Teaching young Dual Language Learners to be Writers: Rethinking Writing Instruction through the Lens of Identity

Abstract

For young dual language learners (DLLs) the process of learning to write and use language expressively differs from that of children who are monolingual English speakers. Yet these differences often remain unaddressed in curricula and in writing instruction. Despite a recent “identity turn” (Moje & Luke, 2009, p. 415) in the literacy field that has shifted attention to how children's identities shape writing practices and motivations for writing, common frameworks for understanding identity in literacy processes have been used only in a limited way to consider identities of both young children and DLLs. This article reports relevant theory and research on the writing identities of young DLLs to explicate a framework of writing instruction that is informed by these understandings. This framework is intended to provide a model for elementary-grade instruction that supports the language acquisition and writing development of DLLs, including positive self-identification with writing.