Social Networking, Workplace, and Entertainment Literacies: The Out-of-School Literate Lives of Newcomer Latina/o Adolescents

Mary Amanda Stewart, Texas Woman’s University

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK• Studies illustrate adolescent immigrants’ advanced

linguistic repertoires (de la Piedra, 2010; Godina, 2004; Orellana, 2009)

• Global perspectives (Lam, 2004; McGinnis, Goodstein-Stolzenberg, & Saliani, 2007) through online platforms (Lam & Rosario-Ramos, 2009; Yi, 2007)

• But ELs have lower graduation rates and academic achievement scores than their peers (Garcia, 2012)

• No Child Left Behind policies do not adhere to research on effective educational reform, second language acquisition, and culturally relevant teaching that needs to be considered for immigrant students (Hopkins, Thompson, Linquanti, Hakuta, & August, 2013; Menken, 2008; O'Brien & Roberson, 2012)

literacies• Brian Street's (1995) ideological model of reading influences

the construct of literacies used in the present study. Literacy becomes literacies• Embracing the political nature of the term, the working

concept of literacy is based on Gee’s (2008) definition of Discourses which he defines as "saying(writing)-doing-being-valuing-believing combinations" (p. 154).

An out-of-school literacy is any way of sending and receiving meaning that is NOT part of the academic classroom.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS1. What are the out-of-school literacies of four newcomer

Latina/o adolescents?2. What meanings do these literacies have for the

individuals?3. How do these literacies demonstrate the adolescents’

linguistic, cultural, and social resources that could be leveraged for academic achievement?

Assumption: Students possess literacy skills they use outside of school that are valuable for academic learning.

PARTICIPANTSName TELPAS

Score(English Acquisition)

Age Country Time in U.S.

Grade Level

Level of Education in Home Country

Workplace

Celia Beginner 17 Mexico 18 mo. 11th Finished Secundaria =10th

El Taco Loco

Valeria Beginner 19 El Salvador 20 mo. 10th In Bachillerato =10th

Sandwich Shop

Alejandra Intermediate 17 El Salvador 20 mo. 11th In Bachillerato =11th

Sandwich Shop

Miguel Beginner 20 Guatemala 9 mo. 11th In Universificado =12th

Gutiérrez Tires

*All names and workplaces are pseudonyms.*Information as of January 2012

SCHOOL/DATA• Suburban high school

• 2000 middle class students• Only 14 in ESL classes

• Facebook data• Everything on wall• About section• Conversations• Pictures

• Observations• In ESL class• At lunch• Before/after school• Workplace

• Interviews• 5-8 interviews with each

student• Primarily in Spanish

• Analysis• On-going• Nvivo 10

Facebook Mj

Workplace Mj

Entertainment Mj

English MjAcquisition Mj

Connect to Home Mj

Maintain Latina/o MjIdentity Mj

Support MjThemselves Mj Place to Mj

Succeed Mj

Remittances Mj

More MjOpportunities Mj

in the U.S. MjWhat They MjLeft Behind Mj

To Be MjSomeone Mj

SOCIAL NETWORKING: Facebook

Connect To Home

Maintain Latina/o Identity

Acquire English

SOCIAL NETWORKING"Ella está aquí, pero era mi vecina en México.” [She is here, but she was my neighbor en Mexico.]

Connect To Home

• Family and Friends

• Diaspora Community

Maintain Latina/o Identity

Acquire English

SOCIAL NETWORKINGcuantos likes a nuestra bandera?

Connect To Home

Maintain Latina/o Identity

• Visuals• Language

Acquire English

Soy puro chaplin

SOCIAL NETWORKING

omg: "Hola mi amiga? No?“[Hello my friend? Right?]

“omg tomorrow i have test”

• Reading & Writing Posts

• Codes

Connect To Home

Maintain Latina

Identity

Acquire English

WORKPLACE: Fast Food, Tire Shop

Acquire English

Place to Succeed

Support Themselve

s

WORKPLACE

Acquire English

• Communicate with “americanos”

• Headset• Learn codes• Practice with customers

and co-workers

Place to Succeed

Support Herself

WORKPLACEAcquire English

• Translating• Raises• Advancement

Place to Succeed

Support Themselve

s

“Cada vez me preguntan más, como a veces las señoras de la cocina le preguntan algo a Bob y Bob no entiende, y Bob ‘Celia! Celia!!! Necesito tu ayuda!’” [Every time they ask me, like when the ladies in the kitchen ask Bob something and Bob (shouts) "Celia! Celia!!! I need your help!"]

