As the benefits of bilingualism and biliteracy become increasingly recognized, the demand for high-quality dual language (DL) and biliteracy programs has increased significantly (Howard et al., 2018). These programs, designed to cultivate bilingualism, biliteracy, and sociocultural competence, hold the promise of fostering academic success for all students, but most importantly, they can be a determining factor for an equitable and successful academic experience for students from historically underserved linguistic backgrounds (Thomas and Collier, 2012). However, a critical challenge threatens the success of DL programs nationwide: a pervasive shortage of highly qualified DL and biliteracy educators (Rutherford-Quach et al., 2021). This issue becomes even more pressing when keeping in mind the millions of multilingual learners who would benefit from access to home language instruction but are still unable to access these services.
The Urgency of the Bilingual Teacher Shortage
The shortage of qualified bilingual teachers is a prevalent issue with far-reaching consequences that most critically affects students of diverse linguistic backgrounds. This shortage, impacting most US states, can be attributed to several factors, including (Torre Gibney et al., 2021):
• Recruitment, preparation, and certification challenges: A lack of adequate teacher pipelines, coupled with demanding certification requirements, hinders the recruitment and preparation of qualified bilingual educators (Piñón, 2022).
• Lack of competitive compensation and incentives: Compared to their monolingual counterparts, bilingual teachers often face limited career advancement opportunities and less competitive salaries, contributing to attrition rates (Mitchell, 2020; Stavely and Rosales, 2021).
• Inadequate working conditions: Bilingual teachers frequently encounter demanding workloads, insufficient resources, and a lack of administrative support, leading to burnout and dissatisfaction within the profession (Mitchell, 2020; Stavely and Rosales, 2021).
Across the country, many states are coming up with solutions for this issue. For example, Texas has invested in Grow Your Own programs to address the teacher shortage (Garcia, 2020). New Jersey has also begun to create opportunities to recruit teachers from Spanish-speaking countries and retired teachers who want to teach in bilingual classrooms (Rodas, 2022).
However, it must be taken into account that most of these educators will need to receive targeted professional learning that addresses the current research and practices for effective biliteracy instruction, especially those educators who come from other countries or have not been in the classroom for some time.
It is unfair to expect educators who have mostly received monolingual professional learning to be responsible for figuring out the biliteracy context without support.
It also can’t be ignored that COVID-19 has exacerbated the issue of teacher retention. The urgency to get kids back on track has impacted the expectations of instruction across the board. Educators in dual language classrooms in particular tend to have double the pressure, since they are required to ensure students are on track in both languages. To make certain students meet those expectations, educators must receive appropriate professional learning and coaching to effectively address the biliteracy needs of students, or we risk losing educators to the demands of the job (Rodas, 2022). The shortage of qualified bilingual educators poses a significant threat to the sustainability and effectiveness of DL and biliteracy programs, ultimately impacting the academic and linguistic progress of multilingual learners.
The Imperative of Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Professional Learning Addressing the professional learning needs of DL and biliteracy teachers is paramount to ensuring teacher retention and, consequently, student success. However, it is not merely the quantity but the quality of professional learning that holds the key to empowering educators. Traditional monolingual “one-size-fits-all” professional development models, often characterized by short-term workshops disconnected from teachers’ daily realities, prove insufficient in addressing the unique demands of DL settings. Professional learning practices and strategies for educators in dual language settings must be expanded through a multilingual lens. We must take into account the recommendations of effective professional learning research, and look beyond those recommendations to ensure linguistically and culturally appropriate professional learning that will meet the demands of the dual language classroom. Effective professional learning for DL and biliteracy educators that is responsive to the goals of the program must be (adapted from Darling-Hammond et al., 2017):
• Focused on both content and language and culturally sustaining: Professional learning should equip teachers with the knowledge and skills to effectively teach both content and language, while also incorporating culturally sustaining pedagogies that affirm and leverage students’ linguistic and cultural assets.
• Job-embedded and collaborative: Professional learning opportunities should be integrated into teachers’ daily practices, providing ongoing support within their classrooms and fostering a collaborative learning environment where educators can learn from and support one another.
• Informed by research and driven by data: Professional learning initiatives should be grounded in the latest research on effective multilingual instruction and utilize student data to inform instructional decisions and drive program improvement.
• Sustained and comprehensive: To foster genuine teacher growth and expertise, professional learning must be viewed as an ongoing process, offering continuous support and opportunities for educators to deepen their understanding of biliteracy instruction and refine their practices.
Transforming Professional Learning Systems
Creating effective professional learning systems for DL and biliteracy educators requires a systemic approach that addresses existing inequities and prioritizes the needs of multilingual learners (Howard et al., 2018). We must refuse the notion that “good teaching is good teaching,” as this idea perpetuates inequitable learning experiences for students of diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Biliteracy instruction requires that leaders and educators stop trying to fit biliteracy program expectations into a monolingual mold and start taking the courageous steps to embrace a multilingual perspective to teaching and learning.
