Language as a Resource

In my last blog post, I talked about the (broad) topic of underprepared second language readers in relation to an article by Kamhi-Stein (in Teaching Developmental Reading).  At this point, I’m interested in focusing my topic on second language readers and attitudes toward the use of L1 in a college reading classroom.  I’m not sure if this can be expanded a little (or a lot) to include attitudes toward both L1 and home dialect, and I wonder if this is going to take me back to the original question I asked in my first blog post about definitions of literacy.  For now though, (at the risk of being too TESOL- specific) I want to start with another article by Kamhi-Stein (2003), from my reading list, which looks at attitudes toward a students “home language” and the idea of L1 as a resource for underprepared second language readers in a college classroom.  

The idea of L1 as a resource unfortunately contradicts attitudes and beliefs I’ve seen in many ESL classrooms, where L1 is often forbidden (as dramatic as that sounds) or seen as something students should be ashamed to turn to as a resource. Many practices I’ve witnessed (and possibly participated in myself) seem to create an idea that students should feel guilty about using their first language in any way, and almost result in generating some sort of adversity between a student’s L1 and English.  As an example, at a private language school I used to work for, which consisted many pre-academic ESL students, anyone overheard speaking their first language in the hallways between classes was issued a “grammar ticket.” This meant they had to sit down and complete an English grammar worksheet before returning to class.  While the intention was for this (strange punishment) to be a fun way to encourage students to speak English, I wonder about negative affective results in terms of how students might feel about their L1, especially when L1 is needed as a resource while reading.  

It seems as though students who have experienced this type of educational context prior to entering college do feel the need to hide the use of their first language in a classroom (I saw this in a CMS reading class I TA-ed for last semester).  This is why I feel it’s worth exploring cross-lingual use of reading strategies and the idea that L1 might (and should?) actually be viewed as a useful tool in a college reading context.  

It’s interesting to look at various views of L1 as problematic or helpful.  Ruiz (as cited in Kamhi-Stein, 2003) “identified three orientations toward language planning: language as problem, language as right, and language as resource” (p. 39).  Other studies determined that successful bilingual readers saw their L1s as a resource, while less successful readers saw home language as problematic and confusing (Jinenez, as cited in Kamhi-Stein, 2003).  This article investigates affective factors related to reading, and explores the relationship between four “underprepared” college readers’ attitudes toward home language, beliefs about reading, and cross-lingual reading processes.  The researcher discovered, through interviews, think-aloud tasks, and comprehension measures, that the readers who viewed L1 as a resource used cross-lingual strategies, which lead to more success in reading.  Readers who viewed home language as a problem, however, were not aware of such strategies, and were deemed “less successful” as college readers.  

Students are frequently told (in certain ESL contexts) to “think in English”, but the readers in Kamhi-Stein’s (2003) study found more success when using purposeful mental translation strategies.  I'm interested in the idea of building students’ awareness of how a home language might be viewed as a resource, rather than a problem, and of how cross-lingual strategies might lead to more success in reading, especially since the concept contradicts many pedagogical practices I've seen in play....