“Translanguaging, on the other hand, emphasizes the reality that languages
work together in the minds of bilinguals and that, in practice, bilingual
individuals typically utilize all of their linguistic resources in fluid and
dynamic ways.” Mikel Cole
A few decades ago I was on a local modified race car team as a pit
crew member. During this time, I specialized in tire wear and pressure. My job was to interpret the drivers’ words, weather
conditions, the weight distribution of the car and communicate this information
to the rest of the team. By working together and having developed a
communication plan, the team would perform better each week as the season
continued. On the other hand, when I share
with my parents how the race went the night prior and the impact of the tires
on the race, they would sit their confused because they couldn’t translate my terminology. Many of you have been on sports/teams in your
past. I kind of relate this to a coach
saying, “You will practice this until it becomes instinctive!” Translanguaging is a fluid mixing of language
and customs to suit the situation a student is trying to interpret.
Here is a Video Describing “What is Translanguaging?”
When I set up my first multicultural classroom I want to make sure
it is representative of all the languages within the classroom. In Kindergarten they have a word wall and in
other grades, they have key terms labeling parts of the room (North, Latitude). I propose using the Cognate word study lesson
to support your culturally relevant classroom.
Here is a link to 1001 Spanish English Cognitive words to reference
later on:
How do you think a cognate word
wall could benefit your classroom? Is
this only useful in kindergarten? Has
anyone found other resources for another language that we could use?
Although we have talked many times about being culturally
sustaining with our classrooms, I still have many concerns. One concern is the amount of time, energy,
effort and willpower it will take to understand a multiracial classroom. I can read a book or watch a video’s about the general customs of an ethnic group, but they will not truly relate to their
individual Americanized family. I feel
I’ll need to designate a student as my language broker because I’m a
monolingual person. Are there other concerns as a first-year teacher that you feel still
need to be addressed so you can navigate within a multicultural classroom? Have you ever used/needed a language
broker? If so how did it go?
Flores, Cousin, Diaz says that At-risk “is used deceptively to explain the failure
without considering “Class, race/ethnicity, and gender inequities”” (p. 370).
Without considering class, race/ethnicity, and gender inequities I would have
been identified as an At-Risk child because of was from a single parent home
with multiple siblings. How can you as a teacher help redirect this
termed to be used for its original intention?
The article Transforming
Deficit Myths About Learning, Language, and Culture by Flores et al. share
four key assumptions about children. Are these assumptions relatable to the student
at Enlace Academy?
1) Children
are proficient language users and bring many experiences into the classroom.
2) Children
need opportunities to learn a language in rich, integrated settings and can be
successful in regular classroom programs.
3) The
language development of these students can be effectively monitored by
observing their language use in authentic settings across the curriculum.
4) the
parents of these children are interested in the achievement and success of
their children in the school setting and can be partners in the educational
experiences of their children.
Other questions:
Is there a difference between code-switching and translanguaging? Why/Why not?
How can we use Translanguage during our student teaching program? Do you feel it will be accepted or rejected by the lead teacher?
Would reading a Bilingual story be enough to consider yourself as offering translanguage opportunity?
Our
students At-Risk because of being an immigrant or because they are not given
opportunities to translanguage?
How can a translanguage
educations opportunity be accomplished when “It is not uncommon for a single
urban district to have well over 100 languages represented throughout their
student body” (Cole, 2019).
Cole, M. (2019). Tanslanguaging in every Classroom. Language Arts, Vol. 96, pp. 244-248.
Flores, B., Cousin, P., and Diaz, E. ( 1991). Transforming Deficit Myths About Learning, Language, And Culture. Language Arts, Vol. (September) pp. 369-378.
Thanks for your post, Jay. I've also had experiences where I try to explain something to an 'outsider' and I end up spending half my time defining concepts and vocabulary! I love the idea of including words in other languages on the class word wall. It would be a cool experience to invite students to add words from their heart language to the wall and define/explain them for the rest of the class. Another way to allow students the opportunity for translanguaging is in their assessment tasks. Although I didn't plan it this way, I saw this in our literacy groups last semester. For our final day, we made a group poster to inform people about poverty and hunger. One of the girls asked if she could write her fact in Spanish. It was so simple to allow her that opportunity and help her make sense of the material in that way.
ReplyDeleteYou also asked "How can a translanguage education opportunity be accomplished when 'It is not uncommon for a single urban district to have well over 100 languages represented throughout their student body'" (Cole, 2019)? I really liked the example he gave in the introduction to his paper of students writing their rough drafts in English and Spanish. This would be an easy way to let students use their full linguistic capabilities instead of forcing them to compartmentalize the languages they speak. It doesn't take any language ability on the teacher's part to allow them to flow in and out and between languages for rough drafts or personal notes. I would even advocate for students being able to use words or phrases in another language in their final drafts (likely with a rough translation) if they can justify that writer's decision.
