Learning as Discursive Apprenticeship into Academic Communities of Practice: Implications for Academic-subject Instruction for English L2 Learners

Abstract

When English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers team up with academic-subject teachers to teach English second language (L2) learners, one naturally asks: What expertise can ESL teachers offer teachers of academic subjects? Answers abound in the Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) literature. A prototypical answer is given in Arkoudis’ (2003) study on the genetics lesson planning work shared by two high school teachers, one ESL and one science. For the ESL teacher, her epistemological authority rests on an understanding of second language acquisition (SLA). For the science teacher, his epistemological authority rests on an understanding of Mendelian genetics. Therefore, the ESL teacher’s role is based on language, while the science teacher’s role is based on science content.