A two-way street: A sociolinguistic analysis of an English Language Learner

This multiple case study is a qualitative sociolinguistic analysis comparing the peer talk experiences of two children, an English Language Learner (ELL) and a native English speaking peer (NES) control, matched for behaviors associated with social status. Teacher and parent interviews supplemented classroom observations of the children's peer talk. The experiences of the classroom peers as they engage in peer talk with these two children were also considered. Examples of how a transactional perspective would be an effective model to consider peer talk interaction emerged from the data. Certain tactics used by NES children towards other NES peers were not used towards the ELL child. The implications of the current study are that NES peers can be important tools to help shape and support the sociolinguistic development of young ELL preschoolers. Suggestions are made for the design of future studies in consideration of obtaining less data than anticipated. A model for considering a teacher's role in peer talk is also proposed, suggesting a spectrum of talk types ranging from peer talk to teacher talk. Further study of both peer talk and teacher talk will be crucial to develop future curriculum and interventions that can support all children in a preschool classroom.