A restricted curriculum for second language learners : a self-fulfilling teacher strategy?


Autoria(s): Wedin, Åsa
Data(s)

2010

Resumo

The focus of this article is on relations between classroom interaction, curricular knowledge and student engagement in diverse classrooms. It is based on a study with ethnographic perspective in which two primary school classes in Sweden were followed for three years. The analysis draws on Halliday's Systemic Functional Linguistics. The results indicate that language use in the classrooms is on a basic everyday level and that high teacher control results in low-demanding tasks and low engagement among students. Interaction in the classrooms mainly consists of short talk-turns with fragmented language, frequent repairs and interruptions, while writing and reading consists of single words and short sentences. Although the classroom atmosphere is friendly and inclusive, second language students are denied necessary opportunities to develop curricular knowledge and Swedish at the advanced level, which they will need higher up in the school system. The restricted curriculum that these students are offered in school thus restricts their opportunities to school success. Thus, I argue for a more reflective and critical approach regarding language use in classrooms.

Formato

application/pdf

Identificador

http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:du-11176

doi:10.1080/09500780903026352

ISI:000282032300001

Idioma(s)

eng

Publicador

Örebro universitet, Institutionen för humaniora, utbildnings- och samhällsvetenskap

Relação

Language and Education, 0950-0782, 2010, 24:3, s. 171-183

Direitos

info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

Palavras-Chave #classroom interaction #academic language #curriculum #engagement #challenging pedagogy #Other Humanities #Annan humaniora
Tipo

Article in journal

info:eu-repo/semantics/article

text