Individual differences in early literacy skills can be attributed to children’s previous history of emergent literacy experiences during their preschool years. The purpose of this qualitative study was to learn about the emergent literacy experiences of one Libyan American preschooler and one Syrian American preschooler and how their families support these experiences in their bilingual homes. Through the lens of social theory of learning (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Wenger, 1998) and sociocultural theory (Rogoff, 1990; Vygotsky, 1978), this multi-case study was designed to explore family literacy practices with a preschooler in a naturalistic setting. The questions guiding this study were: (1) How did the texts, tools, and technologies available in two bilingual home settings impact the emergent literacy practices of a Libyan American child and a Syrian American child? (2) What support did family members provide for these two children as they developed emergent literacy practices in their bilingual home settings? Data sources included a demographic questionnaire, digital-recordings of family literacy practices with a preschooler, audio-recorded in-depth interviews with the parents, home visits, the preschoolers’ writing samples, and photographs of literacy activities, materials, and the home environment. The recorded family literacy practices and interviews were transcribed and analyzed to identify emerging themes. Both within-case analysis and cross-case analysis were conducted. Findings revealed that the preschoolers in both families use a multimodal process such as talking, drawing, singing, chanting, recitation, technologies, and sociodramatic play in their daily literacy experiences. The parents are not concerned with teaching their children specific literacy skills; but they naturally use techniques for keeping them on task and questioning skills to enhance oral language and comprehension development. These families’ home literacy practices are Americanized by living in the mainstream social group, and English is frequently used among the family members. However, their bilingualism and religious literacy practices enrich and vary their children’s emergent literacy experiences and their family literacy practices. The significance of this study resides in the importance of getting to know individual families’ backgrounds to better understand and respect the cultural practices of family literacy.

In this study ten Grade 2-3 Japanese-English bilingual students wrote compositions on the same topic in Japanese and English. The students received an intervention designed to help them improve their Japanese writing, and were asked again to write in English after that. The compositions in Japanese and English before and after the intervention were compared and examined in terms of fluency, lexical complexity, grammatical complexity and accuracy, and using holistic measures. The results showed that the fluency, lexical complexity and theme statement of the compositions were highly related across languages before the intervention. Also the intervention was observed to exert a positive effect on lexical complexity and the use of metaphor, but negatively on accuracy. All the patterns found in the quantitavie data were investigated qualitatively. The thesis concludes with practical suggestions for parents and educators of bilingual students about how to support them trnasfer their knowledge across langauges.

In this study ten Grade 2-3 Japanese-English bilingual students wrote compositions on the same topic in Japanese and English. The students received an intervention designed to help them improve their Japanese writing, and were asked again to write in English after that. The compositions in Japanese and English before and after the intervention were compared and examined in terms of fluency, lexical complexity, grammatical complexity and accuracy, and using holistic measures. The results showed that the fluency, lexical complexity and theme statement of the compositions were highly related across languages before the intervention. Also the intervention was observed to exert a positive effect on lexical complexity and the use of metaphor, but negatively on accuracy. All the patterns found in the quantitavie data were investigated qualitatively. The thesis concludes with practical suggestions for parents and educators of bilingual students about how to support them trnasfer their knowledge across langauges.

