Academic literacy in the literature classroom: Investigating instructional decisions of new teachers of English learners

This longitudinal case study examines the perspectives and instructional practices of two new English teachers who have been prepared to teach academic literacy in a preservice program dedicated to improved instruction for English learners. Survey results about levels of confidence in the teaching of literature and academic English to secondary English learners were used to identify teachers who had moved successfully through the teacher education program and continued to report confidence in their teaching. Portfolios with artifacts from each of the case teachers' preservice coursework and inservice classroom practice included assignments, interviews, classroom observations, videotapes, and stimulated recall logs. Those data provided evidence of the teachers' applications of literacy development principles learned in preservice and inservice professional development, when they moved into new and demanding teaching environments.;Qualitative analysis methods were used to link the new teachers' year two and year three instructional practices with assignments from their university coursework and to investigate the nature of their academic English instruction. Analysis of classroom literature lessons using a theoretical framework to describe the dimensions of academic English revealed a wide range of skills being taught and reinforced to students. The case teachers demonstrated a deep understanding of academic language and the importance of its development for students transitioning to mainstream English language arts classes from English language development programs.;Significant insights drawn from this study include: (1) the new teachers were able to teach academic English to English learners in the context of response to literature, (2) their instruction was positively influenced by the principles and practices they acquired during their teacher preparation programs, (3) Scarcella's framework describing dimensions of academic language provided a useful structure for analysis of the teaching. The teachers' instructional goals were compromised at times by the required curriculum in their schools, but their understanding of academic language helped them design and implement lessons to include components of English necessary for meaningful response to literature and to their English learners' future academic careers.