ABSTRACT
This chapter is co-authored by a university-based researcher and teacher researcher. Drawing on data collected from an afterschool literacy program and senior English class, the chapter describes how the visual in graphic novels supported high-school-aged emergent bilingual learners in developing their critical multiliteracies. Critical multiliteracies are conceptualized as an analytic and critical approach to written and visual language, which includes wrestling with multiple interpretations; and questioning a creator’s motivations and worldviews. Findings from the study suggest that even when the written language of the graphic novel is difficult to comprehend, emergent bilingual learners are able to assume a critical orientation toward the visual, artistic representations in graphic novels.
