Sociocultural Approaches To Language And Literacy

This book deals with a major crisis in education - the achievement of literacy skills.

Making linguistics accessible and relevant to all teachers, this text looks at language issues in the classroom through an applied sociocultural perspective focused on how language functions in society and in schools—how it is used, for what purposes, and how teachers can understand their students’ language practices. While touching on the key structural aspects of language (phonetics, phonology, morphology, and syntax), it does not simply give an overview, but rather provides a way to study and talk about language. Each chapter includes practical steps and suggests tools for applying different kinds of linguistic knowledge in classrooms. The activities and exercises are adaptable to elementary or high school settings. Many examples focus on the intersection of math, science, and language. Teacher case studies show how real teachers have used these concepts to inform teaching practices. Given the increasing use of multimedia resources in today’s schools, multiple mediums are integrated to engage educators in learning about language. The Companion Website provides a multitude of relevant resources that illustrate the diversity of language functions and debates about language in society.

Nine American academics, educational consultants, and bilingual/bicultural program development specialists contribute 12 chapters in a research- and theory-based text about learning and teaching in linguistically and culturally diverse classrooms. The second edition features updated research on multilingual and second-language literacy, and the int.

This book examines the linkage between literacy and linguistic diversity, embedding them in their social and cultural contexts. It illustrates that a more complete understanding of literacy among diverse populations and in multicultural societies requires attention to issues of literacy per se as well as to improving an educational process that has relevance beyond members of majority cultures and linguistic groups. The focus of the book is on the social and cultural contexts in which literacy develops and is enacted, with an emphasis on the North American situation. Educators and researchers are discovering that cognitive approaches, while very valuable, are insufficient by themselves to answer important questions about literacy in heterogeneous societies. By considering the implications of family, school, culture, society, and nation for literary processes, the book answers the following questions. In a multi-ethnic context, what does it mean to be literate? What are the processes involved in becoming and being literate in a second language? In what ways is literacy in a second language similar and in what ways is it different from mother-tongue literacy? What factors must be understood to better describe and facilitate literacy acquisition among members of ethnic and linguistic minorities? What are some current approaches that are being used to accomplish this? These are vital questions for researchers and educators in a world that has a large number of immigrants, a variety of multi-ethnic and multi-lingual societies, and an increasing degree of multinational activity. Beyond addressing applied concerns, attending to these questions can provide new insights into basic aspects of literacy.

In its first edition, Social Linguistics and Literacies was a major contribution to the emerging interdisciplinary field of sociocultural approaches to language and literacy, and was one of the founding texts of the ‘New Literacy Studies’. This book serves as a classic introduction to the study of language, learning and literacy in their social, cultural and political contexts. It shows how contemporary sociocultural approaches to language and literacy emerged and: Engages with topics such as orality and literacy, the history of literacy, the nature of discourse analysis and social theories of mind and meaning Explores how language functions in a society Surveys the notion of ‘discourse’ with specific reference to cross-cultural issues in communities and schools. This fifth edition offers an overview of the sociocultural approaches to language and literacy that coalesced into the New Literacy Studies. It also introduces readers to a particular style of analyzing language-in-use-in-society and develops a distinctive specific perspective on language and literacy centered on the notion of "Discourses". It will be of interest to researchers, lecturers and students in education, linguistics, or any field that deals with language, especially in social or cultural terms.

This book examines the linkage between literacy and linguistic diversity, embedding them in their social and cultural contexts. It illustrates that a more complete understanding of literacy among diverse populations and in multicultural societies requires attention to issues of literacy per se as well as to improving an educational process that has relevance beyond members of majority cultures and linguistic groups. The focus of the book is on the social and cultural contexts in which literacy develops and is enacted, with an emphasis on the North American situation. Educators and researchers are discovering that cognitive approaches, while very valuable, are insufficient by themselves to answer important questions about literacy in heterogeneous societies. By considering the implications of family, school, culture, society, and nation for literary processes, the book answers the following questions. In a multi-ethnic context, what does it mean to be literate? What are the processes involved in becoming and being literate in a second language? In what ways is literacy in a second language similar and in what ways is it different from mother-tongue literacy? What factors must be understood to better describe and facilitate literacy acquisition among members of ethnic and linguistic minorities? What are some current approaches that are being used to accomplish this? These are vital questions for researchers and educators in a world that has a large number of immigrants, a variety of multi-ethnic and multi-lingual societies, and an increasing degree of multinational activity. Beyond addressing applied concerns, attending to these questions can provide new insights into basic aspects of literacy.

Social Literacies develops new and critical approaches to the understanding of literacy in an international perspective. It represents part of the current trend towards a broader consideration of literacy as social practices, and as its title suggests, it focuses on the social nature of reading and writing and the multiple character of literacy practices.

Sociocultural Contexts of Language and Literacy engages prospective and in-service teachers in acquiring knowledge and understanding of linguistically and culturally diverse students, their experiences, and their sociocultural backgrounds - and, in using this knowledge, to enrich literacy learning in classrooms and communities. The text is grounded in a sociocultural perspective and a constructivist approach, which are used to provide a framework for making school literacy accessible to diverse students. Activities and Suggested Readings at the end of each chapter encourage readers to "make meaning," observe, reflect, and construct application processes based on new understandings gained from this text. The focus in this book on English literacy development does not imply advocacy for "English only" or even English-as-a-second-language as the primary mode of instruction. Rather, the position taken is that learners need to develop literacy in their native language, and that the concepts and skills thus learned create a foundation of strength for developing English-language literacy.