Embedding L2 Proficiency Pedagogy into ESOL Teacher Education

This article considers an exploratory study designed to understand the relevancy of a course unit on L2 proficiency to pre-service ESOL teachers’ understanding of the nature of the concept of proficiency and their awareness of strategies for developing multilingual learners’ proficiency in English in their own instructional contexts. The article begins with an exploration of the concept of proficiency and its relevancy for ESOL teacher education and summarizes previous studies concerning the development of L2 proficiency in English among language learners and language educators. The article then describes the logistics of the course unit on L2 proficiency and the data collection and analysis procedures for the study. Finally, the article reviews preliminary findings emerging from the study and proposes avenues for further research along with recommendations for ESOL teacher educators.