Ch.+22+by+Cristian+Faltis


 * Contexts for Becoming Bilingual Learners in School Settings **
 * By Christian Faltis **

Many educators and researchers have thought how context figures into becoming bilingual (and biliterate) in school environment. //Context// is defined both as an “interactionaly constituted environment” which impacts on how students and teachers interact and convey messages in two languages and as an outcome of efforts to share or create contexts for taking part in communication at any possible time and place. For others context refers to //societal//, //community//, and //pedagogical forces// or texts that influence how learners become bilingual in school settings as well as how bilingual they become (Cortes 1986; Gersten and Faltis 2000; Oglu and Simon 1998; Valdes 1998; Wolfe and Faltis 1999). From the intertextual perspectives meanings which are shared or created via interactions in the classroom by teachers and students are dependent on the texts relevant for the interpretation of classroom tests (Lemke, 1992). According to Faltis contexts moves trough focus in unpredictable way because participants in the interaction create meaningful context for their communication and context has its impact on their interaction and meaning.

Throughout the history of the USA the attitude toward the use of other languages than English has changed many times. Nowadays, many bilingual education programs in US are transitional which have an aim of moving students out of their native language as quickly as possible.
 * Societal Forces as Context **