Language Teachers' Perceptions of Barriers to New Language Acquisition for English Language Learners

Walden University College of Education This is to certify that the doctoral study by Maryse Lorie Austin-Archil has been found to be complete and satisfactory in all respects, and that any and all revisions required by the review committee have been made. Review Committee Dr. Peter Kiriakidis, Committee Chairperson, Education Faculty Dr. Nori Mora, Committee Member, Education Faculty Dr. Glenn Penny, University Reviewer, Education Faculty Chief Academic Officer and Provost Sue Subocz, Ph.D. Walden University 2019 The research site was an urban public high school. The study problem was that language teachers reported to school administrators challenges they had when teaching English language learners (ELLs) because these teachers were not trained to teach language acquisition to ELLs. The purpose of the study was to examine the perceptions of language teachers regarding the barriers to new language acquisition when teaching ELLs in an urban public high school. The conceptual framework was the theory of second language acquisition, developed by Krashen, which posits that ELLs may improve their proficiency in English by using cognitive activities, intense projects, and practical applications. For this basic qualitative study, the sample consisted of 10 language teachers who taught ELLs and who were selected using purposive sampling. Data were collected via semistructured interviews and analyzed using line-by-line thematic analysis for emergent themes. The themes were language teachers (a) applied the theory of second language acquisition, (b) used hands-on cognitive activities and intense projects to teach ELLs, and (c) needed professional development on how to teach ELLs. A 3-day professional training for language teachers and school administrators was developed to address the study findings. The training includes teaching strategies to accommodate the academic needs of ELLs. Social change (helping ELLs graduate from high school) may occur with the proper training of language teachers.