Latinx Youth as Linguistic Experts: Documenting Translanguaging Moments in Youth Participatory Action Research

ABSTRACT

Drawing on Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) and translanguaging frameworks, the purpose of this study is to demonstrate how Latinx youth leverage their community knowledge and language practices in community-based research. Through a multimodal and ethnographic examination of the students engagement in youth-driven research this article highlights how language is central to the expertise they cultivate of their everyday socio-political worlds. Findings showcase how the youth in this study drew on their linguistic expertise alongside their community knowledge and sociopolitical awareness to make sense of the various components of the research process. Further, they document translingual practices that are reflective of the lived realities and of the multilingualism located within their community. Engaging in translingual practices throughout the YPAR project reflected authentic, joyful, and critical practices of meaning making throughout their inquiry. Implications for this study include co-designing linguistically transformative spaces for youth and the importance of recognizing the community knowledge and experience that shapes their linguistic practices.

KEYWORDS:

• Translanguaging
• Youth Participatory Action Research
• Latinx youth
• community-based education

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Chancla Culture refers to physical punishment in Latino households where parents use a sandal (chancla) as a tool for discipline. Although this often becomes a point of humor for adults reflecting on their childhood, many Latinx parents (see Latinx Parenting on Instagram) have critiqued the practice and called for an end physical violence onto Latinx children. https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/11/04/361205792/la-chancla-flip-flops-as-a-tool-of-discipline.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mónica González Ybarra

Mónica González Ybarra is an assistant professor of language and literacy at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her research focuses on the linguistic practices and knowledge production of Latinx communities, specifically youth and educators.

Solange Leon Vazconez

Solange Leon Vazconez graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with a bachelor’s degree in Human Development and Family studies and a masters degree in social work. Her research interests are in social services for marginalized families and communities. She currently works as a grant manager in a non-profit organization.

Samantha Garcia

Samantha Garcia graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with a dual bachelor’s degree in Social work and Latina/Latino Studies. Her research focuses on how Latina youth’s experiences impact their mental health as they navigate adolescence. Her professional work focuses on the importance of Latinx youth having access to culturally relevant resources within their communities to address overall health disparities they encounter.

Marlene Santos

Marlene Santos graduated from the University of Illinois with bachelor’s degrees in Political Science and Latina/Latino Studies. Her research interests are on the experiences of Latinx communities that often go unseen. She currently works at a non-profit organization that supports first-generation and low-income students in college access.