Abstract
This chapter explores the potential of multilingual resources for use with bilingual preservice teachers (BPSTs) in a translanguaging community of practice. Among these resources were 30 picture books selected for their potential as literatura fronteriza (border crossing literature) that centers people of color. Findings suggest the value of offering BPSTs a translanguaging space for exploring these resources, followed by an opportunity to see the resources used in practice and culminating in reflective interactions. For Maria, the availability of a Spanish-language teaching resource further reinforced her heritage language identity while empowering her teacher discourse. Implications elevate the role of language in culturally and linguistically sustaining practices as well as expanded ways of viewing border crossing literature as connected to social emotional learning and trauma-informed care.
TopBackground
Within this chapter, the asset-based descriptor of “multilingual” is chosen to describe people instead of the deficit-based term “English Learner.” This asset-based terminology recognizes the richness of teachers’ and students’ linguistic repertoires across two or more languages while drawing upon a collective linguistic repertoire through translanguaging (García, 2009; 2014). Programs (such as Transitional Bilingual Education [TBE] programs) and teaching positions (such as bilingual teacher) are referred to as “bilingual” instead of multilingual in keeping with district context.
A children’s picture book is referenced as “bilingual” if the book offers the story in a primary language, such as Spanish, with a parallel rendering in a second language, such as English, within the same book cover. For a book whose narrative is only in one language, the descriptors “Spanish-language” or “English-language” are utilized. Some books are available as either Spanish-language or English-language, meaning each linguistic version is a separate book although some codeswitching might occur within the dominant language of presentation (for example, the dialogue of a character in an English-language book might include a phrase in Spanish which carries meaning within the context of the story and pictures). For the purposes of this chapter, “multilingual children’s literature” encompasses the range of above descriptors.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Linguistic Landscapes: The ways in which language is reflected in books, including the language rendered in illustration, is considered a linguistic landscape.
Transitional Bilingual Education (TBE): A TBE program is considered subtractive as each subsequent year of instruction decreases the presence of the heritage language in classroom instruction and replaces it with English instruction, with the ultimate goal being 100% English instruction replacing the heritage language.
Community Of Practice: A community of practice is a recurring, interactive space in which people develop their professional knowledge and identities through social interactions with others who are at differing stages of their professional growth.
Read Aloud: A read aloud is an impactful literacy practice where teachers or other adults read a book out loud to students. Read alouds may have many different objectives, such as modeling fluency, building background knowledge and vocabulary, scaffolding comprehension, or creating an enjoyable connection to texts.
Motivation: Motivation can be defined as the desire to want to do something. Reading motivation is defined as the desire to want to engage in reading.
Emergent Bilingual: Emergent bilingual refers to a person who is engaging in dynamic bilingualism across their linguistic repertoires.
Dynamic Bilingualism: Dynamic bilingualism reflects an ecological perspective of language development in that multilingual individuals draw upon a repertoire of linguistic resources across their languages, as opposed to considering languages as distinct semiotic processes.