the subordinate clause. they are used to reduce the effect of the criticism while allowing the listener to voice an opinion or even disagree. in the data, by asking the teacher what she thought could be the reason, the supervisor already invited the teacher to respond to her criticism. the perception word notice still suggests subjectivity which gives the teacher room to reject or disagree with the feedback. in fact, the teacher provided an explanation from her point of view that indicates that the way the peersupervisor structured her language allowed for negotiability for this particular criticism. additional feedback involves both syntactic and semantic mitigation devices. the way it was scripted was slightly different than how it was uttered during the conversation. in the script, the peer-supervisor used a clause structure, but then added a direct question to it. however, during the actual conversation, the peer-supervisor used a question embedded in the clause structure. the reason for this could be that embedded questions as conceptualized by wajnryb (1994) may have also sounded more natural to the peer-supervisor at the time of the conversation. the implications for this change in the peer-supervisor’s language are twofold. first, by studying the mitigation devices prior to the post-observation conferences, the peer-supervisor develops an unconscious understanding of the use of mitigation devices. second, despite the fact that the peer-supervisor is a non-native speaker of english, her supervisory language reflects the real language used by the supervisors who are native speakers of english. turning back to the analysis of the language, the peer-supervisor used both embedded questions and degree hedges to deliver her feedback that served three purposes in mitigating her language. first, embedded questions provide the criticism to be hidden in the subordinate clause which reduces the effect of what would have been a face-threatening act with a direct question. another purpose allowed by embedded questions is to pre-empt defensiveness from the addressee by delaying the criticism. finally, the word just reduced the force of the criticism by turning it into a mere inquiry. as a reaction to this criticism, the teacher admitted that it was one of her concerns, but instead of being a passive listener of the feedback, she identified her own areas of improvement and suggested ways to tackle with the perceived problem. in fact, in her journal entry after the poc, the teacher noted “you helped me realize that students shouldn’t just be passive listeners, but doğan faitour 11 they should also use english themselves” addressing the peer-supervisor. this shows that the language structured in this particular comment not only mitigated the criticism, but also addressed the awareness aspect of teaching as discussed by freeman (1989), which is one the most fundamental aims of post-observation conferences. language analysis in the second post-observation conference for the second post-observation conference, there were three pieces of main critical feedback that the peer-supervisor wanted to deliver. the scripted feedback was the following: poc2 f1: “i just kind of felt that this lesson was a bit rushed.” poc2 f2: “i think it’s important to allow time for students to realize one thing is finished and something else is starting.” poc 2 f3: “the instructions were a bit confusing for the students.” f1: 1 s: about this lesson, i just kind of felt that it was a bit rushed. i felt like there 2 was a lot of exercises to cover. you had reading. and then playing finger games, 3 showing right hand and left hand, and the name of the fingers, trying to write 4 without using the thumbs. i felt like there were a lot of things to do. 5 t: yes, i totally agree with you. i’m always in a rush. i don’t know why. always 6 in a rush. i’m using exaggerated gestures, at the end of my lesson i feel very tired. 7 maybe i should make my lessons more condensed. i should have just one or two 8 activities. i don’t know why i’m just trying to cover all the activities. and calling 9 students all the time listen to me, eyes on me. i think you’re right. i totally agree 10 with you. f2: 1 s: ……. there also students couldn’t follow what to do. i thought it’s important 2 to allow time for students to realize one thing is finished. 3 t: you’re right. i should slow down. sometimes when i share the screen, it takes, it 4 comes a little bit later than i see, they see it later than i show it. so when i say read, 5 they say teacher wait i can’t see the screen. so they say no i can’t see the screen 6 and i’m like no come on read (laughs). that problem. i should slow down. f3: 1 s: i also thought [teacher] that the instructions were a bit confusing to 2 students. […….] maybe this waiting time. you know like allowing students time 3 to think and absorb something. it might be also related to the first point. it was a bit 4 rushed. because there were a lot of things you were trying to cover all of them. 5 that’s why even the instructions they were fast. 6 t: they were fast and i don’t like silence in the lesson. because that’s why i’m not 7 waiting. i should wait. they should understand first but i don’t wait. when there’s 8 silence i feel like they are not listening, they are busy with another thing, so they 9 shouldn’t get silence. they should answer my questions immediately. i should ask 10 them one more. i should keep