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Syftet med detta arbete var att ta reda på vilket stöd det finns för språkminoritetselever, dvs elever i USA som inte har engelskan som modersmål, i de amerikanske klassrummen. Jag intervjuade fem amerikanska lärare i Atlanta. Jag ville ta reda på hur medvetna dessa lärare är om de speciella behov språkminoritetselever har. De fem intervjuade lärarna kände till grundläggande ideer om att undervisa språkminoritetselever i sina klassrum men ingen av dem hade läst om det under sin utbildning. Undersökningen indikerar att andra språk än engelska inte har så stor betydelse i skolor i Atlanta och att lärare inte får tillräckligt med undervisning om språkminoritetselever. Något som är överraskande eftersom det är förutspått att år 2020 kommer tjugofem procent av de amerikanska eleverna ha ett annat modersmål än engelska. / In order to find out what support there is for ELL students, students with a first language other than English in mainstream classrooms in the US, I have interviewed five teachers in Atlanta. I was interested in seeing how much these teachers know of the special needs these students have. The five teachers interviewed knew basic idea of how to instruct ELL students in their mainstream classroom but no one had been taught anything about second language acquisition or theories about the needs of ELL students in their education. This study also indicates that other languages than English are not of importance in the schools in Atlanta and teachers are not taught how to deal with ELL students. This is surprising since predictions say that in 2020 twenty five percent of students in the US will speak a first language others than English.

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In the United States STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education is increasingly being promoted as a key component of preparing students for the reality of an increasingly technology infused society and workforce. As the population of students classified as English Language Learners (ELLs) continues to grow across the United States the need for STEM educators to be prepared to effectively educate these students is of increasing concern. The task of preparing this group of learners to succeed in a STEM-infused society is a joint effort between specialized linguistic courses in the K-12 education system as well as the STEM educators outside of these specialized courses. As such, focus on creating policy and preparation models for STEM teachers to acquire the necessary skills to effectively serve the ELL population needs to be rooted in targeted analysis of the connections between STEM educators and ELLs. This dissertation is comprised of two exploratory research studies that examine STEM teachers' preparedness to educate ELLs using secondary analysis of the 2007-2008 and 2011-2012 School and Staffing Survey Teacher Questionnaire (SASS TQ) datasets. The first study focuses on national and regional analysis of how STEM teachers' degrees, state-level certification areas, and professional development participation reflect potential indicators of preparedness to educate ELLs. Concurrently, this study examines ELL participation in STEM courses nationally and regionally through the percentage of STEM teachers who had ELLs in their overall service loads of students as well as the average number of ELLs in those service loads. Quantitative analysis showed drastic differences between regions as well as differences in ELL participation and teacher credentialing between the STEM disciplines. The second study utilizes both the 2007-2008 and 2011-2012 SASS TQ datasets to make comparisons in STEM educators credentialing and ELL participation in STEM courses over the four year time span between the datasets. National analysis of ELL participation in STEM courses showed that in all of the STEM disciplines the percentage of teachers who had ELLs in their total service loads of students increased. The growth of ELL participation differed across disciplines and across regions, however, nationally by 2012 over half of all STEM educators reported having ELLs in their service loads of students. Despite the growing participation of ELLs in STEM courses, the rates of STEM teachers' participation in ELL specific professional development activities largely stagnated over the four year span. The findings of these studies provide valuable information to frame discussions of STEM teachers'preparedness to meet the needs of a growing population of ELLs. / PHD / The growing number of students classified as English Language Learners (ELLs) in the public school system within the United States has increased educational researchers’ attention on this unique group of learners. Students classified as ELL have specific language needs that must be addressed in unison with their education in other disciplines. Within the disciplines of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education there has been a lack of national analysis of how teachers are prepared to meet the needs of this growing population of students. This dissertation is comprised of two complimentary studies that use a national dataset to analyze potential indicators of STEM teachers’ preparedness to work with students classified as ELLs by examining their credentials related to educating ELLs. The first of the two studies use regional and national analysis to examine how the rates of STEM teacher credentialing related to ELLs differs among the STEM disciplines and across the United States. The second study used multiple datasets to analyze changes across a four year time span in the rates of ELL participation in STEM teachers’ courses as well as STEM teachers credentialing related to ELLs.

A large number of English language learners (ELLs) in secondary school are long-term ELLs who have attended public schools in the United States for at least seven years, having received English language support services, yet have not acquired English proficiency (Capps, Fix, Murray, Ost, Passel, & Herwantoro., 2005). Formal or informal programs and educational services to address the particular needs of long-term ELLs are scant to non-exist (Zehr, 2010). In spite of the growing presence of long-term ELLs in secondary schools, little research has been conducted about their academic challenges. Due to the scarcity of research, effective practices for long-term ELLs in secondary school are very limited (Ruix-de-Velasco & Fix, 2000). Research is needed to better understand risk factors associated with dropping out, retention, and the high incidence of disproportionate representation of long-term ELLs in special education programs. Equally absent from available literature are the voices of students themselves. This study aims to expand the existing database about long-term ELLs' academic challenges from the perspective of students themselves about their language and academic learning experiences. A qualitative, naturalistic inquiry (NI) approach was utilized to explore the perceptions of long-term ELLs about their learning experiences in the context of their school history, including program placements, special education referral, and academic outcomes. Thirteen long-term ELLs at a high school in metropolitan area of Texas were participated in this study. Data were generated from semi-structured, in-depth interviews and various documents, including students' cumulative folders, language proficiency assessment records, and the state assessment data, and analyzed using a grounded theory approach. The findings of the study indicate that participants experienced multiple layers of lack of opportunity to learn as they moved through the educational process. Participants perceived themselves as English-proficient, motivated learners who were successful in spite of challenges they had experienced, which they attributed mainly to their limited development of academic language proficiency in English. The study also revealed a gap between participants' postsecondary aspirations and the reality of their academic underachievement, which raises questions about the adequacy of general educational programs for this population and appropriate identifications of ELLs with disabilities. / text

