Fall 2026      Volume 54, Number 4

Engagement, Meaning Making, and Belonging: Students’ Experiences with Dual-Language Books at a Community Literacy Festival
By Michele Byrne

Document: Article  

Introductory Paragraph:   The growing linguistic and cultural diversity of literacy classrooms and community spaces highlights the need for literacy experiences that foster engagement, meaning making, and belonging for diverse readers. Dual-language books (DLBs) offer a promising approach, yet limited research has examined how students experience these texts in informal, community-based settings. Using descriptive analysis of survey data, this study explored elementary students’ (grades K-5) experiences with a DLB during a university literacy festival, where the text was presented as a StoryWalk. Participants included 135 students representing English-dominant, Spanish-dominant, and bilingual readers. Following their interaction with the StoryWalk, students completed a brief survey capturing engagement and enjoyment, motivation to read, comprehension and language accessibility, cultural connection, and perceived language learning. Findings revealed interconnected patterns of engagement, meaning making, and belonging, demonstrating how DLBs—when situated within thoughtfully designed literacy contexts—can support inclusive participation across classroom and community settings.

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.33600/IRCJ.54.4.2026.3

Page Numbers:   3-13