Breaking boundaries: Word analysis strategies that draw on students' full linguistic repertoires

Abstract

This paper examines the need to integrate students' full linguistic repertoires into literacy instruction in middle and high school classrooms. Traditional monoglossic approaches often neglect the linguistic assets multilingual students bring, limiting their academic potential. Drawing on translanguaging theory, this paper explores three strategies—bilingual morpheme mapping, comparative morphological analysis, and multilingual word walls. These strategies seek to enhance vocabulary instruction by utilizing students' home languages and ultimately cultivating a deeper understanding of word formation and meaning. The benefits of such approaches extend beyond multilingual students, offering all students more comprehensive vocabulary knowledge across disciplines. While the advantages of these methods are evident, the paper also identifies limitations and calls for further research to explore the long-term impacts on literacy development. By advocating for professional learning focused on translanguaging and morphological instruction, this paper highlights the need to incorporate word strategies that enhance literacy for all students.