educating english language learners dr paez

Chapter One
The Impact of Professional Development on Middle School Teachers
Educating English Language Learners
Introduction
The nation’s public schools now enroll large numbers of students who have
been identified as English Language Learners. According to Macias and Kelly
(1996), 3,184,696 (7.3%) English Language Learners were enrolled in public and
non-public schools. The largest enrollments were in California, Texas, New York,
Florida and Illinois. Spanish was spoken by more than 77% of the English
Language Learners. Even though a number of weaknesses have been identified
in the collection and reporting of education statistics for English Language
Learners (e.g.., August & Hakuta, 1997; Hopstock & Bucaro, 1993), a sense of
the challenges facing American schools can be seen from work carried on by a
number of researchers. In 1992 for example, 42% of students aged 16 to 24
reporting difficulty with English had dropped out of high school (McArthur, 1993).
The challenges of educating students who do not speak a societal language are
enormous. In the United States, it is not only a question of teaching English;
rather, it is a question of providing large numbers of students with access to the
curriculum at the same time that they are learning English.
The academic gap of English Language Learners is striking. Many urban
districts are faced with the challenge of changing and accommodating their
traditional teaching practices to make English Language Learners effective

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participants in current educational institutions. Part of this challenge is to inform
educators of the importance of understanding their own embedded belief
systems, stereotypes, and misperceptions. A key element in becoming an
effective educator is recognizing one’s own limitations in educating new
generations of English Language Learners. Educational systems are, for the

most part, traditional institutions in which the agents representing the educational
structures preserve the status quo. Vision, courage and leadership influence the
education of English Language Learners most effectively. A new set of
modifications in beliefs is needed to progressively modify the way educational
institutions operate. In this age of high stakes testing and accountability, the
burden on quality is in the effectiveness of educating all students.
The population of school-aged English Language Learners has consistently
and significantly increased over the past decade. This has transformed the
Veritasville Public Schools from a suburban district into one of the smallest urban
school districts in the state. The U.S. Department of Education’s National Center
for Educational Statistics defined an "urban" school district as one in which 75%
or more of the households served are in the central city of a metropolitan area.
Eleven million American children (one out of every four) attend urban schools.
43% of urban school children are minority. Most urban children attend schools in
which more than half of the students are poor and they are predominantly or
completely minority. Millions of urban children fail to meet even the minimum
standards on national tests. In the poorest school districts, up to two-thirds of

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students achieve below "basic" levels on national tests. Lastly urban schools are
larger, have higher truancy, double the violence and less parental involvement
than non-urban schools (U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for
Educational Statistics, 2002). Urban districts in major cities across United States
have a greater percentage of indifferent students, the emergence of students
from single parent families, poorer and more culturally impoverished students,
fewer teachers to address the needs of these students, and the increasing
apathy of the more affluent public members (Frady, 1985, p.11).
In regards to teachers there is no single component so central and important

to our hopes for saving the public school system as the teachers. They are on
the front line, having daily contact with the students, and are basically the ones
that struggle to revive schools. But the continual worsening of conditions in urban
schools for teachers - low pay, overcrowded classes, increased responsibilities,
outdated and meager resources - are disintegrating the number and quality of
teachers in them. Salary becomes a major issue when considering the quality
and worthiness of teachers in urban compared to suburban schools. For
example, in 1991 a teacher in a suburban school got paid 20% more annually
than a teacher in an urban school (Kozol, 1991, p.30).
The schools of this nation are only as strong as the communities of which
they are a part (Frady, 1985, p.85). With less money available from federal, state,
and local governments due to the fact that the money is being allocated
elsewhere, schools are forced to rely on the people of their communities. But

