Science Literacy for English Language Learners: A Qualitative Study of Teacher Practices in European Private International Schools

Abstract

Worldwide, an influx of immigration, has increased the heterogeneity of our classrooms. In light of today’s heightened teacher accountability, standards and high-stakes assessment, traditional ways of teaching need to change in order to effectively serve the needs of our culturally and linguistically diverse students. Therefore, a qualitative-interpretive study was conducted with ten science teachers working in six private, international schools based in Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, and Belgium with a focus on teacher perceptions, beliefs, teaching practices, and instructional resources used to teach science to English Language Learners (ELLs). Emphasis was placed on the specific teaching modalities and resources that science teachers use to support ELLs in their classrooms. It also addressed the needs of teachers to effectively teach science to ELLs. In response to the research questions, the thematic analysis revealed that the teachers working in these schools had a good awareness of ELL needs in science and wanted to make a difference for these learners. They perceived ELLs as quiet, but hardworking and motivated students. To some degree, the teachers used all seven modalities of teaching: reading, writing, speaking, listening, doing, interpreting, and representing, with or without the use of technology, and considered multimodality to be the most effective way to make science accessible to ELLs. Though not exhaustive, this research offers a set of pedagogical tools and resources for pre-service and in-service teachers to meet the needs of their ELLs in science. Furthermore, based on the teacher responses, the research identifies five key areas which are necessary for science literacy development of culturally and linguistically diverse students. These include: (i) teachers’ positive mindset and awareness towards ELLs in science; (ii) school leadership and administrative support for ELLs; (iii) time, multimodality, and specialized professional development (PD) to scaffold science for ELLs; (iv) the provision of realistic opportunities to collaborate with the ELL or English Language Development (ELD) teacher; and (v) co-teaching science with an ELL/ELD teacher. I would hereby like to share the findings of this thesis and make these accessible to fellow science teachers in the hope that they will refer and/or utilize the proposed strategies and resources in their daily practice.