translanguaging
what is it?
A support that can help SLIFE access content while using their native language is the use of translanguaging (Hill, 2022). Translanguaging in the classroom is when someone uses all the languages that they know (Kelly, 2022; Hanson-Thomas et al., 2021).
Kelly (2022) gives examples of what translanguaging can look like:
- Reading bilingual texts
- Pre-writing in more than one language
- Discussing an English text in other languages
- Annotating a text in more than one language
Translanguaging in the classroom allows learners to see that their teacher considers their native languages an asset (Kelly, 2022). When their native languages are used in the classroom, it helps support the learners’ language and literacy development. In order to engage in translanguaging, the teacher does not need to know their students’ languages but the teacher must be willing to engage in learning more about their students’ lives, cultures, and languages and how those play into the identity of their students (Hanson-Thomas et al., 2021).
References
Hansen-Thomas, H., Stewart, M. A., Flint, P., & Dollar, T. (2021). Co-learning in the high school english class through translanguaging: Emergent bilingual newcomers and monolingual teachers. Journal of Language, Identity, and Education, 20(3), 151–166. https://doi.org/10.1080/15348458.2020.1726759
Hesson, S., Seltzer K., Woodley, H.H. (2014, December). Translanguaging in Curriculum and Instruction: A CUNY-NYSIEB Guide for Educators. https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/562fac70-c822-4e2c-9252-f118eacb0dbe/Translanguaging-Guide-Curr-Inst-Final-December.pdf
Kelly, L. (2022). A Translanguaging Read-Aloud. Reading Teacher, 75(6), 763-766. https://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.2086
Translanguaging: Teaching at the intersection of language and social justice (2020,
September). WIDA. https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/562fac70-c822-4e2c-9252-f118eacb0dbe/Focus-Bulletin-Translanguaging.pdf