Dual language bilingual education (DLBE) programs, in which students receive content and language instruction in English and a partner language (most notably Spanish), have proliferated in the U.S. (Boyle et al., 2015). Many DLBE programs have prioritized the needs of English dominant students by promoting a strict separation of languages where the dynamic bilingualism of Spanish dominant students is viewed as a barrier (Flores & García, 2017, Valdez et al., 2016). To serve the needs of all the DLBE students and better represent their bilingualism and biliteracy development, it is imperative that educators engage in practices that leverage students' full linguistic repertoire and adopt a holistic approach to language and literacy instruction (García, 2009; Escamilla et al., 2014). For teachers this means having knowledge of the language structures associated with each discipline, what Bunch (2013) calls pedagogical language knowledge (PLK). Research indicates that many DLBE teachers need academic and professional support to build their PLK, especially when it comes to the partner language (e.g., Barko-Alva 2022; Guerrero & Guerrero, 2017).
Working with four Spanish-dominant DLBE teacher candidates (TCs) preparing to be elementary teachers, we conducted a mixed-methods study to explore TCs': 1) level of confidence on their ability to draw on their PLK in the two program languages to unpack similarities and differences between the two languages for sense-making in science; and 2) understanding of power and ideology in language practices. Data included a survey (pre/post), three Professional Learning Community meetings and a final individual interview over the course of nine months. Preliminary findings revealed an increase in TCs' level of confidence in their ability to unpack connections between language structures for explaining scientific phenomena and a better understanding of racialized language practices. These findings have significant implications for TCs' own bilingual and biliteracy development and practices.
References
Barko-Alva, K. (2022). Enseñando en español: The need to support dual language bilingual education teachers' pedagogical language knowledge. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 1-7.
Boyle, A., August, D., Tabaku, L., Cole, S., & Simpson-Baird, A. (2015). Dual Language Education Programs: Current State Policies and Practices. Office of English Language Acquisition, US Department of Education.
Bunch, G. C. (2013). Pedagogical language knowledge: Preparing mainstream teachers for English learners in the new standards era. Review of Research in Education, 37, 298–341.
Escamilla, K., Hopewell, S., Butvilofsky, S., Sparrow, W., Soltero-González, L., Ruiz-Figueroa, O., & Escamilla, M. (2014). Biliteracy From the Start. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, Inc.
Flores, N., & García, O. (2017). A critical review of bilingual education in the United States: From basements and pride to boutiques and profit. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 37, 14-29.
García, O. (2009). Bilingual education in the 21st century: A global perspective. John Wiley & Sons.
Guerrero, M. D., & Guerrero, M. C. (2017). Competing discourses of academic Spanish in the
Texas-Mexico borderlands. Bilingual Research Journal, 40(1), 5-19.
Valdez, V. E., Freire, J. A., & Delavan, M. G. (2016). The gentrification of dual language education. The Urban Review, 48(4), 601-627.
