Understanding Writing Contexts for English Language Learners

• Published in: Research in the teaching of English 2004-05, Vol.38 (4), p.351-394
• Main Authors: McCarthey, Sarah J., López-Velásquez, Angela M., García, Georgia Earnest, Lin, Shumin, Guo, Yi-Huey
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Bilingualism; Chinese languages; Classroom communication; Classroom management; Context Effect; Cultural identity; Educational Opportunities; Elementary education; Elementary school students; English (Second Language); English as a second language; English as a second language instruction; English language learners; Ethnicity; Expository Writing; Grade 1; Grade 4; Grade 5; Journal writing; Language of Instruction; Latin American literature; Longitudinal Studies; Mandarin; Mandarin Chinese; Negotiation; Reading instruction; Reading Skills; Second Language Learning; Second language teachers; Second language writing; Spanish language; Spanish Speaking; Student Attitudes; Teachers; Writing; Writing (Composition); Writing Assignments; Writing instruction; Writing teachers
• ISSN: 0034-527X; 1943-2348
• DOI: 10.58680/rte20042950

This article explores the writing opportunities provided to Spanish-speaking and Mandarin-speaking English Language Learners at the fourth and fifth-grade level across the various classroom settings in which they participated daily: an all-English speaking classroom, an English-as-a-second language (ESL) classroom, and a native-language classroom. The students' school routines were quite complicated, as each interacted daily with several different teachers, and each setting entailed different tasks, expectations, and rules for governing interaction. As a result, students views of writing at school were somewhat fragmented. Even when assignments ostensibly focused on authentic communication, the students did not always recognize the purpose or value. Students primarily wrote expository essays, and seldom engaged in extended talk concerning the purposes and audiences for the texts they produced. Further, students were not encouraged to write in their native languages in settings other than their Chinese or Spanish classes, and, therefore, did not have many opportunities to explore their linguistic and cultural identities in the all-English or ESL settings. Despite these limitations, most of the students successfully negotiated the complex curriculum and found ways to explore their bilingual/bicultural identities.