Arts and Emergent Bilingual Youth

<p><em>The Arts and Emergent Bilingual Youth</em> offers a critical sociopolitical perspective on working with emerging bilingual youth at the intersection of the arts and language learning. Utilizing research from both arts and language education to explore the ways they work in tandem to contribute to emergent bilingual students’ language and academic development the book analyzes model arts projects to raise questions about “best practices” for and with marginalized bilingual young people in terms of relevance to their languages cultures and communities as they envision better worlds. A central assumption is that the arts can be especially valuable for contributing to English learning by enabling learners to experience ideas patterns and relationship (form) in ways that lead to new knowledge (content). Each chapter features vignettes showcasing current projects with ELL populations both in and out of school and visual art pieces and poems to prompt reflection on key issues and relevant concepts and theories in the arts and language learning. Taking a stance about language and culture in English learners’ lives this book shows the intimate connections among art narrative and resistance for addressing topics of social injustice.</p>