A PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP FOR MAINSTREAM CLASSROOM TEACHERS TO SUPPORT ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS (ELLS)

Abstract

As Canadian classrooms become more diversified, there is a rising need to train mainstream classroom teachers to provide adequate support to English language learners (ELLs). Despite the extensive previous research and publications on the support of ELLs, mainstream classroom teachers have not received sufficient training, support, or guidance for implementing various strategies and pedagogies on how to effectively support ELLs in mainstream classrooms (Brewer & McCabe, 2014). This project is an exploration of effective teaching pedagogies that can be used to guide mainstream classroom teachers in creating an optimal learning environment for ELLs. A review of current academic literature was undertaken to identify the challenges faced by ELLs in Canadian mainstream classrooms and research informed strategies that can provide assistance to mainstream classroom teachers in teaching their ELLs. To best prepare the many mainstream teachers to meet the needs of ELLs, a workshop was created to enhance professional development opportunities for educators interacting with ELLs. The workshop seeks to encourage mainstream teachers to employ effective and informed teaching practices when providing support to ELLs. The workshop has been broken into a four-session series to be offered consecutively over two days in a way that professional learning builds and solidifies over the course of each session. The workshop should be administered with the people who are not specialists, as a way of enhancing accessibility.