Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons^™

The Meaning Of Roots: How A Migrant Farmworker Student Developed A Bilingual- Bicultural Identity Through Change, Robin L. Danzak

Communication Disorders Faculty Publications

Thousands of children and teens labor as migrant farmworkers across the United States. These youngsters, many who are immigrants, face challenges in completing their education and breaking the cycle of agricultural work. Such barriers are influenced by geographic instability, poverty, and sociocultural marginalization. Beyond these factors, and the focus of this article, is the challenge of bilingual-bicultural identity negotiation experienced by young farmworkers in and out of the educational context. This question is explored through the case study of Manuel (a pseudonym), a teen farmworker in Florida. Manuel emigrated from Mexico at the age of 12, and is a speaker …

The Illinois State Seal Of Biliteracy: A Policy Advocacy Document, John L. Finan

Dissertations

This report advocates for my district's participation in the Illinois State Seal of Biliteracy Program, which became law in August, 2013. This program places value on developing bilingual or multilingual citizens. Through the demonstration of proficiency in English and one or more foreign languages, students can earn the State Seal of Biliteracy, which is recognized on high school diplomas and transcripts. Due to the inherent educational value of language study and the importance of developing cross-cultural 21st century skills, this report analyzed the educational, economic, social and political contexts within which the decision to participate in this program was made. …

Nuestros Sonidos: A Case Study Of Bilingual Music And Play Among Primary-School Age Heritage Language Learners, Sara P. Alvarez

Theses and Dissertations--English

The demographics in the United States continue to show a dramatic increase of immigrant students who speak a language other than English at home (Smitherman; U.S. Census); however, schooling ideologies and practices continue to treat developing bilingualism as a detriment to students entering school rather than a resource (Canagarajah; Heath; Matsuda; Valdés et al; Richardson; Santa Ana; Street). In this case study, conducted in the “Nuevo New South” (Mohl; Rich and Miranda), I observed how bilingual music and play in school-like settings can promote bilingual literacy practices and bridge gaps between traditional schooling practices and communities ways of languaging. Engaging …

A Biliteracy Dialogue Approach To One-On-One Writing Instruction With Bilingual, Mexican, Immigrant Writers, W. Jason Stegemoller

Faculty Publications

This interpretive study explores the writing and writing experiences of 2 bilingual, Mexican, immigrant undergraduates at a US university. Hornberger and Skilton-Sylvester’s (2003) continua model of biliteracy situates writing interactions to understand how students explore and draw on their bilingual and bicultural resources as they develop academic writing in English in the university. Data include questionnaires, literacy history interview-conversations, text-based conversations, student writing, course syllabi, and assignment sheets. Biliteracy dialogues demonstrate how students approached writing. The 1st student, Diego, focused on negotiating what he perceived as appropriate to include in his writing, while the 2nd student, Nicolas, connected to academic …

Bilingual Education As An Eeo: Educational Enrichment Opportunity For All, Anaida Colón-Muñiz, Norma Valenzuela

Education Faculty Books and Book Chapters

"In this chapter, we present our position on the need for more, not less, bilingual education based not only on our personal experiences and on the evidence that is available in the literature verifying the value of bilingualism and biliteracy. Even with our bumpy experiences as young bilingual children, we are still better for it than if we had been raised without the benefit of two languages. But we also know it is time to do a better job with our youth in the United States as it refers to language development.

In Part I, we argue that bilingual education …

Perceptions Of Bilingualism And Home Language Maintenance And Loss: A Study Of Latino Parents At A San Francisco Bay Area Elementary Charter School, Emily Mccormick Enstice

Doctoral Dissertations

There is limited research that investigates parent perceptions with respect to their early elementary school children's home language use. To fill the gap in research, this study explores the relationship between first generation Latino parent perspectives of bilingualism, home language maintenance and loss, and the intersection of culture and identity in an elementary school community. It also investigates how parents create an additive bilingual environment in the home.

This participatory action research (PAR) study involved group dialogue sessions and individual interviews in order to engage co-researchers and participants. PAR provided this study with the structure and tools to change and …

Bilingualism And Bilingual Education In The U.S., Zakaria Jouaibi

Department of Curriculum, Instruction, and Media Technology

No abstract provided.

