"Just Sayin'": The Complexity and Utility of "Nonstandardized" Language Practices Among Multilingual and Multidialectal Youth

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

For many multilingual and multidialectal students acquiring “mainstream” language practices in schools, their reliance on languages other than English or non-standard varieties of English renders them subject to deficit perspectives. This session explores the linguistic practices of multilingual and multidialectal youth for social and academic purposes. Through qualitative analysis of students’ language in classroom environments and non-academic social interactions, this session demonstrates the versatility and effectiveness of students’ linguistic repertoires despite the negative assumptions often attached to their communicative styles that even students themselves may internalize. Taken together, the works show that students’ range of linguistic practices support them in making meaning of academic content, advancing their comprehension of texts, navigating the school environment, and managing social relationships.

Sub Unit

• Division G - Social Context of Education / Division G - Section 3: Social Context of Multiple Languages and Literacies

Chair

• Mariana Pacheco, University of Wisconsin - Madison

Papers

• "Ingles macheteado es lo que hablo Yo": The Language Ideological Discourses of Latina/o Youth in Urban High School Classrooms - Danny C. Martinez, University of California - Davis

• Creating an Instructional Context to Recognize Brilliance: Fundamental Considerations About Oral Reading Fluency for High School Educators - Maneka Deanna Brooks, Texas State University

• In One Day's Talk: The Standard English, Chicano English, and Spanish Language Use of a Fourth-Grade English Learner - Claudia Rodriguez-Mojica, Santa Clara University

• Los dos son mi idioma: Translanguaging, Identity, and Social Relationships Among Bilingual Youth - Luis Ernesto Poza, Universtiy of Colorado - Denver

Discussant

• Christian J. Faltis, University of California - Davis