The teacher shortage is being felt all over the world, but the state of Indiana, in the US, has launched a new initiative in its drive to specifically recruit more English language teachers, as the number of English language learners (ELLs) has grown significantly in recent years.
Although the state has managed to increase the number of ELLs teachers in the past two years by about 38%, but it’s still not enough to meet the growing need, according to Indiana’s education secretary, Dr Katie Jenner.
One teacher in an Indiana school said the number of ELL students had doubled in the past two years.
To deal with this increase, the state is partnering with colleges and universities to offer a programme that will allow teachers to be certified in teaching English as a new language at no cost to them. Dr Jenner has launched an appeal to those who are already teachers or have a bachelor’s degree and would consider a change in direction to join the programme, which is being paid for by $2m covid relief funding.
