Classroom Study of Teacher Collaboration for Multilingual Learners: Implications for Teacher Education Programs

ABSTRACT There has been growing evidence suggesting that collaboration between content teachers and English as a second language (ESL) teachers is crucial for multilingual learners’ (MLLs) equitable learning experiences. What is lacking is more nuanced analyses of teacher collaboration in the classroom context. This article reports on the findings of a qualitative case study to address the nuanced contexts through the voices and actions of participant teachers and students. It focuses on the teachers’ roles in supporting MLLs and the elements involved in an effective collaborative partnership through the perspectives of an English language arts teacher and an ESL teacher in a middle school setting. Findings suggest that joint teacher presence can be achieved if both teachers recognize their overall role to support MLLs’ successful language and content learning. Despite the limited time for planning lessons together, the teachers attempted to overcome the challenge by leveraging their professional capital, enacting their agency, and taking a flexible form of collaboration. This study refines existing findings that there is an uneven power structure between content teachers and ESL teachers and provides teacher education programs with suggestions and future directions for effective collaboration for MLLs.