"Justice No Matter Who We Are": English Language Learner and Migrant Youth Act With Agency Through a Summer Writing Program

• In Event: 49.088 - Roundtable Session 17
  In Roundtable Session: 49.088-8 - Learner Language, Identity, and Agency

Abstract

This paper examines data from a longitudinal study of a three-week summer Young Writers Program (YWP) for ELL and migrant youth in south central PA. The study is designed to examine what occurs when participants are encouraged to engage in the composing process as a means of connecting personally to texts other than solely for academic purposes; compose in multiple modes/genres while developing fluency in English and/or their native language; explore identity; and act with agency while developing community through the YWP experience. Authors focus on how infusing multimodality and critical theory into literacy instruction can achieve the aforementioned goals. The work of four focal students is highlighted; specifically, pieces they created for social justice-themed multigenre projects are analyzed.

Authors

• Elizabeth C. Lewis, Dickinson College

• Erin Malloy, Dickinson College