Abstract This cogitation focused o...

Abstract

This cogitation focused on the attitudes that elementary teachers have toward their English language learner (ELL) students' native languages (eg Spanish) and their use in instruction. A 27-item Likert-scale examine was administered to 152 first- between the sides of fourthgrade teachers from five seminary districts in Maricopa County, Arizona. These sect districts have a large number of drills with students learning English as a secondary language. The researchers found that teachers' attitudes toward their ELL bookish mans differ significantly with the prototype of certification or endorsement they possess The bilingual-certified teachers were more supportive of their ELL close examiners using their native language in the classroom than were traditional and English as a secondary Language-certified teachers. In contrast to previous studies, the researchers lay the foundation of that the more years a teacher taught, the more his or her attitude became negative toward his or her students' native language. Implications for training of bilingual teachers are discussed.

Introduction

Teachers play a vital character in the teaching and learning processe of observers They have the power to be agents of change and are empowered to become proactive in their students' lives. Many teachers are trained to work with special impressed signs of students, including those in bilingual, special education, and English as a other Language (ESL) classes. Some teachers, however, are unprepared to work with English language learners (ELLs) and integrate them into their classrooms. Teachers who are not suitably trained can cause emotional and psychological impairment in students' educational coming times With the increasing numbers of children who speak languages other than English in our indoctrinates teachers need to be sensitive to the language and cultural privations of this population.

Attitudes toward bilingual education throw back commonly held notions of mainstream Americans that lead to negative teacher attitudes. These commonly held notions are that the United States is an English-speaking home and, therefore, English should be the language of instruction. Thus, maintenance of the native language is seen as a private affect and not the responsibility of the public sects Huddy, Cardoza, and Sears (1984) reported that racial and political symbolism is more related to attitudes toward bilingual education than is personal experience. The greatest in quantity potent symbols for participants in this particular subject of attention were associated with minorities and, more specifically, emblems associated with Latinos and aid to minorities. The public appeared to view bilingual education as a minority issue, specifically affecting Latinos. This aligns bilingual education with issues like affirmative action, particularly as they affect Latinos.

Negative teacher attitudes toward ELLs' native languages may exhibit teacher behavior that can lead to, or at least sustain, teachers having negative attitudes toward the bookish mans themselves, which in turn affects their achievement (August & Hakuta, 1997; Cummins, 2000; Diaz-Rico, 2000; Gonzalez & Darling-Hammond, 2000; Guti?©rrez, 1981) The self-fulfilling prophecy may perpetuate itself because it may be reinforced by dint of students' oral and written language. Research indicates that teachers' attitudes toward language may influence their evaluation of bookish man performance and achievement (August & Hakuta; Cummins; D?­az-Rico; Gonz??lez & DarlingHammond; Guti?©rrez) and may affect their evaluation of children's language ability (Guti?©rrez). A negative evaluation may ensue in underestimating achievement for ELLs

Ladson-Billings (1995a, 1995b) Diaz-Rico (2000) and Cummins (2000) have noted that teacher education and teacher beliefs are areas of great importance within the education of a multicultural population. Elbaz (1981) as well as Byram and Morgan (1994) reported that a teacher's knowledge is influenced by way of his or her experiences. The plan of this study is to examine the attitudes that elementary teachers have toward their ELLs' native languages (eg Spanish) and their use in instruction. In particular, the authors propos the following research questions:

1 Are there attitudinal differences toward the native languages of their ELL and the use of that language for instructional senses among elementary teachers based onward the type of certification they hold?

2 Do ethnicity and years of teaching have an validity on the attitudes elementary denomination teachers have toward ELLs' native languages and the use of these languages for instructional purposes?

Attitudes Toward Language Use

In November 2000 Arizona voter passed Proposition 203 an Englishonly law banning bilingual education. Prior to the passage of this proposition, there was an ongoing debate as to the appropriate instructional rules for ELLs. During those days, the public had many contradictory feelings and beliefs toward bilingual education. There were certain characteristics of bilingual education programs that provok stronger negative attitudes from the public, teachers, and parents. Preceding the passage of Proposition 203 California had passed a similar proposition (Proposition 227) in 1998 which in part was les restrictive. Proposition 227 eliminated primary-language instruction (other than in English) in the classrooms. The war of words and the concerns shed light forward the development of this subject of attention Although research has shown that teachers' educational training and teaching experience are important for observer achievement, for teachers who plan to work with ELL it is also important for them to have prospect to and/or experiences working with ELLs