Reclaiming the narrative: Discussing the influence of the Science of Reading’s Role in the education of Bilingual Learners.

• In Event: La Lucha Sigue: Linguistic Justice and Educational Transformation for Bi/Multilingual Learners

Abstract

Objectives: In this presentation, we will examine how efforts to enact literacy instructional practices and adoption of curriculum aligned with the guidance from the Science of Reading movement (SOR) - which has spread widely in Colorado as mandated by the Colorado Department of Education - may be limited in scope when it comes to responsive instruction for emergent bilingual children. In our analysis of recent literature, we make a case for how such literacy practices and materials can benefit from the integration of responsive and expansive views of biliteracy and bilingualism.

Theoretical Framework: We draw from asset-based perspectives that make visible the ways that multilingual children bring a unique and important set of skills and assets into any learning environment. These assets are biological, cognitive, and environmental. These include translanguaging frameworks that encompass different modalities and meaning making systems into literacy practices (García & Kleifgen, 2020), critical translingual approaches to instruction (Seltzer, 2022), and critical metalinguistic engagement practices (Love Jones & Proctor, 2024). Together, these frames can support teachers and teacher educators in the critical need of responsive and equity-oriented practices in all areas of reading, writing, and communicating in academic and community settings. These perspectives also conceptualize that bilingualism is not the presence of two separate language systems and identities; it involves the intersection of two (or more) languages within the mind and life experiences of an individual.

Data Sources: In this critical and systematic literature review, we examine conceptions of reading and multilingualism in policy documents and educational resources that align with Science of Reading approaches, publicly available data on K-5 reading outcomes in the state (as measured by READ Act policy guidance), and empirical studies conducted in bilingual and English-medium classrooms serving emergent bilingual children, and focused on K-5 literacy instruction, including Colorado settings.

Preliminary Findings: Our analysis highlights areas of convergence and divergence with Science of Reading arguments and main tenets -- primarily, a focus on structures of language and background knowledge through literacy instruction, areas identified as relevant in frameworks for literacy teacher preparation (e.g., Moats, 2014). We compared these perspectives to insights and responsive instruction and assessment practices featured in studies that respond to local and regional community’s (1) goals, (2) demographics, and (3) target languages, literacies, and writing systems. Through these comparisons, we identify the unique literacy instruction needs in different regions and schools serving primarily Spanish-dominant children, newcomer children whose languages have different writing systems (like Dari and Pashto from Afghanistan), and newcomer children from South American countries, arriving recently to the Denver area with diverse educational backgrounds.

Significance: We will expand our understanding of what the SOR-aligned guidance entails for multilingual students, recognizing that no single approach or scripted curriculum can encompass all that we know about designing effective biliteracy instruction. The key to developing effective biliteracy programs is not finding a single program that works for all children in all localities, but in implementing a set of program components that works for the children in the community of interest.

Authors

• Susan Hopewell, University of Colorado - Boulder

• Silvia C. Nogueron-Liu, University of Colorado - Boulder