Walk into an elementary classroom where a skilled teacher is working with English Learners, and you will notice something beyond the carefully labeled word walls or the scaffolded worksheets. You will notice belief — a quiet, steady conviction from the teacher that every child in that room is fully capable of learning. That conviction has a name in educational research: teacher self-efficacy. And when it comes to English Learners (ELs) in the elementary grades, it may be one of the most powerful forces shaping a child’s academic future.
What Is Teacher Self-Efficacy?
Psychologist Albert Bandura first defined self-efficacy as a person’s belief in their ability to succeed in specific situations. Applied to teaching, self-efficacy refers to how confident a teacher feels in their capacity to positively influence student learning — even in the face of challenges. It is not about bravado or optimism. It is about a deeply held, evidence-informed belief that one’s actions in the classroom make a real difference.
For teachers of English Learners, self-efficacy takes on additional dimensions. It includes confidence in one’s knowledge of language acquisition, the ability to make content comprehensible for students at different proficiency levels, the skill to build on students’ home languages and cultural assets, and the resilience to advocate for EL students in systems that often underserve them.
Why It Matters More Than You Might Think
The research on teacher self-efficacy is remarkably consistent: teachers who believe they can make a difference, do. They set higher expectations for their students, persist longer when students struggle, employ a wider range of instructional strategies, and create classroom environments where risk-taking and language experimentation are welcomed rather than penalized.
For English Learners — who already navigate the demanding cognitive work of acquiring a new language while simultaneously learning academic content — the presence of a high-efficacy teacher is not a luxury. It is a lifeline.
Consider the landscape these children face. In Massachusetts, English Learners have the highest dropout rates of any demographic group in the Commonwealth. Standardized test scores for ELs continue to fall far below state averages, with 50 to 84 percent of EL students scoring in the warning or failing range. Nationally, only one in eight English Learners graduates from a four-year college. These numbers are not inevitable. They reflect, in part, what happens when the adults entrusted with EL students’ education do not feel adequately prepared or confident to meet these students where they are.
The Role of Dual Language Programs
One of the most promising models for building teacher self-efficacy while simultaneously serving EL students well is the dual language program. In dual language settings, EL students’ home languages are treated not as deficits to be overcome, but as assets to be developed. Teachers in these programs typically receive more robust training in language acquisition and sheltered instruction, are part of collaborative professional communities, and teach within a model that structurally validates the multilingual identities of their students.
Dual language programs also offer a powerful reframe for teachers: instead of experiencing their EL students’ multilingualism as an instructional obstacle, they experience it as the program’s very foundation. That reframe is efficacy-building in itself.
What Teachers Can Do Today
While systemic change is essential, there are also mindset and practice shifts individual teachers can begin right now.
Lead with assets, not deficits. English Learners arrive in your classroom with rich linguistic, cultural, and experiential resources. When teachers genuinely see and draw on these assets — inviting students to connect new content to their home languages, sharing cultural knowledge, or translating concepts for a peer — they signal that every student belongs in the intellectual life of the class.
Get comfortable with the “not yet.” Language acquisition is a long game. Teachers who can tolerate the discomfort of not knowing whether their instruction is “working” — who can hold steady and trust the process while remaining responsive — build the resilience that sustains high efficacy over time.
Seek out communities of practice. No teacher is equipped to serve EL students well in isolation. Seek out ESL specialists, bilingual colleagues, and professional learning communities focused on multilingual learners. The collective knowledge of a team is always larger than any individual’s.
Advocate beyond the classroom. Teachers with high self-efficacy recognize that their influence does not stop at the classroom door. They advocate for adequate ESL support, for culturally responsive curricula, for family engagement strategies that honor the home languages and cultures of EL families, and for systemic investments in EL education at the district and state level.
A Shared Responsibility
Teacher self-efficacy is not a teacher problem. It is a systems problem. Schools, districts, universities, policymakers, and community organizations all play a role in ensuring that the teachers who serve English Learners feel prepared, supported, and confident in that work.
At The MEL Community Foundation, we believe that investing in English Learners means investing in the entire ecosystem around them — including the educators who show up for them every day. When we build the capacity and confidence of teachers working with EL students, we are not simply improving instruction in individual classrooms. We are changing the trajectory of children’s lives.
The MEL Community Foundation supports English Learners in Massachusetts public schools by raising academic achievement and post-secondary educational attainment. To learn more about our grants, partnerships, and programs, visit our website or reach out to our team.