'Let's talk about the books': The complexity of book discussions in a multilingual preschool classroom

Abstract

This sociolinguistic study explores complexities of supporting preschool emergent bilinguals' communicative competence in multilingual classrooms. These complexities were highlighted in the author's qualitative research of a three-month school-home literacy project in one Head Start classroom. This article investigates what supported the children's communicative competence in retellings during book discussions, and the strategies and challenges the teacher faced in trying to enact whole-class discussions that would enhance the learning of all the emergent bilinguals in the setting. In findings centering on the book discussions, it was documented how the teacher created a context for the children to participate in story-retellings supported by her use of consistent, predictable structures in interaction that featured open-ended questions and uptake of children's responses. Features of the setting for biliteracy development privileged or circumscribed children's ability to draw on personal linguistic and peer resources. This represented an ongoing challenge in enhancing the learning of all the emergent bilinguals in this classroom.