Classroom discourse communicative competency of bilingual students with learning disabilities during content learning in three learning environments.

Abstract

Using language as a tool to engage in social activity and mediate learning is a human experience. For some, that experience is limited as a result of language/learning problems or by experiences in environments that have not fostered language development. Language minority students who have learning disabilities are also challenged to create meaning in a language that is not native and that may be limited, particularly as it relates to academic learning. This study examined the influence of three learning environments on the communicative competencies of bilingual students with learning disabilities and the influence of those environments on the students' learning. Students were at least two years below expected grade level in reading. During the study, they used their grade level textbooks as they engaged in learning Social Studies content. Results indicate that dialogic, interactive learning environments influence the communicative competencies students demonstrate as well as their content learning.