Mainstream teachers' practices and accommodations in prereading instruction for English language learners

Schema theory informs us that what we learn and experience influences our comprehension of text. Prereading instruction is designed to activate and build on background knowledge and build on this learning and experience before we read a text. Most of the research on schema theory has been done with native speakers in United States public school classrooms. We know little about how mainstream teachers utilize prereading instruction and accommodations for English language learners (ELLs).; The observational study investigated teachers' practices and accommodations of prereading instruction in primary-grade mainstream classrooms with moderate percentages of ELLs. Two primary-grade teachers in a suburb of a city in the mountain states participated in the study. Multiple data sources were gathered, including direct observations, lesson audiotape, interviews, and reading text.; Findings from this study revealed that these effective teachers used seven main types of prereading instruction, including a variety of prereading instruction. Data analysis revealed that these two teachers activated and built upon students' background knowledge prior to reading by primarily making connections between the text and student experiences. The second most frequent prereading instructional practice was to help set a purpose for reading.; Teachers in this study made several more generic accommodations for their ELLs than specific accommodations. Observed generic accommodations included bringing realia, visual aids, and objects for the reading lesson. Only one incident of a specific L2 language accommodation for ELLs was observed.; Teachers in this study acknowledged that vocabulary and comprehension instruction for all learners were important but especially critical for ELLs. They were constantly struggling to help their ELLs catch up. ELLs not only need specific accommodations in English but also must construct content knowledge.; These research results provide insight into documenting the specific prereading instruction used by practicing teachers, particularly practices relating to activating and building students' background knowledge and setting a purpose for reading. While teachers in this study used effective generic accommodations for ELLs, they made almost no specific ELL language accommodations for ELLs.