This case study focused on the bilingual/biliteracy experiences of an adult English as a Second Language (ESL) learner (pseudonym Eric) living in a rural western state in the USA. The purpose of the study was to understand Eric's bilingual/biliteracy knowledge and how it functioned as he developed English language/literacy. The theoretical framework used in the study was student-generated funds of knowledge; this framework informed the methods, analysis, and the findings of the study. The data sources involved a combination of semistructured interviews and artifacts. I used thematic analysis to analyze data from both sources. The findings illustrate how the adult ESL learner generated funds of knowledge through his unique and complex language learning experiences. These findings shed important insights into the potential of student-generated funds of knowledge and how these types of knowledge can be used to develop asset-based pedagogy for adult ESL learners.
AboghunaimN. M. (2019). The effect of monolingual and bilingual dictionary on the foreign language learners’ acquisition. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation, 5(4), 55–57. https://doi.org/10.11648/J.IJALT.20190504.11
2.
BaxterP.JackS. (2008). Qualitative case study methodology: Study design and implementation for novice researchers. The Qualitative Report, 13(4), 544–559. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2008.1573
3.
BordonaroK. (2020). From ESL to EAL: Moving from a deficit framework to an asset framework. Journal of English Learner Education, 11(1), 1–21. https://stars.library.ucf.edu/jele/vol11/iss1/3
4.
BurgessJ.RowsellJ. (2020). Transcultural-affective flows and multimodal engagements: Reimagining pedagogy and assessment with adult language learners. Language and Education, 34(2), 173–191. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500782.2020.1720226
5.
CervettiG. N.WrightT. S. (2020). The role of knowledge in understanding and learning from text. In MojeE. B.AfflerbachP. P.EncisoP.LesauxN. K. (Eds.), Handbook of reading research (Vol. 5, pp. 237–260). Routledge.
6.
CreswellJ. W.PothC. N. (2025). Qualitative inquiry & research design: Choosing among five approaches (5th ed.). Sage.
7.
CunA.McVeeM. (2020). Experiences of Chinese international students within higher education: A narrative study. Pedagogies: An International Journal, 17(2), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/1554480X.2020.1826947
8.
CunA.McVeeM.VasquezC. (2019). “I need child care!”: Using funds of knowledge, addressing challenges, and developing literacies with a classroom community of adult ESL learners. Literacy Research: Theory, Method, and Practice, 68(1), 334–354. https://doi.org/10.1177/2381336919870287
9.
DabicS. (2008). The alchemy of learning and work: Negotiating learner knowledge in a global society. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 27(6), 613–624. https://doi.org/10.1080/02601370802408258
10.
D'AngeloF. (2021). Exploring the relationship between multilingual learning experience, metalinguistic knowledge, and metalinguistic awareness. Studi di Glottodidattica, 1, 34–46. https://doi.org/10.15162/1970-1861/1249
11.
DattaH.HestvikA.VidalN.TesselC. A.MiwakoH.WróbleskiM.ShaferV. L. (2020). Automaticity of speech processing in early bilingual adults and children. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 23(2), 429–445. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728919000099
12.
DavidsonR. K.StruckerJ. (2002). Patterns of word-recognition errors among adult basic education native and nonnative speakers of English. Scientific Studies of Reading, 6(3), 299–316. https://doi.org/10.1207/S1532799XSSR0603_5
13.
EzehN. G.UmehI. A.AnyanwuE. C. (2022). Code switching and code mixing in teaching and learning of English as a second language: Building on knowledge. English Language Teaching, 15(9), 106–113. https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v15n9p106
FinnH. B. (2022). The impact of workforce development policies on literacy instruction for adult English learners. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 65(6), 547–555. https://doi-org.libproxy.uwyo.edu/10.1002/jaal.1235
GallettaA. (2013). Mastering the semi-structured interview and beyond. New York University Press.
18.
GarcíaO.KleifgenJ. A. (2019). Translanguaging and literacies. Reading Research Quarterly, 55(4), 553–571. https://doi.org/10.1002/rrq.286
19.
GiovannoliJ.MartellaD.FedericoF.PirchioS.CasagrandeM. (2020). The impact of bilingualism on executive functions in children and adolescents: A systematic review based on the PRISMA method. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 1–29. https://doi.org/10.3389%2Ffpsyg.2020.574789
20.
GonzalvesL. (2021). Development and demonstration of metalinguistic awareness in adult ESL learners with emergent literacy. Language Awareness, 30(2), 134–151. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658416.2020.1776721
21.
GundersonL.D’SilvaR. A.OdoD. M. (2020). ESL(ELL) Literacy instruction: A guidebook to theory and practice (4th ed.). Routledge.
22.
