Abstract
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.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1246-1270 |
| Number of pages | 25 |
| Journal | International Journal of Science Education |
| Volume | 41 |
| Issue number | 9 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jun 13 2019 |
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Keywords
- classroom discourse
- elementary school science
- English language learners
- intertextual analysis
- Multilingual classrooms
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Education
Cite this
English language learners’ participation in the discourse of a multilingual science classroom. / Lan, Shu Wen; de Oliveira, Luciana.
In: International Journal of Science Education, Vol. 41, No. 9, 13.06.2019, p. 1246-1270.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
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TY - JOUR
T1 - English language learners’ participation in the discourse of a multilingual science classroom
AU - Lan, Shu Wen
AU - de Oliveira, Luciana
PY - 2019/6/13
Y1 - 2019/6/13
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
KW - classroom discourse
KW - elementary school science
KW - English language learners
KW - intertextual analysis
KW - Multilingual classrooms
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U2 - 10.1080/09500693.2019.1607618
DO - 10.1080/09500693.2019.1607618
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85065174524
VL - 41
SP - 1246
EP - 1270
JO - International Journal of Science Education
JF - International Journal of Science Education
SN - 0950-0693
IS - 9
ER -