Bringing Transnational Literacies Into The Classroom

By Author: Jordon
Total Articles: 91
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The uses of written language are changing quickly with rapid innovations in technology and communication and increasing linguistic and cultural diversity (Lankshear & Knobel, 2003). While literacy researchers "struggle to produce ecologically-valid accounts of new literacy practices" (Gutierrez, 2007, p. xii), literacy teachers face the challenging double task of designing and implementing instruction that makes sense for the new English readers and writers who are engaging with new kinds of texts and learning new ways of presenting themselves in writing.

Literacy instruction for immigrant and nonimmigrant youth is just beginning to recognize and respond to the kinds of transnational literacies described in this article. We believe that instruction that incorporates transnational literacies makes sense because it can help teachers better understand their ELLs and foster meaningful relationships with and among students from linguistically and culturally diverse backgrounds. Including transnational and community literacies can likewise Tag Heuer Replica ...
... help students learn about diversity in their communities. Bringing transnational and community literacies into the classroom also makes it possible to build on students' prior knowledge by identifying ways to connect this knowledge to literacy standards that have been identified as vital in school. Perhaps most importantly, ELLs may become more fully engaged in their literacy and content learning when these practices are incorporated into the traditional curriculum (Heath, 1983).

The rapidly changing world of technology, the pressure to incorporate technology across content areas, and the need to adapt instruction for English-language learners (ELLs) in secondary classrooms present daily challenges for secondary educators, who are also expected to prepare students for productive lives ahead. Often it may seem as if there is not enough time in the instructional day. Therefore, in this article the authors advocate for the use of WebQuests—Web-based interdisciplinary collaborative learning units—for their potential to integrate technology, content knowledge, and comprehensible input for secondary ELLs.

Moreover, content area teachers at the secondary level are less likely than elementary school teachers to have training on the integration of language and literacy development across subjects (Rubinstein-Avila & Johnson, 2008). In spite of the demographic increase of students in 6th to 12th grades for whom English is an additional language, second-language acquisition theories and sheltered instruction strategies are still not being integrated across all teacher education courses. Consequently, single-subject educators may often feel at a loss in classrooms Breitling Replica Watches where several students are likely to be on a wide continuum of developing English-language competencies and probably also on a wide content knowledge continuum (anywhere from above U.S. grade level to several grade levels behind).

Therefore, we set out to evaluate eight existing WebQuests for their appropriateness to address the linguistic needs of ELLs. Given the low incidence of strategies found by Sox (author), we propose a rubric to be used alongside existing rubrics suggested by Dodge (2001) and March (2008). Our proposed rubric draws on second-language acquisition (SLA) theories and new literacies studies (NLS) and focuses on the linguistic, multimedia, and organizational features of WebQuests, features that are particularly helpful for ELLs. Finally, we provide suggestions for adapting existing WebQuests and for designing them to meet the needs of ELLs.