The CATESOL Journal

The following is a qualitative study on Chinese international English language learners’ (ELLs’) experiences in an English as a second language (ESL) classroom. Set at Sunset University (pseudonym used), a public university in Northern California, the study uses ethnographic field methods to gauge information about an ESL teacher’s and Chinese international ELLs’ views about effective teaching in the public university ESL classroom. The author draws upon previous studies (McCargar, 1993; Peacock, 2001; Reid, 1987; Sawyer, 1995; Schulz, 1996) to explore whether there may be a mismatch between Chinese international ELLs’ and the ESL teachers’ expectations about effective teaching, and she further explores whether the existence of such a mismatch might be correlated with Chinese international ELLs’ disengagement in this setting. The author discovers the presence of mismatch in 3 areas: (a) structure, (b) scaffolding, and (c) group work, all 3 of which have implications for Chinese international ELLs’ (dis)engagement in the public university ESL context.