A Phenomenological Study of Teachers' Perceptions and Interactions of English Language Learners

In the US over the last three decades the use of a language other than English at home has increased by an astounding 148 percent, and by the year 2020 around twenty-three percent of the US population over the age of five will speak a language other than English (Shin & Ortman, 2011). With these staggering increases, it is quite likely that a secondary-level content teacher will have to meet the needs of an English Language Learner (ELL). This hermeneutic phenomenological analysis aims to describe the lived experiences of urban high school teachers who serve this student population by exploring (a) instructional models for ELL students, (b) language acquisition theories, and (c) multiculturalism. This research focuses the central question: What characterizes the experiences of teachers who instruct students in an English Language program in an urban high school? For this research, participants were purposefully selected, and placed into one of three categories (a) monolingual content teachers that are not ESL-certified; (b) multilingual content teachers that are not ESL-certified; and (c) monolingual or multilingual teachers that are ESL-certified. The data for this research was collected through a two-round semi-structured interview process. In order to fully understand the participants' experiences with this phenomena, the data was then bracketed and analyzed for common experiences and themes. The emerging themes, empathy, challenges, preparation, and relationship building are directly related to the participants' experiences while interacting and serving the needs of their English language students. Through these experiences and themes, recommendations for the school are made, which include a series of teacher-led professional developments, providing teachers time and opportunity to meet with their culturally and linguistically diverse students, increase parent involvement, and allowing teachers to deviate from the curriculum in order to become more culturally responsive teachers.Ed.D., Educational Leadership and Management -- Drexel University, 201