Scientific meaning-making in a bimodal-bilingual educational context – what does it mean?
Streaming Media
Location
Gallaudet University - JSAC Multipurpose Room
Start Date
2-3-2024 3:00 PM
End Date
2-3-2024 3:30 PM
Description
The aim of this presentation is to discuss the Swedish knowledge about bimodal-bilingual scientific meaning-making in a bilingual educational context with focus on scientific signs and scientific dialogue. Given that it is a bilingual environment and that science involves multiple modalities beyond topic language such as models, charts and graphs, the discussion would start from a multimodal and social semiotic perspective. With examples from various studies, I will discuss the significance of different scientific signs in a classroom dialogue, and describe how different language and modalities are intertwined and interact with each other and to what extent each of them contribute to the dialogue. The examples also show that the process of developing a scientific register in Swedish requires teachers who can discuss meta-linguistic issues in SSL with students. The results draw attention to teachers’ important role to scaffold students’ scientific reasoning using the different available semiotic resources and to promote a meta-linguistic relationship with regards to bilingualism. Development of instructional strategies that enable a rich multimodal and multilingual learning environment in science classrooms is necessary. It would contribute to a dynamic way of discussing and thereby support students' learning in science.
Recommended Citation
Lindahl, Camilla, "Scientific meaning-making in a bimodal-bilingual educational context – what does it mean?" (2024). Global Year of STEM Sign Language. 12.
https://ida.gallaudet.edu/global_STEM_signlanguage/STEM_signlanguagesummit/day_1/12
Scientific meaning-making in a bimodal-bilingual educational context – what does it mean?
Gallaudet University - JSAC Multipurpose Room
The aim of this presentation is to discuss the Swedish knowledge about bimodal-bilingual scientific meaning-making in a bilingual educational context with focus on scientific signs and scientific dialogue. Given that it is a bilingual environment and that science involves multiple modalities beyond topic language such as models, charts and graphs, the discussion would start from a multimodal and social semiotic perspective. With examples from various studies, I will discuss the significance of different scientific signs in a classroom dialogue, and describe how different language and modalities are intertwined and interact with each other and to what extent each of them contribute to the dialogue. The examples also show that the process of developing a scientific register in Swedish requires teachers who can discuss meta-linguistic issues in SSL with students. The results draw attention to teachers’ important role to scaffold students’ scientific reasoning using the different available semiotic resources and to promote a meta-linguistic relationship with regards to bilingualism. Development of instructional strategies that enable a rich multimodal and multilingual learning environment in science classrooms is necessary. It would contribute to a dynamic way of discussing and thereby support students' learning in science.
