Due to the shortage of World Language and English as a Second Language teachers, recruiting, retaining, and supporting aspiring second language teachers in the completion of their teacher licensure program is crucial. One barrier to the profession for these teachers is edTPA. Research has suggested that non-native English speakers (NNES) who populate second language teacher preparation programs may struggle to complete this assessment more so than their native-English speaking (NES) peers. To shed light on this topic, the researcher used a mixed methodology to examine the performance, perceptions, and preparation of NNES and NES teacher candidates on the World Language and English as an Additional Language edTPA. Data sources included edTPA scores, survey responses and faculty interviews.
The study’s results suggest that the performance of NNES candidates may vary by their teaching assignment and corresponding edTPA portfolio to complete. The results also revealed that NNES candidates’ perceptions centered on their struggles with the writing requirements for edTPA and their lack of awareness of the assessment’s expectations and its connections to coursework. Both candidates and faculty mentioned the benefits of practice edTPA tasks infused in coursework and content-specific seminars offered during the internship. The use of customized language support such as peer editing and the use of other writing resources was reported by candidates and faculty to be especially beneficial for NNES candidates. The study’s findings serve to inform teacher preparation programs as they strive to improve the edTPA preparation of all candidates, including those whose first language is not English.