Janina Brutt-Griffler
The State University of New York at Buffalo
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ABSTRACT
Understanding and developing biliteracy among young learners in the era of global English: Research and Policy implications
The shift in the function of English as a medium of instruction (EMI) together with its use in knowledge construction and dissemination among scholars continues to fuel the global demand for high-level proficiency in the language. The ability of nations to produce multilinguals with advanced English proficiency alongside their mastery of other national or heritage language(s) has become a key to global competitiveness. That need is helping to drive one of the greatest language learning experiments today. It carries significant implications for new research agendas and teacher preparation in applied linguistics across the primary and higher education contexts (P-20 continuum). This plenary will discuss this global trend and identify new research foci. I will argue that evidence-based decision making, whether it pertains to language policy, instructional practices, teacher professional development or curriculum building needs to be based on a rigorous program of research and assessment. The plenary will share research findings and pedagogical approaches from a longitudinal school based study that have focused on development of biliteracy among young bilingual learners in dual language program. It introduces a new theoretical construct – multilingual proficiency – to underscore the knowledge that the learner develops in the process of language learning that constitutes a route to the desired high levels of language proficiency.I highlight the advantages of a student-centered approach that focuses on multilingual proficiency for teachers, underscores the key role of bilingual teachers, and draws out conclusions for teacher development and language policy.
BIOGRAPHY
Professor Brutt-Griffler is Associate Dean and Director of Language Programs at the State University of New York at Buffalo. She brings extensive research, senior level leadership, and university teaching in English language education in the USA and internationally, including the University of Vienna (Austria) and the University of York (UK). She served as an external evaluator for academic programs and universities, including in the Middle East. She has served as the Head of the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy, and Director of the Research Center in Comparative and Global Education. In these roles, she has directed research teams, large scale funded research projects and programs, developed academic curricula, organized academic conferences and mentored academic faculty and graduate students in research and teaching.
Professor Brutt-Griffler has published numerous books and peer-refereed research articles in prestigious venuesfocusing on comparative and cross-national study of education, educational policies and curriculaof English, multilingual/multicultural learning and educational systems (high school and higher education). Taking a cross-national perspective, the central goal has been to uncover the variables that contribute to building successful academic learning environments, provide policy recommendations for P-16 transitions as well as guide teacher and school leader professional development, including dual-language programming to improve educational experiences among all multicultural students. Her books includeWorld English: A Study of its Development (winner of an award from the Modern Language Association of the US), Bilingualism and Language Pedagogy, and English and Ethnicity. Prof. Brutt-Griffleris the Editor of the International Journal of Applied Linguistics (Wiley-Blackwell).