As the number of English language learners across the United States - and indeed, the world - increases exponentially, it is critical that pre-service teachers be prepared. Many currently available instructional materials are written primarily for practicing teachers, not for pre-service teachers of the millennial generation who are likely to encounter cultural and linguistic diversity in their classrooms, but who are unlikely to have had experience interacting with diverse groups of children. This engaging and accessible text is specifically designed to help tomorrow's teachers anticipate the diversity of contemporary classrooms and to understand and meet the needs of English language learners. Key topics are aligned with typical state standards for teacher preparation and include: culture, language, literacy development, effective instruction and assessment, programs, policies, politics, and teacher professionalism. In addition to distillations of essential information in theseareas, the book provides an extensive directory of relevant resources that points the way to further study. Teacher educators, school district administrators, home school education programs, and pre-service teachers will all find Educating English Language Learners in an Inclusive Environment an invaluable addition to their professional libraries.
"What sets this effort apart from others is that it takes on the task of having future teachers reflect and reconsider their attitudes towards language-minority students and in doing so, moves readers from thinking of language-minority students as being those students to being our students. [...] [T]his book has the power to shift both future and current educators' thinking on language-minority students." (Laura Ascenzi-Moreno, Education Review, October 2014)