Speaker
Abstract section 4: Outcomes/results
Findings from ethnographic observations at a linguistically diverse preschool reveal a disconnect between children’s multimodal communicative practices and the language assessment measures used at the school site. Analysis through a TrUDL framework shows how children draw on diverse linguistic repertoires, including gesture, vocalization, art modalities (e.g., painting, music, sensory toys), assistive technologies, and multiple languages to participate in classroom activities and peer interaction. These findings highlight the need for assessment approaches that recognize communicative resources beyond speech. Applying TrUDL across local classroom contexts and global assessment practices offers pathways toward more inclusive models of language development and communication access.
Abstract section 2: Contribution/research questions
- What insights does a Translanguaging and Universal Design for Learning (TrUDL) framework offer into how multilingual preschool children labeled with speech-language impairment use multimodal and multilingual communicative resources in classroom interaction?
- How does a TrUDL framework reveal mismatches between multilingual preschool children’s multimodal communicative repertoires in classroom interaction and the speech-centered measures used in language assessment?
Abstract section 3: Content/method
Drawing on ethnographic observations conducted in preschool settings serving linguistically diverse children, this study documents how children use multimodal and multilingual communicative resources during everyday classroom activities such as play, storytelling, art, and instructional routines. Data include field notes and interactional observations of children’s communicative practices across classroom contexts. The analysis applies a TrUDL framework to examine how children’s communicative repertoires function within classroom interaction and pedagogy.
Abstract section 5: References
Cioè-Peña, M. (2022). TrUDL, A path to full inclusion: The intersectional possibilities of translanguaging and universal design for learning. TESOL Quarterly, 56(2), 799-812. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.3074
Padía, L. (2025). Teaching beyond spoken words: Communicating with bilingual nonspeaking children in the classroom. Teachers College Press.
Abstract section 1: Relevance
Language assessment practices in early childhood education and speech-language services often remain grounded in ideologies that privilege monolingual, oral speech as the primary standard for communication. Yet research on translanguaging in early childhood shows that young multilingual children with disabilities regularly draw on diverse semiotic resources to participate in classroom interaction and meaning-making (Padia, 2025). However, these communicative practices are rarely captured in formal language assessments. Multilingual children, particularly those labeled with speech-language impairment, may be evaluated through speech-centered frameworks that overlook the breadth of their communicative repertoires and risk framing their languaging practices as deficits.
| Title | Languaging Beyond Speech: Multimodal Insights from Preschool |
|---|---|
| Teaching Context | Teaching children |