Participant Structures as Professional Learning Tasks and the Development of Pedagogical Language Knowledge among Preservice Teachers

Caddo Gap Press. 3145 Geary Boulevard PMB 275, San Francisco, CA 94118. Tel: 415-666-3012; Fax: 415-666-3552; e-mail: caddogap@aol.com; Web site: http://www.caddogap.com

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22

Academic Discourse; Preservice Teachers; Metalinguistics; Academic Achievement; Second Language Learning; Pedagogical Content Knowledge; Teacher Educators; Teaching Methods; English (Second Language); Language Usage; Spanish

0737-5328

English-Language Learners (ELLs, English-Learners, ELs) are a particularly challenging sector of the student population in United States schools. They constitute an increasingly larger presence in most school districts, growing 51 percent in ten years to 5.1 million in 2006. Despite becoming more common, schools have yet to figure out ways to meet the needs of these students, who continue to lag behind in most academic achievement measures. Although "English-Language-Learner" is an important demographic category, the designation is problematic as a reference point for teaching practice among teachers and teacher educators. In this article the author argues for a shift in the definition of teaching practice for teachers and teacher educators away from "English learners" toward "language use for academic purposes" as a perspective from which to examine their practice. This self-study is an instance of a teacher educator interested in experiential, hands-on pedagogy to foster critical language awareness among preservice teachers. The author begins by proposing a re-conceptualization of teaching and teacher preparation in terms of learning outcomes, not student types. He argues that "English-Language-Learners" is (a) both too broad and not inclusive enough, (b) likely to elicit views of students as deficient, (c) not conducive to "one-size-fits-all" approaches (Reyes, 1992), and (d) lacking a widely-accepted theory or model to explain the relationship between teaching and learning. He then analyzes his students' developing awareness of academic language after completing two PLTs, one in English, the other in Spanish. After discussing findings, the author closes with conclusions and recommendations regarding academic language use as another form of pedagogical content knowledge. (Contains 1 table and 3 notes.)

ERIC

74

2011

EJ914925