29.082 - Talk That Talk: Making the Most of Text, Speech, and Silence for Emergent Bilinguals in the Classroom

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

English learners are often judged as not knowing English well enough when they code-switch, enact silence or do not adhere by Standard English syntax norms. This session provides an alternative view by pushing the boundaries of traditional conceptions of language. We center our session on the real academic tasks and academic communication English learners engage in on a daily basis. Specifically, we analyze the discourse coherence relations found in science and social studies textbooks and describe how English learners accomplish academic tasks by utilizing multiple language codes, enacting silence and deviating from Standard English expectations.

Sub Unit

• SIG-Second Language Research

Chair

• Maneka Deanna Brooks, Texas State University

Papers

• A Comparison of Implicit and Explicit Discourse Relations in Middle School Science and Social Studies Textbooks - Diego Roman, Southern Methodist University; Stephanie Hironaka, Stanford University

• The Language of Ciencia: Translanguaging and Learning in a Bilingual Science Classroom - Luis Ernesto Poza, Universtiy of Colorado - Denver

• From Test Scores to Language Use: What English Learners Do in Real-Time Academic Communication in English - Claudia Rodriguez-Mojica, Santa Clara University

• Show Me Your Listening Position: Embodied Silence and Speech in a Second-Grade Class of Bilingual and Bi-Dialectal Students - Sara Rutherford-Quach, Stanford University

Discussant

• Guadalupe Valdes, Stanford University