ERIC Number: EJ1455240
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 28
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0034-527X
EISSN: EISSN-1943-2348
Available Date: N/A
Supporting Biliteracy in the English Language Arts through Family Partnerships: Cases of Early Childhood Teachers and Their Arabic- and Russian-Speaking Students
Mary Amanda Stewart; Douha Abbasher
Research in the Teaching of English, v59 n1 p19-46 2024
Although research illustrates the benefits of biliteracy, most bilingual students will not have access to a bilingual education program in which they receive official instruction in all their languages. However, the English language arts can become a space where any teacher can support students' biliteracy through purposeful curricular, instructional, and family engagement choices. This case study of two early childhood educators illustrates specific actions teachers took in their language arts instruction to support home language literacy development, along with English, even with languages they did not speak. Specifically, results illustrate that three key general ideas allowed them to support students' biliteracy: gathering information about the students and their languages, incorporating the home languages into their classroom, and most notably, developing strong family partnerships for caregivers to play an active role in home language literacy instruction. In this article, we share their specific actions that other ELA educators can take and the response from two students from low-incidence languages: an Arabic-heritage speaker and a newcomer Russian speaker from Ukraine. This study illustrates humanizing, rather than standardizing, language arts instruction that disrupts monolingual norms in order to provide bilingual students (from emergent bilinguals to heritage speakers) a more equitable education.
Descriptors: Russian, Bilingualism, Literacy, Early Childhood Education, Second Language Learning, Second Language Instruction, Native Language, Preschool Teachers, Language Arts, English (Second Language), English Instruction, Student Characteristics, Cultural Awareness, Family School Relationship, Literacy Education, Educational Practices, English Teachers, Immigrants, Cultural Background, Equal Education, Arabic, Classroom Techniques
National Council of Teachers of English. 1111 West Kenyon Road, Urbana, IL 61801-1096. Tel: 877-369-6283; Tel: 217-328-3870; Web site: http://www.ncte.org/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Preschool Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A