ERIC Number: EJ1234518
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019-Dec
Pages: 24
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1086-296X
EISSN: N/A
Translingual Writing in a Linguistically Diverse Primary Classroom
Machado, Emily; Hartman, Paul
Journal of Literacy Research, v51 n4 p480-503 Dec 2019
Growing numbers of scholars in composition studies support translingual orientations in their postsecondary writing classrooms. However, translingual orientations are rarely extended to elementary school writers, who are often asked to compose exclusively in Dominant American English. Drawing on theories of translingualism and emergent biliteracy, we use case study methods to examine children's translingual writing in a highly linguistically diverse second-grade classroom. We pay particular attention to students who had not had formal instruction in languages they tended to use orally, documenting the creative and strategic ways in which they wrote. Among other strategies, students repurposed English sound-symbol correspondences in developmental spelling, composed strings of non-Roman symbols, and remixed multilingual environmental print. They also engaged in translingual writing for a range of purposes, such as expressing pride, connecting with audiences, and indexing identities. Our findings suggest the potential of moving translingual perspectives beyond postsecondary contexts and into elementary classrooms.
Descriptors: Elementary School Students, Writing Instruction, Bilingualism, Phoneme Grapheme Correspondence, Story Telling, Grade 2, Case Studies, Teaching Methods, Spelling, Orthographic Symbols, Multilingualism, English (Second Language), Second Language Learning, Code Switching (Language), Native Language, Writing (Composition), Emergent Literacy, Language Usage, Writing Workshops, Poetry, Units of Study, Self Concept, Audiences
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Early Childhood Education; Grade 2; Primary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A