They should be aware of the variety of world views espoused by participants in the target culture and the native culture, and of the need to view both cultures from a number of perspectives. Such insights cannot be achieved by simply adding more culture courses to the teacher education curriculum. Two preservice programs designed specifically to prepare teachers to work effectively with immigrant students are the Second Languages and Cultures Education Program at the University of Minnesota and the Cross-Cultural Language and Academic Development Program at San Diego State University. This postbaccalaureate program encompasses both foreign language and ESL teacher preparation. The combination seeks to lessen fragmentation in the field of language learning and isolation of language teachers.
Students begin their field experiences in classrooms while continuing to take courses on campus.
A graduate assistant usually facilitates the base group and keeps close contact with teaching candidates through conferences, journals, and on-site visits and observations. Through base groups, students are able to share their experiences with one another and get feedback on their work. In addition, students participate in work days set aside for group projects. Graduates continue to be members of cohort groups for their first year of teaching, participate together in monthly seminars at the university, and engage in action research projects leading to their Master's degree in education. This preservice teacher education program seeks to prepare teachers to work with English language learners where bilingual programs are not available or to work in the English component of a bilingual program.