Co-creating the Dialogic: How a Participatory Action Research Project Promoted Second Language Acquisition of Karen Youth

Abstract

The case under investigation explores how a participatory action research (PAR) project between three Karen adolescent brothers and their American tutor/coresearcher can effectively promote dialogic (Wong, 2006) second language acquisition by: (1) creating dialogic teacher-student relationships; (2) building second language confidence and; (3) providing a problem posing learning atmosphere that promotes participants’ academic literacies and personal transformations. The findings from this study suggest that learning within what Paulo Freire refers to as a problem-posing educational project can promote language acquisition as well as critical consciousness, each of which are key in contributing to immigrant adaptation to the host culture. Furthermore, this study demonstrates how educators can begin to involve students in ways that make education personal, relevant and meaningful to groups who are often marginalized in school and communities.