Making Room for Identity in Second Language Writing
The Promise and Possibilities of Dual Language Identity Texts
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/wap.v3i2.217Keywords:
identity texts, Second language writing, cultural and linguistic diversity, multiliteracies, critical literacy, case studyAbstract
The case studies in this article represent the work of two elementary teachers who integrated their students’ identities into the literacy curriculum. Drawing on Cummins’ (2001) concept of identity investment, academic engagement, and multiliteracies theory, I discuss and analyze samples of students’ dual language writing and document the teaching practices that made these identity texts possible. Interview data from student participants and examples of their work illustrate the ways in which students re-imagine their identities by engaging with writing in both languages. The work of these students demonstrates the power that writing can have as a medium for students to express their identities. This study further shows that teaching writing through the use of personal narratives and cultural stories affords students opportunities to build their own cultural capital in relation to the expectations of academic writing.
References
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Schecter, S. R. and Cummins, J. (2003) Multilingual Education in Practice: Using Diversity as a Resource. Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Heinemann.
Statistics Canada (2006). Canada at a Glance: Diversity. Retrieved on 10 August 2010 from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/12-581-x/2010000/pop-eng.htm#t04.
Suárez-Orozco, C. and Qin-Hilliard, D. B. (2004) Immigrant boys’ experiences in U.S. schools. In N. Way and J. Y. Chu (eds.) Adolescent Boys: Exploring Diverse Cultures of Boyhood 295–316. New York: New York University Press.
Swain, M. (1997) Collaborative dialogue: Its contribution to second language learning. Revista Canaria de Estudios Ingleses 34: 115–132.
Swain, M. (2007) The output hypothesis: Its history and its future. 5th International Conference on ELT in China and the 1st Congress of Chinese Applied Linguistics. Retrieved on 28 October 2011 from http://www.celea.org.cn/2007/keynote/ppt/merrill%20swain.pdf.
Toohey, K, Manyak, P. and Day, E. (2006) ESL learners in the early school years: Identity and mediated classroom practices. In J. Cummins and C. Davison (eds.) International Handbook of English Language Teaching vol. 2: 545–558. Amsterdam: Kluwer.
Unsworth, L. (2002) changing dimensions of school literacies. The Australian Journal of Language and Literacy 25: 62–77.
Valdés, G. (2004) Between support and marginalisation: The development of academic language in linguistic minority children. Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 7: 102–132. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13670050408667804
Vygotsky, L.S. (1978) Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes (M. Cole, V. John-Steiner, S. Scribner and E. Souberman, eds.). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
Bourdieu, P. and Passeron, J. (1977) Reproduction in Education, Society, Culture. Beverly Hills: Sage.
Bullough, R. and Gitlin, A. G. (2001) Becoming a Student of Teaching. London: Routledge Falmer.
Cazden, C., Cope, B., Fairclough, N., Gee, J., Kalantzis, M., Kress, G. et al. (1996) A pedagogy of multiliteracies: Designing social futures. Harvard Educational Review 66: 60–86.
CBC News (2007) Retrieved on 12 April 2011 from http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2007/03/13/census-canada.
Chow, P. and Cummins, J. (2003) Valuing multilingual and multicultural approaches to learning. In S. R. Schecter and J. Cummins (eds.) Multilingual Education in Practice: Using Diversity as a Resource 32–60. Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Heinemann.
City of Toronto (2007) Toronto’s Racial Diversity Living in Toronto Retrieved on 28 May 2010 from http://www.toronto.ca/toronto_facts/diversity.htm.
Cochran-Smith, M. and Lytle, S. L. (1993) Inside/Outside: Teacher Research and Knowledge. New York: Teachers College Press
Cope, B. and Kalantzis, M. (2000) Multiliteracies: Literacy Learning and the Design of Social Futures. New York: Routledge.
Cummins, J. (2000) Language, Power and Pedagogy: Bilingual Children Caught in the Crossfire. Tonawanda, New York: Multilingual Matters.
Cummins, J. (2001) Negotiating Identities: Education for Empowerment in a Diverse Society (2nd edition). Los Angeles: California Association of Bilingual Education.
Cummins, J. (2006) Identity texts: The imaginative construction of self through multiliteracies pedagogy. In O. Garcia, T. Skutnabb-Kangas and M. E. Torres-Guzman (eds.) Imagining Multilingual Schools: Language in Education and Globalization 51–69. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
Early, M., Cummins, J. and Willinsky, J. (2002) From Literacy to Multiliteracies: Knowledge Generation for the New Economy. Initiative on the New Economy grant funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (2002–2005).
