‘Talk about my name’: exploring the translanguaging potential of artifacts within multilingual parents’ early literacy practices with their children

In early childhood policy and curriculum discourses, migrant and multilingual parents’ literacy practices with their children have often been marginalised and othered. Such othering rejects the value of culturally and materially embedded communicative practices present in homes and communities. Countering this is the development in scholarship of a heteroglossic perspective, involving practices such as translanguaging and artifactual literacies. This perspective illuminates how the blurring of the boundaries between languages and modes enables more culturally responsive spaces for creating new meanings and understandings of identity and literacies. Applying an artifactual literacies approach, this research explored migrant and multilingual parents’ early literacy practices with their children and the emergence of such new meanings in the context of early literacies. In the process of sharing their home literacy practices, parents engaged in translanguaging and through interacting with artifacts made use of their full communicative repertoire to convey linguistic and cultural knowledges. The analysis of findings sought to understand how parents drew on artifactual, linguistic and cultural knowledge to communicate about their early literacy practices. Bringing together these multiple resources into semiotic assemblages provides insights into how literacies are experienced and identities are constructed in early childhood by parents and children in heteroglossic contexts.

What is it about?

The study explored early literacy practices emerging between multilingual parents and their children, focusing on how home, school, and community contexts influence these practices. It particularly examined the role of translanguaging and multimodality in the home context. The methodology adopted a critical artifactual literacies approach, which leverages multimodality to examine how artifacts—such as drawings, baking, books, and photographs—engage multiple linguistic and non-linguistic modes in meaning-making. Parents were invited to bring cultural or literacy artifacts they use with their children, allowing the study to explore interactions and the storytelling potential of these artifacts. The research found that these artifacts play a significant role in identity expression and construction across various modes and languages. The findings highlight that literacy learning in heteroglossic spaces can incorporate creativity and non-linguistic modes, challenging traditional boundaries of literacy practices. This approach underscores the significance of a flexible orientation towards languages in home literacy practices, which often contrasts with institutional expectations.

Why is it important?

This study is important as it sheds light on the intricate dynamics of early literacy practices within multilingual homes, emphasizing the often-overlooked potential of translanguaging and multimodality. By focusing on the experiences of multilingual children and their families, the research highlights the cultural richness and identity-affirming aspects of integrating linguistic, material, and communicative resources. The findings challenge the traditional, monolingual-centric educational frameworks and propose more inclusive, culturally responsive approaches that recognize the value of diverse literacy practices. This work has significant implications for educational policy and pedagogy, advocating for environments that embrace linguistic diversity and support identity construction in multicultural settings.

Key Takeaways:

1. Translanguaging as a Bridge: The study illustrates how translanguaging serves as a critical tool in bridging home and school literacy practices, offering a more inclusive framework that respects and utilizes the linguistic diversity of multilingual families.

2. Role of Artifacts in Literacy: By employing an artifactual literacies approach, the research underscores how cultural and literacy artifacts facilitate identity expression and construction, allowing children to navigate and affirm their multifaceted cultural identities.

3. Challenging Deficit Narratives: The findings provide evidence of how migrant and multilingual families' literacy practices counter dominant deficit narratives, presenting them as valuable, identity-affirming, and culturally rich, thus advocating for their integration into educational settings.