The idea for the series was inspired by the book How Languages are Learned. Many colleagues have told us that they appreciate the way that book can be used either as part of a university teacher education program or in a professional development course for experienced teachers. They have commented on the value of publications that show teachers and future teachers how knowing about research on language learning and teaching can help them think about their own teaching principles and practices.
This series is oriented to the educational needs and abilities of school-aged children (5–18 years old) with distinct chapters focusing on research that is specific to primary- and secondary-level learners. The volumes are written for second language teachers, whether their students are minority-language speakers learning the majority language or students learning a foreign language in a classroom far from the communities where the language is spoken. Some of the volumes will be useful to ‘mainstream’ teachers who have second language learners among their students, but have limited training in second/foreign language teaching. Some of the volumes will also be primarily for teachers of English, whereas others will be of interest to teachers of other languages as well.
The series includes volumes on topics that are key for second language teachers of school-age children and each volume is written by authors whose research and teaching experience have focused on learners and teachers in this age group. While much has been written about some of these topics, most publications are either ‘how to’ methodology texts with no explicit link to research, or academic works that are designed for researchers and postgraduate students who require a thorough scholarly treatment of the research, rather than an overview and interpretation for classroom practice. Instructors in programs for teachers often find that the methodology texts lack the academic background appropriate for a university course and that the scholarly works are too long, too difficult, or not sufficiently classroom-oriented for the needs of teachers and future teachers. The volumes in this series are intended to bridge that gap.
The books are enriched by the inclusion of Spotlight Studies that represent important research and Classroom Snapshots that provide concrete examples of teaching/learning events in the second language classroom. In addition, through a variety of activities, readers will be able to integrate this information with their own experiences of learning and teaching.
Introduction
This book is about second language biliteracy development in a globalized, transnational world viewed from a sociocultural and sociolinguistic perspective. It is written primarily for teachers and future teachers of children and adolescents who are developing literacy in second or foreign language classrooms. Angel Lin and her colleagues (Lin et al., 2011) indicate that social perspectives on biliteracy development require a paradigm shift from thinking about teaching English as a second language (ESL) to thinking about teaching English communication in the 21st century globalized, transnational world. In such a world, students must learn to reconcile identities rooted in local language and literacies with multiple practices and perspectives. At the same time, they are developing and maintaining transnational identities as they intentionally participate in multiple communities, beyond and without regard for national borders.
While first-language (L1) literacy teaching and learning have been studied extensively, there are far fewer studies of second-language (L2) literacy (Dorwin & Moll, 2006). Overlapping results suggest that much, but not all, of what we know to be good L1-literacy teaching applies to L2-literacy teaching as well. However, we must modify instruction to accommodate varied sociocultural and sociolinguistic perspectives as well as language development, and conceptual growth of L2 learners (Escamilla, 2009). We believe that this requires teachers to be inquirers, striving to become life-long learners and informed decision makers, for, as Johnson (2006) points out: honing the intellectual tools of inquiry, reflection, and analytic processes helps empower and transform professional identities. As we hope to demonstrate in this book, empowering yourselves with more knowledge about social perspectives on biliteracy development will enable you to prepare your students to effectively engage in literacy practices in the multilingual and increasingly transnational environments in which they live and learn.
This volume is grounded with the framework of languaging-as-thinking and communicative competence within multiliteracies– a complex combination of multiple modes, multiple languages, multiple platforms (means of delivery), multiple sign-systems, and multiple perspectives in multiple social contexts (New London Group, 1996). As such, it emphasizes the strong learning support of literacy scaffolds– the support provided by actual reading and writing activities – as well as supports in the form of guidance, strategies, inquiry, and resources that enable learners to move fluently and intentionally among the multiple modes of communication embedded in transnational, multimodal texts (Boyle & Peregoy, 1990). The volume is organized to promote metacognitive awareness, analytic inquiry, and a responsive, reflective stance on the part of teachers who seek to empower L2 learners as they encounter the rapid changes of the 21st century. Our goal is to provide teachers with accessible, relevant, and succinct information on background research and classroom-based research.
Throughout the book, you will find Classroom Snapshots – vignettes taken from elementary and secondary school classrooms, as well as Spotlight Studies – for you to examine as reflective practitioners and to consider as ‘discerning consumers’ (Perry, 2011). In each chapter, we will also ask you to participate in activities that promote first-hand experiences leading to metacognitive understandings of literacy learning strategies. By taking you through these processes, we will be presenting an overview of second-language literacy instruction while demonstrating how teachers can go about interpreting evidence from research and other resources, including their own experiences with literacy teaching and learning, to facilitate informed planning appropriate for students in an ever-changing, transnational world.
Chapter 1 presents the theoretical framework of the book, a languaging-as-thinking perspective based upon the active construction of language. It invites readers to explore their ideas on topics pertaining to L2-literacy instruction for 21st-century empowerment. In this chapter, we define and examine linguistic competence and communicative competence as they pertain to 21st-century language and literacy instruction and the intentional design of text. Chapter 2 reviews research on key topics pertaining to L2-literacy instruction for a transnational world, including learners and learning contexts, the importance of recognizing local literacies, transnational identities, and inquiry into multiliteracies.
Chapter 3 links research with classroom practice grounded in the languaging-as-thinking perspective for young L2-literacy learners (grade 6). Chapter 4 adopts the same structure for L2 learners at the secondary-school level. It specifically addresses the challenges of literacy instruction for L2 adolescents and illustrates how schools and teachers meet those challenges. Chapter 5 concludes the book by asking readers to re-examine their views of literacy learning and invites them to reposition themselves as informed, reflective decision-makers in order to meet the diverse needs of L2-literacy learners who are actively developing