Effective dual language professional learning differentiates and addresses the needs of the various educational partners involved in teaching and leading the program.
Some recommendations for developing effective professional learning systems for dual language programs include:
• Building leadership capacity: Empowering school and district leaders with a deep understanding of multilingual instruction, effective professional learning practices, and the value of teacher voice is essential for creating supportive and responsive professional learning environments.
• Refining professional learning plans: Districts must engage in a critical reflection on their existing professional learning systems, utilizing data and teacher feedback to identify and address gaps in meeting the specific needs of DL and biliteracy educators.
• Prioritizing investment in professional learning: Allocating adequate resources, including funding for specialized coaches, consultants, and high-quality professional learning materials, is crucial for demonstrating a commitment to the success of DL programs and empowering educators.
• Cultivating a culture of continuous learning: Fostering a school culture where collaboration, reflection, and ongoing professional growth are valued and encouraged is essential for creating a supportive environment where DL teachers feel empowered to continuously improve their practice.
An Investment in Dual Language Teacher Quality
A commitment to effective DL program implementation requires that leaders understand the need to invest in short- and long-term teacher professional learning. This commitment requires that program implementation include specific allocation of human and financial resources. Many times, educators attend monolingual professional learning sessions but don’t receive the resources or supports necessary to implement the strategies in both languages of the program. More often than not, they are required to translate their own materials and adapt the strategies to a biliteracy setting, with very little support.
Teachers often spend their own money creating or purchasing supplemental materials in the partner language. Funding must be available to create and develop professional learning programs, to allow dedicated learning and collaboration time for educators, and to provide the adequate resources educators need to teach in a biliteracy setting. This may also include funding to hire job-embedded bilingual coaches, provide substitutes for classroom observations, or in some cases, invite expert multilingual consultants who can support program implementation. Dual language instruction is first instruction, and an investment in linguistically and pedagogically differentiated DL teacher professional learning ensures that students receive the highest quality of instruction from the get-go.
The Power of Collective Teacher Efficacy
One powerful lever for improving student achievement in DL programs is cultivating collective teacher efficacy—the shared belief among educators that they can positively impact student learning through their collective efforts (Hattie, 2018). A focus on collective teacher efficacy can ensure the long-term sustainability of a DL program, as it becomes an opportunity to develop expertise across all members of the team. This guarantees that students will receive high-quality instruction every year, since teaching practices are aligned and coordinated across grade levels. Strengthening collective teacher efficacy requires:
• Fostering collaboration and trust: Creating opportunities for DL teachers to collaborate, share best practices, and learn from one another through professional learning communities, mentoring programs, and co-teaching experiences is paramount.
• Providing targeted professional learning: Offering professional learning that specifically addresses the needs of the DL program, such as language development strategies, culturally sustaining pedagogies, and biliteracy instructional frameworks, empowers teachers to effectively serve their students.
• Celebrating successes and recognizing expertise: Acknowledging and celebrating the accomplishments of DL teachers and students reinforces a belief in their collective abilities and motivates continued growth and improvement.
Addressing the Sociopolitical Dimensions of Language
Effective DL professional learning must also equip educators to address the sociopolitical realities of language and empower them to become transformative intellectuals who advocate for equity and social justice within their classrooms and beyond (Giroux, 2002). Educators must have the tools to examine the history of bilingual education to understand the historical and political forces that have shaped language policies and impacted multilingual learners in order to develop a sense of critical consciousness (Palmer, 2020).
For this reason, professional learning should provide opportunities for educators to examine their own beliefs and biases related to language, as well as to analyze and dismantle systemic inequities that impact multilingual learners. Effective professional learning for dual language educators is a social justice issue, as it’s impossible to separate language instruction from the political sentiments on race, language, immigration, and other sociopolitical issues that multilingual communities navigate on a daily basis.
It is imperative that educators work to ensure students develop their advocacy voices and agency as part of the program goals.
DL educators must be equipped to create inclusive classroom environments that affirm students’ multilingual identities, celebrate their cultural heritages, and empower them to become advocates for themselves and their communities.
Investing in a More Equitable Future
The shortage of qualified bilingual teachers is a pressing issue with profound implications for the educational trajectories of countless multilingual learners. By investing in comprehensive, culturally and linguistically responsive professional learning opportunities, districts can empower DL and biliteracy educators to thrive in their profession, fostering high-quality instruction that unlocks the potential of all students, especially of multilingual learners.
Through a steadfast commitment to building leadership capacity, refining professional learning systems, and addressing the sociopolitical dimensions of language, we can create a more equitable and just educational landscape for multilingual learners and the educators who serve them.
References available at www.languagemagazine.com/references-meeting-the-needs-of-linguistically-diverse-students
Rubí Flores ([email protected]) is the director of professional learning at the California Association for Bilingual Education. She has extensive expertise working as a biliteracy educator and as a consultant supporting implementation and refinement of DL and ML programs.