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In this article we report on ethnographic research that explores the range of ways in which Spanish‐English bilingual immigrant youth interpret English language texts for their families. Drawing on participant observation in the homes and classrooms of 18 young adolescents who serve as interpreters for their families, 86 transcripts of theseinterpreters' oral Spanish translations of English texts, and 95 journal entries written by the youth about their translating experiences, we document the multiple literacies of daily life that youth engage in while translating or “para‐phrasing” for their families. We focus on interpretations of written text for close family members, done at home, and chart the domains of these multiple literacies. Using an activity setting/interactional analysis, we then examine how two home “para‐phrasing” events unfold and contrast these with activity settings for literacy learning in school. This largely unexplored literacy practice is a common one in immigrant households, and we argue that bilingual youth's experiences as cross‐language “para‐phrasers” can be used to support the within‐language paraphrasing that is an important part of school literacy practices.
This chapter reviews critical areas of research on issues of equity/equality in the highly proclaimed and exponentially growing model of bilingual education: two-way immersion (TWI). There is increasing evidence that TWI programs are not living up to their ideal to provide equal access to educational opportunity for transnational emergent bilingual students. Through a synthesis of research from related fields, we will offer guidelines for program design that attend to equality and a framework for future research to push the field of bilingual education toward creating more equitable and integrated multilingual learning spaces. Specifically, this review leads to a proposal for adding a fourth goal for TWI programs: to develop “critical consciousness” through using critical pedagogies and humanizing research.
Two-way dual language (TWDL) bilingual education programs share 3 core goals: academic achievement, bilingualism and biliteracy, and sociocultural competence. This article proposes a fourth core goal: Critical consciousness. Although TWDL programs are designed to integrate students from diverse language, culture and race backgrounds, equity is unfortunately still a challenge in TWDL classrooms and schools. We argue that centering critical consciousness, or fostering among teachers, parents and children an awareness of the structural oppression that surrounds us and a readiness to take action to correct it, can support increased equity and social justice in TWDL education. We elaborate 4 elements of critical consciousness: interrogating power, critical listening, historicizing schools, and embracing discomfort. We illustrate these elements with examples from TWDL research and practice. In addition, we describe how critical consciousness impacts and radicalizes the other three core goals, in turn supporting the development of more successful, equitable, and socially just TWDL schools.
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