amanda duncan let's talk chart page sep
TRANSCRIPT
-
8/8/2019 Amanda Duncan Let's Talk Chart Page Sep
1/18
Lets TalkDiscussing and Developing Bilingual Childrens Oral
Language
Amanda Duncan
Katherine Chumacero
CABE Fall ConferenceOctober 14, 2010
-
8/8/2019 Amanda Duncan Let's Talk Chart Page Sep
2/18
Objectives
Dialogue about: academic and social
language, semilingualism andacademic
achievement, code-switching.
Understandwhat you personally believe about
oral language in bilingual students.
Learn what research says about these terms.
Reflecton our classroom practice. Advocate for our bilingual students.
-
8/8/2019 Amanda Duncan Let's Talk Chart Page Sep
3/18
Academic vs. Social Language
Basedon what you believe, use each groupof terms to form a sentence.
Academic language, social language, difficult
Academic language, social language, context
Academic language, social language, criticalthinking
-
8/8/2019 Amanda Duncan Let's Talk Chart Page Sep
4/18
Academic and Social LanguageResearch says:
Surely there is a specific character to the way language is used in manyacademic contexts, and it is reasonable to suspect that the use of thisacademic registerwill co-occurwith success at school and mastery ofacademic content. A serious problem arises, however, when we construethis domain of language use as more complex or developmentally
superior to the language children use natively at home or on the street, andconsequently assess school language as indicative of higher languageproficiency. (MacSwan, Rolstad & Glass, 2002, 399)
All people must learn many different registers or discourses in order to navigatethrough life (conversational, academic, technology, math, literature, fashion,sports, surfing, etc.) No one discourse is more valid than any other.
(Rolstad, 2005)
Higher order thinking can occur in any type of language. Consider a child onthe playground who says, Wow, Marys got a good kick! Ifwe get her onour team, well win for sure! (Rolstad, 2005)
-
8/8/2019 Amanda Duncan Let's Talk Chart Page Sep
5/18
Academic and Social Language
Socio-cultural
Awareness
Instructional Practices
Remember,
communication is thegoal of language. It is
also important to learn
to express ourselves in
different ways
according to the
context.
Practice transfer from social to academic.
Sequencing a novela storyline, transfers to relating ahistorical sequence of causally linked events.
Arguing why a student should be allowed to play
basketball after school could transfer to comparing
and contrasting or using language of cause and effect.
Set language objectives related to the task and pre-
teach language structures so children learn to use
academic language, but assume the ability to THINK
is there, no matterwhat terms are initially used to
present the thinking.
-
8/8/2019 Amanda Duncan Let's Talk Chart Page Sep
6/18
Semilingualism and
academic achievement
Whatdo you thinkpeople mean when they say:
Juanito cant speak either language very well.
I cant ask my students deep comprehension
questionsthey dont speak enough English toparticipate and they would be left out.
-
8/8/2019 Amanda Duncan Let's Talk Chart Page Sep
7/18
Semilingualism and
academic achievement
Research says:
Semilingualism is the idea that children are nonverbal in both English and theirnative language. (McSwan, Rolstad and Glass, 2002)
Research tells us that all normal children acquire the language of their speechcommunity effortlessly and flawlessly. (Pinker, 1994)
Any language can be a suitable vehicle for thought and learning, and anynormal child who speaks a language already has all that is needed in orderto achieve full academic development. (Rolstad, 2005, 1994)
There is an extensive body of research documenting that both majority andminority teachers have been taught in teacher education programs tobelieve that minority children come to school with deficits in background andexperience that must be corrected by the school in order for these childrento achieve. (Escamilla 2006, 2330)
-
8/8/2019 Amanda Duncan Let's Talk Chart Page Sep
8/18
Semilingualism and
academic achievement
Socio-cultural Awareness Instructional Practices
Remember bilingual development may
spread across two languages. Some
terms may be learned in one but not
both languages, in particular
depending on the language(s) used at
school. The potential for learning in
both languages is always there.
Remember that learning and deep
thinking can occur in any language or
dialect.
Be aware of how you judge students
speech in both languages.
DO NOT lower your academic
expectations simply because students
dont yet produce standard language!
Plan for multiple readings of texts,
explanation of target vocabulary,
opportunities for rich discussion and
deep thinking.
Model standard language, validate
non-standard, and explain when each
might be appropriate. Give children a
chance to practice.
