Equity perspectives and restrictionist policies: Tensions in dual language bilingual education

Latina Paraeducators’ Stories of Resistance, Resilience, and Adaptation in an Alternative Route to Teaching Program

“…Afterwards, we would discuss some relevant news and the editorial.Whether speaking or reading English or Spanish, participants demonstrated at a young age their bilingual, biliterate, and bicultural abilities, including their understanding of how to navigate diverse contexts using different languages. In their narratives, they shared many instances of their translanguaging practices (Garcia, 2009) and the unique ways in which languages shaped their identities and ways of knowing, doing, and being (Pratt & Ernst-Slavit, 2019).…”

A Heteroglossic Lens on Washington State's Growing Dual Language for Multilingual Learners

“…The power tensions that emanate from the conflicting ideologies in DL classrooms are even more worrisome. Pratt and Ernst-Slavit (2019) studied the tensions in a DL classroom. One of the teachers who understood dynamic bilingualism and the power dynamics of language due to her experiences as a bilingual student in the US created a space for translanguaging during English time.…”

“…The DL program model creates tensions, power dynamics, and ideological conflicts in the classrooms. These tensions stem from the structure of the model that allocates time to two standard languages (Henderson, 2017;Pratt & Ernst-Slavit, 2019;Valenzuela, 1999). Recent research suggests that teachers who observe and understand MLs' fluid bilingual practices either acknowledge the limitations of the DL program and implement heteroglossic practices or implement restrictive classroom practices that contradict their personal language ideologies.…”

“…Recent research suggests that teachers who observe and understand MLs' fluid bilingual practices either acknowledge the limitations of the DL program and implement heteroglossic practices or implement restrictive classroom practices that contradict their personal language ideologies. For the former, such teachers employ their agency to create spaces for heteroglossic/ fluid language practices despite the school DL program policy directives (e.g., Flores & Schissel, 2014;Hornberger, 2005;Johnson, 2010;Nguyen & Bui, 2016;Pratt & Ernst-Slavit, 2019). These studies have documented heteroglossic bilingual practices as effective for emergent bilinguals.…”