A large and growing number of students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds in ... more A large and growing number of students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds in the US and around the world have the potential to develop bilingualism and biliteracy if supported in their immediate environment. At the forefront in focusing exclusively on biliteracy development in early childhood across a variety of languages, this book provides both findings from empirical research with young bilinguals in home and school contexts and practical applications of these findings.
Each chapter is structured in a similar format to offer parallel descriptions of the research, including a brief review of related empirical studies, an overview of the methods for data collection and analysis, a description of the main findings, and specific pedagogical implications to support educators’ efforts to construct meaningful, challenging, and dynamic literacy and language learning communities where one or more languages are used for communicating and learning.
Pushing the field forward, this book is a valuable resource for helping literacy educators understand and respond to critical issues related to the development of young children’s literate competencies in two languages in home and school contexts.
This study examined how a pair of Spanish/English dual language bilingual education (DLBE) presch... more This study examined how a pair of Spanish/English dual language bilingual education (DLBE) preschool teachers enacted their bilingualism while working cohesively and simultaneously toward common instructional goals. We drew on classroom video data, field notes, and other relevant artifacts collected weekly during shared readings of English- and Spanish-language storybooks over the course of one academic year to document coteachers’ book-based interactions with each other and their students. Guided by translanguaging (O. García, 2009a, 2009b; O. García & Wei, 2014) and distributive cognition (Brown & Campione, 1996; Hutchins, 1995) frameworks, findings elucidate how teachers drew on their own and each other’s dynamic bilingualism through both monolingual and bilingual performances, supporting the coordination of instructional targets (e.g., vocabulary, narrative genre) and instructional practices (e.g., translation, explanation). Findings have implications for DLBE program language policy and practice as they highlight the utility of a bilingual pedagogy.
Journal of Educational Research & Policy Studies, 2008
Abstract: In 2002, Massachusetts voters passed Question 2, a law similar to its predecessors in C... more Abstract: In 2002, Massachusetts voters passed Question 2, a law similar to its predecessors in California (Proposition 227) and Arizona (Proposition 203) to replace bilingual education with structured English immersion (SEI) programs. Using Ruiz's (1984) framework for language planning as an analytical lens, this study examined how three Massachusetts districts resisted the monolingual ideology that characterizes laws mandating the implementation of English-only programs and addresses how local policies and practices ...
Livre: Early biliteracy development: how young bilinguals make use of their linguistic resources ... more Livre: Early biliteracy development: how young bilinguals make use of their linguistic resources research and applications (paperback) BAUER Eurydice B., GORT Mileidis.
Abstract: This study investigated the writing processes of first grade bilinguals from majority-a... more Abstract: This study investigated the writing processes of first grade bilinguals from majority-and minority-language backgrounds who were in a two-way bilingual education (TWBE) program. The program integrated native English and native Spanish speakers for all or most of the day, promoting high academic achievement, dual language and literacy development, and cross-cultural understanding for all. Researchers examined the following: how English-and Spanish-dominant first graders developed as writers in a TWBE program that used a ...
Publikationsansicht. 35418941. On the threshold of biliteracy : bilingual writing processes of En... more Publikationsansicht. 35418941. On the threshold of biliteracy : bilingual writing processes of English-dominant and Spanish-dominant first graders in a two-way bilingual education program / (2001). Gort, Mileidis. Abstract. Thesis (Ed. D.)--Boston University, 2001.. Vita.. ...
Bilingualism is prevalent throughout the world as children routinely learn two or more languages... more Bilingualism is prevalent throughout the world as children routinely learn two or more languages with the support of their families and communities, and in some cases, their schools. In the United States, the number of young bilinguals in PreK-12 settings in established and new immigrant destination areas is rapidly increasing. This white paper presents a summary of key findings and patterns of early bilingual development and separates common myths from scientific findings about childhood bilingualism. When carefully analyzed, the research often contradicts common beliefs—or myths—held by many, including parents, general educators, education specialists and other professionals who work with young children (e.g., doctors, speech-language pathologists), and educational policymakers. These myths have influenced home and school language practices, instruction, assessment and support services, and the organizational structures of education programs serving young bilinguals. With a solid understanding of how language develops for young bilinguals, families, education professionals, and policymakers can nurture and encourage bilingualism as a valued individual and societal asset.
