Introduction to TESOL. Kate Reynolds

I’m looking for the book, A Tale of Two Cities, by Dickens. When will it be back?” Social language can be speaking to someone in person, on the phone, or texting with abbreviations and emojis. According to Cummins’ (1979) research, it takes 1–3 years to acquire social language.

      Cummins distinguished social from academic language. Academic language is the language we use to engage with academic learning. For example, in history classes, books, and documentaries, one hears and reads many descriptions of historical time periods, such as the feudal period. The lives of the wealthy elites, the crafts people, and the agricultural laborers would be described. For historical descriptions, we need to know many adjective forms, past tense verbs, among other language. Science fields have descriptive language as well. For instance, they may describe different attributes of animals or plants. The language demands for academic learning can be subject specific and cognitively demanding; therefore, Cummins indicated that it takes between 5 and 7 years to acquire academic language. It could take up to 10 years, if the learning was interrupted by moving from place to place or other events that caused them to change schools or be away from school for a period of time. TESOL educators have advocated so strongly on these topics that general educators now take teacher preparation courses on working with ELLs and the concepts have permeated the standards of various disciplines.

      Advocacy about ELLs and special education referrals

      Another cause for advocacy is ELLs and special education referrals. English language learners are more likely to be referred to special education than native-speaking peers due to a lack of understanding on the part of educators about the processes and challenges of learning an additional language simultaneously with an academic subject (de Valenzuela et al., 2006). Through advocacy, TESOL professionals volunteering with TESOL International Association developed a position statement to help protect ELLs from being placed in the wrong educational setting (TESOL International Association, March 2007).

      Advocacy about qualifications for teachers of ESL/EFL/ELT

TESOL educators encounter other misunderstandings about the body of knowledge and skills needed to work successfully with ELLs, which affect our professional treatment as well. A common myth in the public arena is that to teach a language one need only be a speaker of it. This myth implies that educators do not need any formal preparation to teach English. One basic example to dispel this myth is that in any ESL/EFL/ELT course the teacher needs to be able to explain the differences in form, meaning, and use of regular past tense and past progressive verbs. Professional preparation is required to understand the forms and the differences, present the forms, develop lessons on the forms with activities and materials, and assess learning of them. This is only one micro example of many that illustrates the body of knowledge and skill that TESOL educators need to develop to teach ESL/EFL/ELT, and, therefore, professionals with this knowledge should be treated professionally.

      Advocacy about professional recognition

      Due to the prevalent myths and misconceptions about second language teaching and learning, TESOL educators frequently report a lack of professional recognition and respect among their educational peers (TESOL International Association, June 2008). This is visible on university campuses when IEPs are not located in academic departments, and ELLs do not receive language credit for speaking in two languages or studying English at university, for example. It can be observed when K–12 classrooms are assigned that are not on par with the general education classes; TESOL educators sometimes need to hold ESL/EFL/ELT classes in the library, or even worse in hallways and stairwells. In EFL settings, individuals are hired to teach English based solely on being a native speaker, for instance. Situations like this are inequitable and TESOL professionals and professional organizations strive to advocate for parity for ELLs and the field.

      Local, regional, and national communities’ beliefs influence leaders to make laws related to program design, instruction, placement, and assessment of ELLs. At times, lawmakers and leaders are informed by professionals and professional organizations who cite research and practice. Situations do occur that prohibit a program model, such as bilingual instruction, or change the language of instruction for a university. Engagement in professional organizations helps us advocate for equitable and evidence-based educational programs, instruction, placement, and assessment for ELLs.

      TESOL International Association’s teacher education standards include the expectation that TESOL professionals engage in advocacy. Standard 5 states, “Candidates demonstrate professionalism and leadership by collaborating with other educators, knowing policies and legislation and the rights of ELLs, advocating for ELLs and their families, engaging in self-assessment and reflection, pursuing continuous professional development and honing their teaching practice through supervised teaching” (TESOL International Association, 2019, p. 11). To that end, the organization offers an annual Advocacy Summit in the Washington, DC area, in which participants learn about laws relevant to ELLs in the United States as well as strategies for advocating to lawmakers and advocacy resources (see https://www.tesol.org/advance-the-field/advocacy-resources).

      Questions for reflection

       Do you think it is important for TESOL professionals to advocate for their learners? Why or why not?

       How might you include advocacy in your current or future work?

       How might you engage others in order to support ELLs and the profession?

      Chapter Conclusions

TESOL has grown significantly over the years, both in number of educators, and in sophistication of techniques. Like most academic fields, TESOL hosts a variety of approaches, opinions, and methodologies. However, recent developments in the field have done much to unify the overall philosophy of the field and to consolidate the concept of what we do, how we do it, and how we can best prepare those who plan to enter the field. Unlike many academic fields, TESOL offers a broad range of ways for educators to begin teaching and begin applying what they have learned. At present, TESOL is seen by many academics as a “service discipline,” which exists only to serve the needs of more established disciplines. However, as this chapter has shown, TESOL is a field of study comparable with other academic disciplines, which continues to grow in terms of knowledge and resources, and has a sense of coherence and unity among the professionals within the field.

      Discussion Questions

      1 In what context are you interested in working in the future? What aspects of the context intrigue you? What else do you need to learn to work in that context?

      2 Knowing a bit about the history and breadth of the field, which areas are you most interested in exploring further? What area has this information focused your attention on and why?

      3 Why would you want to engage in professional development early in your career? Why would that benefit you?

      4 Which professional organizations are you most interested in joining and why?

      Tasks

      1 What teacher preparation do you have or want? How does it or will it help you to obtain your desired teaching position? Is there another credential you want to seek out as a result of reading this chapter?

      2 What should you do to avoid the job scams mentioned? How will you protect yourself?

      3 Design a professional development plan to outline which professional organization you would like to join, what you hope to learn, and how you plan to grow professionally over the next 5–8 years.

      4 Survey educators informally online or at your school. How do educators in other fields perceive the discipline of TESOL? Why are there challenges to professional recognition and respect in your opinion?

      Further Reading/Read and