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declining test scores, racial and social class prejudices, and inadequate school
facilities have people abandoning the urban schools.
This change has taken place progressively, with different ethnic groups
moving into the community. The primary ethnic groups entering Veritasville
Public Schools are Spanish-speaking children, mainly from Uruguay, and a fast
growing population of Brazilian students. These students are impacting public
schools, the instruction of our students, and the preparation of our teachers.
The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) requires that there be a “highly
qualified” teacher in every classroom by the end of 2005. In addition to the new
No Child Left Behind legislation, last November the State of Massachusetts
passed a Bilingual Law that requires English Language Learners to stay in
sheltered immersion programs for no more than one year. School districts face
the challenge of preparing and training large numbers of teachers while retaining

a focus on quality and mastery of the curriculum content predetermined by the
curriculum frameworks.
Until the beginning of 2003, the Veritasville Public Schools educated its
English Language Learners in Transitional Bilingual Education (TBE), also known
as early-exit bilingual education (Ramirez, 1991). Now, unless a waiver is
requested and approved, all English Language Learners must receive Sheltered
English Instruction Sheltered English Immersion, an approach using simple
English, context and supplemental materials to explain meaning in content
areas. The goal is to mainstream students quickly. The program requirements

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apply to all English Language Learners in all districts. All districts must provide
sheltered English instruction to English Language Learners, either in a separate
sheltered immersion classroom or within a regular classroom. These changes
include every language and there is no minimum number of students per specific
language. Regular classroom teachers should anticipate that the English
Language Learners in their classrooms will increase because students may exit
Sheltered English Immersion classrooms in one year or districts may provide
Sheltered English Immersion within regular classrooms. Teachers who provide
Sheltered English Immersion must be qualified (Title VI of the Civil Rights Act).
District professional development plans must include training in second language
acquisition. (Chapter 71, Section 38Q). No subject matter may be taught in any
language other than English; teachers may use a "minimum" amount of the
child's native language "when necessary." This provision does not apply to
foreign language classes or special education programs. School staff who
"willfully and repeatedly" refuse to implement the statute's provisions can be held
liable and cannot be insured for this liability. Those found liable will be barred
from working in public schools for 5 years. The provisions took effect for the

2003-2004 school year.
Unfortunately for many districts, including Veritasville Public Schools,
students stop receiving adequate bilingual services at the time they enter regular
education classrooms. When students exit the bilingual program and enter the
mainstream classrooms they are still lacking many necessary skills to be able to

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compete academically with their monolingual English counterparts. One of the
main reasons for this is the fact that students learn language at different rates.
The acronyms BICS (Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills) and CALP
(Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency) refer to a distinction between basic
interpersonal communicative skills and cognitive academic language proficiency.
The distinction was intended to draw attention to the very different time periods
typically required by English Language Learners to acquire conversational
fluency (BICS) in their second language as compared to grade appropriate
academic proficiency (CALP).
Conversational fluency is often acquired for a functional level within about two
years of initial exposure to the second language, whereas at least five years is
usually required to catch up to native speakers in academic aspects of the
second language (Collier, 1987; Klesmer, 1994; Cummins, 1981a). Failure to
take into account the BICS/CALP (conversational/academic) distinction has
resulted in discriminatory psychological assessment of bilingual students and
premature exiting from language support programs (e.g. bilingual education in
the United States) into mainstream classes. After the November 2002 election,
traditional bilingual programs were changed to one-year immersion programs. As
a consequence, the structure of language acquisition programs will be redesigned without the solid research foundation necessary for effective language
acquisition programs. This change may increase the achievement gap between
monolingual English speaking children and English Language Learners.

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It is a belief of the researcher that the future of a fair progressive society lies
in the academic advancement of every child, especially the children that
traditionally are being left behind. A wealth of knowledge and talent goes
untouched because of the inability to effectively make these children full
participants of the sometimes complex social and academic environments. One
of the fundamental changes needed in education is that every single teacher be
adequately prepared to educate every student in his or her classroom. The
achievement gap between racial and language minorities and mainstream
students, with or without bilingual programs, is unacceptable at this time in our
history. It is of extreme importance that every teacher contributes to the
education of racial minority students and English Language Learners in the same
way that they try to help every other student.
The professional development program implemented in this leadership project
allowed teachers to be exposed to different opportunities in order to increase
their knowledge about this population. Teachers studied their own perceptions,
limitations, and biases when educating English Language Learners. Teachers
also learned about effective strategies for teaching English Language Learners.
This study seeks to learn how participation in this professional development
program will impact the beliefs and teaching practices of the participants who
educate English Language Learners.
This study conducted a triangulation data analysis. Data was collected initially
from the questionnaires given to all middle school teachers. This information was

