How Do You Say Twos in Spanish, If Two Is Dos? Language as Means and Object in a Bilingual Kindergarten Classroom

Abstract

In this essay Naomi Mulvihill uses vignettes from her bilingual kindergarten classroom to explore the dynamic processes by which young children make sense of language, focusing on instances in which she asks her students to compare texts presented in English and Spanish. Using Piaget's concept of disequilibrium as a guiding framework, Mulvihill details the questions children ask and the ideas they ponder when faced with unexpected language puzzles. By privileging her students’ voices, she illustrates the tensions, confusions, and insights children experience as they navigate the complexity of language acquisition and literacy instruction in two languages. She suggests that it is through the exploration of these tensions that her students—and all learners—come to new understandings about language and the world around them.