Teachers of Limited English Proficient Children in the United States

In 1980–81 nearly 500,000 teachers or a quarter of all public school teachers in the United States had limited English proficient (LEP) language minority students in their classes. Of these teachers, approximately 56,000 were using a non-English language. Twice as many of the teachers using a non-English language had the self-reported language skills and basic academic preparation to use the home languages of these students in 1980–81 as in 1976–77, the year in which training programs funded by the Federal Government began to operate. Roughly two out of three teachers with appropriate language skills and basic professional preparation to teach LEP students in 1980–81 were trained in institutions of higher education receiving support from the Bilingual Education Act. Despite these improvements since 1976–77, approximately four out of five teachers using a non-English language in instruction during 1980–81 did not have the language skills or basic professional preparation to do so. This paper examines the findings from the 1980–81 Teachers Language Skills Survey (TLSS) and draws comparisons with the findings of a similar survey in 1976–77. The 1980–81 TLSS surveyed all full-time public school teachers for information on self-reported language skills, training, and current instructional assignments related to the education of limited English proficient children. The findings are discussed in the context of options for meeting the need for teachers to provide instruction to limited English proficient children.