20 BU Journal of Graduate Studies in Education, Volume 8, Issue 2, 2016
These learning gaps affect not only students’ academic performances but also their feelings of
confidence, capabilities, and attitudes toward learning. Therefore, while parents are critical
factors in their children’s learning with respect to motivation, academic expectations, and socio-
economic status, teachers determine what takes place in the classroom.
It is critical that teachers create positive teacher-student relationships because many ELLs
depend more on their teachers for academic support than on their parents (Sung, 2014). In
some circumstances, parents value education but lack the academic background or language
skills to help their children with the content or assignments (Chu, 2011). Not only are EL
teachers responsible for language acquisition and skills, but they are also instrumental in
helping students to adjust to the differences in culture and social behaviours. Cultural
expectations and beliefs about teachers and students vary, and teachers need to be cognizant
of these so that they can bridge the gaps. If students feel safe because they trust their teacher,
they will share opinions and ideas, ask questions, and learn new concepts more readily.
Positive relationships with teachers improve students’ confidence, self-efficacy, and
engagement in learning. If students perceive teachers to be encouraging, supportive, and
interested in the content being taught, students are more likely to become engaged and
motivated to strengthen their language skills independently (Fukuda & Yoshida, 2013). Although
creating positive teacher-student relationships is the cornerstone of learning, teachers are also
responsible for ensuring that ELLs feel comfortable and supported by their peers.
Teachers need to create classroom climates that are culturally inclusive and supportive, so
that ELLs will take risks with the language and not be afraid of making mistakes. A culturally
inclusive classroom affects ELLs’ progress and skill development because students must feel
accepted before they will engage socially. If students are not comfortable, they are more likely
to lose interest and to become disengaged in their learning (Talandis & Stout, 2015). In
classrooms wherein students feel safe, comfortable, and valued, they openly share ideas and
become accountable for their learning. Vygotsky’s belief that learning occurs when there is
social interaction between more and less knowledgeable people (Yoon, 2012) applies to ELLs
who feel comfortable with their peers. Encouraging ELLs to share their experiences, cultural
perspectives, beliefs, and values motivates students to learn from each other and brings them
closer together in supportive and meaningful ways. Teachers need to foster social interaction
between ELLs and their native English speaking peers because ELLs acquire more language
skills, more linguistic patterns, and also more social and academic knowledge from those peers
(Sung, 2014). In culturally inclusive classrooms and positive learning communities, students
perform better academically, increase self-esteem, and develop positive interpersonal
relationships with students from all cultural and racial groups (Chu, 2011).
While positive teacher-student relationships are essential, EL teachers also need to
collaborate with mainstream teachers, in order to ensure that ELLs’ needs are met in all of their
classes. Mainstream teachers often have limited training in teaching language learners and
benefit from extra support and instruction on how to integrate language instruction effectively in
the classroom (Coelho, 2012). Many mainstream teachers also lack the training, knowledge,
and experience to teach specific reading and literacy skills, which leads to inadequate literacy
instruction and lower ELLs’ reading achievements (Brown & Doolittle, 2008). Open
communication between mainstream and EL teachers produces timely diagnosis and strategic
interventions (Garcia & Kim, 2014). EL teachers need to train mainstream teachers how to
address language development and skills as they relate to curricular outcomes and content
knowledge (Freeman, Katz, Gomez, & Burns, 2015). Collaboration between these teachers
fosters cultures of inclusion, which broaden and develop engaging, relevant, effective, and
supportive structures that meet the diverse linguistic and cultural needs of ELLs (Russell, 2014).
Working with mainstream teachers enables EL teachers to identify the supportive structures
that ELLs need for intervention and timely additional support. Other factors that impede ELLs’
success are inappropriate instruction and invalid assessments of their skills and needs (Drame
& Xu, 2008). Response to Intervention (RTI) is a potential alternative for assessing ELLs;