Mainstream English Teachers Working With Nonnative Speakers: How Well Prepared Are They?
Abstract
The number of nonnative English speakers and Generation 1.5 students enrolled in mainstream English classes continues to grow, especially in community colleges in California and other western states. Yet most English teachers with degrees in Literature, Creative Writing, or even Composition have not been trained in TOESL and often feel underprepared to work with these students and the specific language and grammar problems they bring into the classroom. A recent study focused on the overall preparedness level of new community college Composition instructors provided some interesting data in this regard, illuminating the unique challenge community college teachers face in the increasingly multicultural and multilingual reality of today’s mainstream English classes, which are most often not designed with ESL students in mind.