PRACTICES OF VERNACULAR LITERACY: AN ETHNOGRAPHY OF A HAITIAN STUDENT IN CHILE

This research seeks to characterize the vernacular literacy practices of a Haitian student in Chile. With this objective we intend to make visible the genres, linguistic resources and communicative strategies of these groups, which are traditionally discriminated against in schools. We conducted an ethnography with an 11-year-old Haitian boy and his family. The findings reveal that the student uses writing and reading, as well as linguistic and discursive strategies, in Spanish and Creole and in a wide range of genres, in order to communicate with various purposes and interlocutors. This shows the cultural richness of the observed practices, evidence that counteracts the deficit discourses that permeate the educational system regarding the Haitian population.

Keywords
Literacy; Migrant literacy practices; Multilingualism; School ethnography.actions