Scaffolding the Academic Success of Adolescent English Language Learners: A Pedagogy of Promise

by Ai­da Walqui, Leo Van Lier, Aida Walqui

Too often, the needs of English language learners are met with simplified curriculum and lowered expectations. What would happen if instead classrooms were organized to honor the promise of these students by increasing rather than decreasing the intellectual challenge of instruction, by increasing the support such challenge requires, and by increasing students' active engagement with their own learning? This book is the result of a decade-long effort in school districts such as New York City, Austin, and San Diego to implement challenging instruction that is designed for classrooms that include English learners and that raises the bar and increases engagement for all learners. Classroom vignettes, transcripts of student interactions, and detailed examples of intellectually engaging middle school and high school lessons provide a concrete picture of the instructional approach developed by coauthor Aída Walqui, founder and director of WestEd s Quality Teaching for English Learners (QTEL) initiative. Underlying the QTEL approach and giving it coherence and power are three strands of instructional theory – cognitive psychology, sociolinguistics, and sociocultural learning theory. Coauthor Leo van Lier, internationally recognized author, linguist, and sociocultural theorist, lays out through clear and frequently wry examples just what these theories have to offer the classroom teacher, in particular the teacher of English learners.

Genres: Education

240 pages, Paperback

First published February 15, 2010

Reviews

[Gretchen Oliver · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Pedagogy of Promise provides readers with clear explanations of theory and makes explicit connections between theory and practice through the use of classroom vignettes. One of the biggest strengths of this book is that it advocates a principled approach to teaching adolescent English learners, highlighting five big ideas: sustaining academic rigor, holing high expectations, engaging students with quality interactions, sustaining a language focus, and developing a high-quality curriculum. Walqui and van Lier include 40 different figures in the book, many of which are classroom-ready graphic organizers and templates that can be adapted by teachers for their individual teaching contexts. This book gives readers just the right amount of theory and practice to help them to see the "why" behind the "how" as they develop or refine their English language teaching practice.

[Karen Gregory · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a big fan of Leo Van Lier and Aida Walqui. Their work tends to be firmly grounded in theory, yet still pragmatic and relevant to practicing ESOL teachers. As such, their 2010 book Pedagogy of Promise: Scaffolding the Academic Success of Adolescent English Learners lived up to my expectations. As a teacher-educator, I appreciate the explanation of theory and how it relates to lesson planning and instruction. I find that scaffolding is often misconstrued or done ineffectively, so their focus on scaffolding as a theoretical concept and as an instructional practice is very useful to both classroom teachers and teacher-educators. The vignettes provided opportunities to see the QTEL principles in action, and demonstrated the shifts in pedagogy required to bring secondary ELLs into grade-level curriculum. All in all, this book is an excellent resource for professional development of current ESOL teachers and teacher-educators, and especially useful in explaining or understanding the connections between theory and practice.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2: The first half goes deep into the theory behind the QTEL method and strategies. I understand why that’s necessary, and the authors do try to spice those chapters up as much as possible with examples, but the book becomes a vastly more useful tool in the last few chapters. All of the examples are from brick and mortar classrooms, so it would be nice to have 1 or 2 strategies for online classes as well. I’ve been teaching online middle and high school for almost 10 years, so I have some tools in my “kit” to adapt these ideas for a virtual environment, but newer online teachers could benefit from more concrete examples in the text.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good pre-service, introduction, or revisit to teaching ELs. It can be somewhat redundant if other experience and training has already been conducted.

[Kellie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only read this as my district is twisting the principles in it to fit their view of ELL. My PLC wanted to read it from the horse's mouth so to speak.

[James Prothero · Rating 2 out of 5]

Vygotsky worship and old news. Glad my district bought it and not me. I have my doubts about the approach.

[Marcel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book on what to do and why to help ELLs learn how to learn in English. In theory and practice, this book is wise, experienced, and practical.

[prema · Rating 4 out of 5]

helpful practical guide for incorporating this strategy into teaching....