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used to determine the supports necessary to effectively teach English Language
Learners and to reconfigure professional development efforts. As part of the data
collection procedures, evidence was collected from a survey, interviews and
observations of the classroom interactions of the selected teachers with English
Language Learners. The data was collected and analyzed to determine emerging
patterns before and after the professional development.
The professional development program offered as a component of this study
allowed teachers to be exposed to different opportunities such as in-service
training via staff meetings and focus group discussions during professional
development days. There were approximately ten hours of high quality
professional development over the school year in the middle schools. This
opportunity was designed to provide teachers with an understanding of the
language acquisition process at different times in the life of English Language
Learners. Additionally, teachers were exposed to an average of fifteen hours of
new teaching strategies to improve the education of English Language Learners.
These opportunities were offered outside school. Lastly, the teachers had a sixhour professional development day to share and discuss the material presented.

Statement of the Problem /Focus of the Study
Regular education teachers have limited training, lacking the skills necessary
to adequately educate English Language Learners. Teachers’ expectations when
educating English Language Learners are lower for these students than those of

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regular education students. The initial assumption is that having limited language
ability translates into limited cognitive abilities. English Language Learners come
from a variety of backgrounds with different knowledge and skill levels. Some are
very well versed in issues that often are not being taught in American schools.
Others lack the basic foundations in reading and writing to keep up with the

standard American curriculum.

Research Question
The question is: Will professional development specially designed to promote
high expectations and effective instruction for English Language Learners
change the beliefs and teaching practices of middle school regular education
teachers educating English Language Learners?

Theoretical Rationale
Teachers treat English Language Learners differently. They may do so out of
dislike or prejudice or they may do so because they perceive them as having
different cultural needs, abilities and temperaments. Teachers do not necessarily
strive to create the same product with all children, nor do they necessarily adopt
the same teaching strategies to achieve the objectives they have in mind.
Indeed, teachers probably vary greatly in how much influence they think they
have on children. Teachers are apprehensive about developing new teaching

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practices that involve their sensitivity to individual differences in children and their
ability to adopt appropriately different modes of treating them.
Regrettably, unqualified or under-qualified teachers teach many programs
designed to educate English Language Learners. Teachers who are making
progress toward completing alternative language program qualifications are
sometimes replaced in the alternative language program classroom by
unqualified or less-qualified teachers; replaced teachers are reassigned to
mainstream classrooms.
Another important aspect of the quality of programs for English Language
Learners is related to the policy-making procedures. Lisa Delpit (1995) describes

that the “culture of power” is deciding for students they do not know. They
routinely set up programs without the participation of the group that is most
affected by those decisions. Consequently, principals evaluate and supervise
teachers of English Language Learners and support educational programs for
English Language Learners without expertise in or knowledge of alternative
language program methods.
Valdez (1997) states that language policy is an important concern and
children that do not speak the societal language face many difficulties in the
school. Churchill (1986) also makes reference to the importance of quality
program issues because language minorities have emerged as a central concern
of national education policy. Many states are facing the challenge of how to react
to a negative climate about teaching the English language to English Language

