Constructing My World: A Case Study Examining Emergent Bilingual Multimodal Composing Practices

Abstract

An extensive focus on written language in early literacy instruction and assessment for emergent bilinguals places students at a disadvantage since they are learning English as a new language. Typically, classroom instruction has a narrow view of literacy and is dominated by a focus on tested skills, with little emphasis on the diverse backgrounds and experiences of today’s students. In order to value the rich meaning-making process that emergent bilinguals bring with them to the classroom, this article explores the ways in which technology affords multimodal composing opportunities. A case of one emergent bilingual, Alon, whose home language is Tagalog, is presented to showcase his text productions as responses to children’s literature. The findings help extend an understanding of articulating meaning through talk, contributions of written language, and the importance of the visual mode. This case helps educators see the need to take into account a cohesive portrait of composing processes as a way to make sense of the strengths of emergent bilingual students in English-only classrooms.