A Biliteracy Dialogue Approach to One-on-One Writing Instruction - With Bilingual, Mexican, Immigrant Writers

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by SANS

Interpretive study examining writing and writing experiences of two bilingual, Mexican immigrant undergraduates at a US university. Using Hornberger and Skilton-Sylvester’s (2003) biliteracy continua model, the research analyzes questionnaires, literacy history interview-conversations, text-based conversations, student writing, course syllabi, and assignment sheets to show how students drew on bilingual and bicultural resources to develop academic writing in English. Findings highlight biliteracy dialogues as a promising support for tutoring, conferencing, and other one-on-one work.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages20

Reading Time50 min

AccessFree to download

Study focus

Biliteracy continua model and data sources

Student cases: Diego and Nicolas

Context and rationale

Diversity of youth and English learners

Accountability and college readiness

Language standardization and marginalization

Writing center as support

One-on-one instruction at the margins

Research background and student experiences

Challenges, reluctance, and perceived support

W. JASON STEGEMOLLER National Louis University, Chicago, Illinois A Biliteracy Dialogue Approach to One-on-One Writing Instruction With Bilingual, Mexican, Immigrant Writers This interpretive study explores the writing and writing experiences of 2 bilingual, Mexican, immigrant undergraduates at a US university. Hornberger and Skilton-Sylvester’s (2003) continua model of biliteracy situates writing interactions to understand how students explore and draw on their bilingual and bicultural resources as they develop academic writing in English in the university. Data include questionnaires, literacy history interview-conversations, text-based conversations, student writing, course syllabi, and assignment sheets. Biliteracy dialogues demonstrate how students approached writing. The 1st student, Diego, focused on negotiating what he perceived as appropriate to include in his writing, while the 2nd student, Nicolas, connected to academic reading and writing through previous educational experiences. The findings illustrate the writers’ bilingual and bicultural resources, suggesting that biliteracy dialogues have potential to facilitate bilingual writers in developing more confidence in academic writing. The findings have implications for tutoring, conferencing, and other 1-on-1 work with bilingual students. The diversity of youth in the US is increasing as evidenced by US cen sus data that show that children living in foreign-born households rose from 16% in 2000 to 20% in 2010 (US Census Bureau, 2010) . Along with the increase in immigration, linguistic and cultural diversity are increasing in US schools. Because of their experiences with immigration and education, US-educated students acquire diverse language practices. Many of these children speak languages in addition to English to varying degrees and have a range of experiences with school in their first language. As the diversity of English learners increases, federal and local education policies in the US also focus more heavily on accountability. Related to the focus on accountability is increased conversation about college readiness. Conley (2007) points out that writing is one of the most significant academic skills necessary for college. In addition to the significance of writing, American Col The CATESOL Journal 24.1 • 2012/2013 • 59 lege Testing (ACT) (2010) has conducted research that found that only 33% of Latino 11th-graders scored high enough on the ACT to be considered ready for college. Although the increase in accountability and on college readiness can be positive, it can also have the effect of focusing on a standard view of language (White & Lowenthal, 2012). A standardized view of language limits the possibilities for building on the diverse and complex language and cultural resources of linguistically diverse youth. The bilingual university students discussed in this study previously attended schools in the Chicago area, where diverse languages are an integral part of the schools. According to a Chicago Public Schools (CPS) report (2010), more than 40% ofCPS students have some knowledge of a language other than English, and 86% of English learners are Spanish speakers. The report recognized that high school English learners have home language and literacy practices that can be built on in school as they develop English literacy. Despite the significance of language, the report acknowledged that students’ languages and cultures have often not been sufficiently recognized and addressed in schools. Additionally, researchers have explored the implicit English-only practices in writing and composition in US postsecondary contexts (Horner, NeCamp, & Donahue, 2011), highlighting that US-educated multilingual writers may face educational contexts that marginalize their linguistic, cultural, and immigration identities in both K-12 and postsecondary contexts. One-on-one writing instruction, occurring most frequently in writing centers, is an impo

FAQs

What does the study investigate about student writing?

It explores writing and writing experiences of two bilingual, Mexican immigrant undergraduates as they develop academic writing in English.

How does the biliteracy continua model shape the analysis?

It situates writing interactions so researchers can understand how students draw on bilingual and bicultural resources while building university-level English writing.

What role do biliteracy dialogues play according to the findings?

They show how students approached writing and suggest biliteracy dialogues can help bilingual writers gain confidence in academic writing.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by SANS