Dual Language Classroom Research Articles

Resituating Ruiz’s orientations in language planning: A content analysis of the landscape of bilingual educational research

ABSTRACT This study utilizes quantitative content analysis (QCA) and deductive qualitative approach (DQA) grounded in Ruiz’s orientations of language planning to understand the landscape of bilingual educational research. This QCA included targeted counts from bilingual journal articles (n = 102) covering methodology, participants, region, and bilingual program. DQA used coding methods to infer whether programs maintained a positive or negative iteration of bilingualism. The QCA suggests that articles published are centered on qualitative methodologies, conducted in elementary dual-language classrooms, and concentrated in the northeastern and western US. The DQA demonstrates programs maintain a language-as-resource orientation. These findings provide important implications for researchers studying bilingual education.

“Va a Cambiar” - Identifying and Rejecting Border Patrol Pedagogies in a Dual Language Classroom

ABSTRACT In this paper we identify, name, and operationalize six borders typically found in school settings that include dual language classrooms: bordered languages, knowledge, content areas, bodies, selves, and teachers. We identify these borders as a point of departure to show an example of how a two-way dual language classroom operated through a form of border-crossing pedagogy that respects children and reveals authentic multilingual learning. We use this example to propose that, if dual language classrooms are to truly respect racially and linguistically marginalized students, educators must engage in a practice of protest and refusal toward curricular and social violence.

A teacher’s facilitation of Mexican immigrant students’ border crossings in a dual-language classroom

ABSTRACT This ethnographic study utilized border theory to examine how a bilingual Latinx teacher created equitable instruction for Mexican immigrant second-graders in a 50–50 dual-language (DL) classroom in the U.S. Midwest. Approximately half the students in the DL classroom came from Spanish-speaking, working-class homes, and half from English-speaking, middle-class homes. The teacher reduced linguistic borders when she drew from her personal experiences and knowledge of bilingualism to forbid linguistic discrimination, separated students’ second-language mastery from their conceptual understanding, and facilitated translanguaging (bilingual individuals’ use of integrated linguistic resources). She promoted class border crossings when she intentionally grouped students and told the English-dominant students that they were disrespecting their Spanish-dominant classmates when they refused to speak Spanish. Borders that the teacher could not change were the high status of English at the school and the English-dominant students’ expectation that the Spanish-dominant students would help them with their Spanish but that they did not have to reciprocate. Educational implications included training DL teachers so that they know how to reduce the privileges of the English speakers and how to support translanguaging. A call for more classroom research to address the power dynamics between language-minority and majority students in DL classrooms was made.

Developing health literacy events: a case study of teachers designing health curricula

Objective: In response to the question ‘how can teachers develop health literacy events that leverage students’ cultural and linguistic resources’, this study highlights how two teachers developed a culturally and linguistically responsive curriculum that sought to promote health literacy. Design: The study details findings from a larger partnership between an urban university and a bilingual urban school in the USA. Researchers and teachers conducted a year-long project oriented towards co-designing a curriculum that integrated students’ cultural and linguistic repertoires with health literacy. Over one academic year, teachers planned, implemented, studied and modified curricular units that drew on students’ cultural and linguistic resources related to health. Setting: The study focuses on two Spanish-English bilingual teachers working in a third-grade (8–9 year olds) dual-language classroom in a multilingual urban community in the midwestern USA. Method: Data collected included classroom conversations, teacher-researcher and university researcher conversations, classroom work and teacher-derived analytic documents. Data were coded and analysed to understand how teachers made sense of what happened within specific health literacy events to develop a single descriptive case study. Results: Three events are focused on demonstrating how teachers developed health literacy by building on students’ pre-existing cultural and linguistic resources. Teachers moved from using teacher-centred forms of nutrition education to using student-developed health content that articulated with health concerns in the community. Conclusion: Using a funds of knowledge approach to integrating health literacy into the curriculum, teachers helped students draw on cultural and linguistic resources, building self-confidence, and developing an interest in gathering evidence and presenting health-related findings.

