In Partnership: Becoming Trilingual/Tricultural in a Dual Language Bilingual Program

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 11:40 am Four Seasons Ballroom 1
  In Roundtable Session: Language, Identity, and Learning in Chinese-Mandarin Bi-/Multilingual Education (Table 1)

Abstract

With a growing number of dual language programs in NYC, many immigrant families join bilingual schools where the two languages of instruction are new to children. There is a need to better understand how families support children’s multilingual growth. Employing transnational and Cultural Historical theories, we investigated how four first-generation Chinese families supported their child’s language and academic development in Spanish-English bilingual programs. After analyzing interviews, focus group and photo-elicitation artifact data, we found that families’ leveraged their transnational funds of knowledge, connections within and outside of the United States, and Confucian values to support their children's learning. This study underscores the importance of integrating transnational and transcultural capitals of students and families to support multilingual and multiliteracy development.

Authors

• SooJin Jeon, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Patricia Martínez-Álvarez, Teachers College, Columbia University