Children in Mexicano communities learn to use language in a variety of ways. At times they use both Spanish and English in the same conversation or help friends and family members enter mainstream society by translating English to Spanish for them. Pushing Boundaries describes Eastside, a Mexicano community in northern California, analysing language learning and language socialization in the context of real, problematic, important activities in people's lives. The authors consolidate three separate studies providing a unique perspective on the ways bilingual children and their families use and learn language. With children using the language of home, school and community separately and in combination, the book reveals how these children use their traditional language and cultural knowledge as a critical component for learning their second language and its underlying cultural norms.

"The authors successfully integrate their studies to produce an engaging portrait of the language socialization patterns of the community's children. ...persuasive and passionately argued..." Anthropological Lingistics

"This book is sure to explode stereotypes with its convincing account of individual and family differences within a culture...also a vivid illustration of the potential for collaboration in research and school reform projects." Shirley Brice Heath, Stanford University