English language learners (ELLs) develop their reading by engaging in diverse literacy activities in the learning contexts of multiliteracies. I investigated ELLs' experiences and their use of strategies when they read computer-based texts at home and in school. In addition, I identified a variety of influential factors that affected the ELLs' use of reading strategies when they read computer-based texts in both research contexts. This research was conducted at homes and at three public elementary schools. Participants were two fourth-grade and two fifth-grade ELLs, four parents, and five classroom teachers. The study included observations, interviews, verbal reports, documents, field notes, and reflective journals. My data analysis processes consisted of five steps and resulted in an understanding of the ELLs' use of strategies and literacy experiences when they read computer-based texts in home and school contexts. I collected data from April 2010 through December 2010. The findings indicated that the ELLs used 15 strategies when they read diverse computer-based texts. All the ELLs created their multi-dimensional zone of proximal development (ZPD) and dialogued with others, themselves, and texts in both non-linear and dynamic ways. The ELLs' specific patterns of using the strategies contained both similarities and differences in each context. In addition, (1) ELLs' electronic literacy knowledge and experiences, (2) parents' and teachers' guidance and interest for computer-based text readings, (3) ELLs' purposes for reading computer-based texts, (4) the language of computer-based texts, and (5) technology equipment in the contexts all influenced the ELLs' use of reading strategies at homes and schools. There are two implications for parents and teachers. First, even though limitations exist, parents and teachers need to play more active roles in supporting their children's efficient and productive use of strategies and computer technology for their computer-based text reading. Second, to enhance the ELLs' literacy development in the learning contexts of multiliteracies, a home-school connection is necessary.

Language policy reform movements have increased accountability in order for schools to improve student achievement and measure the progress of English language learners. The number of English language learners (ELLs) has grown significantly in the school population, yet the level of academic achievement for this population continues to lag. Language planning and policy provide critical decisions about how to measure what students know in all subjects. In 1999, the 76th Texas Legislature approved the assessment of the state curriculum to account for student learning while nationally the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) requires assessment and accountability to measure what students know. Long term English language learners (LTELs) in high school are of particular concern because they have not been able to meet standards on the state's assessments. These assessments are used for national NCLB accountability under Annual Yearly progress (AYP) indicators, the state's accountability and the Texas graduation criteria. The purpose of this study has been to examine the impact of educational language planning and policy on LTELs who have lived and attended US schools for more than four school years.

The English language is widely used throughout the world and has become a core subject in many countries, especially for students in the upper elementary classroom. While textbooks have been the preferred EFL teaching method for a long time, this belief has seemingly changed within the last few years. Therefore, this study looks at what prior research says about the use of authentic texts in the EFL upper elementary classroom with an aim to answer research questions on how teachers can work with authentic texts, what the potential benefits of using authentic texts are and what teachers and students say about the use of authentic texts in the EFL classroom. While this thesis is written from a Swedish perspective, it is recognized that many countries teach EFL. Therefore, international results have also been taken into consideration and seven previous research studies have been analyzed in order to gain a better understanding of the use of authentic texts in the EFL classroom. Results indicate that the use of authentic texts is beneficial in teaching EFL. However, many teachers are still reluctant to use these, mainly because of time constraints and the belief that such texts are too difficult for their students. Since these findings are mainly focused on areas outside of Sweden, additional research is needed before conclusions can be drawn on the use of authentic texts in the Swedish upper elementary EFL classroom. / <p>Engelska</p>

The education of emergent bilinguals in the United States is overtly and covertly shaped by social, political, and institutional ideologies about languages and speakers of languages other than English. Using a multiple case study design, this study sought to explicate the often-complicated intersection of outsider institutional and societal ideologies with the insider lived experiences of emergent bilinguals in schools. The population of the school under study uniquely positioned emergent bilinguals as not only the linguistic minority but also the numeric minority, a population dynamic notably underrepresented in the literature. Using a positioning theory framework that focused on the normative constraints that support meaning making during social interactions, this study explored how primarily monolingual English-speaking teachers and peers interactionally positioned three fourth grade emergent bilinguals, as well as how these emergent bilinguals reflexively positioned themselves. Data collection efforts consisted of multiphase observations of classrooms including the creating of sociograms and fieldnotes, interviews with emergent bilinguals, teachers, and key peers, as well as a localized artifact analysis. Findings suggested that the emergent bilinguals unique backgrounds contributed to their variable reflexive positioning, as well as teachers' variable interactional positioning. Additionally, peer positioning and institutional norms contributed to emergent bilinguals having limited access to academic language development opportunities.