Trauma-informed-practice-oracy-biliteracy instruction (TIPOBI): a comprehensive framework for multilingual education

Trauma-informed practices (TIP) are a set of practices intended to understand, recognise and support students who have been impacted by trauma. TIP have become widespread; however, little research has examined transdisciplinary approaches with emergent bilinguals (EBs). EBs, students who come from linguistically different backgrounds and varied immigration experiences, can be impacted by a specific type of trauma: linguistic trauma. Linguistic trauma refers to the cumulative psychological, emotional and identity-related harm that arises when students are subject to sustained linguicism and linguistic racism; systems of power that devalue particular languages and language practices while legitimising others as correct or superior. Most extant studies on the teaching of EBs focus on classroom instruction and discrete teaching strategies which can be readily adopted but they are often bereft of context and consideration of students’ circumstances. We argue that approaches that are grounded in a TIP framework can enhance the overall experiences of EBs, fostering access to instruction, care and belonging. We propose a Trauma-Informed-Practice-Oracy-Biliteracy Instruction as a transdisciplinary approach, supporting educators to understand effective content instruction alongside the linguistic racism and trauma prevalent in teacher ideologies, school language policies and practices, thereby nurturing a more responsive environment that addresses the linguistic trauma of EBs.