Research

A Critical Case Study of High School Academic English in the U.S.Mexican Border: Towards a Pedagogy of Human Dignity.

This study addressed how a high school content teacher in a U.S.-borderland land three of his Limited English language learners referred as to as “lifers,” perceived the teaching and learning of academic English in this age of accountability. In this instrumental case study, in-depth interviews, video-elicitations, interactive journals and field-notes were used. A pedagogical unit of analysis that views teaching and learning as a reciprocal process was used to analyze data. The Critical Race, Critical Latino/a lens further guided the interpretation and discussion of the data. Findings, at the micro-level, revealed incongruence in how the teacher and his students perceive best ways to teach and learn academic English. At the macro-level structural programs such as transitional and English immersion programs, referred to as quasi- bilingual programs in this study, seemed inappropriate for these English language learners. These programs provided limited time for academic and cognitive development in students’ Native Language. Two-way immersion programs seemed the most suitable. High-stake testing such as The Texas Assessments of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) narrowed the curriculum and limited rich, creative opportunities in teaching and learning.