Reconceptualizing the Writing Practices of Multilingual Youth

<p>Focusing on adolescent multilingual writing this text problematizes the traditional boundaries between academic writing in school contexts and self-initiated writing outside of the formal learning environment. By reconceptualizing the nature of adolescent multilingual writing the author establishes it as an interdisciplinary genre and a key area of inquiry for research and pedagogy.</p><p>Organized into six chapters <i>Reconceptualizing the Writing Practices of Multilingual Youth </i>provides an in-depth examination of the writing practices of multilingual youth from sociocultural and social practice perspectives. Drawing on first-hand research conducted with young people the text questions the traditional dichotomy between academic writing and non-formal equivalents and proposes a symbiotic approach to exploring and cultivating the connections between in- and out-of-school literate lives. By highlighting a bidirectional relationship between formal and informal writing the text advocates for writing instruction that helps adolescents use writing for entertainment identity construction creative expression personal well-being and civic engagement as well as helps them learn to navigate future literacies that we cannot imagine or predict now.</p><p>This much-needed text will provide researchers and graduate students with a principled overview and synthesis of adolescent multilingual writing research that is significant yet underexplored in applied linguistics TESOL and literacy studies.</p>