Abstract

With the changing demographics in postsecondary educational settings in the United States, including university students who do not speak English as their home language and must juggle multiple responsibilities along with their studies, are instructors adequately prepared to address the complex needs of their adult emergent bi/multilingual learners (EBLs)? This qualitative study explored the perceptions of four adult EBLs from different linguistic, cultural, and racial backgrounds from a large, urban area in the northeastern United States regarding their perceptions of the effectiveness of their instructors in addressing their diverse needs. Through semi-structured interviews and multiple rounds of coding, two broad themes emerged: qualities of “good” or “effective” instructors and the professionalism and overall preparedness of instructors. Preliminary suggestions advocate for providing more comprehensive preservice preparation and ongoing professional development for instructors of adult EBLs, especially university faculty, and fostering academic bi/multiliteracy among adult EBLs as areas worthy of future research.

摘要

随着美国高等教育环境中人口结构的不断变化，包括不以英语为母语并且必须在学习的同时兼顾多种责任的大学生，教师们是否已做好充分准备，以解决他们成人紧急双 /多语言学习者 (EBL)？这项定性研究探讨了来自美国东北部一个大型城市地区的来自不同语言、文化和种族背景的四名成人 EBL 对教师在满足其不同需求方面的有效性的看法。通过半结构化面试和多轮编码，出现了两个广泛的主题：“优秀”或“有效”教师的素质以及教师的专业精神和整体准备。