Careers in Language Education and Academic Renewal (CLEAR) Program

The Careers in Language Education and Academic Renewal (CLEAR) grant (2001-2006) was developed to provide the administrative infrastructure, staff, technology, and materials for developing and implementing an undergraduate liberal studies program in Bilingual Studies. CLEAR specifically provided teacher education preparation for students from heritage language (HL) backgrounds who were interested in careers in K-16 ESL and HL teaching. Through working closely with the Hawaiian and Asian Pacific Department, the Department of Second Language Studies, and the College of Education at UH, the program helped undergraduate students develop academic abilities in their HL, academic skills in English, and professional educational expertise in bilingual teaching across content areas.

In addition to Second Language Studies and heritage language courses, students attended a three to four semester series of Bilingual Studies seminars designed to assist them in developing metalinguistic abilities as well as further their professional development. The seminars drew extensively on critical approaches to literacy teaching, learning, and assessment (see Theoretical Perspectives) and included development of English and HL academic literacies, communities of practice, language materials development, practicum experience, ethnography, and student-as-researcher/critical language awareness approaches. The Seminar series provided support for the preservice teachers and, in turn, built a community of practice wherein Wenger’s (2001) notions of negotiation of identity were central. The Seminar series served as a venue for the HL students to construct their multiple/hybrid identities in learning (or resisting) new academic discourses at the college level. In addition to weekly class meetings, a comprehensive electronic portfolio (EP) project was interwoven throughout the CLEAR seminar series. Not only did the EP project serve as a basis for students, teachers, and other interested parties to track the on-going development of students' academic literacy, heritage literacy and professional growth, but it also provided a venue for bilingual preservice teachers to express their multiple identities and linguistic abilities.