Rachel, Thank you for the reply. I like how you were able to provide a Lived experience to the translanguage with your science lesson last semester. It seems so simple to incorporate the use of Home language within rough drafts. I wonder if I could get to the place to accepting a translanguage final paper. I think I could achieve this after I gain a better understanding of a second language so, I know the student is using the correct sentence structure.
DeleteI think as we grow as teachers we will be able fully understand the implications of incorporating all of these different strategies within the classroom.
Rachel, I love how you made the point that "it doesn't take any language ability on the teacher's part to allow them flow in and out and between languages for rough drafts or personal notes." I often feel that since I am monolingual that it will be a true struggle to effectively teach my future students that are bilingual or ELL, because I won't have the means to communicate with them in their home language. Especially compared to you and Addy who have deep experience with second languages. As Cole states, "students supported to use their home language outperform those limited to monolingual, English-only approaches," and "the longer and more intensively students' first languages are used, the faster emergent bilinguals acquire English" (p. 245). I remember last year a friend of mine who is a teacher had a girl transfer into her class that was from China and spoke little to no English, and as my friend would discuss their interactions in class it gave me anxiety thinking about how I would try to communicate and teach this child who deserves my instruction and support as much as the other students in my class but doesn't understand everything I'm saying. I think it's easy to get overwhelmed by the idea that you could potentially have students in your class that have several different languages as their home language and how you can foster their learning and encourage their use of their home language when I don't know how to communicate in their language. However, as you mentioned letting them work through drafts in their home language and then translating their final draft in English or presenting their information in English but writing it in their home language is a way that several children with varying home languages can benefit from.
DeleteJay, thank you for your post and your personal application! I found when reading Cole's applications that I was drawn immediately to the idea of the cognate wall/list. I liked the idea of not only including English and Spanish, but a third language as well. The idea of creating the wall/list in conjunction with content is more meaningful, as well. I think placing labels on every day items throughout the room is great, but drawing attention to specific vocabulary words used during a unit study would bring a greater level of focus on the words. The other idea I would like to incorporate in my classroom would be from your video - input, processing, and output. Allowing students to process in their home language and translate the output (through dicussion or writing) is one instructional example to aid students in "build[ing] deeper understandings using their full linguistic repertoires" (Cole, p. 248).
ReplyDeleteYou asked if we had any other concerns with navigating a multicultural classroom - and I still feel a bit unprepared to dive into a multilingual environment being monolingual. I don't want to only support my English speaking students merely because I don't understand my other students' language. Because of this, I appreciate readings like this (with the inclusion of classroom ideas) and am considering the books suggested at the end of the reading. However, I'm sure there is a wealth of resources online.
Priscilla, Thanks! Yes, I like the Input-processing-output concept of translanguage that was used in the video as well. This could really bring learning to life for a lot of students and also gain support from the multicultural families. Which will give them a chance to see how the classroom is being culturally relevant to their personal needs. My biggest hand up on other languages is that I can read or write them and this causes my deficit reaction to literacy. Well they students say or write something inappropriate and then have me say it. Hence, the teacher looks like a fool. I know i'll be more then able to be the fool on my own. This goes back to creating a safe space, classroom community and democracy within the classroom for everyone to be accountable.
DeleteNice post, Jay. I love the picture at the top. I think one of your questions about using translanguaging in student teaching is something that I have thought of myself. Because we know Enlace has a high percentage of bilingual learners, I think it is so important to value the student's home language when engaging with them. I think the article gives great pointers to use as tools on how to do this. I I think the cognate list is a great way for not only the students to better understand and have a deeper grasp on the terms in the lesson, but it also allows us to gain knowledge of our students' home languages. I think the idea of having the students translate the passages is also a great way for the students to have a more meaningful idea of what the passage is saying. I think this also allows for the students to better understand the text overall by re-writing it in their home language.
ReplyDeleteI do feel worried about navigating a multilingual classroom, but I think these translangugaing techniques are great ways to value the students' home languages and also allow them to feel more comfortable and included in the lessons.
To be honest, the idea of translanguaging seems like common sense to me! My parents sent me to an international school from pre-k through 12th grade because they wanted me to be fluent in not only English, but also French. The various languages (and dialects) that students brought to the class were typically valued, not discouraged. This happened more or less naturally because of the nature of the school. I took this environment for granted, and am not sure how best to recreate it in my own classroom. Hence, I appreciate your suggestion of a cognate word wall. I think you could use a version of this in older grades too.
