Educating Emergent Bilinguals

by Garcia, Ofelia; Kleifgen, Jo Anne; Cummins, Jim

• ISBN13: 9780807751138
• ISBN10: 0807751138
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-10-24
• Publisher: Teachers College Pr

Summary

This comprehensive and insightful book shows how present educational policies and practices to educate language minority students in the United States ignore an essential characteristic—their emergent bilingualism. Expanding on a popular report supported by the Campaign for Educational Equity (Teachers College), this accessible guide compiles the most up-to-date research findings to demonstrate how ignoring children’s bilingualism perpetuates inequities in their schooling. What makes this book truly useful is that it offers a thorough description of alternative practices that would transform our schools and students’ futures, such as building on students’ home languages and literacy practices in schools, curricular and pedagogical innovations, new approaches to parent and community engagement, and adoptive assessment tools.

Author Biography

Ofelia Garcia is professor in the PhD programs in urban education and His-panic and Luso-Brazilian literatures and languages at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Jo Anne Kleifgen is professor of linguistics and education at Teachers College, Columbia University.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. xi
Introduction	p. 1
Emergent Bilinguals	p. 1
What's in a Name?	p. 3
This Book	p. 4
Study Questions	p. 5
Who Are the Emergent Bilinguals?	p. 6
How Do We Know Who They Are?	p. 6
How Many Are There?	p. 8
How Are They Designated?	p. 11
How Are They Reclassified?	p. 12
Where Do They Live and Go to School?	p. 13
What Languages do they Speak?	p. 15
What Are Their Demographic Characteristics?	p. 16
Do They Live in Homes Where English Is Spoken?	p. 19
What Are Their Language Skills in English and Their Home Languages?	p. 19
Who Are the Latinos?	p. 20
Educating Emergent Bilinguals: Knowing Who They Are	p. 21
Study Questions	p. 21
Programs and Policies for Educating Emergent Bilinguals	p. 23
Educational Programs for Emergent Bilinguals	p. 23
A Brief History of Educational Policies for Emergent Bilinguals	p. 28
Educating Emergent Bilinguals: Understanding the Shifts in Programs and Policies	p. 36
Study Questions	p. 36
Language and Bilingualism: Theoretical Constructs and Empirical Evidence	p. 37
Theoretical Language Constructs	p. 37
Empirical Evidence on Achievement in Academic English	p. 46
Educating Emergent Bilinguals: Building on Dynamic Bilingualism	p. 51
Study Questions	p. 52
Language and Bilingualism: Practices	p. 53
Inequitable Language/Literacy Practices	p. 53
Alternative Language/Literacy Practices	p. 58
Educating Emergent Bilinguals: Incorporating Multilingual Pedagogies	p. 68
Study Questions	p. 68
Curriculum and Pedagogy	p. 70
Theoretical Curricular and Pedagogical Constructs	p. 71
Inequitable Curricular and Pedagogical Practices	p. 76
Alternative Curricular and Pedagogical Practices	p. 87
Educating Emergent Bilinguals: Embracing Challenge and Care	p. 90
Study Questions	p. 90
Involving Parents and Communities	p. 92
Research and Theories on Parental and Community Involvement	p. 93
Inequitable Practices in Parental and Community Involvement	p. 96
Alternative Approaches to Parent and Community Engagement	p. 98
Educating Emergent Bilinguals: Recreating the School Community	p. 101
Study Questions	p. 102
Assessments	p. 103
Theoretical Constructs in Assessment	p. 104
Inequitable Assessment Practices	p. 108
Alternative Assessment Practices	p. 111
Educating Emergent Bilinguals: Accounting for Fair Assessment	p. 117
Study Questions	p. 117
Alternative Paths for Educating Emergent Bilinguals	p. 119
What Have We Learned?	p. 120
Signposts: Policy Recommendations	p. 124
Educating Emergent Bilinguals: Alternative Paths	p. 135
Notes	p. 137
References	p. 143
Index	p. 165
About the Authors	p. 179
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