With the growing number of multilingual learners (MLs) in U.S. schools, research relating to effective teacher training methods has gathered increased interest; however, research on how teachers’ background qualities (BQs) influence teaching practices for MLs is lacking. In the field of multilingual education, scholars have suggested that certain qualities, particularly cultural and linguistic backgrounds, contribute to effectively accounting for MLs in the content classroom and embracing the role of language teacher. In this study we draw upon in-class comments, classroom interactions, targeted interviews, and assignments from teachers-in-training (N=12) throughout one semester in a history teaching methods course to address the following research question: How do prospective teachers’ language-related BQs (i.e. ML-related education, cultural experiences, language learning experience, and teaching experience) shape how they approach ML-related activities and assignments in a content methods teacher education course? The data indicate that preservice teachers with these BQs were better prepared to embrace their roles as language teachers and tailor lessons for MLs than their peers without such BQs.

In this systematic literature review, reports of international students, faculty members, and researchers indicate that international students have difficulty with the reading, writing, listening, and speaking demands of their English-mediated academic contexts, and that many host-institutions are not equipped to effectively accommodate their linguistic needs. A significant number of the studies reviewed also report that the difference between international students’ previous educational experiences and typical Western classroom practices, dynamics, and expectations can be sources of confusion and anxiety. Additionally, salient trends indicate that linguistic and cultural difficulties may persist throughout the entire course of study, that some instructors hold deficit views of international students, and that international and domestic students have limited interactions. Host-institutions that fail to adequately meet the unique needs of this population have a moral obligation to take each of these issues into consideration if they are going to continue to take international students’ tuition dollars.