Bilingual/ESL (English as a Second Language) Preservice Teachers’ Heritage Language and Language Identity: Evidence From Multimodal Literacy Autobiographies

• In Event: Engaging With Raciolinguistic Ideologies Through Transformative Pedagogies

Abstract

Analyzing multimodal autobiography projects produced by bilingual/ESL preservice teachers for a class assignment allowed us to investigate the influences of one’s language on dynamic identity formation. Participants were 30 preservice teachers, mostly first-generation college students, enrolled in a teacher preparation program. Qualitative analysis revealed participants’ views about the generational shift from parents to children on maintaining bilingualism. Their parents’ language fluency and choices became the cause of language loss and regret, motivating participants to learn their heritage language. Participants’ understanding of their own ethnic identity was influenced by their family’s languages. Their multimodal projects highlighted how the demanding transition from Spanish-speaking or bilingual environments to English-only classrooms became a lifelong catalyst for their pursuit of a teaching career.

Authors

• Hannah Park, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Jiaxuan Zong, University of Maryland

• Nihat Polat, University of Maryland

• Diane L. Schallert, University of Texas at Austin