Review: Linguistically Appropriate Practice (2012)

Reviewed by Teresa A. Shultz, Northeastern Illinois University

Author: Roma Chumak-Horbatsch
Publisher: University of Toronto Press, Ontario, Canada, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4426-0380-6
Length: 160 pages
$29.95

In this text, Chumak-Horbatsch explores the world of immigrant children beginning school and proposes a different way to support their language and literacy as emergent bilinguals. She introduces the notion of Linguistically Appropriate Practice (LAP) as a means to include their families’ home language and experiences as an integral part of the children’s classroom experiences.

The book is divided into three parts. Part I - Laying the Groundwork for LAP, Part II - Setting the Stage for LAP and Part III - Implementing LAP Activities. Each part has between one and four chapters. Each chapter ends with a summary of key points. There are also group activities and reflective questions relating to the material for that chapter.

The first section of the book acquaints the reader with young immigrant children using demographics from Canada, the United States and European cities. It discusses how children’s home language affects their classroom learning and social development. The author concisely explains Seven Principles of Childhood Bilingualism as a way to understand how young children navigate becoming bilingual.

Chumak-Horbatsch also explores the cognitive and linguistic advantages for young children as emergent bilinguals and discusses the stigma and risks of isolation which young children may feel coming to school as bilinguals. The three current models of classroom practices (assimilative, supportive and inclusive) for teaching young bilinguals are reviewed, and their effectiveness (or lack thereof) serves to introduce the reader to the advantages of LAP.

The second section of the text includes the background and explanation of LAP teaching. The method is based on dynamic bilingualism and calls for linking the language and social needs from the classroom and the home experiences of emerging bilinguals. In this section, the reader is given details for preparing the classroom to implement LAP as well as the benefits of using it with young immigrant children.

The third section of the book consists of one chapter, comprising no less than forty-one pages of LAP activities for these children and their families. The exercises are presented with detailed instructions on modifications to suit different levels of proficiency in language and literacy. An example is the Sign-In Book activity where children can print their name (with adult help if needed) and add the name of their home language. The text includes both drills for the classroom and for home-based activities to be shared with families. The exercises are grouped by theme in the index for easy accessibility.

Although Linguistically Appropriate Practice is not a long work, it is full of relevant and useful information for teachers of young bilingual children. Its strengths lie in explanations that are concise and in classroom activities that are extensive. The group activities and reflective questions at the end of each chapter lend themselves to generating discussion and fostering awareness of better teaching practices with young immigrant children.

Chumak-Horbatsch acknowledges the challenges facing teachers to find developmentally and linguistically appropriate drills for these types of students as well as the need for classroom practices that expand beyond simple support. The exercises in the book dovetail closely with the dynamic bilingualism theory of helping children actively learn to use more than one language successfully. The classroom activities contain brief, well-written practical information. Linguistically Appropriate Practice is a good resource that teachers could use repeatedly

The main weakness with the book is that much of the introductory information is based on Canadian policy and research although, to be fair, research from other countries is also cited. Additionally, many of the examples and activities pertain to heterogeneous language classrooms and not classrooms where one second language predominates, as is often the case in the United States. In general, however, the activities, the information and the explanation of the LAP approach are quite pertinent to all teachers of young emerging bilinguals.

If you would like to submit a review, please contact Teddy Bofman, the ITBE Book Review Editor, at t-bofman@neiu.edu.


Review: Linguistically Appropriate Practice (2012) Reviewed by Teresa A. Shultz, Northeastern Illinois University Back to the Link front page Author: Roma Chumak-Horbatsch Publisher: University of Toronto Press, Ontario, Canada, 2012 ISBN: 978-1-4426-0380-6 Length: 160 pages $29.95 In this text, Chumak-Horbatsch explores the world of immigrant children beginning school and proposes a different way to support their language and literacy as emergent bilinguals. She introduces the notion of Linguistically Appropriate Practice (LAP) as a means to include their families’ home language and experiences as an integral part of the children’s classroom experiences. The book is divided into three parts. Part I - Laying the Groundwork for LAP, Part II - Setting the Stage for LAP and Part III - Implementing LAP Activities. Each part has between one and four chapters. Each chapter ends with a summary of key points. There are also group activities and reflective questions relating to the material for that chapter. The first section of the book acquaints the reader with young immigrant children using demographics from Canada, the United States and European cities. It discusses how children’s home language affects their classroom learning and social development. The author concisely explains Seven Principles of Childhood Bilingualism as a way to understand how young children navigate becoming bilingual. Chumak-Horbatsch also explores the cognitive and linguistic advantages for young children as emergent bilinguals and discusses the stigma and risks of isolation which young children may feel coming to school as bilinguals. The three current models of classroom practices (assimilative, supportive and inclusive) for teaching young bilinguals are reviewed, and their effectiveness (or lack thereof) serves to introduce the reader to the advantages of LAP. The second section of the text includes the background and explanation of LAP teaching. The method is based on dynamic bilingualism and calls for linking the language and social needs from the classroom and the home experiences of emerging bilinguals. In this section, the reader is given details for preparing the classroom to implement LAP as well as the benefits of using it with young immigrant children. The third section of the book consists of one chapter, comprising no less than forty-one pages of LAP activities for these children and their families. The exercises are presented with detailed instructions on modifications to suit different levels of proficiency in language and literacy. An example is the Sign-In Book activity where children can print their name (with adult help if needed) and add the name of their home language. The text includes both drills for the classroom and for home-based activities to be shared with families. The exercises are grouped by theme in the index for easy accessibility. Although Linguistically Appropriate Practice is not a long work, it is full of relevant and useful information for teachers of young bilingual children. Its strengths lie in explanations that are concise and in classroom activities that are extensive. The group activities and reflective questions at the end of each chapter lend themselves to generating discussion and fostering awareness of better teaching practices with young immigrant children. Chumak-Horbatsch acknowledges the challenges facing teachers to find developmentally and linguistically appropriate drills for these types of students as well as the need for classroom practices that expand beyond simple support. The exercises in the book dovetail closely with the dynamic bilingualism theory of helping children actively learn to use more than one language successfully. The classroom activities contain brief, well-written practical information. Linguistically Appropriate Practice is a good resource that teachers could use repeatedly The main weakness with the book is that much of the introductory information is based on Canadian policy and research although, to be fair, research from other countries is also cited. Additionally, many of the examples and activities pertain to heterogeneous language classrooms and not classrooms where one second language predominates, as is often the case in the United States. In general, however, the activities, the information and the explanation of the LAP approach are quite pertinent to all teachers of young emerging bilinguals. If you would like to submit a review, please contact Teddy Bofman, the ITBE Book Review Editor, at t-bofman@neiu.edu.
ITBE Link - Winter 2014 - Volume 41 Number 4