Background
Bangladesh and the Indian state of WestBengal together account for more than 250million native speakers of Bengali. In recent decades, larger numbers of Bengalispeaking families have migrated to anglophone nations such as the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Their children often grow up in homes where Bengali and English are used interchangeably, creating a bilingual environment that shapes the way they make meaning of texts.
Picture books are a privileged site for investigating narrative competence because they combine visual and verbal information, require sequencing, and invite personal interpretation. For bilingual children, picturebook reading can reveal how two language systems interact, how cultural knowledge is mobilised, and how identity is negotiated.
Theoretical Lens
The analysis draws on three interrelated frameworks:
- Sociocognitive theory of narrative development (Bruner, 1990): children construct meaning through active interpretation of story events, characters, and motives.
- Translanguaging pedagogy (Garca & Wei, 2014): bilingual speakers are seen as using a unified repertoire rather than two separate languages.
- Culturalhistorical activity theory (Engestrm, 2001): learning is situated in cultural toolshere, the picture book, family language practices, and community values.
By triangulating these perspectives, the study moves beyond a simple Englishonly vs. Bengalionly comparison and attends to the fluid, resourcerich reality of bilingual meaningmaking.
Methodology
Twenty children (ages 57) from two metropolitan areasToronto and NewYorkparticipated. All participants spoke Bengali at home and were exposed to English in school or community settings. The research design involved:
- Selection of picture books: Four narrative picture books were chosen for their cultural neutrality and visual richness (e.g., The Little Red Hen, A Lions Tale, The Cloud Painter, Grandmas Handbag).
- Reading sessions: Children read each book aloud with a researcher present. The researcher recorded verbal comments, gestures, and drawings made in the margins.
- Followup interview: After each session, children were asked openended questions such as What happened next? and Why do you think the character felt that way? Interviews were conducted in the childs preferred language; responses were transcribed and then coded.
- Data analysis: A mixed coding scheme captured narrative elements (plot, character, setting), language choice (Bengali, English, codemixing), and cultural references (e.g., food, festivals). Interrater reliability was .87.
Findings
1. Narrative Structure Is Consistently Recognised
All children identified the classic story arcbeginning, problem, climax, resolutionregardless of the language they used. When prompted, they could recount events in chronological order and often added missing details that were implied by the illustrations.
2. Language Choice Reflects Cognitive Load
Children tended to use Bengali when describing personal connections or emotional reactions (e.g., I felt very sad). English was favoured for abstract concepts and storylevel commentary (e.g., The conflict is resolved because). Codemixing appeared most often during transitional moments, such as moving from a picture description to a personal inference.
When I saw the cat in the picture I thought, ? Will Mom keep it inside? Then I said, Because the cat will be safe.
Participant A, age6, Toronto
3. Cultural Resources Enrich Interpretation
Even when the books lacked overt Bengali cultural markers, children drew on familiar cultural schemas. References to cricket, rosogolla, or DurgaPuja emerged spontaneously, shaping how they explained character motives or outcomes.
4. Visual Literacy Bridges Language Gaps
The pictures served as a shared reference point. When a child struggled to find the right word in either language, they would point to an image and describe the scene in the other language, thereby preserving narrative flow.
5. Identity Negotiation Through Storytelling
Several participants recast characters in a bilingual contextadding Bengali names, inserting local settings, or imagining bilingual dialogues. This rewriting demonstrates an active stance toward integrating both linguistic identities.
I think the girl should say Emily because she lives in America and her friends name is English.
Participant C, age5, NewYork
Implications for Practice and Research
- Curriculum Design: Picturebook circles that encourage codemixing validate bilingual repertoires and foster deeper narrative comprehension.
- Teacher Training: Educators should be equipped to recognise the pedagogical value of translanguaging moments rather than view mixed language use as a deficit.
- Family Engagement: Providing bilingual picturebooks for home reading supports parents who wish to model both languages and helps children develop flexible narrative skills.
- Further Studies: Longitudinal work could track how narrative sophistication evolves as children move from early elementary to middle school, and how shifts in dominant language influence story interpretation.
Overall, bilingual Bengalispeaking children demonstrate sophisticated narrative abilities that draw fluidly on both languages and cultural knowledge. Recognising and supporting this dual resource can enrich literacy development and affirm the childrens bicultural identities.
