Facilitating second-language learners' access to expository texts

Teachers' understanding of the challenges involved

Abstract

Many second-language learners (SLLs) struggle with comprehending texts in their second language. However, teachers have reported feeling incompetent when it comes to teaching SLLs. The purpose of this study was to investigate teachers' understanding of the challenges involved in facilitating SLLs' access to expository texts. Data were collected through interviews with nine teachers of 10–12-year-olds. The findings show that the teachers understood text challenges to be found at the word and text levels. Further, the teachers recognized SLLs' need for text-comprehension support, which they seemed to understand mainly as providing explanations for words and texts. However, they questioned the effectiveness of their adapted teaching. The findings suggest that the teachers' understanding of the issue may unintentionally restrict SLLs' academic-language development and their opportunities to learn from texts. Hence there may be a need for a change in the teachers' understanding of what it means to give access to texts in order to empower SLLs for future participation in society.