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Article: Keeping pace in suburbia and rural America: teaching English language learners is a novel challenge to school districts in some unlikely places.
- Article from:
- School Administrator
- Article date:
- November 1, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 American Association of School Administrators. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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When I ask administrators in rural and suburban districts how much time their English language learners spend with teachers who are qualified to teach them, most say "30 to 45 minutes a day" or "our beginners usually spend an hour or two a day in ESL." Someone generally says, "We don't have the funds for an ESL teacher at our school," and a few others might respond, "I don't really know."
I next ask, "How much time do your ELLs spend with teachers who aren't qualified to teach them?" and many respond, rather sheepishly, "the rest of the day" or "most of the time."
Most mainstream teachers and administrators have not been trained in teaching English to ...