Pushing against hegemonic practices: emergent bilinguals respond to children’s literature

Abstract

ABSTRACTThere is a need to gain insight into the ways technology positively impacts the literacy development of young children learning English as a new language given public scrutiny about the use of technology in early childhood classrooms. When thinking about the future, being multiliterate is important and requires learners to make, remake, and interpret signs in multiple modes [Rowsell and Harwood, 2015. “‘Let it Go’: Exploring the Image of the Child as a Producer, Consumer, and Inventor.” Theory into Practice 54 (2): 136–146]. This study builds on understanding communication from a multimodal perspective that sees the child as an active agent in their own learning. Twelve second-grade (ages seven and eight) emergent bilingual students responded to children’s literature through video posts over the course of a school year. The findings indicate the essential role of semiotic resources in terms of student agency, feedback, identity, and digital play. The types of interactions that emergent bilingual students engage in using technology impacts literacy learning and pushes back against school curricula with a print-centric focus.