Bilingual and ESL early childhood teachers biliteracy attitudes

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between bilingual and ESL teachers' language and literacy attitudes and their practice with pre-K to 3rd grade bilingual children and English Language Learners (ELLs). A survey questionnaire was administered to 211 bilingual and ESL teachers from 18 public schools in Metropolitan Miami and followed-up with questionnaires. The factor analysis conducted yielded four sub-scales.; The results revealed differences in participants' language attitudes between questions in the survey that they felt impacted their classroom specifically and questions that they perceived as more oriented toward the world outside their own teaching practices. It appears that positive localized and general language attitudes towards bilingualism positively correlate with the use of techniques that lead to bilingualism in students, namely literacy techniques in the native language. However, simply having positive attitudes towards bilingualism in general, did not always translate into applying those positive language attitudes to their practice.; Teachers currently working in bilingual classrooms were found to have more positive language attitudes than the other types of participating teachers. Teachers certified in either ESL or bilingual education had more positive language attitudes than non-certified participants. Apparently, more extensive knowledge of bilingual practice and associated research positively influenced teachers' expressed attitudes regarding bilingual education. In addition, participants with even minimal proficiency in another language were found to have more positive language attitudes and were also more likely to utilize biliteracy techniques in their practice than monolingual teachers. Hence, exposure to a language may positively influence attitudes toward literacy instruction in that language.; Participating schools were divided according to language development program offered: Bilingual School Organization (BISO), International Studies Magnet (IS), and Extended Foreign Language Program (EFLP). The results showed the influence of school culture, with more positive teacher attitudes towards first language literacy development in the BISO schools, while maintaining English literacy instruction remained a priority. Results demonstrate that BISO teachers take responsibility for bilingualism in their classroom; data also confirm that BISO schools use more of the native language in instruction, and are more bilingually balanced than the EFLP and IS schools.