Dapre nou menm: Writing experiences of Haitian-American generation 1.5 students across educational contexts

Abstract

Students from a Haitian ethnic background are well represented in public educational institutions in
states such as New York and Florida. An important subset of this student population are HaitianAmerican Generation 1.5 students, young people who began their education and academic language
acquisition in Haiti, then immigrated to the United States to continue their education and language
acquisition. This Brief Report describes some of the findings from a larger study exploring HaitianAmerican Generation 1.5 students’ writing experiences across primary, secondary, and post-secondary
language courses in both Haiti and the United States. Qualitative interview data exploring three
Haitian-American Generation 1.5 participants’ perspectives on their writing experiences were collected
and analyzed; findings illustrate the disjunction between language class writing practices in Haitian
primary schools, U.S. secondary schools, and U.S. post-secondary institutions. Based on these findings,
recommendations for writing instruction that meets the needs of Haitian-American Generation 1.5
students are provided.