María E. Torres-Guzmán

Modelo B/Dual Language Programmes in the Basque Country and the USA

In this paper, we undertake a cross-national comparison of early partial immersion programmes, known as dual language or Modelo B programmes, in the USA and the Basque Country in Spain, respectively.We attempt to make sense of their growth, the expanded social uses of the minority languages, and address seemingly contradictory pedagogical principles. In both settings, the growth and the expansion of the use of the minority language in new social spaces is associated with inclusion of the majority populations much as the assertion of minority language rights. The evidence found in the comparison further suggests that the degree of exposure to the minority language cannot be disassociated from the broader sociolinguistic context and is significant for both minority and majority populations.

Teacher Study Groups: In Search of Teaching Freedom

By looking at teacher collaborative structures in an urban public elementary school, this article demonstrates how, in the face of top-down school decisions under the pressures of high-stakes testing and assessment-driven curriculum, teachers can find the power and freedom for creative and effective pedagogy to flourish. We describe how teachers at PS165 created the spaces for working together and how these spaces brought new opportunities for (a) problematizing and prioritizing the issues they faced in classrooms, (b) reinventing and expanding their sense of self as individuals in the collaboration, (c) growing beyond their personal space and engaging intellectually in public forums, (d) shifting their ways of seeing teaching, and (e) ensuring sustainability of the ways of engaging in professional development through mentoring and taking ownership of the structures for collaboration. We include personal stories and/or reflections of six teachers and their experiences with study groups and theorize on the potential elements of a professional development model for other schools to build on and for the teaching profession to reflect upon.

Self-Designated Dual-Language Programs: Is There a Gap Between Labeling and Implementation?

Abstract The United States has seen a tremendous growth in dual-language programs over the last decade. This rapid growth brings up questions about the congruency between labels and implementation. Our experiences observing some of the programs and listening to teachers talk about the programs in New York City led us to propose that many of the self-designated dual-language programs stray from even the minimal guidelines for such programs. Our study investigated this, and within this paper we will juxtapose those programs that are congruent with the minimal standards with those that are less faithful to the model in order to gain a better understanding of how schools and districts can work to create dual-language programs that foster an authentic transformation of the instructional environment.

Defining and Documenting Success for Bilingual Learners: A Collective Case Study.

Abstract This article examines the difficulties inherent to measuring bilingual program success and the need for broader and fairer assessment strategies for bilingual students. Drawing from our collective case study, we confirm that there are significant data sources available and accessible to the schools/programs but that their formats are not easily comprehensible for schools attempting to showcase their programs. We also report how the collection and compilation of assessment is primarily in the hands of the school administrators and, thus, may not be efficiently used for the improvement of teaching and learning. Despite the difficulties of data gathering and the shortcomings on the use of information, we suggest that in the schools studied, the evidence we gathered supported their perspectives on success.

literacy and instruction in African American communities: Shall we overcome?

Contents: Preface. Part I: Theoretical Perspectives on Language and Literacy. B. Perez, Literacy, Diversity, and Programmatic Responses. B. Perez, Language, Literacy, and Biliteracy. B. Perez, Writing Across Writing Systems. Part II: Language and Literacy Acquisition in Diverse Communities. T.L. McCarty, L.J. Watahomigie, Language and Literacy in American Indian and Alaska Native Communities. M.E. Torres-Guzman, Language, Culture, and Literacy in Puerto Rican Communities. T.T. Dien, Language and Literacy in Vietnamese American Communities. J-M. Chang, Language and Literacy in Chinese American Communities. H.L. Smith, Literacy and Instruction in African American Communities: Shall We Overcome? A. Davila de Silva, Emergent Spanish Writing of a Second Grader in a Whole-Language Classroom. Part III: Literacy Development in Multilingual, Multicultural Classrooms. B. Perez, A. Nordlander, Making Decisions About Literacy Instructional Practices. B. Perez, Creating a Classroom Community for Literacy. B. Perez, Literacy, Curriculum, and Language Diversity.

Now I See How My Students Feel: Expansive Learning in a Language Awareness Workshop.

ABSTRACT This study looks at a case study research on a language awareness workshop in a New York public school with a dual language (Spanish/English) program. A learner-centred lesson, taught in Spanish, focused on basic personal information exchanges for in-service teachers who taught only in English and who had some limited knowledge of Spanish. The instructors’ charge was to teach participants how to exchange basic personal information in Spanish. Working from a cultural historical activity theory perspective, the interactions that took place in a videotaped session were analysed, using tools from discourse analysis, conversation analysis, and linguistics. The focus was set on the interactions of the instructors with one of the teachers in the workshop to examine how she moved from resisting a new language to embracing an understanding of the role of a new language in learning by paying attention to the dynamics of identity production. By exploring moment-to-moment identity moves and moves across time, the authors identified learning actions leading to the potential of expansive learning and suggesting enhancement of the concept of experiencing (Sannino, 2010) by examining the production of the teachers identity.