In response to the increasing number of United States school students from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds at all grade levels, often called "simultaneous bilinguals," the U.S. school districts are opening schools that offer bilingual instruction. One instructional strategy that seems promising is the "Bridge," where students contrast and connect the literacy skills learned in one language to the literacy skills in their other language. An underlying component of learning a language is student attitude and motivation to learn. Research also seems to indicate that student attitude and motivation toward biliteracy can affect their achievement. There seems to be a lack of research on how students respond to becoming biliterate. The purpose of this study is to explore how simultaneous bilingual middle school students respond to becoming biliterate in Spanish and English as a result of participation in a humanities dual language/immersion class, taught through the instructional strategy the Bridge. This study used a case study design. The focus was on 12 simultaneous bilingual middle school students who had at least three years of bilingual education. The methods used to gather data were: the students' achievement in biliteracy, a survey, a Draw-a-Bilingual-student activity, a narrative response, and a focus group. I identified five themes from the data analysis: (a) Positive role of family in developing biliteracy; (b) Confidence in becoming biliterate; (c) Using their biliteracy skills in the community; (d) Biliteracy valued for their future; and (e) Appreciation of bilingual programs in our schools. Future research should continue to investigate the power of the Bridge strategy in furthering student success in becoming biliterate.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:pdx.edu/oai:pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu:open_access_etds-6052 |
| Date | 23 May 2019 |
| Creators | Diaz-Philipp, Alma Lucinda |
| Publisher | PDXScholar |
| Source Sets | Portland State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Dissertations and Theses |
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