Abstract:
The study was situated in two multi-age, pre-kindergarten classrooms within a Spanish- ... more Abstract: The study was situated in two multi-age, pre-kindergarten classrooms within a Spanish- English dual-language preschool program in a linguistically diverse, large urban center in the southeastern United States. Emergent bilingual preschoolers’ early experiences with academic language in English and Spanish are explored through children’s use of particular grammatical forms that carried out their intended purposes in Show-and-Tell activity. We drew on functional linguistics to analyze the academic language features in children’s presentations. Findings suggest that children’s presentations represented three distinct purposes: to describe, to explain, and to recount. While children had the opportunity to engage in the activity through English and/or Spanish, most of their presentations were performed in English. Children’s talk served specific functions associated with their varying intentions in the activity and the linguistic complexity of the task. Findings reveal important implications for the benefits of Show-and-Tell and ways that it supports emergent bilingual children’s understanding of and engagement with the discourses of schooling. Keywords: Dual language education, Preschool, Emergent bilingual, Systemic functional linguistics, Academic language.
Resumen: Este estudio se realizó en dos salones de clase preescolar con niños de edades múltiples, dentro de un programa preescolar de lenguaje dual español-inglés, ofrecido en una extensa localidad urbana y lingüísticamente diversa en el sureste de los Estados Unidos. El estudio examina las experiencias tempranas de estos niños bilingües emergentes con el lenguaje académico en inglés y en español, por medio del uso de formas gramaticales para materializar sus propósitos en una actividad de Show-and-Tell (presentación oral a la clase de un objeto especial para el niño). El análisis de las características del lenguaje académico utilizado en estas presentaciones se basó en los principios de la lingüística sistémico-funcional. Los hallazgos muestran que las presentaciones de los niños representan tres propósitos diferentes: Describir, explicar y recontar. Aunque los niños tuvieron oportunidades de participar en la actividad de Show-and-Tell a través del idioma inglés o del español, la mayoría de sus presentaciones fueron en inglés. El lenguaje oral de los niños cumplió funciones específicas relacionadas con las diversas intenciones de la actividad y con su complejidad lingüística. Los hallazgos revelan implicaciones importantes de los beneficios de Show-and-Tell y maneras en las que esta actividad apoya la comprensión y el envolvimiento de los niños con el discurso escolar. Palabras clave: Educación de lenguaje dual, preescolar, bilingüe emergente, lingüística sistémico-funcional, lenguaje académico.
A large and growing number of students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds in ... more A large and growing number of students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds in the US and around the world have the potential to develop bilingualism and biliteracy if supported in their immediate environment. At the forefront in focusing exclusively on biliteracy development in early childhood across a variety of languages, this book provides both findings from empirical research with young bilinguals in home and school contexts and practical applications of these findings.
Each chapter is structured in a similar format to offer parallel descriptions of the research, including a brief review of related empirical studies, an overview of the methods for data collection and analysis, a description of the main findings, and specific pedagogical implications to support educators’ efforts to construct meaningful, challenging, and dynamic literacy and language learning communities where one or more languages are used for communicating and learning.
Pushing the field forward, this book is a valuable resource for helping literacy educators understand and respond to critical issues related to the development of young children’s literate competencies in two languages in home and school contexts.
This study examined how a pair of Spanish/English dual language bilingual education (DLBE) presch... more This study examined how a pair of Spanish/English dual language bilingual education (DLBE) preschool teachers enacted their bilingualism while working cohesively and simultaneously toward common instructional goals. We drew on classroom video data, field notes, and other relevant artifacts collected weekly during shared readings of English- and Spanish-language storybooks over the course of one academic year to document coteachers’ book-based interactions with each other and their students. Guided by translanguaging (O. García, 2009a, 2009b; O. García & Wei, 2014) and distributive cognition (Brown & Campione, 1996; Hutchins, 1995) frameworks, findings elucidate how teachers drew on their own and each other’s dynamic bilingualism through both monolingual and bilingual performances, supporting the coordination of instructional targets (e.g., vocabulary, narrative genre) and instructional practices (e.g., translation, explanation). Findings have implications for DLBE program language policy and practice as they highlight the utility of a bilingual pedagogy.
