ECIS ESLMT Conference 2017

Most educators and policy-makers are intuitively aware that it is important to develop a strong culture of reading among our students—what Frank Smith called “Joining the Literacy Club”. This is often challenging when students are learning through a second (or third) language and in the process of catching up academically with their native-speaking peers. However, when we realize just how overwhelming the research evidence is regarding the crucial importance of literacy engagement for academic development, it brings an urgency to the need for schools to develop explicit policies regarding the promotion of literacy engagement for all learners. The workshop will engage participants in sharing ideas about how to develop school-based language policies, drawing on the concept of identity texts as a tool to enable students to take ownership of their own dual language literacy development in ways that include both receptive processes (e.g., reading, video viewing, etc.) and productive processes (e.g., writing, video creation, etc.).