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Pike (1982), notes that “[l]anguage is not merely a set of unrelated sounds, clauses, rules, and meanings; it is a total coherent system of these integrating with each other, and with behavior, context, universe of discourse, and observer perspective” (p. 44). As early as the 1970s, Dell Hymes (1972) put forward a notion of linguistic competence to...

Native language is the primary or first language spoken by an individual. It is also called the mother tongue. The abbreviation L1 refers to someone’s native language. It is generally used in contrast to L2, the language a person is learning. Native culture is the term often used to refer to the culture acquired first in life by a person or the cul...

Translanguaging affords practitioners and academics alike a different way of conceptualizing bilingualism and multilingualism. This perspective views bilinguals and multilinguals not as possessing two or more autonomous language systems, but as users of a unitary linguistic repertoire where they sort and select whatever resources are needed to make...

Given the wide variety of languages spoken by immigrant students in the United States today, teachers will not know all of the native languages of their students. Yet teachers can still promote the use of native languages in their classrooms. Below are selected approaches for supporting native language development in K–12 classrooms. 1. Organize pr...

Learning a first language is a complex and lengthy process. While learners follow a similar route in learning a second language, the rate in which they acquire the target language varies depending on a variety of linguistic, sociocultural, and cognitive factors. As students navigate through the process of becoming competent users of English, educat...

For Reflection

1. Speaking a second or third language. Do you speak a second or third language? If you do not, do you have a friend who does? Do you or your friend have equal levels of competence across language domains? Think about why some language domains developed more than others. 2. Types of writing systems. Look at some of the different alphabets and writing systems for different languages at Omniglot (http://www.omniglot.com/) or at any other website or text. Based on those writing systems, what lan...

For Action

1. Linguistic diversity. What native languages other than English are spoken by students in your classroom? In your school, district, and state? Jot down a list of what you believe are the top languages in your area and compare it with information you can find about your school, district and state. (For information about the different languages spoken in your state and across the United States, visit the website for the Office of English Language Acquisition at http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/stats/...