Exploring student-approved instructional strategies to strengthen speaking skills : a descriptive multiple-case study of three Emergent Bilingual students.

Emergent Bilingual students represent the fastest growing portion of the student population today. This descriptive multiple-case study examines the perspectives of three high school Emergent Bilingual students to determine what types of instructional strategies are most effective in promoting opportunities for speaking, thus strengthening these students’ speaking abilities. In today’s public high school classrooms, the main problem facing Emergent Bilingual students is the lack of speaking opportunities. Speaking is a critical, foundational skill for these students, so this study seeks to identify best practice instructional strategies to promote Emergent Bilingual students’ speaking abilities. This study’s findings collected through student interviews, questionnaires, and observations reveal that students must feel comfortable in class before speaking aloud, should sit near others to maximize speaking opportunity, should have access to collaborative spaces, and work in partners rather than groups. This study reveals future implications for regular subject teacher’s instructional practices and gives a voice to the rising Emergent Bilingual population.