English-as-a-second-language (ESL) teachers are more likely than any other group of educators to say their morale would get a significant boost if their schools hired more mental health counselors, according to a new analysis of national survey data.
The EdWeek Research Center administered an online survey in September and October to a nationally representative sample of more than 2,500 teachers. It asked what it would take to boost their morale in the workplace.
On the question of additional mental health support, ESL educators were more likely to cite it as a key factor in improving their job satisfaction.
“We end up being counselors as well as teachers,” said Ann Ioannides, a middle school ESL teacher at Seattle public schools who participated in the survey.
The survey also found that ESL educators were more likely than the overall teacher population to work in urban, high-poverty schools with majority Hispanic student populations, particularly in the Northeast and South.
When working with students who experience a variety of mental health needs, having additional staff trained to support both students and educators can make a difference in teachers’ work lives, experts said.
ESL teachers’ workloads go beyond instruction
Maggie Marcus, a fellow at the Century Foundation, a progressive think tank, researches the experiences of ESL teachers. She has found their workload typically goes well beyond teaching English and providing language-development support.
They’re often expected to translate information, interpret for families during special education meetings, and serve as liaisons between families and schools.
English learners, most of whom are U.S.-born citizens, have been traditionally marginalized by the education system, are more likely to live in poverty, and may have parents who aren’t well-versed in how the system works, Marcus said. These factors can intensify students’ social-emotional needs.
ESL teachers must also address unique social-emotional challenges such as immigrant students adapting to a new language, culture, and country all at once, said Ioannides.
Sometimes students get frustrated at not making fast enough progress in their English-language acquisition, or they were star students back in their home country and now feel lost.
“We deal with frustration, we deal with tears, we deal with anger—more than any other teachers because of that,” Ioannides said.
And while Ioannides agrees that more mental health counselors could help ESL teachers in supporting newcomer students, she said the counselors themselves must also be adequately trained in handling students’ experiences.
“I don’t know if they really understand what the kids are going through because they haven’t experienced it, or they haven’t been trained in it,” Ioannides said. “So it ends up being assistant and [me] who become counselors, to talk to the kids anytime there’s trouble.”
Shifting political climates exacerbate ESL teachers’ workloads
The counseling workload ESL teachers often take on for their students can take a toll over time. It’s why Marcus’ research has found that additional mental health counselors are not only beneficial for students but also for teachers.
“ESL teachers are maybe the one [ESL] teacher in their building, or they’re part of a very small team, and so they don’t necessarily have a sounding board or a partner to talk to about, what they’re working with their students,” Marcus said.
Mental health counselors trained in how to support immigrant students’ trauma and living situations can help ESL teachers feel supported in their work.
That support is increasingly critical, Marcus said. ESL teachers nationally report that students are still recovering from trauma caused by the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic, and now many are also navigating stress from heightened immigration enforcement in their communities.
