Developing Principles for Teaching Language to Emergent Bilinguals Through Cultural Historical Activity Theory and Design-Based Research

• In Event: 69.057 - Roundtable Session 32
  In Roundtable Session: 69.057-15 - Mobilizing Discourses Across Contexts

Abstract

This paper explores how a language-focused curriculum functioned within and across multiple socioculturally organized activity systems to meet the curricular goals of language awareness and increased oral fluency with upper elementary emergent bilingual students. We employed design-based research to study student learning in the context of iteratively developed lessons, for the purpose of extracting curricular and pedagogical principles for teaching language-focused lessons to emerging bilingual students. We share five key principles, related to: 1) curricular focus on language awareness and skills, 2) use and expanded definition of anchor texts, 3) explicit and dialogic instruction, 4) group structures that provide opportunities for expressive language, and 5) scaffolds for learning. There are implications for teachers and curriculum developers.

Authors

• Renata Love Jones, Boston College

• Meredith Cromwell Moore, Boston College

• Patrick Proctor, Boston College

• Rebecca Deffes Silverman, University of Maryland - College Park