Journal of Educational Research & Policy Studies, 2008
Abstract: In 2002, Massachusetts voters passed Question 2, a law similar to its predecessors in C... more Abstract: In 2002, Massachusetts voters passed Question 2, a law similar to its predecessors in California (Proposition 227) and Arizona (Proposition 203) to replace bilingual education with structured English immersion (SEI) programs. Using Ruiz's (1984) framework for language planning as an analytical lens, this study examined how three Massachusetts districts resisted the monolingual ideology that characterizes laws mandating the implementation of English-only programs and addresses how local policies and practices ...
Livre: Early biliteracy development: how young bilinguals make use of their linguistic resources ... more Livre: Early biliteracy development: how young bilinguals make use of their linguistic resources research and applications (paperback) BAUER Eurydice B., GORT Mileidis.
Abstract: This study investigated the writing processes of first grade bilinguals from majority-a... more Abstract: This study investigated the writing processes of first grade bilinguals from majority-and minority-language backgrounds who were in a two-way bilingual education (TWBE) program. The program integrated native English and native Spanish speakers for all or most of the day, promoting high academic achievement, dual language and literacy development, and cross-cultural understanding for all. Researchers examined the following: how English-and Spanish-dominant first graders developed as writers in a TWBE program that used a ...
Publikationsansicht. 35418941. On the threshold of biliteracy : bilingual writing processes of En... more Publikationsansicht. 35418941. On the threshold of biliteracy : bilingual writing processes of English-dominant and Spanish-dominant first graders in a two-way bilingual education program / (2001). Gort, Mileidis. Abstract. Thesis (Ed. D.)--Boston University, 2001.. Vita.. ...
Bilingualism is prevalent throughout the world as children routinely learn two or more languages... more Bilingualism is prevalent throughout the world as children routinely learn two or more languages with the support of their families and communities, and in some cases, their schools. In the United States, the number of young bilinguals in PreK-12 settings in established and new immigrant destination areas is rapidly increasing. This white paper presents a summary of key findings and patterns of early bilingual development and separates common myths from scientific findings about childhood bilingualism. When carefully analyzed, the research often contradicts common beliefs—or myths—held by many, including parents, general educators, education specialists and other professionals who work with young children (e.g., doctors, speech-language pathologists), and educational policymakers. These myths have influenced home and school language practices, instruction, assessment and support services, and the organizational structures of education programs serving young bilinguals. With a solid understanding of how language develops for young bilinguals, families, education professionals, and policymakers can nurture and encourage bilingualism as a valued individual and societal asset.
Abstract:
The study was situated in two multi-age, pre-kindergarten classrooms within a Spanish- ... more Abstract: The study was situated in two multi-age, pre-kindergarten classrooms within a Spanish- English dual-language preschool program in a linguistically diverse, large urban center in the southeastern United States. Emergent bilingual preschoolers’ early experiences with academic language in English and Spanish are explored through children’s use of particular grammatical forms that carried out their intended purposes in Show-and-Tell activity. We drew on functional linguistics to analyze the academic language features in children’s presentations. Findings suggest that children’s presentations represented three distinct purposes: to describe, to explain, and to recount. While children had the opportunity to engage in the activity through English and/or Spanish, most of their presentations were performed in English. Children’s talk served specific functions associated with their varying intentions in the activity and the linguistic complexity of the task. Findings reveal important implications for the benefits of Show-and-Tell and ways that it supports emergent bilingual children’s understanding of and engagement with the discourses of schooling. Keywords: Dual language education, Preschool, Emergent bilingual, Systemic functional linguistics, Academic language.
