Emergent Bilingual and Multilingual Learners in California - Californians Together Passing the Torch to the Next Generation of Advocates (1996 to Present)

Oct 15, 2026

An academic article by Tina Cheuk examines emergent bilingual and multilingual learners in California through the lived experiences of an educator-turned-advocate. It traces professional preparation, classroom practice, and political mobilization, emphasizing how historical and contemporary conditions shape opportunities for linguistically and racially marginalized students. The narrative highlights advocacy through Californians Together, legislative engagement in Sacramento, and the ethical imperative to counter anti-immigrant language frames in public education while supporting bilingual teacher training and program investment.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryGeneral

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time12 min

AccessFree to download

Emergent Bilingual and Multilingual Learners in California

Advocacy, classroom practice, and teacher preparation

Californians Together and legislative action

UC Berkeley Berkeley Review of Education Title Emergent Bilingual and Multilingual Learners in California: Californians Together Passing the Torch to the Next Generation of Advocates (1996 to Present) Permalink [https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3gs220s4](https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3gs220s4) Journal Berkeley Review of Education, 9(1) Author Cheuk, Tina Publication Date 2019 DOI 10.5070/B89146421 [eScholarship.org](eScholarship.org) Powered by the California Digital Library University of California Running head: EMERGENT BILINGUAL Emergent Bilingual and Multilingual Learners in California: Californians Together Passing the Torch to the Next Generation of Advocates (1996 to Present) Tina Cheuk 1 California Polytechnic State University I am an immigrant, born to formerly undocumented parents who left Hong Kong for the United States with barely a middle school education and a pair of tourist visas. Separated from my parents for four years, I later joined them at the age of seven. Upon arriving in the United States, I was one of three English Learners (ELs) in the entire elementary school. I had not known at the time what this label would signify until I became a classroom teacher in New York City 15 years later. In my current role as an assistant professor at California Polytechnic State University, part of a network of state universities that prepares approximately 6,000 California teachers annually for public school classrooms (California State University, 2019), my work centers on historical and contemporary perspectives of culturally, racially, and linguistically marginalized peoples and environments. In my daily work as a teacher educator, I prepare future teachers so that they can create more socially just classrooms through deepening their knowledge and practices toward greater civic engagement and advocacy for the most underserved students in their classrooms and schools. As a newly arrived immigrant learning English, I learned to blend into the background and to hold back tears when faced with questions and tasks that were incomprehensible to me. My parents left their home country because they believed that education in the United States would open doors to opportunity. Because of where my family lived during my adolescence, the public schools I attended were excellent. The schools were well supported, and teachers created multiple ways for me to engage meaningfully with disciplinary ideas while I was simultaneously learning English. Yet, when I began teaching immigrant and first-generation Puerto Rican and Dominican students—some of whom were ELs—in the South Bronx of New York City, I recognized how illprepared I was for the task. My five-week “summer boot camp” as a Teach for America corps member was insufficient preparation for what I needed as a novice teacher and thus a disservice to the students and their families at this public middle school (Labaree, 2010) . Though I was eager and motivated as their 1 Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to: Tina Cheuk. Email: [tcheuk@calpoly.edu](tcheuk@calpoly.edu) Berkeley Review of Education Vol. 9, No. 1 science and English language arts teacher, I did not have the knowledge or teaching practice that would be necessary to get them college- and career-ready. I was not alone in that regard. I frequently saw teachers water down tasks for their students, reflecting lowered expectations for students. I would later come to understand that this systemic lack of teacher preparation was inherent to the system in which I was an educator. Fast-forward 20 summers from when I first set foot in a classroom as a teacher in New York City, and I have found myself scheduling appointments with my California state senator and assembly member as their constituent. I have joined a new generation of activist leaders organized by Californians Together, a statewide advocacy coalition that brings together voices from all

FAQs

What does the article focus on regarding emergent bilingual and multilingual learners in California?

It centers on how emergent bilingual and multilingual learners are shaped by historical and contemporary educational conditions, and how educators can advocate for more just classrooms and policies.

How does the author connect personal experience to teacher preparation and classroom practice?

The author describes entering teaching with insufficient preparation, then links that gap to systemic shortcomings in teacher training that can lower expectations for underserved students.

What role does Californians Together play in the author’s advocacy work?

Californians Together is presented as a statewide coalition that brings together education stakeholders to engage legislators, press for bilingual teacher training, and support bilingual program investments.

Oct 15, 2026

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