García, O. (2009) Bilingual Education in the 21st Century: A Global Perspective. Malden, Massachusetts, and Oxford: Wiley/Blackwell.
Gay, G. (2000) Culturally Responsive Teaching: Theory, Research, and Practice. New York, New York: Teachers College Press.
Harklau, L. (2002) The role of writing in second language acquisition. Journal of Second Language Writing 11: 329–350. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s1060-3743(02)00091-7
Jimenez, R.T. (2003) Literacy and Latino students in the United States: Some considerations, questions, and new directions. Reading Research Quarterly 38: 122–128.
Klingner, J. K., Hoover, J. J. and Baca, L. M. (2008) Why Do English Language Learners Struggle with Reading? Distinguishing Language Acquisition from Learning Disabilities. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin Press.
Luke, A. (2000) Critical literacy in Australia: A matter of context and standpoint. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy 43: 448–461.
Lyman, R. (2006, August 15) U.S. immigration: Census data finds 16% increase in 5 years; many go to new areas. The New York Times. Retrieved on 31 October 2011 from http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/08/15/cHangeus.tmP#ixzz11s67fF00http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi f=/c/a/2006/08/15/cHangeus.tmP.
Malakoff, M. and Hakuta, K. (1991) Translation skill and metalinguistic awareness in bilinguals. In E. Bialystok (ed.) Language Processing and Language Awareness by Bilingual Children 141–166. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Orum, A. M., Feagin, J. R. and Sjoberg, G. (1991) Introduction: The nature of the case study. In A. M. Orum, J. R. Feagin and G. Sjoberg (eds.) A Case for the Case Study. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press.
Pahl, K. and Roswell, J. (2005) Literacy and Education: Understanding the New Literacy Studies in the Classroom. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Passel, J. and Cohn, D. (2008) US Population projections 2005–2050 Report. Pew Research Center Retrieved on 28 July 2011 from http://pewresearch.org/pubs/729/united-states-population-projections.
Richards, H. V., Brown, A. F. and Forde, T. B. (2006) Addressing diversity in schools: Culturally responsive pedagogy. Research Brief. NCCREST (The National Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Systems). Retrieved on 28 October 2011 from www.nccrest.org/Briefs/diversity_Brief.pdf.
Rusk, J. (May 14, 2005) Suburbs suffer inner-city ills, but little relief offered: Report. Globe and Mail, Sect. A.
Samway, K. D. (2006) When English Language Learners Write: Connecting Research to Practice. Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Heinemann.
Schecter, S. R. and Cummins, J. (2003) Multilingual Education in Practice: Using Diversity as a Resource. Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Heinemann.
Statistics Canada (2006). Canada at a Glance: Diversity. Retrieved on 10 August 2010 from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/12-581-x/2010000/pop-eng.htm#t04.
Suárez-Orozco, C. and Qin-Hilliard, D. B. (2004) Immigrant boys’ experiences in U.S. schools. In N. Way and J. Y. Chu (eds.) Adolescent Boys: Exploring Diverse Cultures of Boyhood 295–316. New York: New York University Press.
Swain, M. (1997) Collaborative dialogue: Its contribution to second language learning. Revista Canaria de Estudios Ingleses 34: 115–132.
Swain, M. (2007) The output hypothesis: Its history and its future. 5th International Conference on ELT in China and the 1st Congress of Chinese Applied Linguistics. Retrieved on 28 October 2011 from http://www.celea.org.cn/2007/keynote/ppt/merrill%20swain.pdf.
Toohey, K, Manyak, P. and Day, E. (2006) ESL learners in the early school years: Identity and mediated classroom practices. In J. Cummins and C. Davison (eds.) International Handbook of English Language Teaching vol. 2: 545–558. Amsterdam: Kluwer.
Unsworth, L. (2002) changing dimensions of school literacies. The Australian Journal of Language and Literacy 25: 62–77.
Valdés, G. (2004) Between support and marginalisation: The development of academic language in linguistic minority children. Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 7: 102–132. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13670050408667804
Vygotsky, L.S. (1978) Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes (M. Cole, V. John-Steiner, S. Scribner and E. Souberman, eds.). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
Published
2011-12-28
Issue
Section
Research Matters
How to Cite
Cohen, S. L. (2011). Making Room for Identity in Second Language Writing: The Promise and Possibilities of Dual Language Identity Texts. Writing and Pedagogy, 3(2), 217-239. https://doi.org/10.1558/wap.v3i2.217
