Re-imagining immersion for teachers: exploring the seedlings of decolonial roots within Ecuadorian/United States partnerships

Abstract

This chapter describes elements of a TESL immersion program and uncovers how the people, landscapes and histories of two communities support or inhibit the development of a critical interculturality. Learning to teach English learners is knowledge and skill-based, but importantly it is relational at both institutional and personal levels. In US students’ reflections of their experiences, they largely miss the differences between their voluntary and highly supported, fi ve-week experience in Ecuador and an English learner’s experience in a US classroom.