The speaker highlights extant research that uncovers the literacy practices that immigrant and refugee-background youth employ to leverage their cultural, linguistic and social capital. We will explore the intersectionality between what youth are doing with literacy across languages and modalities and the literacy demands and expectations of the academic setting.
Traditional views of literacy, particularly in academic contexts, place emphasis on reading and writing abilities as well as academic genres and rhetorical structures. For adolescent refugee-background students, this limited view of literacy constrains the ways in which they can engage with and produce texts in school. When we broaden our view of literacy practices to include the range of modalities through which youth engage with literacy in and out of school, we open channels for learning that expand the ways in which youth can express themselves. The speaker will highlight extant research that uncovers the expansive literacy practices that immigrant and refugee-background youth employ to leverage their cultural, linguistic and social capital. The aim of this session is to explore the intersectionality between what the youth are already doing with literacy across languages and modalities and the literacy demands and expectations of the academic setting. Attendees and presenters will consider pedagogical approaches that strive to identify and build on learners’ strengths and incorporate “non-academic” literacy practices into the curriculum.
