Praise and Stigma: Teachers' constructions of the 'typical ESL student'

A growing body of research has investigated the sociocultural factors which have an impact on the experience of second language students in our public schools. This study, based on ethnographic fieldwork in an American high school in California, examines the discourse of the school community, in particular that of the teachers, and its conception of the 'typical ESL student'. The following research questions were posed: (a) To what extent is there a school-constructed identity of the 'typical' ESL student? (b) What are the assumptions underlying such ascribed identities, and how are these assumptions evidenced in the discourse of teachers? (c) How might such assumptions affect interpretations made of student behavior and school performance? Data collection included classroom observations and in-depth interviews with both teachers and students over a year-long period. Taking the perspective that discourse is bound with ideology-in this case the ideology of immigration and assimilation-this paper examines the assumptions implicit in the teachers' discourse. It also suggests the impact these assumptions regarding ESL students might have on the students in question and their experience in US classrooms.