HeimanD.DeVaughnN.González-CarriedoR. (2019). The seal of biliteracy. Texas Journal of Literacy Education, 7(1), 5–9. https://talejournal.com/index.php/TJLE/article/view/25
HollowayS. M.GouthrowP. A. (2020). Using a multiliteracies approach to foster critical and creative pedagogies for adult learners. Journal of Adult and Counseling, 26(2), 203–220. https://doi.org/10.1177/1477971420913912
25.
JohnsonL.KendrickM. (2017). “Impossible is nothing”: Expressing difficult knowledge through digital storytelling. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 60(6), 667–675. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaal.624
26.
KarpavaS.RingblomN.ZabrodskajaA. (2025). Translanguaging as a dynamic strategy for heritage language transmission. Languages, 10(2), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.3390/languages10020019
27.
KrulatzA.DugganJ. (2018). Multilinguals and extensive reading: Two multilinguality portraits of learners of Norwegian. Reading in a Foreign Language, 30(1), 29–48. http://nflrc.hawaii.edu/rfl
28.
LallierM.CarreirasM. (2018). Cross-linguistic transfer in bilinguals reading in two alphabetic orthographies: The grain size accommodation hypothesis. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 25, 386–401. https://doi.org/10.3758/S13423-017-1273-0
29.
LarrottaC. (2017). Creating original products and infomercials to study rhetorical analysis. Adult Learning, 28(2), 47–53. https://doi.org/10.1177/1045159516663631
30.
LarrottaC.SerranoA. (2011). Adult learners’ funds of knowledge: The case of an English class for parents. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 55(4), 316–325. https://doi.org/10.1002/JAAL.00038
LiH.SuenH. K. (2015). How do Chinese ESL learners recognize English words during a reading test? A comparison with romance-language-speaking ESL learners. International Multilingual Research Journal, 9(2), 93–107. https://doi.org/10.1080/19313152.2014.995013
MokhtarA. A.RawianR. M. (2016). English Lexical acquisition of adult learners in instructional settings: Issue on lexical input. Proceedings of ICECRS, 1(1) 381–390. https://doi.org/10.21070/picecrs.v1i1.506
MollL. C.AmantiC.NeffD.GonzalezN. (1992). Funds of knowledge for teaching: Using a qualitative approach to connect homes and classrooms. Theory into Practice, 31(2), 132–141. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405849209543534
37.
MosleyM.ZochM. (2012). Tools that come from within: Learning to teach in a cross-cultural adult literacy practicum. Teaching and Teacher Education, 28(1), 66–77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2011.09.003
38.
NicolarakisO. D.MitchellT. (2023). Dynamic bilingualism to dynamic writing: Using translanguaging strategies and tools. Languages, 8(141), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.3390/languages8020141
RíosC.CastillónC. (2017). Bilingual literacy development: Trends and critical issues. International Research and Review: Journal of Phi Beta Delta, 7(2), 85–96. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1188732
41.
SaldañaJ. (2021). The coding manual for qualitative researchers (4th ed.). Sage.
42.
SchiebleM.KucinskieneL. (2019). Promoting empathetic reading with Between Shades of Gray through a global blogging project. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 63(3), 269–277. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaal.1001
43.
SingletonD. (2014). Is there a best age for learning a second language? In CookV.SingletonD. (Eds.), Key topics in second language acquisition (pp. 17–36). Multilingual Matters.
44.
SmagorinskyP. (2008). The method section as conceptual epicenter in constructing social science research reports. Written Communication, 25(3), 389–411. https://doi.org/10.1177/0741088308317815
45.
SosnowskiJ. (2021). Marginalization through curricularization of language teaching: Creating and exposing deficits in an adult language and literacy program. Literacy Research: Theory, Method, and Practice, 70(1), 369–387. https://doi.org/10.1177/23813377211030639
46.
SuhE. K.ShapiroS. (2020). Making sense of resistance: How adult immigrant students pursue agency through identity work in higher educational contexts. TESL Canada Journal, 37(3), 27–46. https://doi.org/10.18806/tesl.v37i3.1343
47.
TianH. (2021). The limitation of the impact of bilingualism on the acquisition of an additional language. Adult and Higher Education, 3(3), 19–22. https://doi.org/10.23977/JFER.2021.010233
48.
ValenzuelaA. (1999). Subtractive schooling: US-Mexican youth and the politics of caring. SUNY.
49.
Vélez-IbáñezC. G.GreenbergJ. B. (1992). Formation and transformation of funds of knowledge among U.S.-Mexican households. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 23(4), 313–335. https://doi.org/10.1525/aeq.1992.23.4.05x1582v
50.
WaddingtonJ.Esteban-GuitartM. (2024). Funds of knowledge and identity in language learning and teaching. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 18(3), 201–207. https://doi.org/10.1080/17501229.2024.2328306
51.
WongC.WuH.-C.ClearyE. G.PattonA. P.XieA.GrinsteinG.Koch-WeserS.BruggeD. (2019). Visualizing air pollution: Communication of environmental health information in a Chinese immigrant community. Journal of Health Communication, 24(4), 339–358. https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2019.1597949
