What is it about?
Language policies in the U.S., impact the education of children whose first language is not English. All too often, the dialogue among educators and policymakers about what constitutes best practices for people learning English- fails to include the voices of those they serve. In this study, a cohort of teacher candidates studying at a university in South Texas; who had themselves experienced bilingual education, as children, provide their critical views of the bilingual education practices they experienced as children. They also, provide their critical analysis of current practices they observed in local schools, as student teachers.
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Why is it important?
Too often, the dialogue among educators and policymakers about what constitutes best practices for EBs fails to include the voices of those they serve. This study fills this gap.
Perspectives
The study has implications for language teacher preparation worldwide, where language policies are coercive, suppressing the minority language and culture. For teacher educators, it is important to consider the perspectives of these students who will become educators. and to provide the space where they can overcome the effects of the oppressive system to become agents of change.
Professor (Retired) Alcione Negrão Ostorga
University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Preparing bilingual teachers on the U.S./Mexico border: including the voices of emergent bilinguals, International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, February 2018, Taylor & Francis,
DOI: 10.1080/13670050.2018.1438348.
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