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Learners. It is argued that children should be quickly taught English, implying that
the learning is an easy transition. However, it is unclear whether many policy
makers truly understand the difficulties of teaching a language while maintaining
high expectations and appropriate content instruction.
Teacher embedded belief systems contribute greatly to the quality of teaching
practices. Many researchers such as Freire (1970) indicate that racism and
whiteness influences American schools. The fact that nearly 90 percent of
American schoolteachers are White and nearly 50 percent of all American school
children are people of color begins to become an alarming issue.
Teacher beliefs also impact the kind of environment that is formed in schools
and classrooms. The importance of trust is a critical component of ESL pedagogy
where a safe, risk-embracing environment is the fundamental setting for
successful language learning. Howard Becker (1952) claimed that teacher’s
perception of the child’s ability to do school work determined the actual teaching

technique. Another study by Kohn (1973) revealed that teacher expectation of
Mexican students was based on students’ appearance. The central premise of
this study was the concept of stereotyping of students and how the teachers are
influenced by it. This stereotyping, based on appearance, has been researched
on black children by Labov (1972), body build by Lerner (1969), social class by
Mazer (1971), first names by Harari (1973), and culture by Leacock (1971), Rist
(1970), and Delpit (1995). Another study by Pitt (1956) claimed that teachers
label the students by ‘bright’, ‘average’, or ‘slow’, developing the corresponding

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intellectual expectations. This is more clearly defined by Millard (1971), Brophy
and Good, (1970), and Rosenthal (1968) with the concept of self-fulfilling
prophecies enforced by teachers.
Urban teachers need more than the generic teaching competencies
articulated by current professional teaching standards. More importantly teachers
need to understand their own belief systems and internal biases. Once they gain
a full understanding of themselves as individuals they need to develop
competence. This knowledge should reflect their understanding of local cultures,
the political economy, the bureaucratic structure of urban schools, community
and social service support networks serving urban centers, and the effective
practices for English Language Learners.
High quality professional development is a central component of teacher
effectiveness in educating English Language Learners. The research is very
consistent on how professional development should be implemented. Fullan
(2001) presented how to better influence change in school settings. Twenty-five
years ago he concluded that “one-shot workshops were ineffective; topics were
selected by people other than those receiving the in-service, and follow-up
support for improvement was rare” (Fullan, 2001, p. 270). Presently, school

districts have failed to learn from that conclusion, as most schools continue to
employ the one-shot workshop method, or at best, fail to provide for consistency
and follow-through as training is provided. Making improvements in our

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instructional program must happen in context, yet so often that is not the case
(Fullan, 2001).
Darling-Hammond (1998) declared that teacher quality is the biggest predictor
of students’ success. Her analysis of teacher performance and student
achievement articulated the need to rely on research and best practices when
making decisions for student learning; however, that is not the case when we
consider typical professional development opportunities that are provided for
teachers. Presently it is generally accepted that teacher learning takes place at a
series of one-shot workshops, referred to as “hit-and-run” sessions by DarlingHammond (Darling-Hammond, 1997, p. 2), or with the help of a consultant hired
to share information with a large group of staff members. This is the traditional
way districts address their professional development needs.
As noted by Darling-Hammond and McLaughlin (1995), professional
development strategies that are successful in improving teaching share several
features:
•

It must engage teachers in the concrete tasks of teaching, assessment,
observation, and reflection that illuminate the processes of learning and
development.

•

It must be grounded in inquiry, reflection, and experimentation that are

participant-driven.

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•

It must be collaborative, involving a sharing of knowledge among
educators and a focus on teachers’ communities of practice rather than on
individual teachers.

•

It must be connected to and derived from teachers’ work with their
students.

•

It must be sustained, ongoing, intensive, and supported by modeling,
coaching, and the collective solving of specific problems of practice.

•

It must be connected to other aspects of school change (DarlingHammond & McLaughlin, 1995, p. 598).

The National Professional Staff Development Council (NSDC, 2004) has
developed a comprehensive definition of high quality professional development.
In essence, it is professional development that:
•

improves the learning of all students and deepens educators' content
knowledge

•

provides teachers with research-based instructional strategies to assist
students in meeting rigorous academic standards, and

•

prepares teachers to use various types of classroom assessments
appropriately.

