ERIC Number: EJ1215454
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019
Pages: 25
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0950-0693
EISSN: N/A
English Language Learners' Participation in the Discourse of a Multilingual Science Classroom
Lan, Shu-Wen; de Oliveira, Luciana C.
International Journal of Science Education, v41 n9 p1246-1270 2019
Recent science-education reforms have targeted students' ability to 'talk science', especially in science classrooms. Prior research has shown that participation in scientific discourse in class is one of the most challenging scientific-literacy tasks, and particularly complex for English language learners (ELLs) at the upper elementary level. The present study explores this issue in a fourth-grade science classroom in the United States in which students from various linguistic and cultural backgrounds were studying together. Specifically, it analyzes the case of a focal Asian-background ELL who encountered challenges in her attempts to respond to the teacher's questions and participate in the classroom academic discourse on earth science. Our analysis indicated that this ELL was unaware of the teacher's expectations regarding the intertextual connections and academic language required to successfully accomplish science tasks. The ELL's unexpected responses exposed a complex set of academic and social issues -- notably, gaps between the teacher's, students', and ELL's own expectations about language participation -- that could have contributed to her supposed behavioural problems.
Descriptors: English Language Learners, Science Instruction, Student Participation, Scientific Literacy, Educational Change, Elementary School Students, Grade 4, Cultural Differences, Asian Americans, Teacher Student Relationship, Earth Science, Academic Language, Classroom Communication, Expectation, Behavior Problems, Multilingualism, Course Content, Second Language Learning, English (Second Language), Discourse Analysis
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Grade 4; Intermediate Grades
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A