Language and Literacy in the Borderlands: Acting upon the World through Testimonios

Authors

Cinthya M. Saavedra, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2011

Abstract

Saavedra discusses how children in the borderlands can inform our language and literacy practices through the Latin American literary genre known as "testimonio." Drawing from the work of Chicana/Latina feminist pedagogy, I frame my "experiencias" with language and literacy in three different moments in my life. Through these "testimonios," I make connections to the lived realities of many border crossers in the US, arguing that immigrants, border crossers, and transnational children have important lessons to teach us about language and literacy. Furthermore, "testimonio" continues the project of critical pedagogy through the political act of remembering, as that is also a way to reconnect language with body and consciousness in order to act upon the world. Suggestions for using "testimonio" in the classroom are presented.

Comments

Copyright © 2011 by the National Council of Teachers of English. All rights reserved.

Recommended Citation

Saavedra, C. M (2011). Language and literacies in the borderlands: Children acting upon the world through testimonios. Language Arts, 88(4), 261-269.

Publication Title

Language Arts