Graduate School of Education
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Publication Reimagining Literature Circles Using a Critical Translingual Approach in the English Language Arts Classroom(University of Pennsylvania, 2024-10-31) Kelsey TrudoThis paper explores the practice of literature circles in secondary literacy classrooms as spaces that are rooted in student choice and inquiry. Student-led literature circles promote students’ voice and choice, and are rich environments for students to bring their full linguistic and cultural repertoires. By applying new theoretical frameworks to the practice of literature circles and the roles that students traditionally hold, like “connector” and “questioner,” this paper provides a conceptual renovation of the traditional literature circle roles (Daniels, 2002, p.13). I reimagine my own experience as a literacy teacher had they applied these renovated roles to their own practice. Putting these roles into action, I hope that teachers, literacy specialists, and any educator who is looking to use literacy practices in their classroom to help students understand content (novels, informational texts across content, historical documents, etc.) can apply these roles in ways that value and draw on students’ full funds of knowledge (Moll et al., 1992).Publication Negotiating Identities in Language Education: A Study of my English Learning and Teaching Journey(University of Pennsylvania, 2024-10-31) Heying ZhangIn this article, I investigate the dynamic relationship between language ideologies and identity construction within English education in China. Reflecting on my journey as both an English learner and teacher, this study explores the ways in which standard language ideology and native-speakerism have influenced my self-perception and professional role. It narrates a journey from feeling linguistically inferior due to a Chinese accent to confronting professional biases in teaching. Furthermore, it shows a shift from internalizing standard English norms to embracing linguistic diversity. This study highlights the impact of language ideologies on my self-perception and professional identity in English language teaching, advocating for a more inclusive understanding of linguistic diversity and professional competence, beyond the native speaker paradigm.Publication A Collaborative Citizen Sociolinguistic Reading of Eight Popular English Language Novels(University of Pennsylvania, 2024-10-31) The New Philadelphia GroupIn the fall of 2023, we, the authors of this paper, took a class with Dr. Betsy Rymes on the topic of Citizen Sociolinguistics. Dr. Rymes describes Citizen Sociolinguistics as “This everyday talk about language” (2020, p. xi), which as a methodology allows for purposeful exploration of the mundane. Inspiration for data to analyze can come from any source, and in this paper, we look to the world of fiction in novels that we read in groups from a Citizen Sociolinguistic perspective. In this paper, we will discuss the ways that characters, authors, and readers enact the principles of Citizen Sociolinguistics in the following novels: Americanah;The House on Mango Street; The Night Watchman; The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao; Girl, Woman, Other; Pachinko; Deacon King Kong; and True Biz. The eight novels were initially chosen by Dr. Rymes based on their diverse representations of language and culture, and the reading groups were formed based on student interest.Publication The Power of Language Ideologies: Creating Heteroglossic Implementational Spaces in a Practical English Class(University of Pennsylvania, 2024-10-31) Gengqi XiaoThe multilingual turn in second language acquisition (SLA) has propelled a critical stance on monoglossic language ideologies, advocating for a heteroglossic approach that values the dynamic language practices of multilingual learners (MLs) (May, 2013; Flores & Schissel, 2014). This article shifts the focus from a general exploration of language ideologies to a detailed examination of the nuanced interplay between monoglossic language ideologies, prioritizing an idealized linguistic norm, and heteroglossic language ideologies, validating linguistic diversity. By analyzing the enactment of a heteroglossic approach in an online practical English class, the study explores the complexities where monoglossic and heteroglossic language ideologies are not opposed but rather coexist in complex and potentially deceptive ways. Through semi-structured interviews that probe MLs’ beliefs about race and language, complemented by critical discourse analysis (Fairclough, 2013), this research investigates how MLs and their teacher articulate and navigate their language ideologies, revealing how monoglossic language ideologies, often aligned with ‘white’ norms, shape instructional choices and classroom dynamics. The findings reveal the nuanced interrelations between monoglossic and heteroglossic language ideologies, advocating for educational frameworks that proactively engage with and critically