Empowering Students Through Multilingual and Content Discourse

In monological classrooms, the teacher's voice dominates, and the dominant culture's language is viewed as the only path to success. However, this approach limits discourse within the classroom and fails to recognize the value of student voices. Empowering Students Through Multilingual and Content Discourse explores ways to create classroom spaces where all students feel heard, valued, and empowered. Drawing on research from scholars of the use of discourse, this book guides educators on how to cultivate deeper understandings of discourse in learning environments. The book offers insights into how discourse can be used to empower students, honor the voices of all students, and promote language and literacy development. Empowering Students Through Multilingual and Content Discourse also offers guidance on culturally and linguistically sustaining discourse practices. It encourages educators to use students' home languages and discourse practices in classroom instruction and offers instructional approaches that promote discourse opportunities, and challenges educators to rethink their approach to language in the classroom and move away from centering the dominant or most prevalent culture. It offers insights on how to represent language more responsibly within the classroom and creates spaces where all the students' voices are heard. This research book is a valuable resource for academic scholars looking to explore discourse in all areas of literacy: reading, writing, listening, speaking, viewing, and visually representing. In-service and pre-service teachers looking to cultivate student-centered classroom practices will be able to implement the concepts within this book in their classrooms. By encouraging discourse among students, educators can create a space where human life holds meaning and students feel empowered to act and use their voices.