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Language and Literacy in Bilingual Learners
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Language and Literacy in Bilingual Learners

A special issue of Languages (ISSN 2226-471X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (5 February 2021) | Viewed by 31306

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Gita Martohardjono

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
MA/PhD Program in Linguistics, Second Language Acquisition Laboratory, The Graduate Center, CUNY, 365 Fifth Ave, Room 7407, New York, NY 10019, USA
Interests: second language acquisition; bilingualism and biliteracy; heritage speakers and home language proficiency; home language assessment
Dr. Jennifer Chard

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Second Language Acquisition Laboratory, The Graduate Center, CUNY, 365 Fifth Ave, Room 7407, New York, NY 10019, USA
Interests: bilingualism; bilingual assessment; language and literacy development of newcomer immigrant students; language and literacy development of Students with Interrupted/Inconsistent Education (SIFE)

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The goal of this Special Issue is to showcase “Language and Literacy in Bilingual Learners”. Specifically, this Special Issue will examine students who speak a language at home that is not the principal language of education in the country where the student resides. We are especially interested in exploring the language and literacy practices of heritage speakers and recent immigrants, and the resources that can support these students to develop skills in both of their languages. We invite papers exploring the following topics:

  1. The link between oral language and literacy:
    1. How does oral language proficiency in each language facilitate literacy in the same language?
    2. How does oral language proficiency in each language facilitate literacy in the other language?
  2. The importance of home language assessment to inform the baseline for access to literacy in the new language:
    1. What are some examples of home language assessments?
    2. How can home language assessments facilitate academic gains in both languages?
    3. What are some key characteristics for successful home language assessments?
  3. The importance of home language instruction in newcomer students:
    1. What are best practices for encouraging the development of bilingual literacy in school-age, college, and adult learning programs?
    2. What are some examples of successful programs?
    3. How does home language maintenance foster bilingual literacy?

The tentative completion schedule is as follows:

  • Abstract submission deadline: 5 September 2020 (400–450 words including bibliography);
  • Notification of abstract acceptance: 5 October 2020;
  • Full manuscript deadline: 5 February 2021

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 400-450 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send it to the guest editors ([email protected] and [email protected]) or to /Languages/ editorial office ([email protected]). Abstracts will be reviewed by the guest editors for the purposes of ensuring proper fit within the scope of the special issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer-review.

Dr. Gita Martohardjono
Dr. Jennifer Chard
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Languages is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • bilingualism and bilingual literacy
  • heritage speakers
  • newcomer immigrant students
  • home language assessment
  • home language instruction

