Kindergarten with Mascarillas: A qualitative case study of a Spanish-English dual language classroom during COVID-19

Dual language programs have increased across the country in response to both under-achievement for language learners in mainstream classrooms and a growing awareness of the importance of multilingualism and cross-cultural competence. This study explores how teachers and students negotiate a learning environment impacted by relationships, ideologies, and pedagogical practices. In the context of COVID-19, this study is significant because there is little research on the everyday practices that cultivate bilingualism and biliteracy from a sociocultural perspective and how the pandemic has impacted those norms. This qualitative case study uses interviews, observations, and field notes from a Kindergarten Spanish-English dual language classroom in a small urban area in the Midwest. The participants include four staff members and five focal students representative of the classroom makeup varying in home language, socioeconomic status, gender, and age. Results from this study contribute to understanding how to foster multilingual environments that offer optimal participation opportunities for all students, in addition to listening to the perspectives of the teachers and students that embody this space regarding their everyday practices.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.A.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Teaching of English Sec Lang

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2022

Author dc:creator

• Kim, Esther Jun

Contributors dc:contributor

• Sadler, Randall W
• Pierce, Lisa

• dual language
• bilingual
• kindergarten
• covid-19
• translanguaging

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2022 Esther Kim

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/116177

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F116177