Unpacking Non-Dominant Language Learners’ Invisibility at School: Autobiographical Narrative Inquiry

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Friday 9:50 am Four Seasons Ballroom 2-3
  In Roundtable Session: Personal Narratives and Identity in Education (Table 5)

Abstract

Using the narrative inquiry’s story constellation approach, this autobiographical narrative presents the stories of experience of the author to explain the marginalization of non-dominant language children in the context of Nepal. The story constellation approach is used to produce paired narratives that story and restory human experience in point-counterpoint ways. The author’s stories of experience reveal that non-dominant language children face various school barriers, yet language-barrier is the most prominent in keeping these children invisible in school space. Findings indicate the existence of deep-layered problems that need specific attention or research approach for exploration and understanding. This study could be the interest of language policymakers, educators, and researchers involved in the promotion of non-dominant languages in multilingual situations.

Author

• Puskar Raj Joshi, Texas A&M University