Encyclopedia of Language and Education pp 107-115 | Cite as
Writing in Multilingual Classrooms
Abstract
Gentle probing of even those societies which are officially monolingual invariably exposes a surprising level of linguistic diversity. The increasing interdependence of nations which has marked the second half of the twentieth century, however, has ensured that unprecedented numbers of city schools in Europe and the English speaking world are serving multicultural, multilingual populations. Historic and demographic trends determine the educational response to diversity. For instance, in North America, large concentrations of speakers of French, Spanish and Chinese have led to the development of programs whose aim is to produce children bilingual and biliterate in both English and the language of the home (see volume 5). In contrast, where school populations are more diverse, the sole medium of instruction is likelv to be the (official or unofficial) national language.
Keywords
Black Child Community Language Dialogue Journal Multilingual Matter Cambodian RefugeePreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
- Abbott, C.: 1994, ‘Supporting writing in community languages through the eevelopment and use of a multilingual wordprocessor, and the involvement of parents and community groups in its use’, Paper given at the sixth conference on ‘Computers and Writing’, University of Wales, Aberystwyth.Google Scholar
- Bhatt, A., Barton, D., & Martin-Jones, M.: 1994, Gujarati Literacies in East Africa and Leicester, Working Paper 56, Centre for Language in Social Life, University of Lancaster.Google Scholar
- Bissex, G.: 1980, GNYS at Work: A Child Learns to Write and Read, Harvard University Press, Harvard, Mass.Google Scholar
- Calkins, L.: 1983, Lessons From a Child, Heinemann, London.Google Scholar
- Champion, T., Seymour, H. & Camarata, S.: 1995, ‘Narrative discourse of African American children’, Journal of Narrative and Life History 5(4), 333–352.Google Scholar
- Chana, U., Edwards, V. & Walker, S.: 1997a, ‘Multilingual wordprocessing in the primary school’, in A. Shreeve (ed.), IT in English: Case Studies and Materials, National Council for Educational Technology, Coventry.Google Scholar
- Chana, U., Edwards, V. & Walker, S.: in press, ‘Hidden resources: multilingual wordprocessing in the primary school’, Race, Ethnicity and Education 1.Google Scholar
- Cummins, J.: 1979, ‘Linguistic interdependence and the educational development of bilingual children’, Review of Educational Research 49, 222–251.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Edwards, V.: 1995, Writing in Multilingual Classrooms, Reading: Reading and Language Information Centre, University of Reading.Google Scholar
- Edwards, V.: 1997, ‘Unexpected benefits of multilingual technology’, Times Educational Supplement 27 June: 35.Google Scholar
- Edwards, V. & Redfern, A.: 1992, The World in a Classroom: Language and Education in Britain and Canada, Multilingual Matters, Clevedon, Avon.Google Scholar
- Gibbons, P.: 1991, Learning to Learn in a Second Language, Primary English Teaching Association, Newtown, New South Wales.Google Scholar
- Goodman, Y. & Wilde, S. (eds.): 1992, Literacy Events in a Community of Young Writers, Teachers College Press, New York & London.Google Scholar
- Graves, D.: 1983, Writing: Teachers and Children at Work, Heinemann, London.Google Scholar
- Gregory, E.: 1998, ‘Siblings as mediators of literacy in linguistic minority communities’, Language and Education 12, 33–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Heath, S.B.: 1983, Ways with words, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
- Henry, A. & Hill, M.: 1991, ‘Powerful stories’, in Open University (1991) Open University, Milton Keynes.Google Scholar
- Hyon, S. & Sulzby, E.: 1994, ‘African American kindergartners’ spoken narratives: Topic associating and topic centre styles’, Linguistics and Education 6: 121–152.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Kenner, C.: 1997, Social Scripts: Children’s Writing in a Multilingual Nursery, Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Southampton.Google Scholar
- Mauro, E. & Forty, M.: 1994, ‘Season of mists and Club biscuits’, Language and learning March/April, 9–13.Google Scholar
- Michaels, S. & Cazden, C.: 1986, ‘Teacher/child collaboration as oral preparation for literacy’, in B. Schieffelin (ed.), The Acquisition of Literacy: Ethnographic Perspectives, Ablex, Norwood, NJ, 132–154.Google Scholar
- Minns, H.: 1991, Primary Language: Extending the Curriculum with Computers, National Council for Educational Technology, Coventry.Google Scholar
- Multilingual Resources for Children Project (MRC): 1995, Building Bridges: Multilingual Resources for Children, Multilingual Matters, Clevedon.Google Scholar
- National Council for Educational Technology (NCET): 1992, Look — My Language is on the Computer: Information Technology in the Multilingual Classroom, Unpublished ms, NCET, Coventry.Google Scholar
- Peyton, J. & Reed, L.: 1990, Dialogue Journal Writing with Nonnative English Speakers: A Handbook for Teachers, Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Alexandria, Va.Google Scholar
- Rigg, P. & Enright, D. (eds.): Children and ESL: Integrating Perspectives, Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Washington DC.Google Scholar
- Savva, H.: 1990, ‘The rights of bilingual children’, in R. Carter (ed.), Knowledge About Language and the Curriculum, Hodder & Stoughton, Sevenoaks, Kent.Google Scholar
- Smith, F.: 1982, Writing and the Writer, Heinemann, London.Google Scholar
- Street, B.V.: 1995, Social Literacies: Critical Approaches to Literacy in Development, Ethnography and Education, Longman, London.Google Scholar
- Urzúa, C.: 1986, ‘A children’s story’, in P. Rigg & D. Enright (eds.), Children and ESL: Integrating Perspectives, TESOL, Washington DC, pp. 93–112.Google Scholar
- Wheatley, V.: 1991, ‘Wordprocessing in a nursery school’, in G. Keith (ed.), Knowledge About Language: Reflecting About Learning with Computers, National Council for Educational Technology, Coventry.Google Scholar
- Williams, J. & Snipper, G.: 1990, Literacy and Bilingualism, Longman, New York and London.Google Scholar