Toward Linguistically Inclusive Teaching: a curriculum for teacher education and a case study of secondary teachers’ learning Emily Kathryn Jean Curtis a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education University of Washington 2013 Reading Committee: Manka Varghese, Chair Kenneth Zeichner Deborah McCutchen Dafney Blanca Dabach Program authorized to offer degree: College of Education © Copyright 2013 Emily Kathryn Jean Curtis University of Washington Abstract Toward Linguistically Inclusive Teaching: a curriculum for teacher education and a case study of secondary teachers’ learning Emily Kathryn Jean Curtis Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Associate Professor Manka Varghese College of Education Addressing teachers’ preparation for and cultivation of cultural and linguistic diversity, this study presents a linguistics curriculum designed for teacher education and a case study of teacher-candidates’ learning. That teacher education must develop culturally and linguistically responsive teaching ideologies and practices, integrating explicit teaching of language norms and academic language and supporting first and heritage language maintenance, stems from a demographic imperative: a diversifying student body versus a nearly monolithic teaching force of white, middle-class, monolingual English speakers with minimal experiences with language learning to inform their work for equitable education for culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students. Over 20% of US schoolchildren are second language English speakers (cf. deficit-focused “English Language Learner”), speaking over 460 languages. CLD also includes speakers of heritage languages and non-dominant dialects. While “ELL methods” proliferate, i teacher education has but sparsely recommended, much less provided, a foundational knowledge base in language structure, variation, and acquisition that would enlighten and empower teachers for the CLD era. Case study results of teacher-candidates’ (TCs’) learning in this basic linguistics course demonstrated TCs’ improved language awareness, empathy, and sense of empowerment, responsibility, and intentionality toward integrating language in their teaching and an inquiry stance toward SLES and language. All main topics contributed to learning, including critical realizations based on phonology, anthropological-linguistics, and pragmatics, and widespread connection with morphology, second language acquisition, and systemic functional linguistics analysis of disciplinary academic language. Some English Language Arts TCs found some material redundant, but others appreciated the course situated in their teacher education. Future development of linguistic inclusiveness as proposed here will include continued alignment with social justice and multicultural education, teacher and faculty professional development, learning communities, induction support, and curriculum development for all levels, informed by longitudinal case studies of teacher learning and practices of linguistically inclusive teaching. ii Acknowledgements For all that you have taught me, modeled for me, accomplished before me, and inspired me to be a part of and contribute to, I am so grateful to my committee members. Especially my adviser, Manka Varghese: thank you so much for your encouragement and your unfailing confidence in my abilities, ideas, and their products, for the invaluable opportunities you provided for me to further develop them, for the community of intentional scholarship you create, and for modeling the genuine but professional pursuit of one’s mission and path. I am also grateful to have worked with and come to know Ken Zeichner, and I thank you, Ken, for all you taught me, for encouraging and motivating comments on multiple papers throughout my EdD program, and most of all, for sharing your wealth of knowledge and inspiring passion for teacher education and social justice. To Deborah McCutchen, I am so grateful for the work you do to demonstrate the value of language awareness and to mentor subsequent scholars, but more personally, for the opportunity to be part of that work and for the learning and inspiration it provided. Dafney Blanca Dabach, I also thank you for agreeing to join my committee when I was in a pinch, but also for all the mentoring, community-building, and inspiration you created for and around my program. To Julia Herschensohn, I cannot thank you enough for years of recognition and support of my endeavors, even into and to completion of a second doctoral program. And to all committee members, for your kindness, intentionality, and colleagueship. Thanks also to many others in the College of Education for your shared enthusiasms, inspiring conversations, and warm camaraderie: there are too many to mention. iii I also wish to thank Sharon Hargus, my first adviser, for building my foundation in Linguistics and providing me with opportunities to teach and to see the larger pictures of academe and linguistics in the world. One must always thank her parents and elders for all their efforts to raise her up, and I thank especially my mother and sister for always being concerned for my well-being, happiness, education, and success, and for the support, interest, love, and respect they have unfailingly shown. I wouldn’t be here without you! Similarly, I would not be the person I am if not for my wonderful family and many friends, and I can only hope that you each know who you are and know that I am thankful you are in my world. Finally, I am thankful for my spouse, Soohee Kim; for your simple existence, for exactly who you are, for choosing to be with me, and for supporting me in this great endeavor, with necessary household help, grounding and clarifying conversations, calming and refreshing breaks, collegial diligence and constancy, encouraging words and food, and support in uncountable ways, but most of all, patience and love. iv Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to all who lost their first languages to a socially dominant one and to those who cherish and preserve them. v Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................................ i Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ iii Dedication ....................................................................................................................................... v Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................. i Chapter 1: Introduction .................................................................................................................. 1 Prologue .......................................................................................................................... 1 Culturally and linguistically diverse students: terminology and acronyms .................... 5 What teachers need to know ......................................................................................... 10 Linguistic inclusiveness ................................................................................................ 13 Outline of the dissertation ............................................................................................. 16 Chapter 2: Context and Rationale for the Study .......................................................................... 20 Social context and diversity demographics................................................................... 20 Socio-political context .................................................................................................. 27 Research Context: Approaches to teacher preparation for cultural and linguistic diversity..................................................................................................................................... 32 Attention to culture: Multicultural Education and Cultural Responsiveness............ 33 Attention to language: linguistically responsive teaching ........................................ 39 Functional linguistics and academic language ...................................................... 48 Pedagogical and methodological approaches to integrating language and content .. 50 Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach (CALLA) ............................ 51 Peregoy & Boyle ................................................................................................... 52 Freeman and Freeman ........................................................................................... 53 Gibbons ................................................................................................................. 55 Quality Teaching for English Learners (QTEL) ................................................... 56 Sheltered immersion Observation Protocol (SIOP) .............................................. 57 Summary of methods-based approaches ............................................................... 59 Summary of approaches to CLD............................................................................... 62 The state of teacher preparation for cultural and linguistic diversity ....................... 63 Proposal for teacher education and its rationale ........................................................... 70 Chapter 3: Foundations in Theory and Research ........................................................................