Retooling Mainstream Teachers for Success With Bilingual Learners in the United States

• In Event: 72.040 - International Perspectives on Teacher Preparation for Second Language Learners

Abstract

Objectives: Bilingual students in grades 3-5 mainstream classes with levels of English proficiency from basic to advanced showed significant progress in literacy standardized assessments. The teachers in this urban school had participated for 6 years in a program to learn to teach writing informed by Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) (Halliday & Matthiessen, 2004) and the Teaching and Learning Cycle (TLC) (Rothery, 1996). The purpose of this study was to look at the instructional strategies and student engagement in 6 classrooms. The study answers the following questions:
1. What are the features of instruction targeting writing in 3-5 classrooms where teachers have participated in the SFL informed professional development?
2. How does a subset of students engage in classroom activities during writing instruction?

Theoretical Framework: The principles of educational equity for multilingual classrooms: affirming identities, additive bi/multilingualism, structuring for integration, provide a framework for quality instruction for bilingual learners (de Jong, 2011). To further develop indicators of structuring for integration the TLC and Language Responsive Pedagogy (LRP) (Lucas & Villegas, 2011) were used. The TLC recommends that writing instruction should be explicit and collaborative. LRP recommends that teachers support learning by using extra-linguistic supports, supplement and modify written text and oral language, and provide clear and explicit instructions.

To avoid marginalization and foster learning “students must be meaningfully engaged in learning activities through interaction with others and worthwhile tasks” (Kearsley & Shneiderman, 1999, p. 1). However, research on second language acquisition, shows that speaking in the second language is mediated by personality of the learners (Menyuk & Brisk, 2005).

Methods and Data Sources: Six grade 3-5 mainstream teachers and 10 of their bilingual students with different levels of English proficiency were observed three times a week during a 6 week genre unit. The pedagogy was further analyzed using the theoretical framework described above and student engagement was analyzed relative to student participation in whole class and small group settings.

Results: Teachers’ instructional practices reflected multiple indicators of the educational equity principles outlined in the theoretical framework in spite of the fact that the SFL professional development only included instruction on the genres of writing and the TLC. Student engagement and challenges varied across and within levels. This engagement depended on proficiency and personality. Activities such as following a read aloud or researching content or finding evidence from texts was highly dependent on language proficiency. The influence of personality was most evident in whole group participation. Outgoing students engaged in this type of activity, while more timid students, even level 5’s, rarely engaged even if they seemed to comprehend the discussion.

Scholarly Significance: This study suggests that using a language theory to prepare teachers for literacy instruction supports classroom contexts where bilingual learners can thrive. These teachers in addition to content and literacy teachers had become language teachers. They integrated language instruction to content and literacy activities. By doing so they created a pedagogy that followed the recommendations of experts to succeed with bilingual learners.

Author

• Maria E. Brisk, Boston College