Language Awareness in Mainstream Teachers: Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract

The effects of the pandemic on education globally have been far-reaching. In Australia, as elsewhere, English language teaching was severely impacted, as no new students arrived for two years due to border closures; during the two years of lockdowns many teachers and academics in the field of English as an Additional Language (EAL) also became unemployed. Since borders have re-opened there has been a crucial shortage of teachers in general, and English language teachers in particular. Mainstream teachers are therefore catering to increasing numbers of EAL students in the primary and secondary sectors, and they are the focus of this scoping review. This chapter will therefore review emerging themes in the literature around the provision of English language teaching in Australia and other contexts during and after the pandemic, and the policy and educational backgrounds that impede or support the development of language awareness in mainstream teachers and their capacity to deliver responsive pedagogy for EAL students. The literature highlights the importance of understanding differentiation for EAL learners and the demands of academic language for content areas; implications are that mainstream teachers need to be better supported to develop awareness of what is essential learning in EAL.