Engaging English Language Learners in Teacher Education and Professional Development
Jason G. Irizarry

In recent years, significant attention has been given to improving the educational experiences and outcomes for students for whom English is a second, third, etc., language (Campano, 2007; Gutiérrez & Orellana, 2006; Torres-Guzman & Swinney, 2009; Reyes & Kleyn, in press). These efforts have resulted in significant changes in the ways English language learners (ELLs) are educated. However, there is still much work that needs to be done to ensure that all of our children have positive experiences in schools, that they are prepared to meet their personal and professional goals, and are equipped with the skills necessary for full participation in an ever-changing, increasingly diverse society. As initiatives to address the education of ELLs are developed, those most directly impacted by policies and practices—ELL youth and their communities—are typically excluded from meaningful participation in these efforts. During my recent keynote address at the New York State TESOL conference, I shared the findings of a multi-year participatory action research project I have been engaged in with a group of Latino youth, several of whom identify themselves or have been identified as ELLs. In what follows, I present an overview of Project FUERTE (Future Urban Educators conducting Research to transform Teacher Education), the research collaborative from which this work emanates, and offer a brief summary of the areas for consideration forwarded by the student researchers.

Project FUERTE: Expanding the Category of “Experts”
As professionals in TESOL have known for a long time, linguistically diverse students have often been positioned as a “problem” within school reform efforts—that is, students and families who speak a language other than English as their primary language are not always embraced by schools and praised for the linguistic diversity they bring to the learning community. Rather, the goal is often to “mainstream” them as quickly as possible, and little, if any, attention is given to nurturing their development in the first language. In contrast to the ways that culturally and linguistically diverse youth are positioned in schools and consistent with the goals of youth participatory action research (YPAR) (Cammarota & Fine, 2008), students participating in the project are positioned as experts of their lives and valued for the unique emic perspectives that they can bring to bear on school reform efforts.

Established in 2007, Project FUERTE is a multigenerational research collaborative comprising urban high school students, preservice teachers, graduate students, and a university professor. The goal of the project is to critically examine the quality of education in urban schools and develop research-based recommendations aimed at improving the quality of education for students who have been traditionally underserved by schools. Another significant feature of the project is that it aims to get students of color to consider teaching as a profession. Project FUERTE, therefore, not only aims to transform the preparation of teachers but also to diversify the teaching force by “home-growing” teachers of color for urban schools.

For the past two years, the project has been located at a high school where Latinos account for almost half the population of the student body and approximately one in every four students is classified as an English Language Learner. The Project FUERTE students’ focus for the study was Latino Education, broadly defined. As their research plan took shape and data collection and analysis progressed, it was evident that language was a central focus of their investigation. As students began to think about how we would use the data they collected and share their perspectives for improving education for Latino students, they targeted teachers (both preservice and inservice) and other district-based personnel as their audience and agreed to share their work at a variety of professional conferences and meetings. Engaging the student-researchers as active participants in the education and professional development of teachers marked a departure from the traditional positioning of these students within their schooling experiences. As Berto (a pseudonym), a high school member of the research collaborative who immigrated to the United States from Mexico when he was seven, commented during an interview:

“When I first came here, teachers treated me like I was dumb. I thought that as I learned more English that would go away. I speak English well now and am in all mainstream classes, but I still get treated less than. This is the first time that somebody cared about what I have to say. To be able to stand up there and express myself to teachers, that is the first time I really felt smart.” 

Students like Berto, who can communicate effectively in multiple languages, are often rendered silent within schools. Certainly, there is a personal price students pay when their voices are suppressed. However, I argue that all of us—teachers, administrators, and researchers—lose out as well by limited opportunities to benefit from learning with and from students like Berto and his counterparts. Through their presentations, as well as in a forthcoming volume showcasing their work, Project FUERTE student researchers reclaim and assert their voices and share their recommendations for improving the quality of education for Latino students and students for whom English is not a primary language.

Three Areas for Consideration
The student-researchers tackled an array of topics within their research project ranging from academic tracking to the Dream Act and from deficit perspectives to school discipline policies. Although their areas of interest and contributions to the overall project were diverse, there were several points of convergence that emerged throughout their research. Their recommendations for school-based professionals working with ELLs fall into three interrelated categories:

Sociopolitical Context of English Language Learning—The current sociopolitical climate in which ELLs are educated is characterized by discrimination based on language and efforts to significantly curb immigration from Latin American countries, which are the ancestral homes of the overwhelming majority of ELLs in U.S. schools. ELLs have become pawns in policy battles, creating a climate that is hostile and not conducive to learning. Student-researchers call for teachers to stand in solidarity with them to address these issues as part of the curriculum.

Student Identities—In addition to academic development, schools also play an integral role in the personal development of students. If we accept the supposition that quality teaching is rooted in relationships, then becoming more familiar with students’ learning preferences and cultural histories is germane to supporting the development of ELLs. Students in the project, however, call for more nuanced and complex understandings of students’ identities. They urge teachers to move beyond essentialized notions of culture and cultural identity that attribute particular traits or practices to groups and acknowledge the diversity that exists within as well as across groups of ELLs.

Linguistic Hybridity — NYS TESOL’s mission honors and affirms students’ native languages, reflecting a genuine commitment to challenge assimilationist frameworks for teaching ELLs. Students in the project speak to the importance of supporting native language development. In addition, they also suggest that teachers work with students to create spaces within school where students can express themselves freely, using the array of linguistic codes at their disposal. This may include students’ native languages and English as well as other languages and variations, including African American Language (Paris, 2009) or Spanglish (Stavans, 2003).

Conclusion
Undoubtedly, TESOL teachers are the school-based professionals most familiar with the cultural and linguistic richness of ELLs and their communities. As we work to maximize meaningful learning opportunities for our students, it is imperative that we allow their voices to be heard, not just in response to our questions or prompts, but in their own right. As demonstrated by Project FUERTE, learning from our students and engaging them as meaningful partners in school improvement efforts has the potential to inform our practice, thus improving learning opportunities for ELLs. 

References

Cammarota, J., & Fine, M. (Eds.). (2008). Revolutionizing education: Youth participatory action research in motion. N.Y: Routledge.

Campano, G. (2007). Immigrant students and literacy: Reading, writing, and remembering. N.Y: Teachers College Press.

Gutiérrez, K. D., & Orellana, M. F. (2006). The “problem” of English learners: Constructing genres of difference. Research in the Teaching of English, 40, 502-507.

Paris, D. (2009). “They are in my culture, they speak the same way”: African American Lan- guage in multiethnic high schools. Harvard Educational Review, 79(3), 428-448.

Reyes, S., & Kleyn, T. (in press). Teaching in two languages: A
practitioners’guide for K-12 bilingual educators. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin
Press.

Stavans, I. (2003). Spanglish: The making of a new American language. N.Y: HarperCollins.

Torres-Guzman, M. E., & Swinney, R. (2009). Freedom at Work: Language, professional, and intellectual development. Boulder, CO: Paradigm Press.

About the Author

Dr. Jason G. Irizarry is an assistant professor in the department of curriculum and instruction in the Neag School of Education and faculty associate in the Institute for Puerto Rican and Latino Studies at the University of Connecticut. A former middle school teacher in New York City, his research focuses on urban teacher recruitment, preparation, and retention, with an emphasis on increasing the number of teachers of color, culturally responsive pedagogy, and youth participatory action research. A central focus of his work involves promoting the academic achievement of Latino and African American youth in urban schools by addressing issues associated with teacher education.