Perspective Shifting In Relative Clauses By Elementary-Aged Spanish-English Bilinguals: A Cross-Linguistic Study, Xigrid Tayri Soto

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Language-specific theories of sentence processing suggest that individuals interpret sentences based on the characteristics of their native language (e.g., Bates & MacWhinney, 1989). As such, competing linguistic cues are taken into account (including word order, morphology, and animacy) and the cue selected is most likely to yield a correct interpretation in the native language. However, research in this area has produced conflicting results. MacWhinney (2005) has proposed that examining the role of perspective shifting in sentence comprehension may demonstrate how cognitive and syntactic factors work together to facilitate sentence comprehension. The aim of the current study is to investigate the …

Middle School Transition: How It Affects The Achievement Of Hispanic Students Relative To Ell Status, Socioeconomic Status, Gender, And Previous Test Scores, Kevin D. Gordon

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the phenomena of middle school transition and achievement as it relates to Hispanic students. According to the 2000 U.S. census, there are more than 35 million registered Hispanic citizens. Of those, 3.6 million are public school students. The literature indicated that there was a marked regression in student achievement during the transition to middle school.

Through the use of descriptive statistics and regression analysis, sixth grade Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) reading and math developmental scale scores (DSS) were analyzed to determine if the mean achievement improved or declined after the transition …

A Speech-Language Pathologiest Perspective On The Referral And Assessment Of Bilingual Children Whose Primary Language Is Not English, Kathleen M. Schulte

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This study presents the results from a survey issued to speech-language pathologists in the state of Kentucky regarding their perspectives on referral and assessment of bilingual speakers whose primary language is not English. The study was conducted to determine methods for decreasing the over-identification of bilingual students served for speech and language disorders. Literature review indicates an over-identification of non-English speakers in special education and related services programs nationwide. There are many possible reasons for this over-identification some of which include: lack of English instruction prior to testing in English, Speech-Language Pathologists’ preparation level, and shortage of appropriately normed assessment …

Bilingual Education - A Historic And Programmatic Overview, Jens Tillmanns

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study is an archival research for historical understanding documenting historical trends in bilingual education in the United States. Relevant documents and literature were reviewed, analyzed, and coded to form the themes that examine the historical and programmatic development of bilingual education in the United States since its formation. It is particularly important to examine these roots of bilingual education in light of the ongoing political tensions around immigration issues. What historical events have impacted the emergence and shaping of and the resistance to bilingual education in the United States? What political and social forces have impacted the emergence and …

Second Languages And Australian Schooling, Joseph Lo Bianco

Australian Education Review

It is an underlying principle of AER 54 that active efforts should be made to cultivate the latent bilingual potential within Australia’s wider population and that this should be linked to major improvements in the quality of language teaching in schools. A combined approach of this kind will require investment in specialised preparation for language teachers, more time allocated to second language teaching in schools, and coordination of effort across school and post-schooling sectors. Section 1 describes the critical distinction between niche learning and mass learning of languages, and the current distribution of language competence throughout Australian society. The role …

Teaching Spanish To Native Speakers, Silvia Guzman

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this project is to review the literature regarding the teaching program of Spanish for Native Speakers (SNS) since 1980. The rationale for the review of the literature regarding the teaching program of Spanish for Native Speakers is to examine the curriculum, issues, motivations, innovations and studies of Foreign Language Learners and then present Ms. Guzman's perspective about the curriculum of Spanish for Native Speakers at the Secondary level.

Effects On L1 During Early Acquisition Of L2: Speech Changes In Spanish At First English Contact, Christina E. Gildersleeve-Neumann, Elizabeth D. Peña, Barbara L. Davis, Ellen S. Kester

Speech and Hearing Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Spanish phonological development was examined in six sequential bilingual children at the point of contact with English and eight months later. We explored effects of the English vowel and consonant inventory on Spanish. Children showed a significant increase in consonant cluster accuracy and in vowel errors. These emerging sequential bilingual children showed effects of English on their first language, Spanish. Cross-linguistic transfer did not affect all properties of the phonology equally. Negative transfer may occur in specific areas where the second language is more complex, requiring reorganization of the existing system, as in the transition from the Spanish five-vowel to …

“Why Do We Do This?” Reflections Of A Two-Way Immersion School Principal On The Roles Of Parents, Teachers, And Her Own, In The Program, Franciso Ramos

School of Education Faculty Works

The present article offers the reflections of the principal of the longest-running two-way immersion school in Southern California on some of the key factors positively impacting the program, namely parental involvement, teacher commitment, and principal support. Additionally, it includes some of the critical challenges she must continuously face as part of her job, i.e., scarcity of qualified and minority language proficient teachers, lack of funding and adequate materials in the minority language, as well as the impact of federal and state education laws on the autonomy of the program. She also gave some recommendations, based on her professional experience, for …

Profiles And Perspectives: Learning Through Descriptive Inquiry At The Cypress Hills Community School, Laura Ascenzi-Moreno, Cecilia M. Espinosa, Sarah Ferholt, Michael Loeb, Berky Lugo-Salcedo, Cecilia Traugh

Publications and Research

This paper describes the work of a collaborative study group on exploring the multiple literacies of students at one school in Brooklyn, NY. Through descriptive review, the group developed knowledge about how to support student language and bilingualism through responsive techniques.