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

24 pages, 503 KiB  
Article
How to Ensure Bilingualism/Biliteracy in an Indigenous Context: The Case of Icelandic Sign Language
by Elena Koulidobrova and Rannveig Sverrisdóttir
Languages 2021, 6(2), 98; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages6020098 - 25 May 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 4577
Abstract
The paper discusses the implementation of a bilingual education language policy in the context of endangered indigenous sign language—Icelandic Sign Language (íslenskt táknmál, ÍTM). Unlike other indigenous endangered languages (e.g., Sámi), or other sign languages (e.g., American Sign Language, ASL), ÍTM has received [...] Read more.
The paper discusses the implementation of a bilingual education language policy in the context of endangered indigenous sign language—Icelandic Sign Language (íslenskt táknmál, ÍTM). Unlike other indigenous endangered languages (e.g., Sámi), or other sign languages (e.g., American Sign Language, ASL), ÍTM has received certain recognition typically associated with equitable language policy—by law, it is considered the “first language” of the deaf/hard of hearing Icelanders; further, Iceland overtly states that ÍTM-signing children must be educated bilingually. However, we show that as a country that has committed itself to linguistic equality as well as the support of indigenous languages under the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People, Iceland still has a way to go—both in terms of language attitudes and the associated implementations. We analyze the current situation focusing on the issues of bilingualism and biliteracy (vis-à-vis indigeneity and endangerment), explain the reason for the state of affairs by contextualizing the barrier to both for signers, and offer an explicit path forward which articulates the responsibilities of the power structures as well as potential outcomes related to revitalization, should these responsibilities be fulfilled. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Language and Literacy in Bilingual Learners)
23 pages, 1640 KiB  
Article
The Interplay of Language Awareness and Bilingual Writing Abilities in Heritage Language Speakers
by Claudia Maria Riehl
Languages 2021, 6(2), 94; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages6020094 - 21 May 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3467
Abstract
This paper investigates how language awareness influences the writing abilities of bilingual heritage language speakers. The study includes 175 bilingual 9th and 10th graders with Italian, Greek, or Turkish as their L1 and German as an early L2. The analysis is based on [...] Read more.
This paper investigates how language awareness influences the writing abilities of bilingual heritage language speakers. The study includes 175 bilingual 9th and 10th graders with Italian, Greek, or Turkish as their L1 and German as an early L2. The analysis is based on a corpus of narrative and argumentative texts in L1 and L2 and a language awareness test to explore semantic, pragmatic, and textual knowledge that was administered in both languages. We found that the students’ writing abilities in both languages were highly interdependent and there was a significant correlation between achieving high scores in the heritage language test and achieving equally high (or even higher) scores in the L2 test. The results further point to a significant correlation between metalinguistic awareness and writing abilities. However, there was a higher correlation between metalinguistic awareness and text level scores in the heritage language, which shows that writing abilities in this language are more dependent on metalinguistic awareness than in the language of schooling. Moreover, differences were found between the respective language groups and different school types. Based on these results, it is argued that the fostering of language awareness ought to be implemented more intensively in the language classroom. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Language and Literacy in Bilingual Learners)
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19 pages, 437 KiB  
Article
The Writing Process and the Written Product in Bimodal Bilingual Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children
by Moa Gärdenfors
Languages 2021, 6(2), 85; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages6020085 - 11 May 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3802
Abstract
How does bimodal bilingualism—a signed and a spoken language—influence the writing process or the written product? The writing outcomes of twenty deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) children and hearing children of deaf adults (CODA) (mean 11.6 years) with similar bimodal bilingual backgrounds [...] Read more.
How does bimodal bilingualism—a signed and a spoken language—influence the writing process or the written product? The writing outcomes of twenty deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) children and hearing children of deaf adults (CODA) (mean 11.6 years) with similar bimodal bilingual backgrounds were analyzed. During the writing of a narrative text, a keylogging tool was used that generated detailed information about the participants’ writing process and written product. Unlike earlier studies that have repeatedly shown that monolingual hearing children outperform their DHH peers in writing, there were few differences between the groups that likely were caused by their various hearing backgrounds, such as in their lexical density. Signing knowledge was negatively correlated with writing flow and pauses before words, and positively correlated with deleted characters, but these did not affect the written product negatively. Instead, they used different processes to reach similar texts. This study emphasizes the importance of including and comparing participants with similar language experience backgrounds. It may be deceptive to compare bilingual DHH children with hearing children with other language backgrounds, risking showing language differences. This should always be controlled for through including true control groups with similar language experience as the examined groups. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Language and Literacy in Bilingual Learners)
32 pages, 1525 KiB  
Article
Evaluating the Russian Language Proficiency of Bilingual and Second Language Learners of Russian
by Tatiana Luchkina, Tania Ionin, Natalia Lysenko, Anastasia Stoops and Nadezhda Suvorkina
Languages 2021, 6(2), 83; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages6020083 - 11 May 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 4991
Abstract
The starting point of most experimental and clinical examinations of bilingual language development is the choice of the measure of participants’ proficiency, which affects the interpretation of experimental findings and has pedagogical and clinical implications. Recent work on heritage and L2 acquisition of [...] Read more.
