Building Inclusive Learning Environments Through Translanguaging 

Susan Clemesha - Sphere International School

In today’s highly interconnected world, the linguistic needs of our learners are shifting. In essence, they may never have changed, but how we view and address them is in urgent need of review. In everyday social life, individuals dynamically draw on a wide range of semiotic resources in order to engage and make meaning with others. So, why is it that in schools, traditionally, language has been taught through a compartmentalized approach? Understanding the language paradigm that guides teaching and learning is essential to answer that question.

Language perspectives

From a monoglossic (Bahktin, 1981) perspective, languages are viewed as an autonomous and fixed set of structures. In this view, language is strictly connected to a nation state. It is “owned” by its native speakers and acquired by “others”. Subtractive and Additive Bilingualism (Lambert, 1974 ) connects to this view of language. In the additive model, as the name suggests, speakers add on new languages without compromising their home language. This is often the case when learning languages of prestige. The additive approach understands that transfer occurs between the languages of the speaker, but departs from a structuralist view of language that privileges a notion of “one language, one people” and reinforces the construct of named languages (Makoni & Pennycook, 2007). 

From a different lens, language can be understood as the linguistic resources that are continuously used and being formed by the diverse life experiences of the speaker. This view of language connects to the heteroglossic language paradigm, which presupposes a multiplicity of voices and interrelated language practices (Bakhtin, 1981). Through this perspective, language is viewed as repertoire (Busch, 2015). An individual’s repertoire involves “codes, languages, modes of expression and communication that constitute our life stories, that is, they constitute us as people and are continuously interwoven based on our experiences (Rocha, 2019, p.21). In this approach, it is how individuals use the linguistic and multimodal repertoire that gives them the mobility they need in order to engage with others in different contexts.

Language is, therefore, not something one “owns” in a static form, but what is dynamically used to engage and make meaning. In alignment with this paradigm, Ofelia García affirms that the additive model is insufficient to represent the language practices of bilinguals and states that bilingualism is Dynamic (Vogel & García, 2017). Speakers draw from one unitary repertoire and flexibly use their linguistic resources to engage with the world and with others.

With the growth of bilingual education around the world, much has been explored in regard to the different approaches to teaching and learning in two or more languages: Content Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), Project Based Learning (PBL), Content Based Instruction (CBI), among others. In the ELT world, there has also been a direct shift in that direction. Language is explored in context and in connection with other areas of knowledge. However, while the content may be increasingly interconnected, there remains a clear separation of the language(s) used in the process of learning.

In bilingual and international education, many schools choose to organize the curriculum by separating subjects, teachers and class periods according to the languages of instruction. By doing so, features of the additive approach limit the possibilities of learners using their full linguistic repertoire and, consequently, lead to unequal access and opportunities. This is where the understanding of translanguaging can be of great value for teaching and learning in a multilingual world.

Translanguaging

The term translanguaging was coined by Cen Williams in 1994 to refer to the use of Welsh and English for different purposes in bilingual classrooms, for example, reading in one language and writing in another. In 2001, Colin Baker translated the term into English and, ever since, the concept has been explored in many studies in the field of sociolinguistics (García; Johnson & Seltzer, 2016). 

 Translanguaging is understood as the dynamic use of an individual’s full linguistic repertoire to make meaning. It builds on an asset-based perspective, rather than a deficit perspective.  As explained by García & Wei (2014, p.42):

"Translanguaging is not just something bilinguals do when they feel they are lacking words or phrases needed to express themselves in a monolingual environment. The trans prefix communicates the ways that multilingual people’s language practices in fact “go beyond” use of state-endorsed named language systems".

Translanguaging practice benefits learners when it is intentionally planned for and spaces are created in the curriculum for the dynamic and flexible use of multiple linguistic and semiotic resources. That is not the same as “use the language of your own choice, anytime you choose”. What it does mean, though, is that there are multiple ways of using and developing language and including all learners while doing so.

An example of practice

At Sphere International School, an IB school in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, the Year 8 students produced a collective mural based on the book I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban. After reading Malala’s autobiography, the learners connected her attributes to the IB Learner Profile (a set of 10 traits that characterize international mindedness according to the International Baccalaureate - IB) and discussed women’s rights. They expressed their ideas by writing the lyrics to rap songs inspired by Malala’s story.

Although the project was carried out in the Portuguese class, the students were encouraged to use their home or identity languages to express themselves. Academic language and the genre of focus were presented in Portuguese. The research about women’s rights was carried out in both Portuguese and English. An international pupil chose to write in English and the words used to illustrate the mural were written in both languages. The learners made videos of their songs, which were projected on the wall above the mural on the day of the school’s literature festival.

·      Languages used: Portuguese and English.

·      Modalities: visual language, written language and oral language (art, music, technology, among others).

Translanguaging and interdisciplinary learning

Interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary teaching and learning hold many connections with translanguaging. Take for example, building literacy in Early Childhood Education. While learners listen to rhyming stories in their home language, such as Portuguese, they may later listen to rhyming stories in an additional language, such as English. This can be done with the same or a different educator, depending on how the school is organized. The rhyming stories may also be explored through music and art, body and movement. The kids can create visual or musical representations of the words and rhymes. They can express their ideas and wonderings in the process of “play-based” exploration of language. 

Although interdisciplinary projects are frequently designed by Early Childhood teachers, not always is there an intentional approach to language development through the translanguaging lens. Oral, written and visual language, as well as dramatic play and different forms of expression, may be planned as opportunities for multilingual children to interact and make meaning.

 As learners grow, opportunities can be created for scaffolding and increased thinking about relationships between languages. When working with interdisciplinary projects, translanguaging practices can be created through authentic instructions, in which learners may be encouraged to use their home language, as well as the school’s languages of instruction, and different modalities. Needless to say, technology has been developing as a powerful resource for translanguaging. When used with guidance and criteria, translation apps and artificial intelligence can support learners in their various linguistic tasks throughout the process of creative inquiry. When pedagogy is designed in this way, all learners can thrive and develop a strong sense of growth, worth and belonging.

A possible way forward

In a multilingual and multicultural society, language separation is no longer the way forward. Increasingly, schools are moving away from a focus on English-only instruction and the role of home languages and multiple modalities is being embraced in a more integrated and flexible approach. This is the true meaning of linguistic and cultural diversity.

Translanguaging has the power to create opportunities for all learners to be seen and heard, and while doing so, it creates a sense of belonging and makes room for learning with a growth mindset. Creating translanguaging spaces in schools means enhancing opportunities for voice, choice and ownership while empowering learners as individuals who use their languages responsibly and with mobility in different local and global contexts.

This article was originally published in the Braz Tesol - Echoes Maganize, August 2023

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