Bringing Literacy Into Bilingual Science: Using Cognitive Discourse Functions to Support Reading and Writing in English as a Foreign Language Classrooms

ABSTRACT In bilingual elementary classrooms where English is taught as a foreign language, science lessons often prioritize spoken interaction, while reading and writing receive less emphasis. This article explores how Cognitive Discourse Functions (CDFs)—such as defining, explaining, hypothesizing,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Reading teacher Vol. 79; no. 3
Main Author: Hung, Yueh‐Nu
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Newark Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.11.2025
Subjects:
Academic language
Bilingual education
Bilingualism
Classroom communication
Classrooms
Cognition
cognitive discourse functions (CDFs)
Discourse
Discourse functions
Elementary schools
English
English (Second Language)
English as a foreign language (EFL)
English as a second language
English as a second language instruction
English language
Foreign language learning
Foreign languages
Interdisciplinary aspects
interdisciplinary literacy
Language
Language acquisition
Language usage
Learning
Literacy
Literacy skills
Public schools
Reading Instruction
Science
science CLIL (content and language integrated learning)
Science Instruction
Scientific Concepts
Scientific Literacy
Second language reading
Second language writing
Second Languages
Students
Teachers
Teaching
Vignettes
Writing
ISSN:0034-0561, 1936-2714
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:ABSTRACT In bilingual elementary classrooms where English is taught as a foreign language, science lessons often prioritize spoken interaction, while reading and writing receive less emphasis. This article explores how Cognitive Discourse Functions (CDFs)—such as defining, explaining, hypothesizing, and evaluating—can support disciplinary and interdisciplinary literacy development by integrating English language use into content learning. Drawing on three classroom vignettes from public schools in Taiwan, the article illustrates how science teachers designed lessons that help students read scientific texts, write lab reports, and engage in structured discussions—all in English. Practical guidelines are provided to help K–6 educators incorporate reading and writing into bilingual science instruction, with an emphasis on multimodal scaffolding and English academic language development. The paper highlights how CDFs can serve as a bridge between content and language learning, helping students deepen their understanding of scientific concepts while also building the literacy skills needed to think and communicate like scientists in English.
Bibliography:This work was supported by National Science and Technology Council of Taiwan (NSTC 112‐2410‐H‐142‐010‐MY3).
Funding
ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
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content type line 14
ISSN:0034-0561
1936-2714
DOI:10.1002/trtr.70023