Our research focuses on two contexts of allophone students in school: France (Montpellier) and Canada (Ontario). The objective of this paper, which is a part of a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) research project entitled Towards a renewed intercultural didactic of French as a second language and a better academic achievement of Allophone students: a France-Canada inter-site comparison, is to focus on the discourses and practices of teachers in multilingual and multicultural settings. Our conceptual framework concentrates on the need to renew teaching practices with a focus on multiliteracies, while our methodology includes a questionnaire for teachers and classroom observations to determine the degree of alignment between what teachers say and what they do in their classroom with respect to multilingualism. Our conclusions show a significant gap between representations and practices, with few differences between the French and Franco-Ontarian contexts; in both environments, we notice a lack of information regarding the possibility of using languages and cultures as resources in the classroom. This conclusion encourages us to continue the study utilizing children's literature related to diversity in a program that targets the professional development of teachers.
Adult Latinx immigrants in the United States often face the dual challenge of acquiring English language skills while navigating sociopolitical climates that may deter participation in institutionally affiliated programs. Community-based spaces, such as churches, can serve as safe and affirming environments for language learning. This mixed-methods study investigates the design and implementation of an adult English program grounded in culturally responsive and sustaining pedagogy. Drawing on sociocultural theory, translanguaging pedagogy, dialogic instruction, and communities of practice, the study highlights how learner-centered, flexible instructional approaches foster linguistic development, agency, and a sense of belonging. Key findings underscore the importance of leveraging participants' lived experiences, full linguistic repertoires, and community cultural wealth to create third spaces that promote trust, reciprocal learning, and sustained engagement. Implications for practice suggest that non-academic, relationally oriented settings that value bilingualism and shared expertise can transform adult ESOL education into an empowering and culturally sustaining experience.
This study examines how translanguaging and multimodal communication function as integrated meaning-making processes in emergent bilingual preschoolers' geo-spatial reasoning and shape composition. Drawing on video-recorded interactions with Spanish- and Mandarin-speaking children in English-dominant early childhood settings, we analyzed how children mobilized linguistic, embodied, and visual resources to engage in spatial tasks. Rather than treating languages as separate systems, children drew on unified semiotic repertoires, including home languages, gesture, storytelling, and visual representation, to navigate mathematical challenges. Findings indicated that translanguaging facilitated task engagement, activation of culturally grounded background knowledge, and collaborative mathematical reasoning. These results highlight the cognitive and pedagogical value of transmodal approaches to early mathematics instruction, particularly in contexts where bilingual education is limited, and offer implications for classroom practice, teacher preparation, and early childhood policy.
Latinx communities in Texas have historically been punished for their language in schools; today, that same language is uplifted, yet often in ways that individualize its value rather than acknowledge the structural conditions that shaped its marginalization. Using diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) as an analytical frame, this case study examines how white, affluent parents in a Central Texas district perceive the role(s) of DEI within a Spanish/English two-way dual language immersion program. Drawing on thematic analysis of 17 semi-structured interviews (13 unique parents) across three "wall-to-wall" elementary schools, three themes emerged: 1) diversity creates a setting for inclusion, 2) inclusion creates opportunities to obtain perceived outcomes, and 3) equity provides resources individually rather than systematically. These perceptions demonstrate how DEI can detach equity from its structural and historical grounding while leaving whiteness intact.
The growth of instructional coaching has spurred research into its efficacy, yet little work has been done on coaching in dual language bilingual education (DLBE). While many challenges are shared across K-12 classrooms, DLBE teachers have distinct needs depending on program model, setting, and language allocation. Using the expanded Vygotsky Space framework, we examine socially mediated teacher transformation in four Spanish-English two-way DLBE programs across three districts, following 17 K-5 teachers in three cohorts over a four-year period (coaching participation 2018-2021; post-program follow-ups 2020-2023). Results highlight that while many considerations are relevant to all DLBE educators, needs for support and professional development often depend on teachers' contexts. Findings also show that deeper ideological transformations and sharing of those transformations take time. Further, it illustrates how the application of the dynamic, non-linear Vygotsky Space framework offers actionable insights for designing equity-driven professional development in linguistically diverse DLBE classrooms.
