Clark University Professor receives a $780,000 grant for bilingual education studies
New England Council member Clark University announced that its Professor, Alena Esposito, has been awarded a $780,000 grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation to conduct a four-year study on language practices in multilingual and multicultural students at Worcester Public Schools.
The pilot year aims to better understand the connection between children’s language development and teachers’ classroom practices. The study will initially take place at the Worcester Dual Language Magnet School, focusing on emerging bilingual and multilingual students. Professor Esposito’s research team, which includes a group of Clark undergraduate and Ph.D. students, will use video and audio technology to capture and analyze interactions between teachers and students.
“When the fire alarm went off, we needed to communicate with children in a language they understood,” Professor Alena Esposito said. “And that raises the question: Is using only one language at a time, and never bending that rule, advantageous for children?” Esposito and her team aim to uncover effective teaching practices based on classroom data and then seek to provide evidence-based recommendations for improving language education policies and practices in the U.S., particularly in racially, ethnically, and linguistically diverse schools.
The New England Council congratulates Clark University and Professor Esposito on this major milestone for academic development in bilingual education.
Read more via Worcester Business Journal and Clark University.