"A Way to Author Yourself": Latinx Immigrant Youths' Shifting Perceptions of Writing and Composing

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 12
  In Roundtable Session: Lives and Lived Experience Foregrounded in Young Adults' Writing and Literacies

Abstract

Researchers and practitioners have expanded their understanding of literacy and begun to value minoritized populations’ literacy practices. Yet, few scholars have studied Latinx immigrants’ evolving views and uses of writing and composing. This qualitative study addressed that gap by exploring how recently arrived, Latinx immigrant youth viewed and used writing/composing during a research-focused, afterschool program. The study used ethnographic methods, such as intensive participant observation, artifact analysis, and semi-structured interviews with both students and teachers/administrators. The multi-source data analysis revealed that students changed their perceptions and uses of writing/composing when they were afforded to utilize their full semiotic repertoires and explore issues of their interest. This exploratory inquiry sheds light on how to improve literacy learning opportunities for immigrant students.

Author

• Angélica Montoya-Ávila, University of Maryland - College Park