The CATESOL Journal

This article examines the multiple in-class uses of multicultural children’s literature to develop interest in books and reading with English Language Learners (ELLs). Specifically, it focuses on using books to spotlight oral language development and using various types of stories to create an atmosphere for successful learning through authentic material. The article presents the design and results of an 8-week study with a group of third-graders in a San Francisco inner-city school setting, during which a series of multicultural children’s books were introduced, followed by dialogue reflection on the stories, which highlighted several key factors. First, the participatory research technique is identified as a significant factor in getting these children to engage in reading for critical reflection on their own lives, thus increasing students’ motivation to practice their oral language development and interest in books and reading. Additionally, the children’s perceptions suggest that they had not been secluded from the realities of their own worlds. They had, from such a young perspective, a clear understanding of how the dynamics of everyday life function, often generating solutions for given situations that revealed an unexpected maturity in their thinking and experience. Using multicultural children’s literature as the initial focus for dialogue helped the children move toward critical reflections on their own academic lives, viewing themselves as decision makers in their learning and empowering them with the courage to question the current mandated curriculum for English Language Learners.