| In an effort to understand Christian college professors' levels of awareness to the needs of English Language Learners (ELLs) in content-based classrooms and to identify effective practices for language learning that are being implemented, a quantitative study using descriptive research was carried out. A survey was used to collect data to determine if professors in the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) institutions were aware of the needs of ELLs in their content-based classes, and if they were using any sheltered instruction effective practices to meet those needs. As more ELLs enter the CCCU higher educational institutions, research has shown that they encounter challenges in the four areas of sociocultural, cognitive, academic, and linguistic dimensions. CCCU professors are noting ethnic diversity in their classrooms, and they are aware of ELLs in the content-based classroom. They are noticing that ELLs are still developing in the areas of academic literacy that include listening, reading, speaking, and writing in the content areas. Professors from the fields of Bible, Education, Humanities, Business, and Science have differing views concerning whether listening, reading, speaking, or writing are most important in their classes for academic success. Certain fields of study are reporting implementation of effective practices that are advantageous to ELLs in their content-based classroom more than other fields are. |