Successful teachers have a deep understanding of the subjects they teach,
use appropriate instructional methods, and apply various classroom assessment
strategies. These teachers participate in sustained, intellectually rigorous
professional learning regarding the subjects they teach, the strategies they use to

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teach those subjects, the findings of cognitive scientists regarding human
learning, and the means by which they assess student progress in achieving high
academic standards.
An important part of professional development is the analysis of students’
performance. Classroom assessment, when appropriately conducted, can
improve student learning as well as gauge achievement. It is essential that
teachers have a range of methods at their disposal that promote learning as well
as measure it. Therefore, successful professional development efforts regularly
include opportunities for teachers to acquire formative classroom assessment

techniques appropriate to the subject matter and types of performance called for
in state or local standards (NSDC, 2004).
In their role as instructional leaders, district and school administrators must
make teacher content knowledge and skills related to curriculum, instruction, and
assessment high priorities. They do so by designing teachers' workdays to
include ongoing professional learning and collaboration and by providing
teachers with data to assist with formative classroom assessment. In addition,
they create a district and school culture of innovation and continuous
improvement by visiting classrooms regularly to observe instruction and by
engaging in frequent conversations with teachers individually and collectively
about instruction and student learning (NSDC, 2003).
Corcoran (1990) explained that to meet rising expectations, teachers need to
deepen their content knowledge and learn new methods of teaching. They need

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more time to work with colleagues to critically examine the new standards being
proposed, and to revise curriculum. In addition to this, in a different study, he
explained that workshops and in-service programs often have a negligible impact
on teachers’ knowledge, skills, and dispositions because they usually place
teachers in a passive role, fail to consider their previous experiences or the
contexts in which they work, and offer few opportunities for follow-up (Corcoran,
1995; Little, 1993). Supervision frequently fails to foster professional growth
because administrators lack experience in the teachers’ content area or have
little time to provide assistance to those who need it (Corcoran, 1995; DarlingHammond & McLaughlin, 1995). Corcoran reviewed what is known about
professional development - where it is now and where it needs to be. He also
researched the organization of professional development programs, the costs,
and the effects on practice. In addition to these he suggests the following
principles:

•

Professional development should provide teachers with meaningful
opportunities to actively engage with new disciplinary ideas and acquire
new instructional strategies (Little, 1993; Corcoran, 1995).

•

Professional development should take individual teachers’ backgrounds
into consideration as well as the contexts in which they work (Little,
1993). This stands in contrast to traditional approaches which typically
present the same content to teachers with different levels of experience
and who work in different settings. When professional development takes

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into account teachers’ experiences and work contexts, it is more likely to
result in substantive changes in their practices.
•

Lastly, given that implementation of complex reforms often requires
support over a number of years (e.g., Fennema et al., 1996; Stein &
D’Amico, 1998), professional development should provide teachers with
sufficient time and follow-up support, including regular feedback from
accomplished practitioners (Corcoran, 1995; Elmore, 1997).

Kaufman (1997) describes a professional development process that assists
teachers in implementing successful instructional strategies by using equity as a
framing tool for decision-making. Teachers are able to improve the educational

outcomes for all students by creating a framework around which to initiate
change. Teachers learned to approach change using the following elements:
•

A stance of critique and inquiry.

•

Data-driven decision making.

•

Investigation of best practices, including instruction, and curriculum.

This framework is a means of eliminating the fragmentation that typically
accompanies the implementation of reform.
In another research study, Mary Kennedy (1999) criticized the one-shot
workshop approach to professional development and offered a number of
proposals for how professional development should be designed and organized.
Kennedy’s research indicates that:
•

Programs should be lengthy rather than brief.

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•

Teachers should have a role in defining the content rather than having the

topics imposed on them.

•

The scheduled meetings should be interspersed with classroom practice
rather than concentrated into a short period of time.

•

Teachers should work together in groups, rather than in isolation.

Other research studies on professional development around content areas
also highlight common effective principles. Susan Loucks-Horsely (1996)
discusses some conclusions from the Professional Development Project of the
NISE. She presents a set of common principles that are found in excellent
professional development experiences for science and mathematics educators:
•

Developing a clear, well-defined image of effective classroom learning and
teaching.

