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ERIC Number: EJ1048005
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1367-0050
EISSN: N/A
The Meanings of Hebrew: Defining Bilingual Education in a Dual-Language Charter School
Avni, Sharon
International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, v18 n2 p188-202 2015
Using a discourse analytic framework that draws on theories of language ideologies, this paper analyzes the semiotics of a heritage language as it moves from the context of parochial education to the realm of public schooling. Specifically, it examines how Hebrew undergoes resemioticization when a Hebrew language charter school in the District of Columbia is established. I examine what Hebrew signifies through an analysis of two public texts: the Sela Public Charter School application and a community online forum. I identify how this new educational initiative redefines Hebrew teaching as a novel form of bilingual education that eschews discourses of identity, rights, and heritage. Next I show that the online forum participants attach diverse and contradictory meanings to Hebrew. This analysis examines the semiotic processes at work when a heritage language is untethered from its traditional communal context and transformed into a public language, and the ways in which bilingualism and bilingual education are reframed and contested in the process.
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: District of Columbia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A