¡Pura Risa! Emergent bilinguals’ perceptions about joviality at home & implications for the classroom

Abstract

ABSTRACT In this article I examine the perceptions of third grade minoritized emergent bilinguals (Spanish/English) in a US classroom as they articulate how family members serve as a source of jocularity. By taking a sociocultural perspective on humor as a resource, I seek to render visible the relational and linguistic connections between these students and their families while discussing implications for informing culturally sustaining pedagogy. Six findings regarding different genres of humor that students expressed through a class project called ¡Pura Risa! [Pure Laughter!] demonstrate ways they connect with family. These findings are subsequently generalized into two broad categories to discuss portability into bilingual classroom pedagogy: dispositions and iterations. Dispositions refer to the willingness to engage with students brandishing una actitud juegetona [a playful stance] coupled with confianza [relational trust] through communicative competence. Iterations of familial and cultural sustainment are rooted in affiliative exchanges between family members and these students. The unique contribution of this piece is that humor is conceptualized through a lens of linguistic and cultural sustainment, which purports to generate conversations along a continuum of academic theorizing to university bilingual preparation programs to planning lessons and cultivating community in bilingual education classrooms.