Teachers Act Up!

Thursday, March 29th 2012: Lecture & Reception

Professor Stephen Krashen “The Power of Reading” Thursday, March 29, 2012 3:00-4:00pm Georgia Museum of Art Reception to follow

Friday, March 30th, 2012: Talk and Workshop

Professor Stephen Krashen “The Common Core State Standards and National Tests: We are Backing the Wrong Horse” Friday, March 30th 12:00-1:00pm Aderhold Hall G-5

Stephen Krashen is Emeritus Professor of Education at the University of Southern California. He is best known for developing the first comprehensive theory of second language acquisition, introducing the concept of sheltered subject matter teaching, and as the co-inventor of the Natural Approach to foreign language teaching. He has also contributed to theory and application in the area of bilingual education, and has done important work in the area of reading. He holds a PhD in Linguistics from UCLA, was the 1977 Incline Bench Press champion of Venice Beach and holds a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. He is the author of The Power of Reading (Heinemann, 2004, second edition). His recent papers can be found at http://www.sdkrashen.com.

Organizers:  Melisa (Misha) S Cahnmann Taylor ()

multilingual discussion

Session Abstract: Situated within communities in the “Old” and “New” Latino Diaspora, these papers consider expanding notions of “latinidad” (Cisneros & Santos, 2011) and how the Spanish language intersects with other social identities having to do with race, education, birthright, proficiency, and experiences of social and linguistic exile in virtual and actual worlds. Focused on the ways structural power affects what people say, how, and to what end (Bourdieu, 1977; Foucault, 1986; Freire, 1990), each panelist will consider the possibilities for emerging bilingual identity within contexts that maintain and/or disrupt the hegemony of English and monolingualism. The first presentation uses an ethnographic case study approach to examine how first grade students in a Spanish immersion classroom use language. Discourse analysis revealed how children’s language use was mediated by particular activities, as well as by the various linguistic, cognitive, and material scaffolds provided by both instructors and peers. The discussion considers what these findings means for fostering language development in immersion programs. The second paper draws from a larger ethnographic study documenting immigrant parents’ socialization into digital literacies in a community center located in a metropolitan area in the state of Arizona. In this site, computer courses were available in Spanish, and mothers often brought their children to class with them. Data sources include focus groups and audio-recording of classroom interactions of three immigrant mothers, and individual interviews and screen-capturing of online activity of mothers and their children. Findings describe the differences in understandings of digital spaces as zones of possibility for language maintenance by mothers and children, as these understandings were shaped by English-dominant language practices in students’ classrooms, and parents’ efforts to maintain Spanish in household interactions. The third paper draws upon two years of research within the elementary school and homes of Mexican-origin children, providing a nuanced account of “on the ground” language policy implementation for young English learners and their native English-speaking peers. Findings suggest that regardless of official language policy, classrooms of the New Latino Diaspora are sites where new language practices are developing, problematizing dominant notions of language separation, language learning and bilingualism. The fourth presenter asks “In a two-way dual language program that is structured to admit half ‘English-speaking’ and half ‘Spanish-speaking’ children, who is positioned as ‘bilingual’?” Data from an ethnography and discourse analysis of a 50/50 two-way dual language program in its first year of implementation is used to explore ways that children are ascribed different cultural and linguistic identities and positioned as participants in different figured worlds within the classroom. Presentation will include reflections from teacher participants serving as members of the research team. The final paper draws from an ethnographic study documenting the emergence of majority-minority bilingual programming in an elementary school in Northeast Georgia, one of only four in the state to offer significant Spanish literacy instruction. Data sources include video recordings of classroom interactions and interviews with parents and teachers. Findings describe how stakeholders’ emerging bilingual identities interact with other social identities such as race, class, proficiency, and citizenship.