In New York City, where 18% of students are English Language Learners and nearly half speak a language other than English at home, literacy education is at a critical turning point. What if literacy education could serve as a tool to embrace multilingualism and how can design aid this ideological transformation?
Research reveals that ELL students who participate in bilingual education programs lead to better academic performance than their peers educated solely in English. ๐๐๐ (๐๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ก๐) ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ช๐๐๐ ๐๐๐: ๐ฟ๐๐จ๐๐๐ฃ, ๐๐ก๐๐ฎ, ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ญ๐ฅ๐ก๐ค๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ฌ ๐๐ค๐๐๐ก๐จ ๐๐ค๐ง ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฎ-๐๐ฃ๐จ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐๐จ brings together a unique showcase where multilingualism isnโt an accommodation โitโs celebrated.
Through immersive demonstrations and hands-on activities, participants will explore practical and imaginative solutions to nurture multilingualism. This event aims to challenge traditional notions of literacy spaces, and asks attendees to challenge the designerโs role to reimagine the current English-dominant landscape into vibrant hubs for cultural exchange and collective empowerment.
Open to all ages, ๐๐๐ (๐๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ก๐) ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ช๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ invites families, educators, designers, and the public to actively engage with prototypes and collaboratively envision what inclusive, multilingual literacy spaces can look like in New York City and beyond.
๐๐ฉ๐ฆ (๐๐ช๐ต๐ต๐ญ๐ฆ) ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ถ๐ข๐จ๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ฃ is an independent project by VWD Studio partners ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ง๐ and ๐๐ข๐ข๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ , with work featured by ๐๐๐๐ ๐จ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ช๐ง๐ ๐๐ง.