Magister Artium - MA / This study is an investigation into the biliteracy skills (in Arabic and English) employed by Libyan students at the University of the Western Cape to gain their academic success. Nowadays, international students form a significant number in every academic institution. The study attempts to show that there are literacy factors beyond basic editing of written tasks by biliterate students studying outside their country of origin that need to be acknowledged as contributing to their success in completing such tasks. Qualitative research methods - a questionnaire and interviews – were used in order to understand what strategies the participants rely on to first understand, then write their assignments, how they apply their biliteracy skills, and what biliterate resources they draw on in their writing in order to produce a successful assignment. Hornberger’s (1989) Biliteracy Model was adopted as a framework to map students’ responses. This study may serve as a response to the question posed by Hornberger and Link (2012:243): “How should educators engage with students’ linguistic and literacy diversity in order to facilitate successful school experiences and greater academic achievement for students from often minoritized backgrounds?” This study might also be one of a series of research studies exploring, as Creese and Blackledge (2010:113) recommend, “what ‘teachable’ pedagogic resources are available in flexible, concurrent approaches to learning and teaching languages bilingually”. The findings of the research show that the Libyan students in this study used particular strategies whenever they faced academic barriers, and to compensate for their limited competence in English and the academic discourse in the foreign context of UWC. The most significant of these strategies were the use of the first language as a bridge to the second, oral discussions preceding written assignments, drawing on prior knowledge, and moving from reading to writing. Moreover, the findings revealed some of the factors behind the students’ growing confidence in their writing and consequently, succeeding in writing their assignments. These were lecturers’ feedback, oral discussions with a writing coach or friends, and drawing on contextualized content.

Quantitative data examined the effectiveness of a Two Way Bilingual Immersion program on the biliteracy and academic achievement of elementary English learners in southern California. Scores from the California Standards Test (CST) for language arts and mathematics were used to compare the effects of a bilingual curriculum on Hispanic English learners and Hispanic English Only Speakers. English learners' average group scores increased significantly; average group scores for English Only Students' decreased. The Standards Test in Spanish (STS) scores indicate English learners' gains in biliteracy development. These notable academic outcomes evidence the importance of Two Way Bilingual Immersion program for English learners.

Thesis (M.A. (Translation Studies and Linguistics)) --University of Limpopo, 2012 / The research reported in this mini-dissertation is an ethnographic case study which sought to investigate the development of biliteracy in one of the rural primary schools in the Limpopo province. Its focus is on how Grade 3 learners engage with texts and the strategies that teachers use to promote biliteracy (in English and Sepedi). Data collection methods included classroom observation, semi-structured teacher interviews and analysis of teaching and learning materials and the print environment. A brief analysis of the school’s language policy was also completed. The research revealed that the learners are hardly being taught to read and write whether in Sepedi, (their home language) or in English. While the school language policy states that English should be introduced in Grade 2, it is actually taught only in Grade 3. Additionally, as the learners do not understand English, the teachers frequently code-switch into Sepedi and therefore the learners hardly get any exposure to English. Many other negative aspects were uncovered. Out of the 28 lessons scheduled to be observed only 20 lessons actually took place. The learners are therefore not actually spending the allocated time on literacy development. The teaching is highly routinised with teachers, by and large, using an approach that emphasises repetition and rote-learning. The learners hardly ever get a chance to engage with texts independently. Even the textbooks available are not used but are stored away in the cupboards. Teachers painstakingly copy material from the textbooks on to the chalkboard and learners then copy this into their exercise books. The classroom environment is uninspiring, as there are hardly any learning materials on display. The interviews showed that the teachers had not been adequately trained to teach literacy and were in fact unaware of more effective ways of getting learners to engage with texts. They saw themselves as victims of frequent policy and curricular changes and blamed Government for poor training and lack of resources. The study in fact confirms findings of earlier research that the acquisition of literacy is simply not taking place in the poor, rural schools of South Africa and there is indeed a crisis in education in these schools.

