Academic Literacies in Writing: A Case of Spanish/English Bilinguals in Middle Childhood

• In Event: Knowing English Is Not Enough! Cultivating Academic Literacies Among Bilingual Learners

Abstract

Perspective and Purpose
Recent reports about the state of education for ELLs in the United States paint a dismal picture. One report states that 96% of ELLs nationwide score below the basic level on reading (Perie, Gregg & Donahue, 2005). Another indicates that 31% of ELLs fail to complete high school (NCES, 2004). These reports provide a one-dimensional view of the challenges ELLs face and reinforce the dominant ideology of language as problem (Ruiz, 2004). This paper seeks to provide an alternative view through a case study of promising biliterate practices and show how creating an inclusive and flexible biliteracy environment cultivates academic language and literacies for Spanish/English bilinguals.
Previous studies of biliteracy and writing focus on young children and call for increased flexibility in language and literacy instruction (Dworin, 2003; Kenner et al., 2004; Reyes & Azuara, 2008; Schwarzer, 2001). This qualitative study extends earlier work through these questions: What opportunities are provided to third grade bilinguals to develop their academic literacies in writing instruction? How do these opportunities inform writing instruction for bilingual children in middle childhood?

Methods and Data
An anthropological approach (Barton & Papen, 2010) was used to examine the literacy practices of Spanish/English ELLs in a bilingual program. This approach to literacy accounts for interaction of social and individual factors and allows for broader notions of literacy practices and academic literacies -- beyond the analysis of products to the process, production, and use of texts. The study focused on twenty students in a third grade bilingual classroom. Weekly visits were made to the classroom, fieldnotes were taken, and writing samples and curricular data collected. Data analysis includes ethnographic approaches to text analysis of student writing and discourse analysis of interviews, teacher-student conferences and classroom interactions. Patterns across participants were identified to establish initial categories for analysis, which were then modified for more in-depth analysis.

Educational Significance
The data revealed two trends: 1) oral and written academic language overlapped 2) teacher modeling and encouragement of both Spanish and English and code mixing resulted in more student use of their various linguistic repertoires. Additionally, rich academic oral language was used in class discussion. The intentional inclusion of academic discussion became evident in students’ writing as well, illustrating the importance of the discussion and process to the final product. These modes of academic language informed one another. Another finding was that although faced with a high stakes testing culture that privileges English, the teacher resisted English only instruction and was a model for students to utilize their various linguistic repertoires. This strengthened their understanding of key concepts and appeared to facilitate critical thinking surrounding academic texts.

This study contributes to the literature by moving beyond early childhood and considering the ongoing biliterate development of students in schools with a focus on writing. In addition, the data suggests that as students begin to transfer to academic English as their primary language of instruction, the use of students’ native language for academic tasks can have a positive impact on achievement.

Author

• Minda M. Lopez, Texas State University - San Marcos