‘Jack of all trades’: The ambiguous role of the ESOL teacher in secondary schools.

Abstract

Teaching students learning English as an additional language (EAL) in New Zealand secondary schools requires specialist skills.  These EAL students compete with English-speaking peers in a uniquely demanding learning environment which requires that they learn English language at the same time as negotiating all curriculum learning in an additional language.  Programmes for these learners range from withdrawing students for classes where English language skills are developed, to mainstreaming students into curriculum English. Currently, all teachers are expected to teach the academic language specific to their subject, and the place of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) teachers is uncertain.  Schools are expected to balance the skills of curriculum and ESOL teachers to give EAL students the best possible learning opportunities. This study investigates the changing and ambiguous role of ESOL teachers, and the challenge it poses to their professional relationships.

Keywords: English for speakers of other languages; English as an additional language; mainstream teaching; content-based language teaching;