-
8/8/2019 Amanda Duncan Let's Talk Chart Page Sep
9/18
Code-switching
Finish these sentences:
Children code-switch becauseAdults code-switch because
Code-switching is (good/bad) because
-
8/8/2019 Amanda Duncan Let's Talk Chart Page Sep
10/18
Code-switching
Research says:
It is by nowwell-established among researchers in linguistics thatintra-sentential code-switching is not a random mixture of twoflawed systems; rather it is rule-governed and systematic,demonstrating the operation of underlying grammaticalrestrictions. (Toribio 2004, 137)
Contrary to common assumptions, code-switching patterns may beused as a measure of bilingual ability, rather than deficit. (Toribio,2004, 138)
Code-switching can be used for dramatic effect, to accommodateother participants language competencies, or to organizeconversational tasks such as turn-taking, emphasis marking, andclarification. (Becker 2001, 112)
-
8/8/2019 Amanda Duncan Let's Talk Chart Page Sep
11/18
Code-switching
Socio-cultural Awareness Instructional Practices
Code-switching does not necessarilyreflect a deficit in either language.
Create bilingual spaces for bilingualpeople.
-
8/8/2019 Amanda Duncan Let's Talk Chart Page Sep
12/18
MyAction Research
Began with this problem: My students dont say muchduring picture walks. Theydont speak intelligibly.
Theydont speak in complete sentences. Theylackso much vocabulary.
Reflected: What factors can I control?
Developedmy research question: What happens tochildrens orallanguage development when I focuson my questioning strategies during picture walks?
-
8/8/2019 Amanda Duncan Let's Talk Chart Page Sep
13/18
Improving my questions
Goal: To deepen my questioning strategies.Initial questions: What is this? Who is that? Where
are they? What are they doing?
Generated a list question frames: Tell me about a time
something similar happened to you. If you could pickone thing from the book, which would you choose?Why? What do you think will happen next? Whatmakes you think that? How do you know? How arethese things alike/different? *
Valued allstudent talk , looked for books that
encouraged discussion and storytelling, moved awayfrom using levels as a guide for book choice.
*Adapted from Kagan Smart Card (1999)Thinking questions
-
8/8/2019 Amanda Duncan Let's Talk Chart Page Sep
14/18
Video of Ral
-
8/8/2019 Amanda Duncan Let's Talk Chart Page Sep
15/18
Reflections
Children in social environments that
provide them with more communicative
interaction, particularly with an
engaging and responsive
communicative partner, and more adult-
produced, child-directed speech,
particularly speech that uses a rich
vocabulary and complex structure
acquire language more rapidly than
children in social environments thatprovide less of these supports.
(Hoff, 2006, 72)
-
8/8/2019 Amanda Duncan Let's Talk Chart Page Sep
16/18
It is my teaching, not the kidsability,
that determines the level of theirresponses.
(Keene, 2008, 78)
-
8/8/2019 Amanda Duncan Let's Talk Chart Page Sep
17/18
I am the sum total of my language. (Charles SandersPeirce)
Y si soy mas de uno, Peirce?Y si soy dos,
o tres
o - como dira David-
un milln?En qu momento, en qu participio del mundo
se convierte tu suma en mi resta, Peirce?
(Gustavo Prez Firat)
-
8/8/2019 Amanda Duncan Let's Talk Chart Page Sep
18/18
References
Becker, R. (2001) Spanish-English Code-switching in a BilingualAcademic Context.Reading Horizons, 42:2, p. 99-115.
Coleman, R. & Goldenburg, C. (2010) What Does Research SayAbout EffectivePractices for English Language Learners? Part Two: AcademicLanguage. KappaDelta Pi Record, 46: 2, Winter, p. 60-65.
Escamilla, K. (2006) Semilingualism Applied to the LiteracyBehaviors ofSpanish-speaking EmergingBilinguals: Bi-illiteracy or EmergingBiliteracy? Teachers CollegeRecord, 108:11, p.2329-2353.
Hoff, E. (2006) HowSocial Contexts Support andShape Language Development.Developmental Review, 26, p. 55-88.
Keene, E. (2008) To Understand. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
MacSwan, J., Rolstad, K. & Glass, G., (2002) Do Some School-age Children Have NoLanguage? Some Problems of Construct Validity in the Pre-LASespanol. BilingualResearch Journal, 6:2, p.395-420.
Pinker, S. (1994) The Language Instinct: How the MindCreates Languages. New York:William More and Company.
Rolstad, K. (2005) RethinkingAcademicLanguage inSecondLanguage Instruction.Proceedings of the 4th International Symposium on Bilingualism, ed. James Cohen,Kara T. McAlister, Kellie Rolstad, and Jeff MacSwan, 1993-1999. Somerville, MA:Cascadilla Press.
Toribio, A. (2004) Spanish/English Speech Practices: Bringing Chaos to Order.International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. 7:2-3, p. 133-154.