Learning from Bilingual Family Literacies

Authors

Luz A. Murillo, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2012

Abstract

This ethnographic study explores the literacies of bilingual families living in the Rio Grande Valley on the U.S.—Mexico border. Murillo argues that immigrant families living on the border play an important role in their children’s literacy development, but that their voices are seldom heard in schools due to powerful and persistent deficit views of Spanish and Spanish-speaking families. To counter these views, Murillo describes the literacy practices that bilingual families engage in on a daily basis, and reports bilingual parents’ views about literacy in Spanish and English. To encourage and guide language arts educators who wish to use bilingual family literacies as resources for teaching and learning, Murillo identifies key themes and instructional strategies that bilingual and monolingual teachers alike can use with bilingual readers and their families.

Comments

© 2012 by the National Council of Teachers of English. Original published version available at https://doi.org/10.58680/la201220684

Recommended Citation

Murillo, L. A. (2012). Learning from bilingual family literacies. Language Arts, 90(Local Literacies in a Global World), 18-29. https://doi.org/10.58680/la201220684

Publication Title

Language Arts

DOI

10.58680/la201220684