In the era of globalization, growing numbers of children are living in situations where the language of their formal schooling is different from that of the everyday communication in their family. In such a bilingual context, this study documents biliteracy development of two Korean background children growing up in Australia. The children?s written texts (both in English and Korean) were collected over the period of 5 years 8 months (from preschool through primary school) both in home and school contexts, and analyzed using the Systemic Functional Grammar as well as genre and register theory. Throughout the researcher?s regular classroom observation and participation in their school?s literacy activities as well as in the home context, a detailed documentation of the children?s socio-linguistic environment is also provided as an important part of this longitudinal case study?s data collection and analysis. Over the period, the children?s writing in both English and Korean developed quite significantly in terms of their control of the register in text. With the introduction of Genre-based Approach in their school, they had opportunities in learning to write a range of genres such as Narrative, Report, Explanation, Argument and Procedure in English to meet the expectations of the mainstream curriculum. The children?s writing in Korean was mainly developing to satisfy their personal and interpersonal communication needs, largely through diary writing, E-mails and personal letters to extended family. Their developmental patterns of writing different genres as well as their control of written language have been examined largely through the analysis of the system of Transitivity, the use of nominal groups, Theme choice and Mood system. The similarity and difference in literacy practices between the two children (the brother and the sister) are also discussed. As the key to the two ESL background children?s successful biliteracy development throughout their primary schooling period, this case study emphasizes the importance of the supportive parents? role through mother tongue maintenance and an effective literacy program, such as Genre-based Approach, which provides practical guidance for developing written language through learning a range of genres with different social functions and purposes. The literacies in English and Korean have been found to be mutually supportive and thus it is argued that the whole biliteracy development in this case study has an enhancing effect on the children?s academic achievement in their Australian schooling. Simultaneously, with their continuous biliteracy development, the children were able to enjoy being part of a caring Korean-speaking family and community. Moreover, this whole process of biliteracy development certainly provided the two ESL children with a positive self-concept and socio-cultural identity as a balanced proud bilingual. In this regard, it is argued that the successful outcome of this case study of the ESL children?s bilieracy development can be identified as a case of an ?empowering? additive bilingualism.

This dissertation is the result of studies concerning the prerequisites for Finnish to survive in contemporary Sweden. When the Sweden Finnish parents want instruction in Finnish for their children the only choice available in Swedish municipal schools is between two language programs: one giving instruction in Swedish classes with 1-2 hours of home language training in Finnish per week, and the other giving instruction in and of Finnish in Finnish classes. In a four part study I investigate whether Sweden Finnish pupils who take part in these programs use and have a command of both languages. The focus of the dissertation is nonetheless on Finnish and the possibilities for Sweden Finns to preserve and develop their language and culture. A total of 560 second generation Sweden Finns from Botkyrka participated in the studies and are divided by language programs into Finnish classes (273) and Swedish classes (287). The introduction of the dissertation gives a picture of the composition of the Sweden Finnish group, cultural aspirations and education possibilities. It also discusses the official position of the Swedish authorities as well as their efforts in relation to the Sweden Finnish aspirations. For comparison 411 Finland Swedish pupils from Turku as well as monolingual control groups in Finland and Sweden are also investigated. Questionnaires, tests, and essays were collected on two occasions, in 1980 and 1995. Command of reading and writing skills in Finnish and Swedish are compared among the Sweden Finnish, the Finland Swedish, and the monolingual pupils. The most bilingual were the Finland Swedish pupils. This group achieved better results on the Swedish tests than the other groups. On the Finnish tests they were better than the Sweden Finnish pupils in the Swedish classes. Compared to the Sweden Finnish pupils in Finnish classes, the Finland Swedish pupils read just as well or better but wrote less well. In the studies the Sweden Finnish pupils' language use in school and at home and the changes which had taken place during the fifteen years which had passed between the times of data collection were scrutinized. Compared to the Sweden Finnish pupils in Swedish classes in 1980 the Sweden Finnish pupils use much more Swedish today (1995) while the Sweden Finnish pupils in Finnish classes nowadays use both languages more often than those who took part in the same language program in 1980. In one study 41 former Sweden Finnish informants with an average age of 27 were re-visited. Those who had been in the Swedish classes tended to let Swedish take over at home while those who had been in the Finnish classes used both languages. Sixteen of the former informants had children of their own. The language chosen to use when speaking to their children correlated with their own language skills and the language of their partner. None of those who had been in the Swedish classes spoke Finnish with their children. Among those who were in Finnish classes various combinations of languages were applied: 40% spoke Finnish, 25% spoke both languages and 33% spoke Swedish. Nearly 90% of those who had been in Finnish classes wanted their children to learn Finnish in school while not quite 60% of those who took part in home language training wanted their children to learn Finnish in school. Judging from the results of the study, attendance in Finnish classes was of great significance for the preservation of Finnish in Sweden because only this program seemed to guarantee many-sided language skills in Finnish. The number of pupils in Finnish classes has decreased sharply since 1980, and nowadays such classes exist only in a few places in Sweden. Swedish school political practices have contributed strongly to the difficulties Finnish is having and will have surviving beyond the coming two or three generations.

