I am dedicated to researching and discussing bilingual education, and literacy in multilingual settings. I have been interested in specially discuss heritage languages, curriculum development, and literacy. In 2014, I received the “World Ahead Student” award from Florida International University for my Master's thesis. I also received the AOTP-Press Award in 2016 for the most relevant publication for Portuguese teachers in the US. I am also actively involved with communities of Portuguese speakers all over the world while raising awareness about bilingual education. Address: Miami, Florida, United States
In community-based heritage language schools there is a clear purpose in using the language of th... more In community-based heritage language schools there is a clear purpose in using the language of the community during instructional and informal times. Valuing and developing the language that the students speak at home and in the community are the reasons the school was founded in the first place. But what is the experience of these multilingual students in other educational contexts, for example in public schools, and how can the teachers in those contexts value and promote use of those languages? This Brief describes the challenges that these teachers and students face with language use and language instruction and some strategies teachers can use.
Português como Língua de HerançaÇ A filosofia do começo, meio e fim, 2015
Capítulo do livro: Português como Língua de HerançaÇ A filosofia do começo, meio e fim. Felicia J... more Capítulo do livro: Português como Língua de HerançaÇ A filosofia do começo, meio e fim. Felicia Jennings-Winterle & Maria Celia Lima-Hernandes
Capítulo do livro A Casa, O Sapo e O Baú organizado por Patricia Carvalhinhos e Maria Célia Lima-... more Capítulo do livro A Casa, O Sapo e O Baú organizado por Patricia Carvalhinhos e Maria Célia Lima-Hernandes
PORTUGUÊS COMO LÍNGUA DE HERANÇA: UMA DISCIPLINA QUE SE ESTABELECE, 2020
Os contextos linguístico e sociológico como bases para as reflexões pedagógicas para o ensino da ... more Os contextos linguístico e sociológico como bases para as reflexões pedagógicas para o ensino da leitura e da escrita em LH é um capítulo do livro.
Como Manter e Desenvolver o Português como língua de herança: sugestões para quem mora fora do Brasil, 2016
Para comunidades falantes de português nas diásporas, um livro sobre o que é língua de herança e ... more Para comunidades falantes de português nas diásporas, um livro sobre o que é língua de herança e como país, professores e líderes comunitários podem se organizar para o desenvolvimento dessa especificidade do ensino aprendizado da língua portuguesa.
Uma língua é o lugar donde se vê o mundo e em que se traçam os limites do nosso pensar e sentir. ... more Uma língua é o lugar donde se vê o mundo e em que se traçam os limites do nosso pensar e sentir. Da minha língua vê-se o mar, da minha língua ouve-se o seu rumor, como da de outros se ouvirá o da floresta ou o silêncio do deserto. Por isso a voz do mar foi a da nossa inquietação.
Boruchowski, I. Teachers' Beliefs Towards Leaners' Heritage Languages Inside Schools in a Multilingual Setting, 2023
This study adds to the conversation about the increasing language diversity in U.S. schools (Pari... more This study adds to the conversation about the increasing language diversity in U.S. schools (Paris & Alim, 2014). In the South Florida district discussed here, ELLs represent 16.9% of the total student enrollment (Miami Dade, 2020), and there is a popular narrative about the value of bilingualism in this community. Despite that, Valencia and Lynch (2019), Mackinney (2016), and Lanier (2014) indicated: even though the bilingual political and economic value in South Florida is noticeable, HLs are relegated to a secondary place and with no prestige inside local school settings. As Garcia and Wei (2014) observed: "language practices cannot be developed except through the students' existing knowledge" (p. 80), so it seemed crucial to understand and discuss teachers' beliefs towards emergent bilinguals' HL in this multilingual context. To explore these perceptions, I studied teachers' beliefs towards learners' heritage languages as one more component toward understanding teachers' thought processes and classroom choices in multilingual settings. Therefore, I conducted mixed-method research, using quantitative and qualitative data collection techniques to garner a deep reflection of the beliefs and ideologies of local teachers regarding students' HLs. The data analysis indicated that teachers valued bilingualism in general and understood, in theory, the advantages of students' developing HL literacy simultaneously with English. However, HLs were primarily not used or valued inside classrooms for instructional purposes. Despite serving a multilingual community of students and being multilingual, teachers held what I named an ideological tolerance tendency towards HL inside schools. They believed they should exclusively use English during "academic time," and many educators were unsure or indicated that they believed they were helping learners when creating an English-only classroom. Another concerning result was that some teachers relied on Spanish circumstantial translation to equate all students' ESOL lesson adaptations. This limited use of circumstantial Spanish implies that, during the academic time, students classified as ESOL are left to "sink or swim" without planned scaffolding. Despite teachers believing they attempted to help and make learners feel comfortable learning, their effort was inconsistent with learners' diverse languages and cultures. Nevertheless, when learners' multilingual repertoires are not used or ignored during instruction, schools will continue to be sites of social and cultural reproduction of a monolingual mindset (Ellis, Gogolin & Clyne, 2010).