them engaged. but you’re right i should slow down 11 and wait. they should think, they should internalize and then they can answer it. 12 gatesol journal 32(1) lines 1 and 2 of feedback 1 demonstrate that the scripted and the actual criticism are almost identical. they were structured with two semantic mitigation devices: degree hedges and authority hedges. by using the phrase “i felt that,” the supervisor dresses up the critical feedback as a subjective opinion. if we have a look at the criticism without the main clause, “it was a bit rushed,” even with a degree hedge it sounds like a more direct criticism. moreover, wajnryb (1994) states that use of perception words suggests a cogitative act instead of a declarative act, which gives the addressee room to agree or disagree. in fact, the response from the teacher starts with the expression “i agree with you.” therefore, mitigation in this feedback occurs in two aspects. first, the supervisor assumes the responsibility for thinking a certain way about the lesson, which can be countered to be incorrect. second, by disguising the criticism in the subordinate clause, the supervisor reduces the effect of what could have been a more direct and face-threatening criticism. the second comment is also almost the same as the one scripted before the postobservation conference. the data indicates that authority hedges were utilized in the structuring of the second comment as well. the purpose of authority hedges was discussed above, so the analysis will continue with the lexical hedge also used to mitigate this particular criticism. specifically, the peer-supervisor used style-shifted lexemes. style-shifted lexemes allow for the non-technical language that reduces the distance between the supervisor and the teacher. the main argument the peer-supervisor is trying to make here is that teacher’s wait time was not enough for students to understand what was going on in this lesson. even though the term wait time would be used later in the post-observation conference, the peer-supervisor first establishes a sense of solidarity by delaying the use of more technical language until after a conversation occurs on the importance of wait time. indeed, the response to this feedback from the teacher was a reflective one in which the teacher reflected on her own teaching practices, which can be seen in lines 6–11. as for the third piece of feedback, the scripted and the actual versions are almost the same with a slight difference in prepositions. as well as using authority hedges like the previous ones, the peer-supervisor made use of aspect shift as a mitigation strategy. aspect shifts serve to make the criticism less precise, and as discussed earlier, change the focus to the description of the event to reduce the bluntness of the criticism. the feedback would have been more direct and threatening if it was structured as “your instructions confused the students or you confused the students with your instructions.” by highlighting the process instead of the person who was the agent of that process, the criticism is mitigated, and focus is shifted to the event itself, not the teacher. the same also applied to the next feedback in line 5 of f3. the peer-supervisor again referred to the instructions as being fast, but not the teacher who was fast in giving the instructions. this resulted in the teacher referring to the instructions as being too fast, rather than saying, “i was fast.” another important aspect of this mitigation strategy for the current study is that the peer-supervisor had not scripted this part of the feedback before the post-observation conference. however, during the conversation, she made use of aspect shifts as a mitigation strategy unconsciously, which also suggests that her language reflects the supervisory language used by actual supervisors as conceptualized by wajnryb (1994). after the post-observation conference, the teacher mentioned in her journal that she could not realize she did not have enough waiting time for students and that the supervisor was in a position of observer instead of a judge. this indicates that mitigation devices used in the second post-observation conference were helpful in structuring a non-threatening supervisory context and post-observation conference environment. data also indicate that the language used by the peerdoğan faitour 13 supervisor again addressed an aspect of the teacher’s instruction that she was not previously aware of, which suggests that the second post-observation conference was also effective in raising teacher’s awareness regarding her teaching practices. language analysis in the third post-observation conference in the third post-observation conference, there were two main critical feedback the peer-supervisor delivered. the following is the scripted feedback the peer-supervisor structured before the conference. poc3 f1: “it’s always good to show the questions to the students before the listening or reading to give them a purpose for the task.” poc 3 f2: “i was just wondering if you could allow some time first for the students. i know you don’t want to use breakout rooms, but i thought it would be really helpful if students worked on them [the questions] by themselves.” for the third post-observation conference, the difference between the scripted and actual feedback was more apparent and the two feedbacks were somewhat intertwined with each other. below is the transcript for both. f1 & f2: 1 s: [….] i was thinking maybe you could show the students the questions first 2 t: hmm yeah [taking notes] 3 s: because i think it’s always good to show the questions to the students before 4 the listening or reading tasks to give them a purpose for the 5 t: hmm, yeah you are right. you are right. they were listening but they didn’t know 6 why they were listening. which parts they should focus on. you are right. 