•

Providing teachers with opportunities to develop knowledge, skills and
teaching approaches.

•

Using instructional methods to promote learning for adults which mirror the
methods used with students.

•

Strengthening the learning community of science and mathematics
teachers.

•

Preparing and supporting teachers to be leaders.

•

Providing links to other parts of the educational system.

•

Making continuous assessment part of the professional development
process.

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Despite the comprehensive research of different theorists presented in
Chapter Two of this dissertation, it is clear that theories on teacher beliefs, quality
programs for English Language Learners and professional development for
teachers educating English Language Learners are remarkably underdeveloped.
Although many researchers are working to develop theories on teacher learning,
much of the work within teacher education has relied on traditional behaviorist
notions that ignore the teachers belief systems and the, social, dynamic, and
generative quality of learning that can support the development of competencies

needed in urban schools. Theories of teacher learning must account for and
perhaps promote a much-expanded concept of teacher competence.

Significance of the Study
The major factors contributing to the significance of this project are the No
Child Left Behind federal legislation and the new Massachusetts Bilingual Law.
These laws have created new requirements to ensure high quality instruction for
every student. Urban districts, primarily, need to provide teachers with the
knowledge and skills necessary to achieve success among English Language
Learners.
Teachers educating English Language Learners in urban districts have an
immense challenge in front of them. They are the products of an educational
system that has not provided adequate training to modify their beliefs and skills
toward language minority children. The tight labor market for teachers places

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low-resourced urban districts at a competitive disadvantage relative to betterresourced suburban districts. Although periodic economic downturns may
temporarily heighten interest in teaching jobs, historically, this easing of pressure
has not had a lasting impact on the supply of qualified teachers in urban schools.
Hence, urban students who face the challenges of poverty, immigration, limited
English proficiency, and/or racial discrimination have the least access to a
qualified teaching force. Often overlooked by short-term policy initiatives is that
the shortage of qualified urban teachers is fueled at least as much by high rates
of teacher turnover and attrition as it is by insufficient numbers of qualified people
being attracted to teaching. Therefore, in addition to increasing the supply of new
teachers, it is important to understand what makes teaching in urban schools a
fulfilling career and offer policy solutions to enact that end. There are early
indications that a key to such career satisfaction and longevity lies in creating

cadres of urban teachers who have the technical, collegial, and political support
required to have an impact on the quality of students' lives in classrooms and
communities. Longer-term solutions to the crisis in teaching require addressing a
more broadly defined and intertwined program of research on urban teacher
competency, teacher recruitment, and career longevity.
Consistently urban districts have maintained the same professional
development support and the same hiring practices. Urban districts must revise
professional development and redefine hiring practices to accommodate the
challenges of adapting to and effectively educating diverse communities. The

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research by Fullan (1993), Elmore (2000), and Darling-Hammond (1998), among
others, points to the great need for the reorganization of professional
development in educational systems. Changes are difficult and regretfully
presently detrimental for the students that struggle the most, the population of
school-aged English Language Learners.
Elmore (2002) has conducted extensive research on professional learning
communities. The main objective of his research is to bridge the gap between
standards and achievement. He proposes four guiding principles for professional
development in education:
•

The content of professional development should focus on what students
are to learn and how to address the different problems students may have
in learning the material.

•

Professional development should involve teachers in identifying what they
need to learn and in developing learning experiences in which they will be
involved.

•

Professional development should be primarily school-based and built into
the day-to-day work of teaching.

•

Most professional development should be organized around collaborative
problem solving.

Professional development of teachers and other educators must be regarded
as a lifelong process. Education reform necessitates that educators engage in a
process that ultimately helps all students achieve at high levels. This professional

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development must include a comprehensive system of formal and informal
experiences that continues throughout an educator’s career.

