Emergent Biliteracy and Social Power: A Critical Discourse Analysis of a Bilingual Kindergartner's Written Texts

• In Event: Doing Critical Discourse Analysis at the Nexus of Education, Equity, and Language, Literacy, and Teaching

Abstract

Presenters C and A describe their critical discourse analysis of three written texts composed by a 6-year-old emergent bilingual child, Angel, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Angel speaks both Spanish and English, as do both of his parents. He is kindergartener in a dual language program. However, since March 2020 Angel has been attending school online via Zoom. We were interested Angel’s biliteracy practices as he produced texts for different purposes and audiences during the pandemic.

In this presentation, we will discuss how we used Fairclough’s model (1989, 1995) of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to examine these texts which showcase Angel demonstrating audience awareness and accommodating, but also positioning, his intended audiences. Fairclough’s model includes three interrelated processes of analysis linked to three interrelated dimensions of discourse. The three dimensions include the object of analysis (the text), the processes by which the text was produced and consumed, and the sociocultural conditions that regulate these processes. According to Fairclough, each dimension requires its own analysis: an analysis and description of the structures and features of the text, an analysis of the discourse practices and an interpretation of the text in light of those practices, and a social analysis explaining how features of the text and the discursive practices are shaped by and shape social contexts and actors.

The texts we analyzed were a daily (Zoom) school schedule, a labeled drawing documenting a winter solstice activity, and a Mother’s Day card. In an effort to keep up with Zoom school, as the district required students to complete a certain number of hours doing literacy/math, Presenter C (Angel's mother) created a daily schedule at home that she typically wrote out. At times Angel would write his own schedule by copying down what she had written. One day Angel created a schedule following his mother’s template, but changing all activities to “tiempo libre” (free time) so his schedule would include doing only things he wanted. The second text, Sun Bread, was created by Angel in order to document the order in which his family devoured some sun bread given to them by Presenter A’s family to celebrate the winter solstice. When his mother asked if she could take a picture to send to Presenter A’s family, he told her to wait and drew a second, identical picture, however, this time included everything in both English & Spanish “because Camille” (Presenter A’s partner) “cannot read Spanish.” The third text is a card made for Mother’s Day. Angel wrote the card which features an original poem, first in English and then translated into Spanish explaining when presenting the card, “I made this for you in English and Spanish, because you speak both.”

We used Fairclough’s model of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to guide our analysis of the form and function of these compositions. Our analysis highlights Angel’s emergent biliteracy practices including his performance of a biliterate identity, negotiation of social power, and agency.

Authors

• Ysaaca Axelrod, University of Massachusetts - Amherst

• Denise Ives, University of Massachusetts - Amherst