Language mapping : researching marginalised students' everyday language and literacy practices

In the last three decades, considerable scholarship has focused on the ways children are socialised into particular understandings and usages of language and literacies from their homes and communities (Heath 1983; Moll, Amanti, Neff, and Gonzalez 1992; Somerville 2013). Early ethnographic research by Shirley Brice Heath drew attention to the differences in engagement with language and literacy practices of children and families in three different communities in the US and the impact of these ways with words on students’ schooling (Heath 1983). This ground-braking work prompted many scholars to turn their attention to the language practices and experiences of many culturally and linguistically diverse young people and the influence of their practices and experiences within a wide range of international educational contexts (Gregory, Long, and Volk 2004; Lee 2007; Orellana 2009). This ongoing work has been important in prompting us to consider issues of power, equity and justice in relation to particular forms of language and literacies and how these issues manifest when particular language and literacies do not align with the mainstream language and literacy practices valued in school (Gee, 2004). What has been repeatedly demonstrated is that measures of “success” in school, and often in everyday life, depend on which forms of language and literacies one commands. In addressing the reproduction of inequality and emphasizing engagement and success for marginalised learners, it is crucial to critically examine the literate traditions and orientations of all, while paying particular attention to knowledge and practices that have been historically devalued and marginalised. In this chapter we showcase how curriculum and pedagogies can position students as active participants who are encouraged to express and reflect on their literate traditions, orientations and knowledge in alternative ways while working towards meeting English curriculum demands.