Communicative Belonging: Reclaiming Early Literacy through Translanguaging and Black Language Pedagogy

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Friday 11:45 am - Gold 2
  In Roundtable Session: Connecting the past, present, and future: Reclaiming play and literacy for all children

Abstract

Early literacy in the U.S. often upholds white, monolingual norms, marginalizing children who speak Black Language, Spanish, Haitian Creole, and other historically devalued languages. This paper introduces communicative belonging as a justice-centered framework affirming all children’s right to be heard and valued in their full linguistic identities. We examine how the enforcement of monolingualism and gatekeeping of “academic language” create barriers, and how these can be dismantled by treating language as dynamic, relational, and identity-based. Grounded in linguistic justice as the “why,” we propose four interwoven commitments—intrapersonal, interpersonal, organizational, and communal—as the “how.” We reimagine early literacy as a space for liberation, rooted in equity, voice, and belonging.

Authors

• Mariana Souto-Manning, Erikson Institute

• Ayesha Rabadi-Raol, Sonoma State University

• Jessica Martell, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Patty Pion, New York City Department of Education