LINGUISTIC MINORITY RESEARCH INSTITUTE

The University of California Linguistic Minority Research Institute (UC LMRI) is pleased to announce that its 22nd Annual Conference, to be held May 1-2, 2009 at the University of California, Riverside, will focus on The Preparation of Teachers of English Learners. The conference will be co-sponsored by the UC Riverside Graduate School of Education.

The federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 mandated that schools hire only “highly qualified” teachers beginning in the 2005 school year. To meet this requirement, states must ensure that teachers simply hold a valid credential, not whether that credential verifies whether teachers possess the skills and abilities to effectively teach their students. Yet many teachers of English learners (ELs), including those with valid credentials, report they are inadequately prepared to effectively teach such students. With the burgeoning population of English learners in many classrooms and schools throughout the U.S., and the increasing number of classroom teachers with EL students in their classrooms, it is imperative to identify the critical competencies for teachers of English learners and how to develop those competencies for teachers.

Papers should synthesize existing research or provide new research on issues related to the preparation of teachers of English learners, such as:

• The critical competencies for teachers of English learners
• The role and impact of bilingual EL teachers
• The effectiveness of teacher preparation programs
• The role of induction programs for supporting new EL teachers
• Alternative professional development strategies
• Recruiting and retaining teachers to work with EL students

Interested authors should submit a 2-3 page single-spaced proposal that includes:
(1) Title
(2) Author(s) and affiliation(s)
(3) Primary contact information
(4) The topic to be addressed and its specific relevance to the call
(5) The research questions or topics to be addressed in the paper
(6) The methods and data that will be employed
(7) Citations for other published (or written) work that the researcher has already conducted in this area.

Submit proposals electronically to Shawndel Malcolm by September 1, 2008. Awardees will be notified of their selection by October 1, 2008.

Awardees will be commissioned to write a 20-25 page paper to be presented at the annual conference; the papers will also be posted on the UC LMRI web site. The first draft of the paper will be due March 1, 2009, with comments to be received by March 15, 2009, and final draft due April 1, 2009. Awardees will receive an honorarium of $2,000; the first $1,000 payable upon receipt of the draft paper and the second $1,000 due upon submission of the final paper.

At least one author of any accepted paper must be available to participate in the conference. UC LMRI retains first right of publication.

Additionally, UC LMRI will reimburse up to $1,000 towards travel and hotel expenses (up to two nights) of one author per paper.

For further information, contact: Laura Romo, Assistant Director, UC LMRI.