The starting point of most experimental and clinical examinations of bilingual language development is the choice of the measure of participants’ proficiency, which affects the interpretation of experimental findings and has pedagogical and clinical implications. Recent work on heritage and L2 acquisition of Russian used varying proficiency assessment tools, including elicited production, vocabulary recognition, and in-house measures. Using such different approaches to proficiency assessment is problematic if one seeks a coherent vision of bilingual speaker competence at different acquisition stages. The aim of the present study is to provide a suite of validated bilingual assessment materials designed to evaluate the language proficiency speakers of Russian as a second or heritage language. The materials include an adaptation of a normed language background questionnaire (Leap-Q), a battery of participant-reported proficiency measures, and a normed cloze deletion test. We offer two response formats in combination with two distinct scoring methods in order to make the testing materials suited for bilingual Russian speakers who self-assess as (semi-) proficient as well as for those whose bilingualism is incipient, or declining due to language attrition. Data from 52 baseline speakers and 503 speakers of Russian who reported dominant proficiency in a different language are analyzed for test validation purposes. Obtained measures of internal and external validity provide evidence that the cloze deletion test reported in this study reliably discriminates between dissimilar target language attainment levels in diverse populations of bilingual and multilingual Russian speakers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Language and Literacy in Bilingual Learners)
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20 pages, 615 KiB  
Article
A Survey of Assessment and Additional Teaching Support in Irish Immersion Education
by Sinéad Nic Aindriú, Pádraig Ó Duibhir and Joe Travers
Languages 2021, 6(2), 62; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages6020062 - 26 Mar 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 4825
Abstract
This study investigates the assessment methods used in Irish immersion schools to identify students for additional teaching support. An overview is provided of the percentage of students receiving additional teaching support in this context and whether there is a higher rate of students [...] Read more.
This study investigates the assessment methods used in Irish immersion schools to identify students for additional teaching support. An overview is provided of the percentage of students receiving additional teaching support in this context and whether there is a higher rate of students accessing additional teaching support in Irish immersion schools than English-medium schools. The challenges of assessment through Irish as a second language are evaluated. In addition, this study investigates the language used by educational professionals when assessing and/or providing interventions for these students. A quantitative research approach was adopted for this investigation, with a random stratified sample of 20% (N = 29) of Irish immersion schools in the Republic of Ireland completing an online questionnaire. SPSS was used to analyse the data. The findings of the present research contribute to the limited body of knowledge available on the types of assessment used in immersion education to identify students for additional teaching support. These findings are significant as there has been limited research undertaken on this aspect in immersion education and the findings of this study may have implications for immersion education contexts in other countries. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Language and Literacy in Bilingual Learners)
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19 pages, 2523 KiB  
Article
Tracking Biliteracy Skills in Students Attending Gaelic Medium Education: Effects of Learning Experience on Overall Reading Skills
by Euan Dickson, Laura Manderson, Mateo Obregon and Maria Garraffa
Languages 2021, 6(1), 55; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages6010055 - 20 Mar 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3401
Abstract
This study describes the validation of a reading assessment developed for speakers of Scottish Gaelic, an endangered language spoken in Scotland. The test is designed to investigate the areas of reading for understanding, reading errors and reading speed. This study will present the [...] Read more.
This study describes the validation of a reading assessment developed for speakers of Scottish Gaelic, an endangered language spoken in Scotland. The test is designed to investigate the areas of reading for understanding, reading errors and reading speed. This study will present the data on a group of Gaelic/English speakers on both the Gaelic and the English version of the test and of a group of English speakers on the English version of the reading test, aiming at comparing reading abilities in children attending a Gaelic medium education (GME) and children in English medium education (EME) living in the same urban area. The paper reports two studies. The first study presents data on 77 children bilingual in Gaelic/English recruited across four levels of primary school on reading in Gaelic. The second study looks at the performance on a version of the test adapted for English, comparing the performance of two groups of children (bilinguals Gaelic/English and monolinguals English) on several linguistic skills, including sentence comprehension and reading. About 40 monolingual English subjects in EME, living in the same urban area, were administered the English version. The reading abilities of the children attending EME and GME schools were comparable, supporting the idea of no disadvantage on reading from attending a school with the medium of a minority language. If differences were found, these were in favour of the bilingual Gaelic/English children, who attained better results in all linguistic tasks in English in the older groups. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Language and Literacy in Bilingual Learners)
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23 pages, 450 KiB  
Article
Predictors of Successful Reading Comprehension in Bilingual Adults: The Role of Reading Strategies and Language Proficiency
by Deanna C. Friesen and Bailey Frid
Languages 2021, 6(1), 18; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages6010018 - 28 Jan 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 4808
Abstract
The current study investigated the type of strategies that English–French bilingual adults utilize when reading in their dominant and non-dominant languages and which of these strategies are associated with reading comprehension success. Thirty-nine participants read short texts while reporting aloud what they were [...] Read more.
The current study investigated the type of strategies that English–French bilingual adults utilize when reading in their dominant and non-dominant languages and which of these strategies are associated with reading comprehension success. Thirty-nine participants read short texts while reporting aloud what they were thinking as they read. Following each passage, readers answered three comprehension questions. Questions either required information found directly in the text (literal question) or required a necessary inference or an elaborative inference. Readers reported more necessary and elaborative inferences and referred to more background knowledge in their dominant language than in their non-dominant language. Engaging in both text analysis strategies and meaning extraction strategies predicted reading comprehension success in both languages, with differences observed depending on the type of question posed. Results are discussed with respect to how strategy use supports the development of text representations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Language and Literacy in Bilingual Learners)
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