From trilingualism to triliteracy: a trilingual child learning to write simultaneously in Korean, Farsi, and English

Drawing on translanguaging and a translingual approach to literacy, this case study seeks to examine why and how a trilingual child engaged with writing across two heritage languages (HLs), Korean and Farsi, as well as English over 5 years. I enter the study by taking on the role of a motherscholar to address the research question “What, how, and why my son, a trilingual child, wrote across three scripts at home?” The analysis of a large number of writing samples across the three scripts as well as video and audio data sources collected at home showed the child’s complex navigation and orchestration of his lived experiences, interests, and social relationships across scripts with a clear audience in mind over developmental stages. He engaged in writing at home to reconstruct his literate world, to express interests and lived experiences, and to express discontent in required tasks in a playful manner. The study has important implications for caregivers and teachers of multilinguals as well as for policy makers who must create more opportunities for multilingual children to draw on languages and scripts they use on a daily basis in school learning.