ABSTRACT

The Rivers of Reading methodology has been used previously to explore children’s reading development, but very little research focusing on multilingual children exists. Similarly, reading for pleasure in multiple languages has received little attention. This paper addresses both these gaps. Seven children aged 8-13, across six multilingual families in England, constructed Rivers of Reading – a critical incident technique linked to reading resources and experiences. These were supported by three interviews per family, over a period of 10–12 months, with children sharing detailed narratives linked to their reading and languages. This data set was coded to explore what influenced children’s choices for inclusion of resources in their narratives, as well as surrounding strategies and experiences. The study found that children had complex reasons for the inclusion of books and other reading material, many of which linked to what books represented for them in their language and literacy development. Asynchronous literacy development frustrated several children, but many had innovative ways to overcome these in their journey towards biliteracy. The Rivers of Reading methodology is particularly useful in exploring multilingual children’s reading pathways, facilitating family discussion around frustrations, support needs, and positive memories.

摘要

阅读河方法学以前曾被用来探索儿童的阅读发展，但是很少有针对多语言儿童的研究。同样，以多种语言进行阅读的乐趣很少受到关注。本文解决了这两个差距。来自英格兰六个多语言家庭的7至8-13岁的孩子建造了阅读河-一种与阅读资源和经验相关的关键事件技术。在10到12个月的时间里，每个家庭进行了3次访谈，孩子们分享了与他们的阅读和语言相关的详细叙述。对该数据集进行编码，以探讨是什么因素影响了儿童在叙事中包含资源的选择以及周围的策略和经验。该研究发现，孩子们将书本和其他阅读材料包括在内的原因很复杂，其中许多原因与书本对他们的语言和素养发展所代表的意义有关。异步读写能力的发展使数名儿童感到沮丧，但许多人拥有创新的方式来克服他们在实现双语能力方面的困难。“阅读河”方法学在探索多语言儿童的阅读途径，促进有关沮丧，支持需求和积极记忆的家庭讨论方面特别有用。