This paper explores the possibilities for student agency for multilingual learners. Drawing on sociocultural understandings of agency, the discussion provides a portrait of literacy policy across the United States and its influence on opportunities for multilingual learners during literacy instruction. Exploring past and current policies aimed at…

This article aims to suggest a model of critical literacy in English as a Foreign Language (hereafter EFL) contexts. The paper will introduce previous critical literacy models in first or second language teaching and learning and those in EFL contexts. Then, several empirical studies based on the models are introduced suggesting important issues…

Language and learning norms constitute the biggest constraint for refugee learners attempting to access education in Uganda because they struggle to demonstrate competencies in English despite acquiring them in their local language (Arabic, French, or Swahili). Learners are assigned to lower levels, contributing to misalignment between their…

This article contains an autobiographical literacy journey from primary school to college, focusing on the author's affection for reading, her dislike of writing, and the development of other literacy skills. Early childhood reading and writing practices are often regarded as merely a bloom rather than a development of writing abilities, which…

This article identifies and describes several different approaches to using game-mediated language learning (GML2), drawing in particular on Reinhardt and Sykes' (2012; 2014) framework and related literature. The article concludes with a brief discussion of potential applications to adult literacy and basic education settings and learners.

In this theoretical paper, we aim to (re)imagine and (re)conceptualize biliteracy as an anti-colonial endeavor to destabilize colonial projects that continue to permeate how language and literacy are conceptualized in schools. We build on previous scholarship that has theorized Spanish-English biliteracy and extend this scholarship by centering…

To address the evidence gap in making effective language of instruction (LOI) decisions, we propose a systematic review of the role of LOI choices in education programs and policies on literacy outcomes in multilingual educational contexts in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Grounded in a multidisciplinary theory of change (ToC)…

Studies on the role of digital technology in teaching and learning English tend to focus on secondary or higher education contexts and/or with literate or educated students. The recent global pandemic has highlighted the urgent need to advance digital equity and inclusion for adult learners with limited education and literacy. Despite their basic…

In recent (socio)linguistic research there is a growing awareness that rural, small-scale multilingualism as the most widespread communicative setting across the globe. Yet, literacy programmes accepting and incorporating this diversity are non-existent. LILIEMA is a unique educational programme currently based in Senegal that addresses the need…

Storytelling passes down traditions and values while preserving languages and serving as a natural site for linguistic innovation and creativity. This article describes an approach to creating multilingual, multimodal stories that were developed for an after-school club at a rural Tanzanian secondary school. Club members told stories, wrote…

When working with bilingual readers, teaching for equity means building on students' linguistic strengths. To do so, we must provide intentionally designed holistic literacy instruction that encourages students to use their full literacy and linguistic repertoire. This article describes an asset-oriented approach called "Transliteracy"…

With the explicit goal of today's school students being active citizens, critically engaged and democratically minded over the long course of their schooling, the authors of this article focus on the notions of "rhetoric" and, relatedly, "rhetorical agency." While these notions are increasingly understood in secondary school…

Translanguaging pedagogy is an approach to educational equity that harnesses multilingual learners' communicative repertoires (e.g., home languages, non-standard varieties, and gestures) by strategically incorporating them in the classroom to ensure students' active participation and meaningful learning. This paper proposes a research-informed…

In the teaching of social studies, the use of funds of knowledge is beneficial for children to understand different experiences and perspectives. Families use funds of knowledge to teach their children what is important and valuable in their culture. In the case of Latino families, being bilingual is part of their history while for other families…

Teaching English Learners with exceptional needs requires educators to tackle a complex and multidimensional task of (a) providing quality core or content area instruction, (b) supporting students' academic language and literacy development in English, and (c) addressing differences in learning. While educational research and practice search for…