Dra. Rahat Zaidi, Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary

Schools are no longer monolingual, monocultural entities. Finding ways to build on and extend young people’s linguistic resources and use them to leverage learning and cultural awareness continues to challenge language educators. Scholars agree that innovative methods need to be implemented to increase literacy levels and engagement across both language minority students and those in the general student population. In this seminar I describe the affordances of dual language books in mainstream multicultural elementary classrooms, arguing that language awareness methodologies, in concert with dual language books, can harness the linguistic resources of students, while promoting an appreciation for both linguistic and cultural diversity.  I will describe a series of dual language reading programs implemented in elementary and middle school settings in Canada. Teacher-led language awareness activities intentionally paved the way for how language is used and conceptualized in the classroom and help students bring a more holistic awareness of participating guest readers’ and multilingual students’ linguistic repertoires. The results specifically highlight how these dual language reading programs offer a way to underscore past and future heritage practices and community practices and place them at the centre of the lived and evolving reality of contemporary multicultural, multilingual society.

Autor: Servei d'Audiovisuals. Facultat de Ciències de l'Educació

Expedient: 86.101

Data:2018-03-07 11:24

Publicació: 03/07/2018

Durada: 54 min