Resumen: Este estudio se realizó en dos salones de clase preescolar con niños de edades múltiples, dentro de un programa preescolar de lenguaje dual español-inglés, ofrecido en una extensa localidad urbana y lingüísticamente diversa en el sureste de los Estados Unidos. El estudio examina las experiencias tempranas de estos niños bilingües emergentes con el lenguaje académico en inglés y en español, por medio del uso de formas gramaticales para materializar sus propósitos en una actividad de Show-and-Tell (presentación oral a la clase de un objeto especial para el niño). El análisis de las características del lenguaje académico utilizado en estas presentaciones se basó en los principios de la lingüística sistémico-funcional. Los hallazgos muestran que las presentaciones de los niños representan tres propósitos diferentes: Describir, explicar y recontar. Aunque los niños tuvieron oportunidades de participar en la actividad de Show-and-Tell a través del idioma inglés o del español, la mayoría de sus presentaciones fueron en inglés. El lenguaje oral de los niños cumplió funciones específicas relacionadas con las diversas intenciones de la actividad y con su complejidad lingüística. Los hallazgos revelan implicaciones importantes de los beneficios de Show-and-Tell y maneras en las que esta actividad apoya la comprensión y el envolvimiento de los niños con el discurso escolar. Palabras clave: Educación de lenguaje dual, preescolar, bilingüe emergente, lingüística sistémico-funcional, lenguaje académico.
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Books by Mileidis Gort
Each chapter is structured in a similar format to offer parallel descriptions of the research, including a brief review of related empirical studies, an overview of the methods for data collection and analysis, a description of the main findings, and specific pedagogical implications to support educators’ efforts to construct meaningful, challenging, and dynamic literacy and language learning communities where one or more languages are used for communicating and learning.
Pushing the field forward, this book is a valuable resource for helping literacy educators understand and respond to critical issues related to the development of young children’s literate competencies in two languages in home and school contexts.
Papers by Mileidis Gort
book-based interactions with each other and their students. Guided by translanguaging (O. García, 2009a, 2009b; O. García & Wei, 2014) and distributive cognition (Brown & Campione, 1996; Hutchins, 1995) frameworks, findings elucidate how teachers drew on their own and each other’s dynamic bilingualism through both monolingual and bilingual performances, supporting the coordination of instructional targets (e.g., vocabulary, narrative genre) and instructional practices (e.g., translation, explanation). Findings have implications for DLBE program language policy and practice as they highlight the utility of a bilingual pedagogy.
The study was situated in two multi-age, pre-kindergarten classrooms within a Spanish- English dual-language preschool program in a linguistically diverse, large urban center in
the southeastern United States. Emergent bilingual preschoolers’ early experiences with academic language in English and Spanish are explored through children’s use of particular grammatical forms that carried out their intended purposes in Show-and-Tell activity. We drew on functional linguistics to analyze the academic language features in children’s presentations. Findings suggest that children’s presentations represented three distinct
purposes: to describe, to explain, and to recount. While children had the opportunity to engage in the activity through English and/or Spanish, most of their presentations were performed in English. Children’s talk served specific functions associated with their varying intentions in the activity and the linguistic complexity of the task. Findings reveal important implications for the benefits of Show-and-Tell and ways that it supports emergent bilingual children’s understanding of and engagement with the discourses of schooling.
Keywords: Dual language education, Preschool, Emergent bilingual, Systemic functional linguistics, Academic language.
Resumen:
Este estudio se realizó en dos salones de clase preescolar con niños de edades múltiples, dentro de un programa preescolar de lenguaje dual español-inglés, ofrecido en una extensa
localidad urbana y lingüísticamente diversa en el sureste de los Estados Unidos. El estudio examina las experiencias tempranas de estos niños bilingües emergentes con el lenguaje académico en inglés y en español, por medio del uso de formas gramaticales
para materializar sus propósitos en una actividad de Show-and-Tell (presentación oral a la clase de un objeto especial para el niño). El análisis de las características del lenguaje académico utilizado en estas presentaciones se basó en los principios de la lingüística sistémico-funcional. Los hallazgos muestran que las presentaciones de los niños representan tres propósitos diferentes: Describir, explicar y recontar. Aunque los niños tuvieron oportunidades de participar en la actividad de Show-and-Tell a través del idioma inglés o del español, la mayoría de sus presentaciones fueron en inglés. El lenguaje oral de los niños
cumplió funciones específicas relacionadas con las diversas intenciones de la actividad y con su complejidad lingüística. Los hallazgos revelan implicaciones importantes de los
beneficios de Show-and-Tell y maneras en las que esta actividad apoya la comprensión y el envolvimiento de los niños con el discurso escolar.
