From “what” and “how” to “who:” Literacy and language instructional practices with immigrant-origin youth in the U.S.

12:00 – 1:00 PM in 116H Erickson Hall

Carrie’s research is focused on the development of innovative instructional practices that can be used in
multilingual contexts to engage diverse groups of youth, particularly immigrant- and refugee-origin
youth, in literacy and language-rich learning experiences that affirm their cultural identities, literacies,
and forms of knowledge. Informed by sociolinguistic theories of language development and linguistically
responsive pedagogy, her work specifically investigates how teachers can create curricula and provide
instruction that promotes immigrant-origin youth’s additive acculturation and reduces xenophobia.

Since fall of 2016, Carrie has been partnering with the Refugee Development Center in Lansing,
Michigan. In fall of 2018, she spoke at the 13th International Mind, Brain and Education symposium,
“Migrants and Refugees in the 21st Century: Children in and out of schools” in Erice, Sicily, and in 2019,
she became a Re-Imagining Migration fellow.

In this session, she will share key findings from her community-engaged research relative to:

● how out-of-school organizations can foster immigrant-origin youth’s language development and
additive acculturation;
● which theoretical principles and instructional practices are most relevant and useful for novice
ESOL1 teachers;
● the role of “not knowing:” linguistically responsive instruction in multilingual settings; and
● the humanizing potential of sharing stories—listening and being heard—in intercultural contexts.