ReplyDeleteI’m not sure how I feel about a student acting as a language broker for families or teachers. I feel like this puts a lot of pressure on them. The wife of my former boss, who was from Mexico, did not speak English. He mentioned how challenging it was to go to school events and parent teacher conferences, because he was the only one who understood what was going on. I wonder if instead of translating, maybe students could work on learning English together? I’d caution against relying too heavily on a language broker in the classroom. It may seem like an easy solution, but it prevents you from communicating directly with the child. I’m sure there are situations where it could work. I just know that I prefer to speak directly to my kids. I'm not sure how to attach it, but it reminds me of the I'm not an Owl meme.
Addy, When you share about your high school experiences I am amazed. An international school was not an option in my hometown. The only option was a public high school or traveling an hour to a private high school. Which only the top 5% of families within my town could afford. I'm Jealous, although, I would not have appreciated it with i was in high school. Tonight as I was reading SS at swim practice for my boys three families sat down awaiting their time. A Korean family and two latino/a families. I sat their wondering what they were all saying and was hoping for someone to be that language broker to clue me in on the conversation. Alas, I was left out and felt alone. Although i truly enjoyed that they were openly communication in their home language around their children in a public place, while laughing and having a great time. I wonder if i could provide a time during the day where this would be allowed in the classroom.
DeleteI like you point about "Student learning English together" instead of being language brokers. In the evening at Enlace they provide a program where the parents and children ready English/Spanish books together so, the learn both languages. When I heard about this program I could only think "Wow, i wish I had the time to come back down here and participate in this program." To me this type of program could he alleviate the language broker concept within the school. I think i'll need to surf Lew Wallace website a little deeper and see what programs they offer.
Good post Jay, although you said your pit crew job was a few decades ago. You’re not that old! I’m extremely worrisome about my students who only speak their home language and not English. I wish I would have learned another language earlier so I could be bilingual, it would be so beneficial. It’s my job to make students be free thinkers and a language barrier poses a big challenge for myself. When you asked if we could see ourselves using translanguaging in the classroom, I believe I’m going to try as long as it lines up with my mentor’s plan. I hope we can see eye to eye on the issue. I really enjoyed the video of teacher who asks the students to write a story in their home language and then come back to discussion in the classroom language. It showed that the two can exist together. The quote, “teachers can still allow students to wok together to build deeper understandings using their full linguistic repertoires or provide bilingual resources like dictionaries and other texts.” (Cole, 2019, pg. 248) helps my concerns heading into student teaching. I will do my best to try to learn as much as possible about the home languages of my students. Outside of learning the language, it will be important for my classroom to have enough resources like dictionaries to have a home for a second language. Other students in my class and in the school need to see that it is okay to speak another language and that there is some value for them that other students don’t have who don’t speak their language. The other language and translanguaging has to be viewed and respected, at least in my classroom and hopefully my mentors.
ReplyDeleteJay, very thoughtful post, I like your anecdote at the beginning. I think there are many worries when thinking about ways in which communication might be hindered with any students in our future, and we've read about some great examples this week! You mention the Cognate Word Study and I definitely think that is a strategy can that can be used in upper grades, and is something that should be constructed by the students based on the words they can think of as well! You asked a question at the end that made me think a little deeper, "Is there a difference between code-switching and translanguaging?" When I think about code-switching, I think of it as a way to alternate conversational patterns depending on the situation, but I think of translanguaging as a way for people to make sense of multiple languages. Translanguaging uses various strategies, like collaborative transformation and preview-view-review, as ways to make connections when communicating and learning in a new language. Whereas when we talk about code-switching, I see it as a way for students navigate the dominant "Standard English" language, but it promotes double consciousness so I feel it holds different meaning from translanguaging. But I'm not an expert on these things, so when we talk about these two strategies, I think I would definitely need more research on the comparison of the two!
ReplyDeleteGreat post Jay! I really like your question about using translanguage teaching during our student teaching experience. Of course, it depends on your mentor teacher whether or not using it will be accepted or not. Cole suggests using the mandated vocabulary list given to schools and using that exact list in other languages to "facilitate student comprehension and parental engagement" (246). Using this idea for basic vocabulary learning is a simple but very helpful way to implement translanguage teaching into your classroom when you student teach.
ReplyDeleteAlso I think reading a bilingual story in your classroom COULD be enough when it comes to offering a translanguage approach. I would say this would only be the case if the population of your class were bilingual and very young students like K-1. And if you used the same book throughout a unit. This is like the different between culturally relevant and culturally sustaining. Yes, it is good to be culturally relevant. But if it is only one instance then it really doesn't have a true effect.