Design of the Study
This study was a qualitative study of middle school teachers’ beliefs about
English Language Learners. The researcher used a triangulated analysis of data
collected about teachers’ beliefs towards English Language Learners before and
after the introduction of professional development focused on teaching English
Language Learners. Data was collected through teacher questionnaires,

interviews and observations. Ten teachers were selected to interview, survey,
and observe, five from each of the schools in which the Sheltered Immersion
classes are located. Pre-and-post questionnaires, comparisons, and contrasting
themes were analyzed using Excel to tally the responses from the three
instruments. Responses from the questionnaires and interviews were coded and
organized by salient themes. The researcher provided samples of actual
responses to illuminate themes identified.

Limitations of the Study
The main limitation of this study was history. Two main events, the federal No
Child Left Behind Act and the new Bilingual Law in Massachusetts have created
a new awareness of teaching practices and the quality of education offered to
English Language Learners. The No Child Left Behind Act and the new Bilingual

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Law are influencing a new sense of awareness that could compromise some of
the results. Therefore, it is difficult to attribute all of the findings from this study
solely to the professional development program implemented. The researcher,
throughout this study, ensured that the environments in which the ten teachers
operated were similar. Exposing them to the same professional development
opportunities was important in maintaining that all training was offered to both
schools equally. This prevented teachers from gaining exposure to different
information about educating English Language Learners that might have
influenced the validity of the study.
Another limitation in this study was the researcher’s role in the process. As
the administrator in charge of the academic performance of English Language
Learners, the influence on teachers was significant. This limitation may have
prevented teachers from responding as openly and honestly as they might have.

On the other hand, the researcher’s involvement in this process may have
positively influenced teachers to change their beliefs, teaching practices, and
expectations when educating English Language Learners.
Along with the researcher/participant influence in the study, consideration
must be given to the bias of the researcher. The researcher is a very strong
leader in the area of quality education for English Language Learners; therefore,
he brings a unique subjectivity to the overall analysis and outcomes of the study.
In order to control this limitation and to preserve the validity of the study, the
researcher followed a strict protocol to analyze the evidence as it was presented.

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Smith (1991) reflected that any perspective carries a degree of bias that impacts
measurements. In a qualitative case study, the researcher is limited by being
human, a necessary yet limiting condition in this situation that carries with it the
possibility for mistakes having occurred, prospects having been missed, and
biases having obstructed (Merriam, 1998).
Regression, maturation, testing, and selection are not considered a threat to
the validity of this study. On the other hand, instrumentation is always a threat to
validity when the same person conducts the pre-and-post interviews and
observations. The researcher, in order to avoid this threat, was careful about
following the questionnaires, the interviews and the observations exactly as they
were written.
Another threat to external validity was the selection of the participants. The
subjects were asked to voluntarily participate. A purposeful sampling of teachers
was the main method of subject selection to balance gender, professional
experience, level of education, and years of experience. Finally, it was
recognized that mortality is always a threat to validity because teachers could
have opted out of the study at any time.

Definition of Terms
Academic Language: Language used in formal contexts for academic subjects.
The aspects of language connected with literacy and academic achievement.
This includes technical and academic terms.

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BICS: Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills, face-to-face fluency, including
mastery of pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar. English Language learners
typically acquire conversational language used in everyday activities before they
develop more complex, conceptual language proficiency.
CALP: Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency, language proficiency
associated with schooling and the abstract language abilities required for
academic work. A more complex, conceptual linguistic ability that includes
analysis, synthesis and evaluation.
Culture: The customs, lifestyle, traditions, behavior, attitudes, and artifacts of a
given people. Culture also encompasses the way people organize and interpret
the world, and the way events are perceived based on established social norms.
Culture is a system of standards for understanding the world.
Engagement: When students are fully taking part in a lesson, they are said to be
engaged. This is a holistic term that encompasses listening, reading, writing,
responding, and discussing. The level of students’ engagement during a lesson
may be assessed to a greater or lesser degree.
English Language Learners: Children and adults who are learning English as a
second or additional language. This term may apply to learners across various
levels of proficiency in English. English Language Learners may also be referred
to as non-English speaking (NES), limited English proficient (LEP), and nonnative speaker (NNS).

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