Positioning an Emergent Bilingual Through Discourse and Multimodal Analysis

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 6
  In Roundtable Session: Family and Community Orientations to Language

Abstract

This qualitative study uses positioning theory (Davies & Harré, 2001) and multimodal discourse analysis (Kress, 2012) to explore how an elementary classroom teacher and an English Language Development (ELD) specialist co-teaching pair promoted interactive positioning of an emergent bilingual student (EB) and in this way attempted to disrupt the institution-identity (Gee, 2000) of a bureaucratically labeled English learner (EL). Researchers collected and analyzed data from professional development sessions, classroom videos, and teacher interviews. Analyses reveal while some deficit positioning occurred, teachers in this study successfully worked towards challenging the status quo through asset-based interactive positioning and facilitation of the EB student’s positive discourse-identity (Gee, 2000). By being proactive and intentional in positioning EBs, teachers can cultivate more equitable educational opportunities.

Authors

• Martha Garrett Sandstead, Oregon State University

• Sara Wiger, Oregon State University

• Amanda Kibler, Oregon State University