Interactive Read-Alouds of Translingual Texts as a Catalyst for Literacy Engagement Among Emergent Bilingual Elementary Students: A Case Study

Abstract

While the population of emergent bilingual students continues to increase in U.S. schools, the teaching force remains predominantly White and monolingual, with many educators underprepared in how to support emergent bilingual students’ literacy development or sustain their diverse linguistic practices. This is reflected in longstanding gaps in performance between monolingual and multilingual students on standardized assessments of reading. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore one possible approach to increase emergent bilingual students’ engagement during and response to literacy instruction: interactive read-alouds of children’s books that incorporate translanguaging. This study sought to describe and interpret how emergent bilingual elementary students and their monolingual teacher experienced interactive readalouds of translingual texts in a mainstream English-instruction classroom, including whether student experiences vary based on English proficiency level. Participants in this embedded single-case study included four emergent bilingual Grade 2 students and their monolingual teacher in a mainstream classroom in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States. Data collection included ACCESS score reports, nonparticipant observation of interactive read-alouds using English and translingual texts, and semistructured interviews with the teacher and students. Data analysis included multiple rounds of open coding and categorical aggregation to generate themes related to the research questions. The findings revealed that, during the translingual read-alouds, the emergent bilingual students demonstrated higher quantity and quality engagement, exhibited increased confidence and excitement while reporting decreased anxiety, and interacted with the texts in ways that created meaningful linguistic opportunities. Additionally, potential patterns emerged in how the students experienced translingual read-alouds based on their English proficiency levels. Finally, the monolingual teacher reported significant benefits associated with the translingual interactive read-alouds and planned to incorporate additional translingual resources in her curriculum moving forward. This study elevates the importance of linguistically responsive approaches to literacy instruction and contributes to a deeper understanding of how to effectively support emergent bilingual students in mainstream English-instruction classrooms by incorporating translanguaging pedagogy.