Biliterate Voices of Hmong Generation 1.5 College Women: Suspended Between Languages in the US Educational Experience
Abstract
This narrative research study involving 13 Hmong college women reveals some of the challenges that multilingual students may face in the American educational system. Using stories told by the participants about their language- and literacydevelopment experiences, the author identifies commonalities in those experiences. The similarities in their stories suggest that linguistically diverse students may often be inadvertently subjected to marginalizing experiences in their interactions with both educators and classmates. The author offers 3 positive suggestions for addressing critical issues in the US educational system: establishing and equipping the teacher as an agent for social change, promoting critical multiculturalism in the classroom, and legitimizing and giving voice to the minority experience.