transform the hegemonic language ideologies for more equitable language education.Publication Enregistering Guoyu in Chinese Social Media: Indexicality, Stance, and Mediatization(University of Pennsylvania, 2024-10-31) Xinyi WuThis article examines the semiotically mediatized formation of Guoyu, a newly emergent Chinese internet phonolexical style. Originating in grassroots livestreaming, Guoyu underwent the process of enregisterment, through which it gained metapragmatically formulated indexical meanings. Analyzing social media posts, I show how, based on Guoyu’s stereotypically labeled vulgarity, young users further reflexively construct its laminated orders of indexicality, such as gayness, humor, and authenticity, and deploy its tokens to manipulate their identity projections and interactive agendas. Analyzing how a group of young friends employed fragments of Guoyu style in offline interactions through stance-taking, I show how they dynamically mediate their social relations based on the tokens’ interior and exterior indexical meanings. Despite the inevitable indexical bleaching during the circulation of this style, especially after the style’s iconic speaker was banned by the Chinese government, Guoyu’s internet-charged indexical lifespan has extended along the mediatized speech chain at different social locales.Publication An Autoethnographic Illustration of an Indian American’s Negotiation of Ethnic and Linguistic Identity(University of Pennsylvania, 2024-10-31) Niharika BaghelIn this autoethnography, I explore and question the strong link that has been suggested between heritage language and ethnic identity as an Indian American passive bilingual who has had a global experience growing up. This research paper examines my experiences related to language and identity through the lens of three themes identified; how my ethnic and linguistic identities have been questioned by others, how others perceive my NRI cousins and me differently, and how I, myself, have come to view my identity in order to add a new perspective and address a gap in the research studies on the link between heritage language and ethnic identity of Indian Americans as research is limited. Findings reveal that the relationship between language and identity is more complex than once thought as the attitudes of others might be a factor behind why those who are unable to speak the heritage language question their ethnic identity. Moreover, findings reveal that other ways of expressing ethnic identity are varied and just as legitimate as speaking one’s heritage language.Publication Applying Affective Reader Response to Richard Wright’s Native Son: An Invitation to Racializing White Discomfort(University of Pennsylvania, 2024-10-31) Mary Elizabeth (Emmy) TalianThis paper proposes an approach to teaching about race in literature in the secondary English language arts (ELA) classroom using an affective reader response framework. Drawing from Coleman’s (2021) application of affective reader response for surfacing the “ordinary affects” of ELA educators, I combine this framework with Borsheim-Black and Sarigianides’ (2019) antiracist literature instruction to consider how providing space for white students to attend to their racialized, embodied, and affective reader responses can allow for the naming of white discomfort in the reading of a text centered around Blackness. I illustrate how I would apply this literary lens in my own positionality as a former white educator in a majority-white suburban school using Richard Wright’s Native Son, a text that elicited white discomfort from my students in the past. I conclude with a proposed lesson plan for teaching the opening of the text, incorporating both spaces for the teacher’s own modeled affective reader response and for white students to engage in this framework communally.Publication Transforming the Future: New Visions of Young Universities in Central Asia: A Conversation Between Phil Baty & Alan Ruby(2024-10-16) Ruby, Alan; Baty, PhilThis is an edited and extended version of a conversation between Phil Baty and Alan Ruby at the THE Central Asia Universities Forum, held on 16 October 2024, in partnership with New Uzbekistan University.Publication Penn GSE Fall 2014(2014) University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of EducationContents Letter from the Dean 2-2 [News] Faculty Bookshelf, Awards, and Honors 3-3 News Briefs 4-5 [Features] A Report Card for Higher Education 6-9 Celebrating 100 Years of Leadership 10-17 Powerful Partnerships 18-21 Innovating the Future 22-23 Profile 24-25 [Noteworthy] Alumni Notes 26-30 [Recess] Time Machine to 1914 31-32Publication Penn GSE Spring 2014(2014) University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of EducationContents Letter from the Dean 2-3 [News] Faculty Bookshelf, Awards, and Honors 4-4 News Briefs 5-5 [Features] Data and Determination 6-9 Learning to Lead 10-12 Profile 13-13 Careers with Global Impact 14-17 Alumni Profile 18-19 [Noteworthy] Alumni Notes 20-22 [Recess] What's Your MSI IQ? 23-24