Sixth International Conference on Immersion and Dual Language Education: Connecting Research and Practice Across Contexts

Paper/Best Practice Session (1 hour)

Multiple

One-Way Second/Foreign Language Immersion
Two-Way Bilingual Immersion
One-Way Developmental Bilingual Education

Pre-K
Elementary (K-5)
Middle School/Junior High
High School

In this session we will present findings from a mixed-methods study exploring language awareness, language ideologies and the relationship between the two amongst dual language immersion (DLI) educators in Utah, a state creating over 100 DLI schools. We will discuss how to apply our findings to create integrated professional development.

An important component of the teacher knowledge base is how aware a teacher is of language—its use, how it works as a system, and how it is best taught (Andrews, 2007; Garcia, 2008; Svalberg, 2007). Equally important are teacher beliefs about language or language ideologies (Alim, 2007; Kroskrity, 1998; Martínez, 2013).  Because this combination of beliefs and awareness guides most pedagogical decisions, our study used mixed methods to explore the teacher language awareness (TLA) and prevalent language ideologies of public-school educators working in dual language programs in Utah. The following research questions guided the study:  1) What degree of TLA do in-service educators working in dual language programs currently demonstrate?; 2) What are some prevalent language ideologies of in-service educators working in dual language programs?; and 3) How and to what extent do educator language ideologies vary by TLA domain?

The study took place in Dual Language Immersion (DLI) schools in Utah. The Utah context is unique due to its state-backed initiative to create over 100 dual-language immersion schools with the goal of creating bi-cultural, bi-literate students in Spanish, Portuguese, German, French, or Mandarin. Educators completed a language ideology survey (Fitzsimmons-Doolan, 2011) and language identification task. Teachers were selected based on ideological variation for follow-up semi-structured interviews. Quantitative data was analyzed via factor analysis and mixed ANOVA; qualitative data was analyzed via constant comparative coding and thematic analysis (Saldaña, 2009).

This study extends an understanding of the relationship between language awareness and ideologies.  Currently, much professional development for English learners focuses on classroom strategies only, without accounting for teachers’ underlying awareness and beliefs about language. In learning more about language awareness and ideologies, we will discuss how to apply our findings to create integrated professional development that addresses classroom practices, language awareness, and language ideologies.