Rethinking “Equity Sticks”: Engaging Emergent Bilinguals in Discussing Texts

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amber N. Warren ◽  
Natalia A. Ward
Keyword(s):  
Author(s):  
Georgios Floros

The main question regarding the use of pedagogical translation in schools has now shifted from the if-question to the how-question, especially given the challenges posed by the increasing worldwide migration. Pedagogical translation is recognized today as an extensive social practice, and recent research is interested in how pedagogical translation can become more effective through novel types of translation, such as media translation. This chapter argues that pedagogical translation is a type of literacy and focuses on what pedagogical translation, notably both the interlingual and the intralingual types, can afford in mixed classrooms in terms of the main methodological approaches used. It also examines how these two types of translation can best be integrated in various types of school curricula with the aim to serve the specific needs of mixed classrooms and the idea of educating emergent bilinguals.


2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ysaaca Axelrod ◽  
Mikel W Cole

In this paper, we utilize the theory of translanguaging to make sense of the biliterate activities of young emergent bilinguals in a before-school program for Latinx students at an elementary school. Our findings show that even early writers are able to draw from their full linguistic repertoire, utilizing orthographic and syntactic resources consciously, and continue to do so with increasing complexity as they get older and gain greater competence. The children in our study show how emergent bilinguals exhibit exceptionally sophisticated considerations of audience as they write across linguistically and culturally-diverse communities, navigating these in their writing, as they do in their daily lives. Opportunities for students to demonstrate and develop these skills are critical, especially in monolingual settings.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1086296X2110516
Author(s):  
Kelly K. Wissman

This study explores the possibilities and tensions that emerged when a literacy specialist brought a culturally sustaining lens to her work in a reading intervention setting with five emergent bilinguals. Utilizing a case study methodology, the study draws on data from class transcripts, interviews, student writing and artwork, and fieldnotes collected over 2 years. During data analysis, three themes, “get proximate,” “get connected,” and “get moving,” were constructed. Findings illustrate the complex relationship between practices designed to bring students’ linguistic and cultural resources into the classroom (“get proximate” and “get connected”) within a context designed to facilitate measurable growth in students’ reading skills ("get moving"). Findings contain seeds for further exploration related to engaging students’ languages and lived experiences to build foundational skills. The study suggests that more cohesive incorporation of culturally sustaining practices would require a (re)consideration of monolingualism and narrow definitions of literacy within interventions and assessments.


TESOL Journal ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 330-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvia Linan-Thompson ◽  
Enrique David Degollado ◽  
Mitchell Dean Ingram

Author(s):  
Solange A. Lopes-Murphy

The debate surrounding the prioritization of services for emergent bilinguals with disabilities is an area in need of attention. The generalized belief that disability-related services must take priority over English as a Second Language services suggests that there is a critical need to develop school professionals’ understanding that these learners, in addition to receiving special education services, need substantial support in developing their second language abilities. The steady growth of emergent bilinguals and multilinguals in public schools, that is, students acquiring English as a new language, calls for well-trained practitioners able to meet these students’ diverse linguistic, academic, cultural, emotional, and intellectual needs. The typical challenges this population faces acquiring a new language have, well too often, been misrepresented, neglected, or led them to programs for students with true disabilities. However, when emergent bilinguals are legitimately referred to special education, it is not uncommon for their disability-related needs to be prioritized over their English as a Second Language-related needs, and they end up not receiving the support they need to develop social and academic skills in the new language. This review article is intended to stimulate reflection on the types of services being delivered to emergent bilinguals and multilinguals with disabilities in U.S. public school settings.


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