Though the teaching of ESL requires specialized knowledge and skills, there is no minimum requirement for ESL specialist training in Alberta. Due to the erroneous myth that anyone who can speak English can teach English, there is no differentiation between the role of ESL teachers and teacher assistants or school aides. School personnel are also not required to have training in cross-cultural practices and cultural competency.

A recent survey in Alberta indicates that 31 per cent of classes across the province have ESL learners (Alberta Learning, 2003). In urban jurisdictions, it is not uncommon for schools to have 60 to 80 per cent of their learners come from an ESL background. Yet there is no requirement for school personnel to be culturally competent. In addition, classroom teachers are not equipped to modify or differentiate their teaching to accommodate ESL learners in content classes.

In teaching preparation, ESL education is offered only as a component of an elective "Special Topics" module that broadly covers all diversity issues. Unless students specialize in ESL teaching at the graduate level, they are not required to take courses related to ESL teaching, cultural competency or anti-racist education. There is a lack of integration of education in cultural diversity, particularly with reference to teaching ESL learners, in all courses. A lack of training in ESL teaching at the undergraduate level, combined with successive cuts in ESL services and a lack of professional requirements for ESL teaching, have created a condition of shortage of trained ESL personnel.

Opportunities for professional development and continuing education in the areas of ESL teaching, modification and differentiation of teaching, cultural competency and anti-racist and multicultural education are limited. Without policies and regulations that mandate all school personnel to develop professional competency in these areas, only selected school personnel, such as ESL staff and administrators of schools with a high concentration of ESL students, participate in ESL-related professional development.