Strategic codeswitching, interliteracy, and other phenomena of emergent bilingual writing: Lessons from first grade dual language classrooms

Abstract

This qualitative study investigated the writing processes of eight emergent bilingual children as they composed stories in two languages in a Writing Workshop (WW) context. The research was situated in two grade 1 classrooms in a Spanish/English Two-Way Bilingual Education program in the north-eastern USA. For six months, researchers observed students in Spanish and English WWs, interviewed students about their writing behaviors and understandings, and collected samples from all stages of the writing process. Cross-case analyses of individual bilingual writing profiles revealed similarities and differences in students’ cross-linguistic skills, as well as patterns of transfer. Patterns of bilingual writing related to strategic codeswitching, positive literacy transfer, and interliteracy led to the development of a preliminary model of bilingual writing development for English-dominant and Spanish-dominant bilingual learners.This model presents phenomena unique to bilingual writers, relates these to bilingualism and biliteracy, and proposes anticipated expression of the phenomena for developing Spanish-dominant and English-dominant bilingual writers.

Code-Switching Patterns in the Writing-Related Talk of Young Emergent Bilinguals

“…Experience is encoded in either of two languages and can be expressed in one or both languages; information also can be represented by switching between the languages (Malakoff & Hakuta, 1991). Hence, bilingual learners naturally explore the connections between their two developing languages and practice code switching in their interactions with other bilinguals as a normal part of membership in their linguistic communities (Freeman, 2000;Gort, 2006Gort, , 2008Hornberger, 2005;Martinez, 2010;Pérez, 2004). The second perspective highlights the role of talk and social interaction in the development of writing.…”

“…Within a social interactionist perspective to language and literacy learning and use, language and social interaction are tightly entwined, and the acquisition process is deeply embedded in the interactional context from which it stems. Related research in bilingual and biliteracy development highlights the importance of social interaction for learning, the cross-linguistic transfer of skills, and the embedded nature of language and literacy in children's immediate and broader contexts (Gort, 2006;Manyak, 2001;Pérez, 2004). Interactional spaces where children can freely and purposefully use their two languages, and where they can observe the use of both languages being modeled by other speakers, are thought to support bilingual language and literacy skills (Gumperz & Cook-Gumperz, 2005).…”

“…Young children demonstrate communicative flexibility and adaptability by using code switching as a vehicle for their social play (M. Reyes, 2001). Thus, as a natural and common discourse strategy, code switching becomes an important aspect of bilingual and biliterate development (Genesee, 2002;Gort, 2006;Kenner, 2004;Zentella, 1997).…”

Preparing Teachers for Plurilingualism through Language Awareness

“…Given the needs of standards-based instruction (Troyan, 2012), CBI , immersion education and CLIL (e.g., Gort, 2006Gort, , 2012Gort & Pontier, 2012), which has investigated the code switching that occurs in bilingual classrooms, for guidance in responding to this question. Certainly, a growing number of researchers in foreign language education have underscored that an awareness of the functions of language among language teachers is critical in enabling what Cammarata and Tedick (2012) refer to as a linguistic «awakening» (p. 260-261) as they become more aware of the demands of balancing content and language.…”

“…Such awareness among language teachers is only one component of a wider, more comprehensive plurilingual awareness that develops teachers' understanding of the cultural and linguistic diversity among the learners in their classrooms (e.g., . As implied by García (2010) in her foreword to a recent volume on developing plurilingual competencies in teachers, this effort in Europe could be informed by the ongoing research and teacher development (García, 2009(García, , 2010Gort, 2006Gort, , 2012Gort & Pontier, 2012) that positions learners as «emergent bilinguals…who potentially could develop dual language and literacy abilities if supported in their immediate environments, including home and school» (Gort, 2012, p. 46). Certainly, the work of designing preparation programs that develop language teachers who can support the development of language awareness and a plurilingual identity is a top priority for all of us involved in language teacher development.…”