| This study followed a primary age simultaneous bilingual child across three academic years, three countries, and three linguistic settings as he used his two oral languages, English (LA), and Norwegian (LB), to become independently literate in both languages. This single participant intrinsic case study asked unique questions in four phases but the overarching question for this research was how does a young bilingual use his two oral languages, English (LA) and Norwegian (L B) to gain independent literacy in both languages. The case was bound across the phases by young Per's literacy. Transcribed videotapes from his classrooms and home, fieldnotes, participant-generated texts and media, parent interviews, participant interviews, the "monster" developmental spelling assessment (Gentry, 1992) and the Qualitative Reading Inventory - 3 (QRI-3) (Leslie & Caldwell, 2001) constituted the data used for analysis. Data were analyzed using inductive coding protocol and managed with Nudist NVivoRTM . The codes were further analyzed using intensity measures, triangulation of the data sources, and member-checking with Per and his parents. Findings document the necessity of a bilingual child to be supported to use both oral languages when becoming biliterate, the role of intrinsic motivation and self-selection in literacy opportunities, an attention to self-efficacy, the relationship between teacher and learner, socially mediated learning, and the role of high expectations shared by teacher and learner. This study further confirmed the theories of language interdependence and supported Reyes' (2001) spontaneous biliteracy description. During these phases, it became apparent that the findings will serve to expand the research base about young bilinguals becoming independently biliterate, provide teachers of first and second language learners strategies for meeting the needs of these and all students, sets forth the necessity to create low-risk, multiple-assessment classrooms and describes ways one-on-one tutoring sessions can be incorporated into daily schedules. |
