You are here

FAU Collections » FAU Research Repository » FAU Theses and Dissertations

USING CULTURALLY SUSTAINING SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL LINGUISTICS-INFORMED LESSONS TO SUPPORT EMERGENT BILINGUAL STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC LANGUAGING

Download pdf | Full Screen View

Date Issued:
2020
Abstract/Description:
Emergent bilingual (EB) students enter classrooms with rich, diverse language repertoires. Too often, students’ linguistic assets are not meaningfully integrated to foster or support opportunities of academic languaging in which students can engage their full range of semiotic resources. This is particularly problematic in middle school during which literacy demands increase, academic genres need to be reproduced rather than solely comprehended, and explicit literacy instruction typically decreases (Humphrey, 2017; Rose, 2010). Through a design-based research (DBR) approach, this study showcases how Culturally Sustaining Systemic Functional Linguistics (CSSFL), a theoretical and pedagogical approach, can support middle school students’ engagement in explicit and equitable literacy practices within the unique context of an intensive reading English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classroom. Throughout the DBR phases, qualitative data from observations, student artifacts, lesson plans, and researcher notes were collected and analyzed to address the following research questions: (RQ1) What are the cultural, linguistic, and literacy practices of EB students within a culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) intensive reading middle school classroom? (RQ2) What do CSSFL-informed lessons comprise when created in response to the EB middle school students’ needs and practices through a DBR approach? (RQ3) How do the students engage in the practices of the CSSFL-informed lessons? Designing, implementing, and evaluating the CSSFL-informed lessons demonstrated how the use of multimodal resources eased students’ hesitancy and facilitated meaning-making opportunities, how students used translanguaging for multiple purposes, and how students became conscientious about language use while establishing connections to their existing linguistic knowledge. Results of this study offer insights into how theory-practice bridges can be established in middle school classrooms to develop spaces where students have opportunities to expand on their cultural and linguistic assets as they understand, manipulate, and remix for academic purposes (Harman & Khote, 2018). Moreover, the findings illuminate the feasibility of implementing culturally sustaining, language focused practices that can push boundaries of restrictive curricular structures while forefronting students’ language backgrounds in their learning.
Title: USING CULTURALLY SUSTAINING SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL LINGUISTICS-INFORMED LESSONS TO SUPPORT EMERGENT BILINGUAL STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC LANGUAGING.
110 views
35 downloads
Name(s): Cavallaro, Christina Joan, author
Sembiante, Sabrina F. , Thesis advisor
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
Department of Curriculum, Culture, and Educational Inquiry
College of Education
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Date Created: 2020
Date Issued: 2020
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 291 p.
Language(s): English
Abstract/Description: Emergent bilingual (EB) students enter classrooms with rich, diverse language repertoires. Too often, students’ linguistic assets are not meaningfully integrated to foster or support opportunities of academic languaging in which students can engage their full range of semiotic resources. This is particularly problematic in middle school during which literacy demands increase, academic genres need to be reproduced rather than solely comprehended, and explicit literacy instruction typically decreases (Humphrey, 2017; Rose, 2010). Through a design-based research (DBR) approach, this study showcases how Culturally Sustaining Systemic Functional Linguistics (CSSFL), a theoretical and pedagogical approach, can support middle school students’ engagement in explicit and equitable literacy practices within the unique context of an intensive reading English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classroom. Throughout the DBR phases, qualitative data from observations, student artifacts, lesson plans, and researcher notes were collected and analyzed to address the following research questions: (RQ1) What are the cultural, linguistic, and literacy practices of EB students within a culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) intensive reading middle school classroom? (RQ2) What do CSSFL-informed lessons comprise when created in response to the EB middle school students’ needs and practices through a DBR approach? (RQ3) How do the students engage in the practices of the CSSFL-informed lessons? Designing, implementing, and evaluating the CSSFL-informed lessons demonstrated how the use of multimodal resources eased students’ hesitancy and facilitated meaning-making opportunities, how students used translanguaging for multiple purposes, and how students became conscientious about language use while establishing connections to their existing linguistic knowledge. Results of this study offer insights into how theory-practice bridges can be established in middle school classrooms to develop spaces where students have opportunities to expand on their cultural and linguistic assets as they understand, manipulate, and remix for academic purposes (Harman & Khote, 2018). Moreover, the findings illuminate the feasibility of implementing culturally sustaining, language focused practices that can push boundaries of restrictive curricular structures while forefronting students’ language backgrounds in their learning.
Identifier: FA00013602 (IID)
Degree granted: Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2020.
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Includes bibliography.
Subject(s): Education, Bilingual
Functional linguistics
English for Speakers of Other Languages Program
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Sublocation: Digital Library
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00013602
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.