Children's language practices are critical to identity and can be prioritized by incorporating a translanguaging lens into elementary classrooms. Such incorporation varies based on an educator's awareness and skill set, making it essential for pre-service teachers (PSTs) to learn to create linguistically safe spaces. This article discusses…

Theoretical models have posited that social contexts influence parental attitudes, which in turn modulate parental behaviors. The current study asks whether parental attitudes on bilingualism differ by local language context and whether parents who perceive bilingualism as more valuable are more likely to engage in activities with their child in…

This practical resource takes educators through a planning process--from selecting standards to designing learning activities--that weaves together language, literacy, and science in ways that are responsive to emergent bilinguals. Drawing on extensive and current research, the authors show how secondary educators can use students' own language…

The present study draws on the theoretical framework of translanguaging and seeks to shed light on the patterns of translanguaging and how translanguaging affects meaning-making processes among bilingual children in preschool. This case study focuses on 8 months of observation and recordings of pupils ranging in age from 3 to 6 years. The gathered…

This article adds to the growing body of literature that calls for shifts in teachers' and researchers' stance and practice toward a re-seeing and re-hearing of students for their linguistic assets and expertise. By taking up the theory of translanguaging (García, 2009; García & Li Wei, 2014) to understand students' language practices, I…

Students' attitudes in first-grade dual language immersion (DLI) classes were compared with those of similar students in mainstream English classes. Results for the sample of 81 Latinx students indicated that for attitudes toward activities in Spanish, including reading and speaking in public and with relatives, both ELLs and non-ELLs in DLI had…

Show-and-Tell is one of many activities recommended for encouraging children's oral language production in classrooms across the world, but there is little research on the topic. From existing studies, teacher facilitation is posited as key to shaping children's oral language production. This paper explores teacher strategies for facilitating…

Dialogic reading (DR) is an intervention that aims to further students' expressive language development (Flynn, 2011; Towson et al., 2017). Specifically, DR occurs in small groups to afford students the opportunity to engage in active discussion and uses the same book for multiple readings and retellings. Because multiple research studies have…

What are the material-semiotic relationships between a language policy and a table game activity in a bilingual preschool? Using Actor-Network Theory (ANT), the aim of this article is to explore this question, working with both human and nonhuman aspects of the activity, symmetrically, at the same level. The game playing activity takes place at a…

This research compared the relative impact of different preschool activities on the development of bilingual students' English-language skills. The study investigated whether bilingual preschool children would engage more, and use more of their second language (English), during free-play (non-academic) versus teacher-structured (academic)…

Emergent bilinguals' engagement and participation with learning is closely connected to the identities they are able to construct in this learning. In this paper, I present a model for understanding how young emergent bilinguals begin to construct identities with language and learning across school-based activities. Drawing upon Holland,…

Home language experiences are important for children's development of language and literacy. However, the home language context is complex, especially for Spanish-speaking children in the United States. A child's use of Spanish or English likely ranges along a continuum, influenced by preferences of particular people involved, such as parents,…

Of the multitude of dialects which exemplify the Spanish language, Puerto Rican Spanish has suffered the most severe rejection by language purists and pseudolinguists. The need to take a clear and open look at Spanish spoken in Puerto Rico is preeminent. It is the purpose of this module to clarify some major points of controversy regarding Puerto…

The dialect of English as spoken by native Puerto Rican Spanish speakers is estensively influenced by interference from the speakers' native language. Since exposure to a language affects one's ability to use it, the speaker's position might affect his access to English and/or his willingness to speak it, and, therefore, his proficiency in it. It…