Audience and Young Bilingual Writers

Abstract

This study explored how an audience-focused writing curriculum mediated the literacy development of bilingual Latina/o first-grade students. Drawing on translingual theories of literacy and scholarship describing the role of audience and audience awareness in skilled writing, this study qualitatively documented and analyzed students' writing and talk about writing for a variety of audiences. Analysis suggests that children both addressed, or responded to, their intended readers and invoked particular kinds of audiences. Children's audience awareness influenced their use of language (Spanish, English or both), as well as rhetorical strategies and design choices. This study expands theories of audience to include linguistically diverse settings, and contributes to scholarship on asset-based pedagogies for literacy teaching and learning.

Translingual Writing in a Linguistically Diverse Primary Classroom

“…Although this writing was not conventional, it offered them an opportunity to show their languages rather than simply talk about them. Their writing contributes to and extends existing literature that describes young multilingual children’s audience awareness (e.g., Durán, 2017; A. Y. Lee & Handsfield, 2018).…”

“…Following translanguaging/translingual (García & Wei, 2014) turns in scholarship, a growing body of research documents how teachers support children to intentionally draw upon the fullest extent of their communicative repertoires in writing. For example, Durán (2017) examined bilingual children’s writing in an audience-focused curriculum, arguing that children made strategic languaging choices to connect with authentic audiences, including parents and a published bilingual author. In a before-school writing program designed to support the languaging practices of young bilingual students, Axelrod and Cole (2018) similarly found that children demonstrated an awareness of audience as they chose when and where to use Spanish in their writing to Mexican pen pals.…”

Say It in Your Language: Supporting Translanguaging in Multilingual Classes

“…In addition to the students present in the classroom, teachers can incorporate family and community members, students and teachers from other classrooms, and administration to create this audience. For example, teachers can design units in which students write letters to bilingual authors or create posters that hang in the hallway for the multilingual school population to view (see Durán, ).…”

Berättelseskrivande i skolan: Att studera, beskriva och utveckla ett kunnande

“…De framhåller att en mogen skribent funderar över hur innehållet ska förmedlas till en mottagare, medan en omogen skribent inte medvetet planerar sitt skrivande och inte heller reflekterar över hur en läsare tar emot det skrivna. Även andra forskare har påtalat detta (till exempel Durán, 2017;Norberg Brorsson, 2007;Riley & Reedy, 2005). Bidraget i den här avhandlingen fördjupar och breddar kunskapen om hur läsarperspektivet kan synliggöras i undervisningen och vad elever som inte riktar sig till en läsare fokuserar på i stället.…”

“…Denna abstraktion kan vara svår för yngre elever och Durán (2017) påtalar att deras skrivande främjas om de har konkreta mottagare att rikta sig till. En specifik, tänkt mottagare gör att eleverna tvingas gå bortanför sin egen fantasi och sina egna tankar (Durán, 2017). I skolan är det därför vanligt att arbeta med reella mottagare, eftersom det antas påverka både motivation och skriftlig förmåga.…”