Acceso usuarios
Theresa Austin
This study reports on the developing emotions and perspectives of 68 in-service teachers regarding their experiences in university-based Spanish classes as part of the ACCELA project (Access to Critical Content and English Language Acquisition) at UMass-Amherst. The program gave teacher-participants the opportunity to experience and reflect on the emotional intensity of their own initial language learning, and to personally connect with the challenges that the second language learners experience in their classes where restrictive language policies operate. The researcher argues that their display of growing insights about second language acquisition and their emotional development through interactions with community resources in both English and Spanish reveal their ideological positions in regard to L2 and its learning. This study enhances our comprehension of how language learning experiences can enrich teachers' appreciation of their students' challenges and perspectives. This article contributes to understanding the role of emotions in language learning, of ideology in the mutual development of second language teachers and learners, and of the interrelationship of learning in schools and communities.
