Learning about the past and preparing for the future: a longitudinal investigation of a grade 7 ‘sheltered’ social studies class

Abstract

Drawing on interviews, observations, and videorecorded data collected in a ‘sheltered’ grade 7 social studies class in a Mid-western US city, the current paper explores the learning opportunities provided for English language learners (ELLs) and the discursive strategies used by a teacher, consciously or unconsciously, to help her students become increasingly competent members of her class. Findings indicated that (a) learning in this class was not simply about the curriculum content, but was equally addressed to students' becoming competent participants in the classroom community and developing dispositions as responsible members of society; (b) the teacher in the study effectively used her follow-up moves to scaffold her students' learning and to give voice to their opinions. Based on these findings, I argue for the importance of a broader conceptualization of what counts as learning and for an equity stance toward the education of ELLs, as exemplified by the case-study teacher.

Keywords:

• equity
• identity
• second language learners

Notes

1. English language learners (ELL) or English learners (EL) are the terms that are commonly used in the United States to refer to English-as-an-additional-language (EAL) students. Following the US convention, I am using the term ELL in this article, while acknowledging that this term is not used in other parts of the world.

2. My interviews with Japanese ELLs were conducted in Japanese, as they preferred to be interviewed in their first language (L1). As a Japanese–English bilingual, this was not problematic for me. In the body of the paper, any quotes by Japanese ELL are provided with my English translation.