7 s: that’s what i was thinking. and also i think it was great that students were trying 8 to answer the questions, they were mostly engaged. but i was just wondering if 9 you could allow some time for the students before the whole class discussion. i 10 know you don’t want to do breakout rooms, i understand that it can be tricky for 11 online lessons but it can be really a great opportunity for students to practice first 12 t: hmm 13 s: before trying to answer, they can just, or maybe at least. or what do you think? 14 t: yeah, actually you are right maybe i could tell students to think about the 15 questions individually first. for example you got one minute, everybody will focus 16 on the question 1, and then i will get your answers in silent. everybody will be 17 muted. or as you said i could put them in breakout rooms. there are four breakout 18 rooms there are four questions, each room will focus on one question maybe. and 19 then you’ll discuss it. as can be seen in the data, the peer-supervisor again resorts to using authority hedges to mitigate her language in line 1. this might be because she is a peer-supervisor and does not want to imply any expertise on her part, especially with the teacher having more experience in teaching efl than the peer-supervisor. as discussed earlier, authority hedges are used to put the responsibility of the criticism on the supervisor, which suggest that the assertion might not be correct, but it is the supervisor who thinks this way. moreover, the use of modal verbs and adverbs 14 gatesol journal 32(1) such as maybe and could serve to decrease the harshness and the certainty of the criticism respectively. what’s notable here is that this sentence was not scripted prior to the post-observation conference and happened in the flow of the conversation. this indicates that the peer-supervisor’s spontaneous language in the third post-observation conference also started to reflect the mitigated language supervisors used in wajnryb’s (1994) study. the second comment in line 3 involves person shift. person shifts from the second person to third person allow for the agency of an action to become anonymous and removes the responsibility of the action from the teacher. the criticism here lies in the fact that the teacher did not show the questions before the task which led to a confusion for the students. continuing from the previous feedback, instead of emphasizing that the teacher did not show the questions to the students, the peer-supervisor structures the language with a shift to third person singular to reduce the effect of the criticism. the third comment which can be seen in lines 8–9 include both an embedded question and conditional subordination to mitigate the criticism. while the embedded question gives the teacher the opportunity to not respond to supervisor’s message, conditional subordination changes what would have sounded like an instruction from the supervisor to an indirect suggestion. indeed, instead of stating it as an obligation, the peer-supervisor is offering the use of break-out rooms as an option. the teacher’s response clearly demonstrates how the hearer also perceives the message as an optionality. her use of modal verbs indicate probability from her part, that she might use the breakout rooms in her future lessons. presenting the criticism as an option also led the teacher to reflective thinking that even provided ways how to implement the suggestion in her lessons. following the post-observation conference, the teacher wrote in her journal that she wanted to use breakout rooms for her coming lessons. she also commented on how the way peersupervisor gives suggestions motivates her more by saying, “your use of language while giving suggestions encourages and motivates me more.” the important thing to notice here is that she referred to the feedback as suggestion, which was the purpose of using particularly the conditional subordination. discussion issues in language teacher supervision for non-native supervisors as previous research indicates, the fundamental purpose in conducting post-observation conferences is to create a non-threatening environment of professional learning and growth for the teacher, resulting from the effective use of mitigation strategies. for the language teacher supervisors who are also non-native speakers of english, mitigating their supervisory language in english poses a distinct challenge, one that requires pragmatic competence. non-native supervisors who speak english as a foreign language might not have the pragmatic competence in english as pragmatic competence is mostly overlooked in the efl context (alqurashi, 2019). as use of mitigation devices might be demanding for even the native speakers of that language, the difficulty only increases for non-native speakers. therefore, it is crucial for non-native supervisors to practice supervisory language skills containing mitigation devices that would create a nonthreatening supervisory context. taking into