I think that when it comes to language teaching, now a days, it is mostly the national policies that dictate the terms. For example in India, after our country signed the Global Agreement for Trade and Services, the rise in service industry has created a lot of job opportunities, which require fluency in English. I therefore believe that instead of maintaining a narrow approach and focusing just on subject delivery in classrooms, teacher and teacher educators must take cognizance of where the country is heading and find out the long term needs. Once they are mentally prepared to ensure that their students cater to these needs their students will speak fluently or write in a grammatically correct manner and teacher educators will inevitable adopt methods of instruction that work best. When viewed from a wider perspective, language teaching just doesn't remain language teaching... it becomes a national mission!

I am part of a teacher faculty committee at the University of Connecticut in which we are trying to answer your question. We have made quite a bit of progress in changing our practices by having regular meetings, reading literature, discussing our teaching practices, conducting (action) research on this topic. We are now in the process of writing a book about our experiences. I think the number 1 lesson I learned is that, yes, we need a "whole child" and "whole program" approach. I learned tremendously from my colleagues in other disciplines. I also find that there is a need to see it as a commitment as a program and to emphasize the process of answering the overall question of how we can advocate for the needs of ELLs. We found that sharing and re-examining our practices was key to getting better results.

Manuela, thanks for your response. I am very glad to hear that your faculty committee has taken this on as a collaborative effort. The social and cultural needs of ELLs are complex and difficult to keep on the radar screen with all of the other pressures going on. It seems to me that some of the competencies teachers need include how to navigate these difficult waters, how to collaborate with peers across disciplines, understanding how the system works, advocating for your students with administrators and service providers. Most importantly, is instilling a social justice approach, with an understanding that many of the issues ELLs face are the result of long histories of oppression. Thus it will take a collective effort to transform our educational system into something more just.

What would you add based on your experiences and readings?

Arundhati, thanks so much for bringing a global perspective to the discussion. Many people in the U.S. are unfamiliar with the devastating effect those global trade agreements can have on people in other countries. It is important to raise awareness of these issues.