Pedagogical Language Knowledge

Abstract

S ooner or later, as schools move to implement the new Common Core and other forthcoming standards, almost every teacher in the United States will face the challenge of how to support students from homes where English is not the dominant language in meeting subject-matter academic expectations that require increasingly demanding uses of language and literacy in English. In this chapter, I review research that provides potential insights on how "mainstream" teachers might be prepared for responding to this challenge, both in preservice teacher preparation programs and throughout their careers. I argue that efforts to prepare teachers for working with English learners (ELs) 1 to engage with increasing language and literacy expectations across the curriculum requires development of pedagogical language knowledge (Galguera, 2011)-not to "teach English" in the way that most mainstream teachers may initially conceive of (and resist) the notion, but rather to purposefully enact opportunities for the development of language and literacy in and through teaching the core curricular content, understandings, and activities that teachers are responsible for (and, hopefully, excited about) teaching in the first place. I review recent literature that presents various approaches to what this knowledge might entail and how teacher preparation and development initiatives might go about fostering it. I conclude by proposing that, in an age of increasing linguistic demands associated with new academic expectations, building teachers' understanding of language as action (van Lier & Walqui, 2012) could serve as the foundation for preparing them to engage-and support-ELs in both challenging and meaningful academic tasks.As educators begin to navigate a new era of policy reform with new common standards at its heart, there are many uncertainties. As I write, teachers, school

Fostering a Culture of Discourse in Secondary Mathematics Classrooms: Equity Approaches in Teaching and Teacher Education for Emergent Bilingual Students

“…The knowledge and skills mathematics teachers require to work effectively with emergent bilingual students is intimately related to what Galguera (2011) and Bunch (2013) have conceived as pedagogical language knowledge. Bunch (2013) defines the concept as "knowledge of language directly related to disciplinary teaching and learning and situated in the particular (and multiple) contexts in which teaching and learning take place" (p. 307). Bunch (2013) argues that:…”

“…[…] efforts to prepare teachers for working with [emergent bilinguals] to engage with increasing language and literacy expectations across the curriculum requires development of pedagogical language knowledge (Galguera, 2011) -not to "teach English" in the way that most mainstream teachers may initially conceive of (and resist) the notion, but rather to purposefully enact opportunities for the development of language and literacy in and through teaching the core curricular content… (p. 298) Moreover, as Galguera (cited in Bunch, 2013) indicates, working from a pedagogical language knowledge framework entails acquiring a critical awareness of language (Alim, 2005). From this perspective, all languages and language varieties can always serve as a resource to help students engage in mathematics language practices while meeting the language and literacy demands of new standards irrespective of the social power these hold.…”

“…Bunch (2013) defines the concept as "knowledge of language directly related to disciplinary teaching and learning and situated in the particular (and multiple) contexts in which teaching and learning take place" (p. 307). Bunch (2013) argues that:…”

“…Since the launching of the CCSS initiative in 2009, there has been steady production of research focused on the essential knowledge and skills K-12 teachers need to acquire in order to meet the academic needs of all students, particularly those of the growing emergent bilingual student population (Bunch, 2013;Bunch, Kibler and Pimentel, 2013;Council of Chief State School Officers, 2012;Crespo, 2016;Delpit, 2012;Hakuta, 2013;Lee, Quinn and Valdés, 2013;Liquanti and Hakuta, 2012;Moschkovich, 1999Moschkovich, , 2007Moschkovich, , 2012Moschkovich, , 2016Quinn, Lee and Valdés, 2012;Rodríguez and Kitchen, 2005;Téllez, Moschkovich, and Civil, 2011;Understanding Language Initiative, 2012;van Lier and Walqui, 2012;White, Crespo and Civil, 2016;Zahner and Moschkovich, 2011). Within this line of research, notable scholars in the field of mathematics education have begun to address the implications of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) for teaching and learning in linguistically diverse classroom contexts (Moschkovich, 2012).…”

“…Linguistic diversity incorporates not only different languages (e.g., English and Spanish) but also different language varieties (e.g., Chicano Spanish, African American Vernacular English), and modalities (speaking bilingually or 'codeswitching,' 'translanguaging'). In order to conduct this work in linguistically diverse classrooms, it is imperative teachers acquire pedagogical language knowledge (Bunch, 2013;Galguera, 2011), a concept defined and operationalized below.…”