English Language Learners in the Southeastern United States

Considerations for Practice, Policy, and Advocacy

Ester J. de Jong, Eric Dwyer, Mary Elizabeth Wilson-Patton

• Publisher: Lexington Books
• Year: 2024
• eBook ISBN: 9781666952414
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education Theory & Practice

This book examines the impact of and response to the rapidly growing English language learner (ELL) populations in the southeastern United States on K-16 schooling. Using examples of policy and practice from seven states (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee), the book explores how the contemporary context of accountability regimes and neoliberal tenets affect educational responses to the increased linguistic and cultural diversity in schools and how these realities may be different from when traditional states (such as California or Florida) were developing their responses to (im)migration. The collection of chapters addresses key questions of teacher preparation, effective infrastructures, and frameworks for serving ELLs, dual language bilingual education, and advocacy efforts at the state, district, and local level in the Southeast. The authors describe promising practices in each state, but also note the need for more systemic, statewide approaches that resist the enduring monolingual discourse that has historically characterized much of ELL schooling. They call for transformative policies and practices that take current research into account and that stress the centrality of pluralistic principles to design effective schools for ELLs.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-Title
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Introduction
• 1 State of the Southeast States: Demographics, Policies, Programming, and Teacher Preparation
• 2 Community Colleges and ESL Placement: Examining Policies and Processes through an Equity Lens
• 3 Redressing Inequities for Multilingual Students and Families in Florida
• 4 Equity and Dual Language/Immersion in North Carolina: A Vision Deferred
• 5 Infusing ELL Expertise in Initial Elementary Teacher Preparation: Alabama and Florida
• 6 ESOL Teacher Professional Development in Georgia: Working with and against State and Local Language Education Policies
• 7 Fostering Teacher Candidates’ Competence in Leading Instructional Conversations with Multilingual Learners through Practice in a Virtual Classroom: A Conversation Analysis Study
• 8 English Learners in the Volunteer State: Policies, Practices, and Proposed Priorities
• 9 Leadership and Advocacy for ELLs in Arkansas: An Interview
• Epilogue: Forging a Pluralistic Path Forward
• Index
• About the Editors and Contributors