Partnerships To Recruit And Prepare Bilingual Teachers, Julie Esparza Brown

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

To address the need for teachers with the skills to effectively teach English Language Learner (ELL) students, Portland State University (PSU) collaborated with three Portland area community colleges and 17 school districts to develop a program to recruit and prepare bilingual/bicultural teachers. This nine-year-old program provides a career ladder for education paraprofessionals. Candidates begin their work at the community colleges or at the upper division or graduate levels at PSU depending upon their backgrounds. This article describes the program, assessment of the program, and lessons learned. To date, over 190 candidates have completed the program and 99 percent have been …

Opinions Of Students Enrolled In An Andalusian Bilingual Program On Bilingualism And The Program Itself, Francisco Ramos

School of Education Faculty Works

The Regional Ministry of Education of the Autonomous Government of Andalusia, an autonomous community in the South of Spain, has established several bilingual programs to improve language proficiency of its student population. The programs, which undertake second languages as vehicular languages at the classroom, encourage student’s bilingualism, academic development and positive attitudes toward other groups. The following paper examines opinions given by a group of students enrolled in an Andalusian bilingual program about those matters. Students had different positive opinions on bilingualism as well as the program in general; however, they had some doubts over the intellectual and cognitive benefits …

Maintaining And Nurturing The Language And Culture Of Heritage Spanish-Speakers At The Elementary Level, Amanda Amarotico

MA TESOL Collection

In many schools across the United States native Spanish-speakers are enrolled in Spanish foreign language classes in order to fulfill a foreign language requirement. The Spanish foreign language class is inappropriate for the native Spanish-speaker’s needs. It is essential that these students be given opportunities to expand their linguistic skills to become fully bilingual and biliterate. Spanish classes for native Spanish-speakers exist at the high school level in many parts of the country, but elementary students are rarely given such opportunities.

The author of this professional paper and report on the creation of an after school Spanish Club discusses the …

Power, Linguistic Diversity And Education, Eva Núñez-Méndez

World Languages and Literatures Faculty Publications and Presentations

Brief editorial outlining the author's views on issues around diversity, bilingualism and multiculturalism, arguing for the benefits of multilingualism.

Querida Prima, Dear Prima : A Story For Children Seven To Ten Years Old, Stephanie Hermann

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This project is an original bilingual story of two cousins who live in two different countries. The United States and Costa Rica. They bridge their separation by writing letters and emails throughout the story. Through this correspondence they learn about each other and the have more in common in their seemingly distinct worlds than they realize. The text of the book is written in English. The correspondence between the two characters is in English with Spanish translations.

This thesis includes a rationale which explains the need for this book in a world that recognizes the importance of bilingualism and on …

Esl Mentoring: An Empowering Tool, Maria Cristina Tur

MA TESOL Collection

The purpose of this IPP will be a qualitative case study of the mentoring program at Hostos Community College, City University of New York. I will learn the working of the mentoring program. I will examine the mentor’s role and strategies in helping her two protégés. I will reflect upon the relevance of a Mentoring Program as a tool in facilitating the acquisition of ESL. Finally, I will explain the advisor/advisee program at Intermediate School 184 in the South Bronx in whose pilot program I participated.

Language Attitudes In Relation To Language Functions: An Investigation Of The Attitudes Of The Botswana Cambridge 'O' Level Senior Certificate (Cosc) Students, Joel M. Magogwe

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This research study attempts to assess the language attitudes among Botswana Cambridge '0' level Senior Certificate (COSC) students in relation to the official functions of Setswana and English. The study assumes that: (1) there is a general positive attitude towards English and Setswana and that allows for bilingualism; (2) the students are instrumentally motivated to learn English because of the socio-economic gains associated with it; (3) the students are integratively motivated symbol of nationhood to learn Setswana because Setswana is a and attitudes among L2 learners political independence; (4) in Botswana arc influenced language by the functions the language is …

Primary Language Use In Secondary Content Classes And Academic Achievement: A Study Of Adolescent Immigrant Math Students, Michael Norman Walbridge

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

Assisting Hispanoamericano Parents To Recognize Children's Literacy Requirements By Recontextualizing The Academic Language Of Social Studies, Martín Christopher Ruiz

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

The Development Of Writing Using Funds Of Knowledge And Whole Language With Secondary Esl Students, Madeleine Marie Haas

Theses Digitization Project

Whole language approach.