Falling In and Filling In: ESL Teaching Careers in Changing Times

Drawing from a study in four schoolsin Ontario, Canada, this article identifiesissues around the professional training, dailywork, and potential long-term commitment of ESL(English as a Second Language) teachers whoprovide much of the initial educationalprogramming for the growing number ofincreasingly diverse immigrant students in manyNorth American school systems. Because ESLteachers are most directly involved with newimmigrants, they experience most directly thechallenges and consequences of what a number ofresearchers have identified as a fundamentalmismatch between traditional school practicesand the current student population's academicand social needs.