University of Calgary PRISM: University of Calgary's Digital Repository Graduate Studies The Vault: Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2019-01-11 “Our Beautiful Family”: A study of English Language Learners’ dual language identity texts and linguistic identity in a family literacy program Bajt, Allison Bajt, A. (2019). “Our Beautiful Family”: A study of English Language Learners’ dual language identity texts and linguistic identity in a family literacy program (Unpublished master's thesis). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. http://hdl.handle.net/1880/109464 master thesis University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. Downloaded from PRISM: https://prism.ucalgary.ca UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY “Our Beautiful Family”: A study of English Language Learners’ dual language identity texts and linguistic identity in a family literacy program by Allison BaJt A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS GRADUATE PROGRAM IN LANGUAGES, LITERATURES AND CULTURES CALGARY, ALBERTA JANUARY, 2019 © Allison BaJt 2019 Abstract This study investigates how three families characterize their linguistic identity while co- authoring dual language identity texts in Arabic and English. As a community-engaged research project, it also seeks to determine how facilitators of family literacy programs can use dual language identity texts to better address the learning needs of both young and adult learners. The Linguistic Portrait Silhouette task provides insights concerning how children and parents relate to their languages in terms of expertise, affiliation and inheritance. The findings suggest that the participants are in the process of constructing an identity as Arabic and English speakers and point to the importance of children’s school experiences and contextual factors (i.e., being a primary caregiver), in shaping their identity. Lastly, interview data indicate that such projects can increase the personal relevance of learning tasks, promote accountability, address issues of accessibility for newcomers, encourage collaboration, and provide a tool for documenting families’ growth. Keywords: Dual Language Learners, English language learning, literacy, home literacy, culturally sensitive pedagogy, community-engaged research, action research ii Preface This thesis is original, unpublished, independent work by the author, A. BaJt. The study reported in Chapters 2-5 was covered by Ethics ID number 17-1720 by the University of Calgary Conjoint Faculties Research Ethics Board (CFREB) for the proJect “The Effect of Authoring Dual Language Identity Texts on Dual Language Learners’ Literacy Skills in Arabic and English and Linguistic Identity” on January 2, 2018. iii Acknowledgements First and foremost, I would like to thank my supervisor Dr. Mary Grantham O’Brien for her superb guidance over the past three years. It is difficult to put into words how immensely grateful I am for your unwavering support and encouragement, input, advice and feedback. If it is possible, I feel more admiration for you today than I did when I first met you as an undergraduate student. I truly would not be the learner, teacher or researcher I am had you not been my mentor and role model all these years. Thank you for setting the bar high—your belief in me has helped me to achieve more than I ever thought possible! I would also like to thank my committee for offering their time and expertise and for providing me with their feedback. To Dr. Dressler in particular, I have been lucky to have had your insight at various stages in my study, and my thesis certainly would not be what it is today without your help and previous work in this field. I also want to express my deepest gratitude to both the project translator and a colleague in the Arabic department at the University of Calgary for their invaluable help with translating the families’ texts and putting together the dual language books. Last but not least, to my co-researchers, the children, families, and staff of the family literacy program: confidentiality and anonymity prevent me from acknowledging you by name, but I hope you know how much you mean to me, and how indebted I am to you. Thank you for welcoming me wholeheartedly and unreservedly into your homes and lives, celebrating your stories, and being my teachers! iv Dedication My dedication is threefold. First, I dedicate this thesis to the three families with whom I worked to conduct this research. Their warmth, honesty and authenticity were both inspiring and a lesson in humility. It is fair to say that their positivity and resilience kept me going at a difficult time in my personal life and have undoubtedly changed the course of my professional life. Second, I dedicate this thesis to the three family literacy facilitators and program director who made this research possible. Their experiences and insights formed the basis for my work and have left me with no doubt of the immense care and expertise they bring to the field of family literacy. Lastly, I dedicate this thesis to Nolia Hack-Nanninga. v Table of Contents Abstract .............................................................................................................................. ii Preface ............................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................... iv Dedication ........................................................................................................................... v Table of Contents .............................................................................................................. vi List of Figures and Illustrations ....................................................................................... x List of Symbols, Abbreviations and Nomenclature ....................................................... xi Epigraph ........................................................................................................................... xii Chapter 1 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 1 1.2 International Migration .......................................................................................... 1 1.3 Focus of the Study ................................................................................................... 4 1.3.1 Definition of important terms. ....................................................................... 5 1.4 Structure of the Thesis ............................................................................................ 8 Chapter 2 Literature Review ............................................................................................ 9 2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 9 2.2 Challenges to Learning English as an Additional Language ............................ 10 2.3 Adult English Language Learners ....................................................................... 13 2.3.1 EAL literacy learners. ................................................................................... 15 2.3.2. Language, literacy and social integration. ................................................. 16 2.4 Multimodality and Multiliteracies Pedagogy ...................................................... 19 2.5 Dual Language Identity Texts .............................................................................. 22 2.5.1 Rethinking power relations and expertise. ................................................. 23 2.5.2 Linguistic transfer, Cummins’s Common Underlying Proficiency .......... 25 hypothesis, and metalinguistic awareness. ........................................................... 25 2.5.3 The Literacy Expertise and Engagement frameworks. ............................. 28 2.6 Gaps in the Literature ........................................................................................... 30 vi 2.6.1 The Language Portrait Silhouette task. ...................................................... 31 2.6.2 A novel setting: family literacy programs. .................................................. 34 2.7 Research Questions ............................................................................................... 35 Chapter 3: Methodology ................................................................................................. 37 3.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 37 3.2 Setting of the Study ............................................................................................... 38 3.2.1 Local setting. .................................................................................................. 38 3.2.2 Community setting. ....................................................................................... 39 3.3 Timeline of the Study ...........................................................................................