WORKPLACEAcquire English

Place to Succeed

Support Themselv

es

"Porque pues así cuando trabajo más horas, gano más dinero, y pues guardo más.”[Because this way, when I work more hours, I make more money, and then I save more.]

• Make Money

• Save

ENTERTAINMENT: Music and TV

Connect To Home

Maintain Latina/o Identity

ENTERTAINMENTSpanish music:"Me recuerda de México. Allá los escuchaba y luego aquí, pues pienso que estoy en México.”[It reminds me of Mexico. I listened to it there and then here, well, I think that I am in Mexico.]

Connect To Home

• Listen to Same Music

• Watch Same TV

Maintain Latina/o Identity

“Yo soy mexicana….porque como nací en México, y viví toda mi vida en México sin conocer aquí nada. Ya me vine cuando ya estaba grande. Ya conocí todo como es México y nunca voy a olvidar como es.”  [I am Mexican….because like I was born in Mexico and I lived all of my life in Mexico without coming here or anything. I came when I was already big. I already knew everything about Mexico and I will never forget how it is.]

ENTERTAINMENTConnect To Home

Maintain Latina/o Identity

• Spanish Music and TV

• Transnational

Facebook Mj

Workplace Mj

Entertainment Mj

English MjAcquisition Mj

Connect to Home Mj

Maintain Latina/o MjIdentity Mj

Support MjThemselves Mj Place to Mj

Succeed Mj

Remittances Mj

More MjOpportunities Mj

in the U.S. MjWhat They MjLeft Behind Mj

To Be MjSomeone Mj

MORE OPPORTUNITIES IN THE U.S.

English acquisition through Facebook and workplace litercies

“No hay oportunidades [en mi país.]”

[There are no opportunities (in my country.)]

WHAT THEY LEFT BEHIND

Connect to home through Facebook and entertainment literacies

“Todos mis recuerdos están en México.”

[All of my memories are in Mexico.]

REMITTANCES

Support themselves through workplace literacies

“[Teníamos] más que algunas. Sí, porque mi papá nos llevaba ropa o también como zapatos.”

[(We had) more than others. Yes, because my father sent us clothes or like shoes too.]

TO BE SOMEONE

Maintain identity and find a place to succeed through workplace, entertainment, and Facebook literacies

“para ser alguien” [to be someone]

Out-of-School

LiteraciesMultilingualMultiliterate

TransnationalMultimodal

IN-SCHOOL LITERACIESMonolingualMonoliterateMonoculturalMonomodal

WHOSE LITERACIES

COUNT?

Bring the outside in:Language SkillsSocial NetworkingTransnational Perspectives through

Media

Seal of Biliteracy on Diplomas

National Associationof Bilingual Education’s goal for all states

What literacies are needed in the 21st Century?

Who already possesses these literacies?

Do we actively value all literacies? Or do we passively privilege monolingualism?

Everyone benefits if we recognize, validate, and use immigrant students’ full repertoire of

literacies.

The students are emergentmultilingual and multiliterate transnationals who communicate in multimodal ways.

They cannot be viewed through a narrow monolingual, monoliterate, monocultural, and monomodal lens.

PUBLICATIONS FROM THIS STUDYStewart, M. A. (2013). "What up" and "TQM": Latina/o English learners writing on Facebook to acquire English and maintain their Latina/o identities. In K. E. Pytash & R. E. Ferdig (Eds.), Exploring Technology for Writing and Writing Instruction. IGI Global, Hershey, PA, 328-344.

Stewart, M. A. (2014). Living here, yet being there: Facebook as a transnational space for newcomer Latina/o adolescents. Tapestry Journal, 5(1), 28-43.

Stewart, M. A. (2013). Giving voice to Valeria's story: Support, value, and agency for immigrant adolescents. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 57(1), 42-50.

Stewart, M. A. (2013). What is "educated" in the 21st century? Phi Delta Kappan, 94(7), 57-60.

Maryamandastewart.com MStewart7@twu.edu @DrMandyStewart