In this introduction to the special issue, we offer a conceptualization of bi- and multilingual opportunity to learn for children with disabilities in K-12 schools. Drawing upon the empirical articles featured in this special issue, we argue that bi- and multilingual opportunity to learn requires three essential components: (a) initial access to bilingual programs, (b) authentic access to bilingual learning, and (c) affirming beliefs about the capabilities of children with disabilities. When these three components are present in the education of multilingual children with disabilities, they are afforded learning environments and pedagogical practices that nurture their bi- and multilingual, academic, and socioemotional development.
During a period of increased violence against immigrant and LGBTQ+ students in the US, we argue that bilingual education is well-suited with the theoretical and pedagogical tools to respond. Through this conceptual paper, we advocate for cultivating a queer translanguaging stance, or a pedagogical positioning that supports bilingual LGBTQ+ students while critiquing interlocking regimes of normalcy rooted in racism, linguicism, and cisheteronormativity. Anchored in a constructed vignette of classroom practice, we layer translanguaging and queer pedagogies to explore translanguaging's queer potential. The article concludes with invitations for bilingual teachers, teacher educators, and researchers to consider in their work.
This study explored the intersection of dual language bilingual education (DLBE) and special education by examining narratives of Latina mothers and teachers supporting students with diverse learning needs, namely multilingual learners with disabilities (MLwDs). Adopting a critical disability raciolinguistic (CDR) lens, we drew on qualitative interviews to identify critical moments of negotiation and advocacy within the community member narratives of DLBE. We organized our findings around three interrelated arguments from our themes: (a) disability identification processes delay or deny services; (b) securing special education services in DLBE falls on caregivers and teachers; and (c) DLBE can be a space for linguistic and cultural empowerment for MLwDs. We discuss the ways our participant narratives reflect unique marginalization at the intersection of race, language, and ability, as well as participants' advocacy to disrupt institutional hierarchies to serve MLwDs within DLBE.
The dominance of English in engineering education often marginalizes emergent bilinguals, particularly Latina/o/x students, by devaluing their linguistic and cultural assets. This study explores how an asset-based engineering education curriculum, implemented in a dual language elementary classroom, fostered student engagement and leveraged their funds of knowledge (FoK). Findings indicate that incorporating FoK into engineering learning not only enhances student participation but also challenges deficit-based perspectives that often overlook the knowledge creation of emergent bilinguals. This research highlights the need for instructional strategies that integrate engineering with culturally and linguistically responsive pedagogies. By emphasizing students' FoK, this study contributes to a more inclusive framework for engineering education, ultimately supporting broader participation of bilingual students in engineering fields.
The study evaluated predictors of teachers' implementation of classroom practices supporting multilingual students in linguistically diverse classrooms and their perceived impact of inclusion among 361 teachers in Italy. Using an online questionnaire, we gathered information about the sample's demographic characteristics, teachers' competence, inclusion beliefs, self-efficacy, burnout, and heritage language beliefs. Structural equation modeling showed that higher competence enhanced self-efficacy, which in turn increased teachers' adaptation of instruction, resulting in a more consistent application of classroom practices that support multilingual learners. Furthermore, positive heritage language beliefs directly influenced these practices and indirectly influenced the perceived burden related to the impact of inclusion. These findings highlight some key factors that shape inclusive teaching in multilingual settings.
This paper reveals the epistemic justice that bilingual education deserves. Bilingual education has struggled with the narrowing of educational structures and has fought against colonialities of power. Such struggles continue as the political forces shape the programmatic context for bilingual education. To analyze this struggle, we draw from decolonial scholarship of Latin American and Latinx intellectuals, with a specific focus on the construct of totality and exteriority. We describe how bilingual education is linked to civil rights aims and how these objectives often reinscribe and reproduce oppression for linguistically minoritized youth.