Palabras clave: Educación de lenguaje dual, preescolar, bilingüe emergente, lingüística sistémico-funcional, lenguaje académico.
Each chapter is structured in a similar format to offer parallel descriptions of the research, including a brief review of related empirical studies, an overview of the methods for data collection and analysis, a description of the main findings, and specific pedagogical implications to support educators’ efforts to construct meaningful, challenging, and dynamic literacy and language learning communities where one or more languages are used for communicating and learning.
Pushing the field forward, this book is a valuable resource for helping literacy educators understand and respond to critical issues related to the development of young children’s literate competencies in two languages in home and school contexts.
book-based interactions with each other and their students. Guided by translanguaging (O. García, 2009a, 2009b; O. García & Wei, 2014) and distributive cognition (Brown & Campione, 1996; Hutchins, 1995) frameworks, findings elucidate how teachers drew on their own and each other’s dynamic bilingualism through both monolingual and bilingual performances, supporting the coordination of instructional targets (e.g., vocabulary, narrative genre) and instructional practices (e.g., translation, explanation). Findings have implications for DLBE program language policy and practice as they highlight the utility of a bilingual pedagogy.
The study was situated in two multi-age, pre-kindergarten classrooms within a Spanish- English dual-language preschool program in a linguistically diverse, large urban center in
the southeastern United States. Emergent bilingual preschoolers’ early experiences with academic language in English and Spanish are explored through children’s use of particular grammatical forms that carried out their intended purposes in Show-and-Tell activity. We drew on functional linguistics to analyze the academic language features in children’s presentations. Findings suggest that children’s presentations represented three distinct
purposes: to describe, to explain, and to recount. While children had the opportunity to engage in the activity through English and/or Spanish, most of their presentations were performed in English. Children’s talk served specific functions associated with their varying intentions in the activity and the linguistic complexity of the task. Findings reveal important implications for the benefits of Show-and-Tell and ways that it supports emergent bilingual children’s understanding of and engagement with the discourses of schooling.
Keywords: Dual language education, Preschool, Emergent bilingual, Systemic functional linguistics, Academic language.
Resumen:
Este estudio se realizó en dos salones de clase preescolar con niños de edades múltiples, dentro de un programa preescolar de lenguaje dual español-inglés, ofrecido en una extensa
localidad urbana y lingüísticamente diversa en el sureste de los Estados Unidos. El estudio examina las experiencias tempranas de estos niños bilingües emergentes con el lenguaje académico en inglés y en español, por medio del uso de formas gramaticales
para materializar sus propósitos en una actividad de Show-and-Tell (presentación oral a la clase de un objeto especial para el niño). El análisis de las características del lenguaje académico utilizado en estas presentaciones se basó en los principios de la lingüística sistémico-funcional. Los hallazgos muestran que las presentaciones de los niños representan tres propósitos diferentes: Describir, explicar y recontar. Aunque los niños tuvieron oportunidades de participar en la actividad de Show-and-Tell a través del idioma inglés o del español, la mayoría de sus presentaciones fueron en inglés. El lenguaje oral de los niños
cumplió funciones específicas relacionadas con las diversas intenciones de la actividad y con su complejidad lingüística. Los hallazgos revelan implicaciones importantes de los
beneficios de Show-and-Tell y maneras en las que esta actividad apoya la comprensión y el envolvimiento de los niños con el discurso escolar.
Palabras clave: Educación de lenguaje dual, preescolar, bilingüe emergente, lingüística sistémico-funcional, lenguaje académico.