This article investigates the language attitudes, language practices and identity construction of a group of ethnic minority students in a secondary school in Hong Kong. Drawing on data from focus group and individual interviews, this research shows that the ethnic minority students negotiate and contest their heritage identity by utilizing their…

Uncritically applying a community of practice model has become rather prevalent in higher education settings (Lea, 2005). This paper attempts to return to the spirit of Lave and Wenger's earlier (1991) work and to use a community of practice perspective as a heuristic to analyse participation patterns in a final year design studio in the…

This article discusses a documentary film project produced by high school students in Hawai'i that investigated the value of Pidgin (Hawai'i Creole) in schools and society, and which ultimately aimed to address the problem of "linguicism" (Skutnabb-Kangas, 1990). The project was carried out within a critical language awareness framework that…

Undocumented migration is a major demographic trend, yet both under researched and under-theorized. This is particularly the case for undocumented students in the U.S., as most studies that target this population have spotlighted extraordinary adolescents (e.g., Gonzales, 2008). Much less is known about the everyday unextraordinary experiences of…

In examining life history narratives of 14 linguistically and culturally diverse pre-service teachers, this study addresses two research questions: How do pre-service teachers construct difference between themselves and others? How do they express a sense of belonging and community membership (or construct citizenship) in representing themselves…

This study examines the discursive construction of adequate English proficiency through error correction in citizenship classrooms. In particular, the microanalysis of corrective sequences demonstrates that such proficiency is viewed narrowly--as a practical tool for passing the naturalization interview and not necessarily a tool for broader…

There has been little research on academic writers that shows how social interaction influences the construction of "discoursal identity" (the impressions that writers convey about themselves in their texts and that readers develop about writers). This study analyzes a collaborative writing session among college students to explore the negotiation…

Deaf students are attending mainstream postsecondary institutions in increasing numbers. This study attempts to fill a gap in the literature regarding deaf students' writing tutorials with hearing tutors and interpreters. It consists of observation of tutoring sessions, interviews, and collection and grounded theory analysis of relevant documents…

This paper investigates informal learning, literacy and language development occurring in the home through exchanges between children of three to six years of age and their grandparents in Sylheti/Bengali-speaking families of Bangladeshi origin and monolingual English-speaking families of mixed ethnicity living in east London. A survey identifying…

Research on language classroom code-switching ranges from describing both teachers' and learners' first language and target language use to making connections between code-switching and student learning. However, few studies compare differences in practice between native and non-native speaker teachers and even fewer consider culture of learning…

The dynamics of discourse in literacy classrooms offers a complex paradigm for describing the communication patterns that exist among the agents (teachers and students) involved. The discourse patterns that exist in classrooms contextualize the pathways individuals take to assume understanding. Through interviews and case studies of two teachers…

Telling stories to children has been the focus of much research conducted mostly in schools and families while other settings where these practices also take place have been ignored. This article presents an analysis of storytelling events for children in three urban informal contexts: a library, a park and a children's bookstore in the city of…

Drawing upon observer participation in a first grade classroom, we present a systemic functional analysis of classroom communication located in relation to social semiotics, cultural historical activity theory, and ecological psychology, relating context to meaning making. Two years of observation include field notes, student assessments, audio…

This article explores the attribution of linguistic resources to multilingual students in a primary school in the Netherlands. Drawing on an ethnographic study of a regular, multicultural classroom, it describes patterns of attribution emerging from observations of classroom activities and interviews with the teacher. Its focus is on the…

With a view of standardized testing as a situated local practice that serves "global" agendas, I examine the specific ways that this bureaucratic mechanism receives, sorts, arranges and classifies adult learners of English; inspires certain pedagogical practices; and fosters identities desired by the new global economy. Relying on data gathered…