Multilingual Learners in Science Education

Abstract

This chapter provides an interpretive review of the literature surrounding these shifts and focuses on publications that helped move both fields toward contemporary perspectives on science and language with multilingual learners. It also acknowledges the contributions of publications that continued to apply more traditional perspectives on science and/or language. The chapter uses the term “multilingual learners” to highlight that all students use the full range of meaning-making resources available to them for engaging in and communicating about science, both in and out of academic settings. Pedagogical tools that support contemporary science instruction for multilingual learners include the use of physical artifacts as tools for science sense-making. A common traditional English for speakers of other languages instructional strategy involves teachers demonstrating concepts or ideas using realia, or real-world artifacts. With regard to science assessment, contemporary perspectives emphasize three-dimensional assessment of science and engineering practices, crosscutting concepts, and disciplinary core ideas simultaneously.