Language Identity in the Elementary English Language Arts Classroom

What is it about?

In response to the growing number of linguistically diverse students in elementary classrooms, this Teaching Tip centers stories of students exploring language identity and use in one fourth-grade classroom in the Midwestern United States. By first telling how students engaged in a discussion about the Navajo code talkers stories of two linguistically diverse elementary students are shared and highlight how they navigated and negotiated the intricacies of language identity in their school. The author then shows how teachers can open new spaces for dialogue about and the practice of a multiplicity of languages.

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