“Identity negotiation in multilingual contexts: A narrative inquiry into experiences of an African immigrant high school student” will be presented by Lydiah Kiramba, assistant professor, Bilingual and ESL Education!

Inclusion of African immigrant youth voices in educational and research discourses remains rare despite a steady growth of this population in the United States over the past four decades. Consequently, the multilingual abilities of these youth remain typically unnoticed or ignored in the classroom, and little is specifically known about their histories, cultures, expectations, and achievements. Using a narrative inquiry approach and the Natural, Institutional, Discursive, Affinity, Learner, and Solidarity (NIDALS) theoretical lens, I explore the lived experiences of one African immigrant high school student in the Midwestern United States. The student’s narratives speak to issues of culture, identity, self-image, as well as her literate life in multiple languages and literacy practices in and out of school. The findings disclose narratives of ascribed identities, racialization, and perceived language hierarchies in the participant’s daily life that indicate a need to challenge such narratives and disrupt their reproduction in our society.