Collaborative Translanguaging and Transmodal Literacies: Learning the Language of Science in a Dual-Language Classroom

Research has shown the benefits of peer interaction to scaffold learning of disciplinary literacies. We extend knowledge in this area to examine peer interaction and the affordances it creates when emergent bilinguals engage with multimodal texts in disciplines to make meaning. Using discourse analysis of the interactions of a small group of third graders carrying out a project in science class, we explored how four emergent bilinguals collaborated to design, produce, and distribute traditional and alternative texts. We found that translanguaging and transmodal collaborative structures support learning processes and comprehension to make sense of and contextualize disciplinary knowledge. A dynamic and recursive translanguaging pattern emerges in which the introduction and contextualization of knowledge happens in Spanish, the interaction occurs mainly in English, and the creation is in both English and Spanish. We discuss the affordances of these collaborative structures for supporting students in science and promoting Spanish and student bilingualism.

“They are. Bilingual.”: Manifestations of bilanguaging love in a dual language bilingual classroom

ABSTRACT Translanguaging, the fluid and dynamic language practices of bilinguals, reimagines language learning and offers the possibility of a more equitable academic experience for active bilingual students of Color, which was the impetus for our inquiry. This article presents the findings of an ethnographic study conducted in a second-grade dual-language classroom that focused on how bilanguaging love is manifested through the perspectives and approaches to translanguaging of bilingual students and their bilingual teacher. Drawing on the concepts of translanguaging and bilanguaging love, we present two main findings: (1) Generative translanguaging perspectives, and (2) Confronting tensions with and through translanguaging. The findings have important implications for translanguaging implementation in bilingual spaces and recognizing that the work involved in this approach is sustained by love for and with bilingual students and communities of Color.

Preservice teachers learning to integrate language within content instruction in dual language classrooms

ABSTRACT Having a dual focus on teaching content information and language is important in language-learning contexts and is a defining feature of dual language bilingual education (DLBE). However, systematically teaching both language and content is challenging for DLBE teachers. This exploratory mixed methods study of nine Spanish-English bilingual Latinx preservice teachers (PSTs) placed in United States DLBE primary classrooms sought to determine how PSTs attended to language acquisition and development during content instruction. Seventy videos of PSTs teaching content-area lessons were analyzed quantitatively using a researcher-created rubric for Integrated Language and Content and Attention to Language. Forty of these relatively high-scoring videos and transcripts were analyzed qualitatively by coding linguistic and multimodal communication to further describe PSTs’ instructional moves. Findings indicate that throughout their preparation programme, PSTs improved their integration of language and content and attention to language, but their linguistic focus remained limited to vocabulary instruction. PSTs also focused more on students’ receptive than expressive language development. Understanding PSTs’ developing abilities to integrate content and language has implications for teacher education to support DLBE PSTs’ emerging pedagogy.

“It's part of me”: Brazilian immigrant teachers' work in a global pandemic

AbstractEven before COVID‐19, immigrant teachers who teach immigrant children in dual language classrooms were under a tremendous amount of pressure in their schools and districts. “I know what they are going through”, Elise, a veteran teacher from Brazil, disclosed during an interview when asked about her knowledge on children's lives. She was referencing her shared identity with her students. However, in a school where immigrant teachers were a minority and so were their students, the effects of a global pandemic further exacerbated the inequalities related to quality education for children. Scholars have pointed out that culturally knowledgeable and responsive teachers are especially important in education and care settings that serve children from immigrant families. These expectations grew exponentially since COVID‐19 hit in March of 2020. Participants in this research, Brazilian immigrant women who were teachers, toggled between their identities as they empathized, supported, and cared for their students. Elise, a Brazilian immigrant teacher with over a decade of experience and the mother of three young children of her own explained, “If before I felt I could barely help and care for my students under the pressure of performing and holding up the so called effectiveness of dual language programs, now I really feel like they (immigrant children) are out of reach. And it is on me. I feel like it is my responsibility”. With the purpose of shedding light on the ways in which immigrant Brazilian teachers understand their work as educators amid a global pandemic, this article addresses the following research questions: (i) How are Brazilian immigrant women who are teachers re‐signifying their work in light of a pandemic? (ii) How do their intersectional identities contribute to their understandings of their work?

The influence of teachers’ math instructional practices on English learners’ reading comprehension and math problem-solving performance in Spanish and English

ABSTRACT We explored the role of three math instructional practices by teachers (explicit instruction, guided practice, peer interaction) in predicting current Spanish and English reading comprehension and later Spanish and English math problem-solving performance of English learners (ELs). In this study, math was taught in Spanish. We had 26 teachers and 319 Spanish-speaking ELs from dual language classrooms. Of concern was whether the teachers’ use of these three practices in the first year of the study yielded significant predictions in ELs’ Spanish and English reading comprehension in the current year and math problem-solving accuracy in the subsequent years. Our multilevel modeling results indicated that math skills could predict reading performance and that early calculation in Spanish and English significantly predicted later problem-solving performance. The results also indicated a trade-off regarding the language of instruction and math ability. Further, such instructional practices were more likely to benefit ELs without learning difficulties in math (LDM) than those with LDM. These findings suggest that when teachers use the three instructional practices in early years, these practices need to account for the language of instruction and the continuum of student abilities related to math in order to better improve ELs’ problem-solving accuracy in later years.

