As teacher educators, it is imperative that we take the time to understand the diverse contexts in which teachers work and to figure out how we can best support them as they face a myriad of challenges beyond simply teaching the English language. Sometimes this means taking time out from teaching to just listen. This was brought home to me time and time again as I worked with two distinct groups of teachers this past summer. There is so much more to teacher education than just providing teachers with strategies, methods, and materials.

Story #1: Western North Dakota, in the United States, is experiencing an oil boom. This has created unforeseen challenges for school districts as thousands of workers and their families, including English Language Learners (ELLs), flock to the remote and rural area in search of lucrative employment opportunities; truck drivers earn over $60 an hour and the starting wage to flip hamburgers at McDonald’s is over $18 an hour. English proficiency is not required.

I spent a week this past June conducting teacher workshops in this oil boom area, helping K–12 teachers better meet the needs of the increasing numbers of ELLs enrolling in their schools. As much as these dedicated teachers wanted to learn about ELL methods and strategies, the one thing they really wanted was to simply talk. The teachers wanted to share with me how difficult it is to teach in schools affected by the oil boom and how dramatically their classrooms have changed in the past few years. For example, many of the new oil boom families arrive in campers because housing is expensive and in short supply in western North Dakota; one teacher told me that out of 23 students in her class, 17 lived in campers without running water and electricity. Teachers told me that because of the exorbitant increases in the cost of living, some families can no longer afford basics such as milk at $6 a gallon. There are serious teacher shortages, especially for ELL and special education teachers. The vast majority of school bus drivers and school janitors have quit because the schools cannot compete with salaries in the oil fields. The teachers also shared how their small rural communities for the first time were struggling with big city problems, such as prostitution and illegal drugs.

The teachers were not mad or angry but simply honest in discussing the challenges of teaching students under such circumstances. I realized I needed to slow down the pace of the workshops to allow these conversations to take place. I did not have many answers or solutions for them, but I could be a good listener.

Story #2: In July and August, I worked with a completely different group of teachers—English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers from Turkey who came to study at the University of North Dakota under the auspices of an International Research and Exchange grant. Again, I was prepared to share with these teachers my favorite strategies, methods, and materials, and I had much that I wanted to accomplish in a few short weeks. However, as I shared each new idea, the teachers peppered me with questions. “How can I use this strategy when I have over 40 students in my classroom?” “How can I get students motivated to learn English when they do not see any need for it outside the English classroom?” “How can I incorporate new materials and methods when I have to follow the government curriculum?” The teachers were not resistant to learning new ideas but were instead sincere in their questions about how to implement the new ideas given the context and reality of their classrooms. Again, I slowed down my teaching delivery and enjoyed the rich discussions that emerged about the challenges of turning instructional theory into real-life practice.

I know that for me, my job as a teacher educator is much more rewarding when I take the time to let teachers educate me about the realities of their classrooms and students. I can take these teachers’ stories and use them to inform not only my own teaching practice but my work with school administrators, policymakers, and professional associations. TESOL International is such a wonderful community for advocacy. I believe that as teacher educators we need to listen to teachers and advocate for them, making sure their stories are heard.

Anne Walker received her MEd in TESOL from Boston University and her PhD in curriculum and instruction from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she specialized in literacy education for linguistically and culturally diverse students and educational policy studies. She is an associate professor in the Literacy and ELL Education Department of the University of North Dakota. She is the chair of the Teacher Education Interest Section (TEIS) of TESOL.