There is a considerable body of research showing that before children enter school they are already equipped with language competencies and concepts developed particularly in their sociocultural environment. Although some studies have explored to some extent the lives of Indigenous children in their socio-cultural contexts, most of these studies do not systematically focus on the early years of their socialization processes. Furthermore, in Brazil, researchers have only recently–in the last 15 years–started to look at the child as a capable and competent being. Thus, the purpose of this study was to document and analyze the socialization practices used by and with Mbya Guarani children in the Tekoá [reservation] Marangatu Indigenous reservation in Imaruí, Brazil, particularly within the school and community contexts. The overarching goal of this dissertation study was to explore the role of Indigenous children's socialization processes in the development of bilingualism, biliteracy, or biculturalism within the school environment and how the bilingual school supports or hinders the development of the Guarani language. In this study, children are seen as social actors (Cohn, 2005a; Marqui, 2012; Mello, 2006; Tassinari, 2011), who transmit knowledge amongst themselves, the adults in their lives, and the different contexts in which they live and experience bilingualism and biculturalism, and in some cases, biliteracy. In this qualitative study, I used ethnographic instruments (Heath & Street, 2008; Seidman, 1998) to document in-depth the several literacy practices performed by first- and third-graders in the Escola Indígena de Ensino Fundamental Tekoá Marangatu (E.I.E.F. Tekoá Marangatu). Data include fieldnotes from participant observations, video and audio recordings, literacy samples (in the form of photographs), and informal interviews, which were collected during three months of fieldwork. Through open coding, I delineated specific domains regarding the use of literacy events (Heath, 1982) and the socialization practices of this specific Indigenous community, following previous empirical studies on immigrant and Indigenous children's emergent literacies (Azuara, 2009; Reyes & Azuara, 2008; Reyes, Alexandra, & Azuara, 2007; Teale, 1986). Through the use of narrative inquiry (Schaafsma & Vinz, 2011), I demonstrate how the role of translanguaging (García & Beardsmore, 2009) and the role that peers (Gillanders & Jiménez, 2004; Halliday, 2004; Moll, 2001) took in the socialization processes of these children are some of the important findings of this study. By also interviewing key members of the school, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, I was able to understand more in-depth the importance of maintaining these children's cultural heritage at the same time that they learned their native language. In many instances the children in this study relied on more capable peers to understand the worlds and contexts in which they live. As they interacted with each other and with adults, children translanguaged across these multiple contexts as they brought their funds of knowledge (Gonzaléz, Moll, & Amanti, 2005) into the school setting. The modo de ser e viver [way of being and living] in this Indigenous community was intrinsically connected to how they saw themselves as Guarani and how they have adapted to the ways of living on the reservation. Being Guarani encompassed many aspects of their religion, ways of thinking, cosmology, and thus many times it was difficult to separate all of the aspects that composed the Guarani individual. The constant transformation of this reservation has been reshaping the social structures and activities the Guarani perform on a daily basis, yielding new forms of literacy. Even though Portuguese is the dominant language in the school context, both adults and children used Guarani as a way to escape the homogenization almost required by the outside world. Thus, understanding the role that the bilingual school plays in this community was also a key aspect of this research since both adults and children reinforced the use of Indigenous socialization practices within the school setting as a way to adapt to their way of living and being.

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