Designing and facilitating language interpretation experiences with 2nd and 3rd grade bilingual learners: Learning from teachers’ experiences

ABSTRACT The purposes of this exploratory case study were twofold: (1) to understand the strengths and challenges teachers experienced when designing and delivering language interpretation tasks for use with second- and third-grade bilingual students, and (2) to ascertain what teachers perceived to be the benefits and drawbacks of the instructional approach for their students. The approach, Así se dice (That’s how you say it!), asks Spanish- and English-speaking bilingual students to discuss, interpret, and translate text-based passages collaboratively. This culturally and linguistically relevant process engages students in metalinguistic and metacultural analyses incorporating reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Findings indicate that through careful scaffolding and opportunities to debrief, teachers can implement and reflect on innovative instructional approaches that are rooted in pedagogies of biliteracy, explicitly develop metalinguistic awareness and create hybrid spaces to disrupt language separation in dual language classrooms. From teacher reflections and classroom observations, we learned that the choice of passage content and its length influences successful implementation. Further, it is critical that teachers have done the translation prior to the lesson. Participants universally expressed value for the strategy in terms of students’ language and literacy development, while also identifying the unique challenges it presented for them as educator

An examination of the heterogenous nature of literacy development in Spanish-speaking preschool children

ABSTRACT This study evaluated the emergent literacy profiles of preschool Spanish-speaking children. Participants included 440 children in dual-language classrooms who were assessed in English and Spanish at the beginning and end of their preschool year. Research Findings: Through latent profile analysis, conducted with fall data, four empirically derived emergent literacy profiles emerged. Further analyses were conducted to determine if there were differential relations between the literacy profiles and spring early reading measures of alphabet knowledge and oral language, measures that are typically used to evaluate kindergarten readiness for literacy instruction. Practice or Policy: Results highlight the heterogeneous nature of emergent literacy development in Spanish-speaking children and demonstrate the need for individualized literacy instruction during the preschool years.

Border crossings and border exclusions: Academic and social experiences of a second-grade child of indigenous descent in a dual language school

ABSTRACT In this ethnographic case study, border theory was used to analyze how a Guatemalan/Mexican student of Indigenous descent confronted borders in a second-grade, Spanish-English dual-language (DL) classroom in the U.S. The student faced structural/institutional borders that affected all the DL participants or Latinx students and social borders specific to himself and other students of Indigenous descent. He initially coped by not speaking English and assuming a Mexican identity. With his teacher’s support, he crossed social borders by speaking English, taking pride in his Indigeneity, and using Q’anjob’al. How DL programs could better address the needs of Indigenous students is discussed.

On the Road to Translanguaging in a Dual Language Classroom: Teaching Math and Science in Mandarin and English

This article examines the evolving instructional practice of one Chinese dual language instructor in the US as she employs a translanguaging-inspired approach in her math and science Mandarin medium classes. Contrary to the school language allocation policy requiring 90% Mandarin in her Chinese classes, she encourages the utilization of English as well as Mandarin in her instruction. This offers comprehensible input to learners, also making possible greater student participation. Findings from observations and interviews reveal how a focus on meaning-making in instruction resulted in the gradual evolution of bilingual language use and effective communication of content by students and the teacher.

Review of Tedick & Lyster (2020): Scaffolding Language Development in Immersion and Dual Language Classrooms

Abstract This article reviews Scaffolding Language Development in Immersion and Dual Language Classrooms 9780429428319USD 37.56

“Want to hear my story?” Developing Latino children’s written narratives through culturally relevant family photographs


 
 
 Research supports the importance of developing early literacy skills through culturally relevant activities and school/home partnerships as essential ingredients in high quality early learning environments (Bentley & Souto-Manning, 2019; Gay, 2000). Educators, however, frequently dismiss the significance of honoring a child’s first language, family, and culture when developing early literacy skills (Purcell-Gates, Melzi, Najafi, & Orellana, 2011). Integrating children’s linguistic and cultural understandings, however, is valuable and meaningful for their academic success and overall development (González, Moll, & Amanti, 2005). The purpose of this study was to explore children’s narratives as a culturally relevant practice that promotes early writing. Using student data from a prekindergarten dual language classroom, we found that using family pictures from home provided multiple iterations of children’s stories and demonstrated how Latino families’ cultural experiences are significant for the development of children’s emergent writing development. Implications for practice are discussed.
 