An investigation of the curriculum development of a heritage language Brazilian Portuguese commun... more An investigation of the curriculum development of a heritage language Brazilian Portuguese community-based school.
The population of bilingual students learning and using more than one language in the United Stat... more The population of bilingual students learning and using more than one language in the United States has more than doubled in the past 30 years. This is especially true in early childhood, which makes it crucial that educators of young emergent bilingual children understand and support these young children’s bi/multilingual development, including critically understanding the implication of adopting different perspectives of bi/multilingualism. Although much is known about classroom practices in support of emergent bilingual children in Kindergarten and beyond, little is known about those practices in the early years. This article provides a systematic review of relevant empirical studies that investigated teachers’ and children’s dynamic language use in bi/multilingual early childhood education settings. The authors identify several strategic languaging practices enacted by both teachers and children, and strategies for fostering these practices; as well as ways in which teachers lev...
In community-based heritage language schools there is a clear purpose in using the language of th... more In community-based heritage language schools there is a clear purpose in using the language of the community during instructional and informal times. Valuing and developing the language that the students speak at home and in the community are the reasons the school was founded in the first place. But what is the experience of these multilingual students in other educational contexts, for example in public schools, and how can the teachers in those contexts value and promote use of those languages? This Brief describes the challenges that these teachers and students face with language use and language instruction and some strategies teachers can use.
Português como Língua de HerançaÇ A filosofia do começo, meio e fim, 2015
Capítulo do livro: Português como Língua de HerançaÇ A filosofia do começo, meio e fim. Felicia J... more Capítulo do livro: Português como Língua de HerançaÇ A filosofia do começo, meio e fim. Felicia Jennings-Winterle & Maria Celia Lima-Hernandes
Capítulo do livro A Casa, O Sapo e O Baú organizado por Patricia Carvalhinhos e Maria Célia Lima-... more Capítulo do livro A Casa, O Sapo e O Baú organizado por Patricia Carvalhinhos e Maria Célia Lima-Hernandes
PORTUGUÊS COMO LÍNGUA DE HERANÇA: UMA DISCIPLINA QUE SE ESTABELECE, 2020
Os contextos linguístico e sociológico como bases para as reflexões pedagógicas para o ensino da ... more Os contextos linguístico e sociológico como bases para as reflexões pedagógicas para o ensino da leitura e da escrita em LH é um capítulo do livro.
Como Manter e Desenvolver o Português como língua de herança: sugestões para quem mora fora do Brasil, 2016
Para comunidades falantes de português nas diásporas, um livro sobre o que é língua de herança e ... more Para comunidades falantes de português nas diásporas, um livro sobre o que é língua de herança e como país, professores e líderes comunitários podem se organizar para o desenvolvimento dessa especificidade do ensino aprendizado da língua portuguesa.
Uma língua é o lugar donde se vê o mundo e em que se traçam os limites do nosso pensar e sentir. ... more Uma língua é o lugar donde se vê o mundo e em que se traçam os limites do nosso pensar e sentir. Da minha língua vê-se o mar, da minha língua ouve-se o seu rumor, como da de outros se ouvirá o da floresta ou o silêncio do deserto. Por isso a voz do mar foi a da nossa inquietação.
Boruchowski, I. Teachers' Beliefs Towards Leaners' Heritage Languages Inside Schools in a Multilingual Setting, 2023
This study adds to the conversation about the increasing language diversity in U.S. schools (Pari... more This study adds to the conversation about the increasing language diversity in U.S. schools (Paris & Alim, 2014). In the South Florida district discussed here, ELLs represent 16.9% of the total student enrollment (Miami Dade, 2020), and there is a popular narrative about the value of bilingualism in this community. Despite that, Valencia and Lynch (2019), Mackinney (2016), and Lanier (2014) indicated: even though the bilingual political and economic value in South Florida is noticeable, HLs are relegated to a secondary place and with no prestige inside local school settings. As Garcia and Wei (2014) observed: "language practices cannot be developed except through the students' existing knowledge" (p. 80), so it seemed crucial to understand and discuss teachers' beliefs towards emergent bilinguals' HL in this multilingual context. To explore these perceptions, I studied teachers' beliefs towards learners' heritage languages as one more component toward understanding teachers' thought processes and classroom choices in multilingual settings. Therefore, I conducted mixed-method research, using quantitative and qualitative data collection techniques to garner a deep reflection of the beliefs and ideologies of local teachers regarding students' HLs. The data analysis indicated that teachers valued bilingualism in general and understood, in theory, the advantages of students' developing HL literacy simultaneously with English. However, HLs were primarily not used or valued inside classrooms for instructional purposes. Despite serving a multilingual community of students and being multilingual, teachers held what I named an ideological tolerance tendency towards HL inside schools. They believed they should exclusively use English during "academic time," and many educators were unsure or indicated that they believed they were helping learners when creating an English-only classroom. Another concerning result was that some teachers relied on Spanish circumstantial translation to equate all students' ESOL lesson adaptations. This limited use of circumstantial Spanish implies that, during the academic time, students classified as ESOL are left to "sink or swim" without planned scaffolding. Despite teachers believing they attempted to help and make learners feel comfortable learning, their effort was inconsistent with learners' diverse languages and cultures. Nevertheless, when learners' multilingual repertoires are not used or ignored during instruction, schools will continue to be sites of social and cultural reproduction of a monolingual mindset (Ellis, Gogolin & Clyne, 2010).
