| The study focuses on four preschool teachers who were serving small populations of English language learners (ELLs) in their mainstream English classrooms in two public preschool programs. The goal of the study was to learn how the teachers incorporated home language and culture in their classrooms, and to understand, from their perspectives, how and why home language and culture were integrated as well as the influences on this integration. Case studies of each teacher were developed to present how the teachers integrated ELLs' home language and culture in their classrooms as well as the teachers' issues and concerns. A cross case analysis helped to explain the teachers' work with their ELLs, particularly the influences on their integration of ELLs' home language and culture in the classroom. The special education and at-risk nature of the early childhood programs were a strong influence on what the teachers did with all of the children in their classes, including their ELLs. The teachers' concerns were another powerful influence on their integration of ELLs' home language and culture in the classroom.;The teachers' approaches to working with their ELLs were much the same as their approaches to working with other children in their classes. The teachers were not able to differentiate between good teaching and effective practices for ELLs. Home language and culture were also not recognized as an important foundation for ELLs' learning. The study points to the need for teachers, and all other school staff, to have an educational background for working with ELLs. |
