BOOK REVIEW
A Critique:
Uses of Imagination the Highlight Among Multitude of Strategies for Teaching ELs
By Dan Fichtner
L
ynne Díaz-Rico, a professor of Education at California State
University, San Bernardino, has produced with Pearson Education a third edition of a very needed innovative text on second
language learning and the EngStrategies for Teaching
lish learner. Teachers, as well as
rd
English Learners (3 ed.)
teacher educators of ELs, will
Lynne T. Díaz-Rico
find it extremely useful as it presPearson Education, 2012
ents a plethora of research and its
consequences for English learners
and their instructors. It has a twofold purpose:
1. It will help K-adult educators learn how to differentiate learning opportunities in literacy and oracy for an increasingly diverse EL population.
2. It will aid professionals who may need to fulfill other professional needs by referring to the valuable, current information on relevant topics found in the book (performance-based
learning, culturally based language teaching, etc.).
The text has 15 chapters and three appendices. The first of the
appendices has valuable guidance on how to be a part of languagepolicy decisions, and the next has details on the important topic
of special education and English learners. The third appendix is
a bibliography of works used for visual imaginary dramatic arts.
Díaz-Rico identifies a megastrategy in each of the chapters
in the book. A strategy is “a conscious plan for achieving learning” (p. xxi), while a megastrategy is a large idea “that guide[s]
practice and that hosts a set of matching strategies consonant with
its theme” (p. xxi). They are the “big ideas” of second language
acquisition (SLA). One example is the Megastrategy Set 6—Teach
oracy skills systematically, building on primary language skills.
The big idea is that we use prior linguistic knowledge to build
skills and knowledge in English. Each chapter is based on one
megastrategy that drives the discussion in that chapter. Each of
the 15 chapters has a megastrategy with corresponding strategies
followed by suggested activities. Rationale for the particular strategies is also an integral part of each of the chapters.
Although many chapters offer strategies that tap behavioral,
cognitive, and humanistic theories of SLA, the one I found most
interesting and “imaginative” was Chapter 8—Learning Processes
and the Imaginary. Imagination allows a person to develop a freedom to create one’s own personal sphere of influence. It aids in
the development of truly multicultural personalities who can operate successfully in multiple, often contrasting, cultural contexts.
It helps to develop a multicultural person. The imaginary is a human area in which we should be working to develop curricula to
accomplish this task. Díaz-Rico offers many strategies to attain
this goal: guided imagery, guided fantasy stories, readers’ theater,
programmed visualization, and so on. This chapter for me was the
highlight of the text, and it alone would make the text worth reading and studying.
Imagination allows a person to
develop a freedom to create one’s own
personal sphere of influence. It aids in
the development of truly multicultural
personalities who can operate
successfully in multiple, often contrasting,
cultural contexts. It helps to develop a
multicultural person.
Another stimulating chapter is Chapter 4—Performance
Based Learning. Díaz-Rico discusses standards and their use in
developing lessons to determine if the standard has been met, or
if progress is being made toward mastery. She discusses various
assessments and has many tables, figures, and boxes to illustrate
more clearly and succinctly the points being made in the text.
Chapter 5—Learner Strategies and Learner-Focused Teaching is also a chapter worth reading and studying. Its megastrategy
is to “increase the learner’s control, self-management, and selfmotivation.” Díaz-Rico maintains that SLA happens inside and
outside the classroom and suggests that teachers develop lessons
that allow students to use their real-world experiences in their acquisition of English. Among the many strategies she suggests is
graphic organizers; they are a way to help students alternatively
display information, thus helping them to express rigorous content
in a less linguistically dependent way.
Chapters 14 and 15 are replete with ideas and suggestions
for teaching ELs. Chapter 14—Building a Community of Learners and Chapter 15—Project-Based Learning and Service Learning involve opportunities for students to become integrated into
their communities in projects that are consequential and authentic. Real-world sig