An investigation of the curriculum development of a heritage language Brazilian Portuguese commun... more An investigation of the curriculum development of a heritage language Brazilian Portuguese community-based school.
The population of bilingual students learning and using more than one language in the United Stat... more The population of bilingual students learning and using more than one language in the United States has more than doubled in the past 30 years. This is especially true in early childhood, which makes it crucial that educators of young emergent bilingual children understand and support these young children’s bi/multilingual development, including critically understanding the implication of adopting different perspectives of bi/multilingualism. Although much is known about classroom practices in support of emergent bilingual children in Kindergarten and beyond, little is known about those practices in the early years. This article provides a systematic review of relevant empirical studies that investigated teachers’ and children’s dynamic language use in bi/multilingual early childhood education settings. The authors identify several strategic languaging practices enacted by both teachers and children, and strategies for fostering these practices; as well as ways in which teachers lev...
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As Garcia and Wei (2014) observed: "language practices cannot be developed except through the students' existing knowledge" (p. 80), so it seemed crucial to understand and discuss teachers' beliefs towards emergent bilinguals' HL in this multilingual context. To explore these perceptions, I studied teachers' beliefs towards learners' heritage languages as one more component toward understanding teachers' thought processes and classroom choices in multilingual settings. Therefore, I conducted mixed-method research, using quantitative and qualitative data collection techniques to garner a deep reflection of the beliefs and ideologies of local teachers regarding students' HLs.
The data analysis indicated that teachers valued bilingualism in general and understood, in theory, the advantages of students' developing HL literacy simultaneously with English. However, HLs were primarily not used or valued inside classrooms for instructional purposes. Despite serving a multilingual community of students and being multilingual, teachers held what I named an ideological tolerance tendency towards HL inside schools. They believed they should exclusively use English during "academic time," and many educators were unsure or indicated that they believed they were helping learners when creating an English-only classroom.
Another concerning result was that some teachers relied on Spanish circumstantial translation to equate all students' ESOL lesson adaptations. This limited use of circumstantial Spanish implies that, during the academic time, students classified as ESOL are left to "sink or swim" without planned scaffolding. Despite teachers believing they attempted to help and make learners feel comfortable learning, their effort was inconsistent with learners' diverse languages and cultures. Nevertheless, when learners' multilingual repertoires are not used or ignored during instruction, schools will continue to be sites of social and cultural reproduction of a monolingual mindset (Ellis, Gogolin & Clyne, 2010).
As Garcia and Wei (2014) observed: "language practices cannot be developed except through the students' existing knowledge" (p. 80), so it seemed crucial to understand and discuss teachers' beliefs towards emergent bilinguals' HL in this multilingual context. To explore these perceptions, I studied teachers' beliefs towards learners' heritage languages as one more component toward understanding teachers' thought processes and classroom choices in multilingual settings. Therefore, I conducted mixed-method research, using quantitative and qualitative data collection techniques to garner a deep reflection of the beliefs and ideologies of local teachers regarding students' HLs.
The data analysis indicated that teachers valued bilingualism in general and understood, in theory, the advantages of students' developing HL literacy simultaneously with English. However, HLs were primarily not used or valued inside classrooms for instructional purposes. Despite serving a multilingual community of students and being multilingual, teachers held what I named an ideological tolerance tendency towards HL inside schools. They believed they should exclusively use English during "academic time," and many educators were unsure or indicated that they believed they were helping learners when creating an English-only classroom.
Another concerning result was that some teachers relied on Spanish circumstantial translation to equate all students' ESOL lesson adaptations. This limited use of circumstantial Spanish implies that, during the academic time, students classified as ESOL are left to "sink or swim" without planned scaffolding. Despite teachers believing they attempted to help and make learners feel comfortable learning, their effort was inconsistent with learners' diverse languages and cultures. Nevertheless, when learners' multilingual repertoires are not used or ignored during instruction, schools will continue to be sites of social and cultural reproduction of a monolingual mindset (Ellis, Gogolin & Clyne, 2010).