An Exploration of Pre-Service Teacher Perceptions of Second Language Learners in the Mainstream Classroom.

This study examined the perceptions of preservice teachers tutoring non-native English speakers in a local public school. A group of 14 predominantly female preservice teachers participated, nine white and five Hispanic. Participants completed interviews asking about their tutoring experiences. Results found two common themes: most participants were led to the profession through strong, passionate desires to help others, and most shared the belief that their tutees were remarkably bright. Hispanic and white participants had clearly different perspectives on how they related to their tutees, their expectations for them, and their suggestions for intervening on their behalf. They sought to connect with their tutees through different channels. Hispanic participants were able to relate their own struggles in school with those facing their tutees. White participants were impotent when it came to assessing their tutees' needs and defining a plan to help them. They also had trouble separating language skill and cultural knowledge from ability to succeed in school. Hispanic participants held higher expectations for their Hispanic students than did their white counterparts and a more sophisticated understanding of their tutees' academic, social, and language situations. Every white participant expected their Hispanic tutee to drop out of school. (Contains 40 references.) (SM) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. An Exploration of Pre-Service Teacher Perceptions of Second Language Learners in the Mainstream Classroom Sherry Marx University of Texas at Austin 1207 Ridgehaven Drive Austin, TX 78723

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