Literacy, Vocabulary, and Acculturation

This book provides strong, diverse context that supports educators in driving theory to practice when engaging with English Language Learners. It unpacks where these students have been, where they are, but more importantly, where they can go when educators have cultivated the desperately needed knowledge, skillsets, and dispositions for advancing equity for this group of learners.

-- Jancarlos Wagner-Romero, Assistant Professor of Global and Multicultural Education, University of Wisconsin – La Crosse

As a practitioner who has worked with English Learners (ELs) for 25+ years, this collection of essays is extremely helpful for all who engage in this field to help build their knowledge, skills, and dispositions in creating educational spaces where ELs can thrive and succeed. The authors remind us that when we work with ELs we need to include strategies such as culturally sustaining pedagogy, translanguaging (equity in language), eliminating deficit biases towards minoritized students, assisting students to critically analyze their experiences, understand and know all ELs (the whole child), and how to achieve success for ELs in different content areas that are relevant, engaging, and develops critical thinking. There is valuable and timely information in each of these articles that will help all educators to transform the educational experiences of English Learners.

-- Charlene Lui, executive director, National Associate for Multicultural Education

Ranging from theoretical explorations to methodological and empirical elaborations, this collection demonstrates the breadth of contemporary social change perspectives in the discipline. The essays confirm the importance of social change perspectives to English language learning and learners. It will be an engaging and insightful text for readers new to and familiar with social change perspectives and English language learners and learning.

-- Lisa Zagumny PhD, professor and dean, College of Education, Tennessee Tech University; President National Association for Multicultural Educa