This qualitative interpretive study showcases views and perceptions of K–12 teachers of English as a second language (ESL) in a North Carolina school district regarding the importance of academic language to ensure equal education opportunities for English learners. Framed by sociocultural theory, the study's findings report current, practicing teachers’ perceptions regarding why access to academic language development is essential, in the context of both specialized ESL program services and content area classrooms. Study results also reveal demonstrations of facilitating academic language development in the context of K–12 public school classrooms to foster equal educational opportunities at school and within the community.

Dual language education programs are highly beneficial for literacy and academic language development with all students, especially those who are English learners. School districts nationwide are attempting to expand K-12 dual language programs, yet teaching and learning for biliteracy development are highly complex processes, especially with middle level learners. Furthermore, there is a severe shortage of dual language teachers, posing great difficulties to efforts to expand programs, especially in middle and secondary schools. This qualitative case study focuses on two middle level teachers' perspectives regarding the distinct qualities of biliteracy development via the science curriculum and the unique sociocultural aspects of language learning in middle school. The study and its findings also provide insight into how the distinctive qualities of dual language learning in content-based middle level classrooms might influence middle level teacher education programs.

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edTPA is a performance-based, content-specific assessment process designed by educators to determine whether new teachers are ready for the job. This chapter provides a thorough description of how two departments at the University of North Carolina implemented edTPA in teacher licensure programs and how candidates were supported through the process. Elementary, Middle Grades, Secondary, Teaching English as a Second Language, and Foreign Language Education programs are described and implementation details of edTPA are provided. Formative supports for each program are presented. Finally, the chapter discusses future directions and next steps.

Graduate level teacher candidates preparing to work with English learners participate in coursework related to theory and practice for many aspects of second language acquisition. In this presentation the author describes and discusses an innovative capstone project, completed in the context of the second language acquisition course, which conceptualizes and embodies performance-based assessments. What makes this exceptional is that teacher candidates demonstrate deep insight regarding the authenticity of using performance-based assessments with K-12 English learners while simultaneously connecting the concepts to their own pre-service teaching performance-based assessments; Portfolios2.