consideration the analysis above, this study has implications for non-native language teacher supervisors concerning the language used in post-observation conferences. the data collected in the study suggest that studying and consciously making use of mitigation devices as conceptualized by wajnryb (1994) could be an effective tool for non-native supervisors to learn doğan faitour 15 about and familiarize themselves with supervisory language. the data also show that even the unconscious language used by the peer-supervisor started to reflect a mitigated language that address the areas of concern for the teacher in a way that protects the face of the teacher, as a result of the non-native supervisor having studied mitigation devices prior to the post-observation conferences. indeed, the teacher’s responses to the feedback and journal entries on her thoughts about the post-observation conferences show that the non-native peer-supervisor managed to create a safe and non-threatening supervisory environment for the teacher. cross-cultural effects of turkish on mitigation in l2 english studies focusing on politeness and mitigation in turkish found that turkish speakers prefer to mitigate their language in ways brown and levinson (1987) termed “on-record negative politeness” (as cited in dogancay-aktuna & kamisli, 1997; erozan & shibliyev, 2007). on record negative politeness refers to attending the hearer’s needs to be independent and not to be imposed on by others, by using linguistic devices to compensate for the message that would otherwise be face-threatening. as such, language teacher supervision requires mitigating the language used in the post-observation conferences to reduce the effects of the feedback given to the teacher, which can also be considered on-record negative politeness. since previous research suggests that turkish speakers also employ such language strategies to protect the face of the hearer in facethreatening situations, we can argue that the participants’ l1 has implications on the success of the peer-supervision process in this study in that turkish speakers are familiar in similar discourses in their l1. similar communication styles in both their l1 and l2 might have informed the peersupervisor and the teacher’s understanding of the mitigation devices in ways to create a growthoriented and non-threatening peer-supervisory context to increase teacher awareness regarding teaching practices. implications for further research literature on the language teacher supervision have mostly focused on teacher perceptions concerning the classroom observations and post-observation conferences, but they have not said much about the language used in the post-observation conferences by non-native supervisors (kahyalar & yazici, 2016; rahmany et al., 2014; rehman & al-bargi, 2014; shah & al harthi, 2014). however, investigating what kind of language strategies non-native language teacher supervisors use in the post-observation conferences is crucial as non-native teachers of english can also be in supervisor positions, sometimes even supervising native teachers. therefore, this study has implications to encourage further research that would be helpful in improving the supervisory skills of non-native supervisors by conceptualizing the language strategies they employ in the post-observation conferences. this study also has implications for cross-cultural considerations for the non-native language supervisors’ l1. the data in this study showed that the peer-supervisory context was successful in creating a non-threatening and growth-oriented post-observation conferences to increase teacher awareness. however, the meaning making processes of the peer-supervisor and the teacher informed by their l1 might have also affected the outcome of the study, since their l1 turkish and l2 english use similar conversational styles in situations where the face of the listener might be threatened by the message. therefore, further research could also be conducted in which the non-native supervisor and the teacher are from different linguistic backgrounds to investigate the effects of l1 in the success or lack thereof, in creating a non-threatening supervisory context with the effective use of mitigation devices in english. 16 gatesol journal 32(1) conclusion language 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(2013). the six-category intervention analysis: a classroom observation reference. elt journal, 67(3), 302–312. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccs102 ____________________________________________________________________________ received: august 17, 2021 | accepted: november 26, 2021 | published: april 18, 2022 https://oaji.net/articles/2020/8307-1595891614.pdf https://oaji.net/articles/2020/8307-1595891614.pdf https://doi.org/10.4304/jltr.5.2.348-359 https://doi.org/10.4304/tpls.4.8.1558-1568 https://doi.org/10.1017/s0261444808005612 https://doi.org/10.4304/tpls.4.8.1593-1602 http://www1.ascd.org/ascd/pdf/journals/jcs/jcs_1992summer_waite.pdf http://hdl.handle.net/1959.14/23100 https://doi.org/10.1016/s0378-2166(97)00076-3 https://doi.org/10.1016/s0378-2166(97)00076-3 https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccs102 gatesol journal2022, vol. 32(1), pp. 4–17 learning how to use mitigation devices: a peer-supervisory context between a non-native peer-supervisor and a non-native english teacher doi:10.52242/gatesol.127 issn: 2331-6845 