Lyn Scott – författare

Your guide to culturally and linguistically sustaining practices in your dual language classroom and school.

It’s time to set the record straight: Multilingualism is a tremendous asset that must be nurtured and valued and the most effective pathway to multilingualism is dual language education. Despite significant evidence attesting to the cognitive, social/emotional, and economic benefits of multilingualism, the majority of our classrooms and schools are monolingual.

Encouragingly, recent shifts in state policies have increased the demand for dual language programming in our schools. This increased momentum brings new challenges, including the need for more bilingually authorized teachers, high-quality instructional resources, and accurate assessment and accountability in the target languages of instruction. With contributions from ten experts in multilingual education, Breaking Down the Monolingual Wall outlines the systemic and pedagogical approaches necessary for successful multilingual and dual language programs. The book supports educators to: 

Shift the paradigm from one that is subtractive and deficit-based to one that is additive and assets-basedEmbed culturally and linguistically sustaining practices in their instructionUnderstand how to promote multilingualism in the context of teaching academic contentDevelop assessments as, for, and of learning in multiple languages.Lead high-quality dual language schools and programsRecruit and retain highly qualified bilingual educators

Offering a comprehensive overview of bilingual policies and historical context all educators should understand, Breaking Down the Monolingual Wall is an invaluable guide to creating dual language learning environments that build on the precious assets of our multilingual students and families.

This book aims at providing the framework and the tools for the transformation of the workplace. The core framework here proposed to teachers, school administrators, counselors, parents, and education leaders from kindergarten to college consists of building domestic knowledge. Unearthing and fostering an organization’s own knowledge, the book posits, translates into collectively shared understandings, skills, and dispositions which, in the aggregate translates into local capacity. The more members of an organization become involved in knowledge production, the denser its ability to deliver its stated mission. When an organization systematically implements a critical, intentional, and collective action to dig into its own day-to-day practices and brings up to the surface knowledge that has not been systematized, the higher the chances for the organization to create a shared sense of purpose and the know-how to deliver its promises. Thus, the book walks the reader from the very first to the last step of this knowledge making through an innovative approach to collaborative action research.