Leveraging Hidden Resources to Navigate Tensions and Challenges in Writing: A Case Study of a Fourth-grade Emergent Bilingual Student

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

Abstract

During this May interview, Lizette shared her preference for writing at home rather than at school and noted some issues she has with writing in class. The first was Lizette’s wariness of having writing constantly checked for form errors. This “checking” of writing was indicative of a  culture of correctness  (Wong, 2014) that permeated classroom discourse around writing and emphasized mechanical correctness as an essential criterion for good writing. In contrast, during writing experiences at home, Lizette was able to align writing efforts with her own goals for learning, thinking, and expressing ideas, goals that remained invisible and untapped in her classroom writing experiences. Additionally, for Lizette, student talk in the classroom made writing experiences at school less desirable.
Original languageAmerican English
Title of host publicationSecond Language Writing in Elementary Classrooms
DOIs
StatePublished - 2016

Keywords

  • Bilingual Child
  • Classroom Observation
  • English Language Learner
  • Fairy Tale
  • Writing Process

Disciplines

  • Language and Literacy Education

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