"You ARE Immigrant...but Not Like Us": Discourse Analyses of Undocumented Positionings in a Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Classroom

• In Event: 61.047 - Language Ideologies and Positioning: Countering Deficit Discourses Surrounding Immigrant and Emergent Bilingual Learners

Abstract

Immigration is a hotly-contested topic in the US, causing immigrants, particularly undocumented ones, to experience unique pressures associated with their statuses. With approximately one million undocumented children in America, it is important for educators to understand how such pressures can affect these students’ experiences in school. Through a sociocultural understanding of identity that recognizes the relationship between language and power, this study utilizes microethnographic and critical discourse analysis to examine how immigrant students use language to position undocumented immigrants in a CLD public high school history classroom that was designed to foster inclusiveness. Findings reveal that the students use language in various dynamic ways to create very different positionings, which are often informed by several factors.

Authors

• Vonna Hemmler, University of Virginia

• Amanda Kibler, Oregon State University