 

Pedagogy, Language Development and Assessment Practices in a Middle School Social Studies Dual-Language Classroom

Pedagogy, Language Development and Assessment Practices in a Middle School Social Studies Dual-Language Classroom

Engineering design in dual language: How teachers leveraged biliteracy practices to add engineering disciplinary literacy practices

ABSTRACT In this two-year ethnographic study, we explored engineering teaching and learning in fourth-grade, dual language (DL) classrooms. We discuss the biliterate disciplinary practices in these classrooms, examining data (field notes, interviews, artifacts, audio, and video recordings) gathered at a school on the US-Mexico border. Our purpose is to highlight how DL teachers collaborated to create an inquiry-based learning environment that fostered biliteracy as a resource for adding new disciplinary literacy practices. They designed experiences where their emergent bilingual students were able to leverage their existing biliterate repertoires to engage in and learn engineering design. The environment teachers promoted the development of engineering disciplinary literacies in two languages.

“I don’t like English because it is jard.” Exploring multimodal writing and translanguaging practices for biliteracy in a dual language classroom

ABSTRACT This qualitative case study explores how integrating multimodal writing opportunities in a second-grade dual language classroom opens up spaces for translanguaging practices in order to promote a more equitable and socially just access to biliteracy development for emergent bilinguals. A multimodal writing project that integrated writing and social studies was designed to provide students with opportunities to write in English and Spanish using digital tools. Data collected involved field notes, student work, students’ interviews, and videorecordings of students’ interaction while completing the writing tasks. Findings illustrate how the multimodal writing project afforded emergent bilinguals with opportunities to leverage their full linguistic repertoire to construct meaningful texts in both languages while integrating new features in both languages, establishing cross-linguistic connections, building metalinguistic awareness, and positioning as capable writers in both languages.

Ciencias bilingües: how dual language teachers cultivate equity in dual language classrooms

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to document how K-8 critically conscious, dual language, science teachers (CCDLSTs) working with bilingual learners (BLs) practice their critical consciousness via the four tenets of dual language education: ideological clarity, pedagogical perspective and clarity, access for all, and equitable spaces (IPAE). This paper is informed by the fourth tenet and research question: How do CCDLSTs create equitable spaces in science learning environments? Previous research offers limited information on how dual language, science teachers practice their critical consciousness. Given the era of Common Core State Standards and the number of BLs left with underprepared teachers, this study advances an understanding of what CCDLSTs are doing in classrooms to draw upon the assets of BLs while implementing the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). A phenomenological qualitative design was used to gather interview and observational data of how six CCDLSTs working in Southern California public schools employed a critically conscious pedagogy in a Spanish/English dual language setting while creating access to science content with equity at the core. Findings include research-based examples of the instructional processes CCDLSTs used in their classrooms to create equity while teaching science in dual language classrooms.

At the intersection of culture, bilingualism, and mathematics: breaking language norms in a seventh-grade dual-language classroom for biliteracy development

ABSTRACT As it is a common practice in Dual Language Education (DLE) classrooms throughout the United States, language separation tends to be a planning policy that is usually enforced by curriculum designers, school administrators, and bilingual teachers. However, research has shown that DLE teachers and students have the potential of teaching and learning bilingually in their own terms. Using theoretical perspectives from Anthropolitical Linguistics coupled with Ruíz’s seminal work on language as problem, resource, and right; and other socio-cultural frameworks, this paper presents an ethnographic case of a seventh-grade DLE mathematics classroom, and examines how the members of this mathematics community use their bilingual abilities in a flexible way; which in turn, influence the development of mathematics biliteracies. Drawing from a larger ethnographic project, this study shows how the members of a bilingual mathematics community of practice break language norms, which prevail in DLE classrooms, to promote mathematics biliteracies. Findings suggest that using a ‘translanguaging’ approach in DLE classrooms is an effective way for teaching and learning mathematics with a biliteracy approach. Some implications for schools, teachers, and teacher educators are discussed.