The Missouri Reader Vol. 37, Issue 2 | Page 8

LESSONS FROM ESOL TEACHERS IN MISSOURI
Sarah Nixon and Daisy I. Barrón Collins

opulation demographics are
constantly shifting throughout the United
States; consequently, these changes are visible
in classrooms across the nation. According to
the National Center for Educational Statistics
(NCES) in 2009, 21% of elementary and
secondary students spoke a language other
than English at home (11.2 million children). Yet
most teachers do not have the training to
successfully educate English Learners (ELs); only
2.5% of teachers have degrees to teach
ESL/bilingual education (National Center for
Educational Statistics, 2012). Additionally, while
66% of the states have teacher standards for EL
instruction, only California, New York, and Texas
require all prospective teachers to demonstrate
competency in EL instruction (NCES, 2006).
As our country grows more culturally and
linguistically diverse, the need to provide
quality instruction for English Learners becomes
more urgent. Therefore, more teachers are
needed who are prepared and trained to teach
students whose native language is not English
(Ariza, 2010; Lucas, Villegas, & FreedsonGonzalez, 2008). According to Holmes,
Rutledge, and Gauthier (2009), “Even in the
smallest school districts, it is common for
teachers to have one or more students with
limited or no command of the English language
in their classrooms” (p. 285). Since many ELs
spend most of their day in regular classrooms, it
is essential that mainstream classroom teachers
are able to implement effective strategies for
language learners into their everyday
curriculum.
These statistics prompted us to find out
what teachers of English to speakers of other
languages (ESOL) are doing in their classrooms

to help students gain English language
proficiency and become successful students.
More specifically, we wanted to know which
literacy strategies and materials are currently
being used by ESOL teachers in K-12 schools in
Missouri. This article shares some of the
findings from a larger state-wide research study
that investigated instruction for English
Learners (ELs) in public schools in Missouri. Our
research questions sought to: (a) recognize
effective instructional strategies for English
Learners, (b) identify the types of literacy
materials ESOL teachers’ use, and (c)
acknowledge the advice ESOL teachers have for
classroom teachers. recognize effective
instructional strategies for English Learners and
identify the types of literacy materials ESOL
teachers’ use. We are hopeful that our findings
can be applied to regular classroom teachers
who have students who are English Learners.

Theoretical Framework
Our study was framed by the theoretical
perspectives
of second
Sarah Nixon is a Literacy
language
Professor at Missouri State
acquisition,
University in Springfield,
comprehens
and Daisy I. Barrón Collins
ible input,
is a Doctoral Candidate in
and
Educational Leadership
languageand Policy Analysis at the
rich literacy
University of Missouri in
instruction.
Columbia.
In order to
understand
the challenges of second language acquisition,
we believe teachers need to recognize the
differences between social language and
academic language. Students will learn basic
©The Missouri Reader, 37 (2) p.8