Teacher Preparation and Instructional Strategies for ESL Students
This research paper examines the relationship between teacher preparation and ESL student performance, drawing on multiple empirical studies and theoretical frameworks. It investigates how cooperative learning, written corrective feedback, content-based instruction, and action research influence learning outcomes for English Language Learners. The paper also addresses the importance of cultural sensitivity, teacher efficacy beliefs, and professional learning communities in supporting ELL populations. Two guiding research questions structure the review: what role teacher preparation plays in student ESL grades, and which instructional strategies teachers find most effective. The paper concludes by proposing a mixed-methods research design to further evaluate the connection between teacher preparation and student achievement.
- Introduction: ESL population growth and need for better teacher preparation
- Research Question 1: Teacher Preparation and Student Grades: Impact of WCF, efficacy beliefs, and teacher credentials on ELL outcomes
- Research Question 2: Effective Instructional Strategies for ESL Teaching: CBI, action research, and student feedback preferences in ESL classrooms
- Theoretical Framework: Support, cultural awareness, and teacher-student connection for ELLs
- Research Methodology and Data Collection: Mixed-methods design using surveys, interviews, and archival data
- Conclusion: Grammar, support, and connection as keys to ESL success
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper grounds each claim in specific cited studies, including page numbers, which gives the argument empirical credibility and makes the literature review traceable.
- It uses two explicit research questions to organize the body of the review, keeping the argument focused and making the paper's structure easy for readers to follow.
- The framework section effectively synthesizes the reviewed literature into practical takeaways — grammar, support, and connection — before the conclusion reinforces them.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates literature synthesis with a research question scaffold: rather than summarizing sources in isolation, the author groups studies under two guiding questions and draws cross-study conclusions (e.g., comparing local vs. global WCF, noting the tension between belief and practice in Kim's case). This technique shows how to move from description to argument within a literature review.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with an introduction establishing the problem and population, then addresses two numbered research questions, each supported by two or more cited studies. A framework section synthesizes key themes — support, preparation, cultural awareness — followed by a methodology section outlining a proposed mixed-methods design, and a conclusion that restates the three core needs of ESL learners. A reference list and additional resources close the paper.
Introduction
The population of ESL students has grown in recent years. While the population has grown, these students have continually underperformed in ESL classes and on exams. ESL teachers must be better prepared and educated to address the hurdles ESL students experience as they learn English. Teachers must also learn to adopt new strategies that provide better learning outcomes. This research paper features articles and studies that highlight the importance of teacher preparation and ways to improve ESL instruction.
In a 2013 study, researchers drew on sociocultural theory to investigate how Grade 6 children in an intensive elementary-level ESL class supported each other while performing and engaging in cooperative learning tasks. The children, classified as older learners, demonstrated capability in engaging in linguistically oriented support, or scaffolding. The kinds of support most commonly observed in the study were other-correction and requests for assistance. "Although a variety of scaffolding strategies were in evidence, the two most frequently used pertained to request for assistance and other-correction" (Gagne & Parks, 2013, p. 188). The least-used strategies were those associated with arbitration of gist from an interactionist viewpoint. This is an important finding because teacher preparation within an ESL classroom needs to include strategies that students can effectively utilize for grade improvement.
Teacher preparation often includes reviewing material that was previously taught. However, if the classroom teacher can focus on what things mean and allow students to ask questions to figure out meaning, this could help them more than a simple review of answers. For teachers within an ESL environment to be effective, they must discuss the meaning behind words and grammar, explain to students why things are done a certain way, and allow students to have a voice in the classroom so they feel comfortable enough to ask for help.
References
Baecher, L., Farnsworth, T., & Ediger, A. (2013). The challenges of planning language objectives in content-based ESL instruction. Language Teaching Research, 18(1), 118–136. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1362168813505381
Best, K., Jones-Katz, L., Smolarek, B., Stolzenburg, M., & Williamson, D. (2014). Listening to our students: An exploratory practice study of ESL writing students' views of feedback. TESOL Journal, 6(2), 332–357.
Bunch, G. (2013). Pedagogical language knowledge: Preparing mainstream teachers for English learners in the new standards era. Review of Research in Education, 37(1), 298–341. http://dx.doi.org/10.3102/0091732x12461772
Gagne, N., & Parks, S. (2013). Cooperative learning tasks in a Grade 6 intensive ESL class: Role of scaffolding. Language Teaching Research, 17(2), 188–209. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1362168812460818
He, Y. (2015). Learning in the community: ESL teacher preparation beyond university classrooms. International Journal of Research on Service-Learning in Teacher Education, 3(0), 1–11. Retrieved from http://journals.sfu.ca/ijrslte/index.php/IJRSLTE/article/view/42
Junqueira, L., & Payant, C. (2015). "I just want to do it right, but it's so hard": A novice teacher's written feedback beliefs and practices. Journal of Second Language Writing, 27, 19–36. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2014.11.001
Samson, J., & Collins, B. (2012). Preparing all teachers to meet the needs of English language learners: Applying research to policy and practice for teacher effectiveness. Center for American Progress. Retrieved from http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED535608
Thompson, A., Li, S., White, B., Loewen, S., & Gass, S. (2012). Preparing the future professoriate in second language acquisition. In Working theories for teaching assistant development: Time-tested & robust theories, frameworks, & models for TA & ITA learning (pp. 137–168). New Forums Press. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/2292/26837
Tran, Y. (2015). ESL pedagogy and certification: Teacher perceptions and efficacy. Journal of Education and Learning, 4(2). http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/jel.v4n2p28
Additional Resources
Balch, R., & Springer, M. (2015). Performance pay, test scores, and student learning objectives. Economics of Education Review, 44, 114–125. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2014.11.002
Mohammadipour, M., & Rashid, S. (2015). The impact of task-based instruction program on fostering ESL learners' speaking ability: A cognitive approach. Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 6(2), 113–126. Retrieved from http://journals.aiac.org.au/index.php/alls/article/view/1374
Tan, M., & Turner, C. (2015). The impact of communication and collaboration between test developers and teachers on a high-stakes ESL exam: Aligning external assessment and classroom practices. Language Assessment Quarterly, 12(1), 29–49. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15434303.2014.1003301
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