"The Pumpkins Are Coming ... Vienen las Calabazas ... That Sounds Funny": Translanguaging Practices of Young Emergent Bilinguals

• In Event: Translanguaging Practices and Vocabulary Development for Emergent Bilingual Learners

Abstract

This ethnographic case study examines the role of a before-school program, which focused on ‘heritage language development,’ on the language and identity development of young emergent bilingual Latin@s in a predominantly monolingual elementary school. We draw heavily on the notion of translanguaging (García, 2009) to understand the ways that emergent bilingual students leveraged their language and literacy practices in the informal, multilingual space of the before-school program. The findings for this study offer possibilities for ways to support children on multiple levels: identity development, multi-literacy development, and creating school environments inclusive of diversity.

Authors

• Ysaaca Axelrod, University of Massachusetts - Amherst

• Mikel Walker Cole, Clemson University