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Language in international schools: Moving away from the monolingual monolith

By Eowyn Crisfield, head of Academic Development for LanguageOne

Eowyn Crisfield, an expert on bilingualism in international schools, will lead a workshop at the upcoming CIS Symposia on Intercultural Learning in Amsterdam (9 & 10 March 2017) and Singapore (23 & 24 March 2017). International school leaders and teachers interested in learning the latest research and gaining practical advice on effective language development in international schools are encouraged to attend. More information here.

A role of many international schools is to provide an English-language education for international students from a variety of backgrounds. Underpinning this belief is the implicit assumption that the school is responsible for teaching non-English speaking children to speak English, and to succeed in English-language education. Is this the whole truth? In fact, as research on the nature and interaction of learning and language grows, we can see the inherent flaw in this approach. For every non-English speaking child who walks into an English-language international school, a bilingual child should walk out. Embracing the culture and worldview of all students means also embracing their languages, and the critical role that schools play in helping or hindering bilingual development, as opposed to English-language development.

If schools are to take on this challenge, of supporting the whole learner, how can they proceed? The answer is simple, yet complex. The simplicity lies in accepting that all schools should support the language development of their students. Not only of the school language, but also, by necessity and duty, the home languages/mother tongue as well. And therein lies the complexity. If there is a single uniting characteristic of international schools, it is diversity. Of background, culture and of course, of language. Faced with this diversity, many schools choose to abdicate responsibility for any language other than the school language, as the task seems too great. For schools willing to take up the challenge, where to begin?

Here are three avenues your school can pursue to change the monolingual paradigm:
1. Understanding of language development and bilingualism
One of the main precepts of international schooling is "Every teacher is a language teacher". In function, this is true - every teacher is a model of language and can be a critical part of the language journey for both native and non-native speaker students. But in application it is not always accurate. Many, if not most, teachers do not have the knowledge to successfully leverage the curriculum for the language development of their students. Becoming an effective language teacher requires developing a certain knowledge base and skill set, which is not present in primary/secondary teacher education, or currently in international teacher education. Pursuing a whole-school development program to meet this need can allow all teachers to better fulfill the role of language teacher.
2. Plan for home language/mother tongue development
There are many ways that schools can provide support for home/mother tongue languages, and in doing so provide an environment that is inclusive for all students. Models for mother tongue teaching range from extra-curricular to integrated, with varying levels of commitment from the school. An ideal mother tongue program would have a formal place in the school curriculum, and allow students to learn across their languages, rather than in isolation. Bringing the content of the classroom and the mother tongue program together permits greater opportunities for content knowledge development, cross-language transfer and full academic development in both languages.
3. Translanguaging
In the vast majority of international schools, the number of languages spoken by students far exceeds the schools' ability to provide for formal language classes. The pedagogical use of translanguaging can be a window into including other languages and knowledge into the classroom, through carefully planned language integration. Translanguaging pedagogy involves planning for all students to mediate academic content in their own languages, and connect it to the classroom learning and language development through cross-language activities. The benefits of translanguaging are broad, from the socio-emotional aspects of inclusion of diverse world-views and creating safe spaces for language learners, to the linguistic development afforded by scaffolding new language ability onto strong mother tongue ability, and also supporting content learning by improved access to conceptual knowledge and complex themes. Translanguaging is a broad-spectrum pedagogy that allows all students to develop in both the school language and their own language, while maximising learning opportunities across the curriculum.

Whichever pathway (or two, or three) you choose for your school, it will set you on the road to being a school that truly embraces and supports diversity in all aspects, from personal to cultural, to linguistic.
Eowyn Crisfield is head of Academic Development for LanguageOne (global mother tongue education) and director of Crisfield Educational Consulting, providing training on EAL-related issues and Languages Across the Curriculum pedagogy.

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Language in international schools: Moving away from the monolingual monolith

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Eowyn Crisfield, an expert on bilingualism in international schools, will lead a workshop at the upcoming CIS Symposia on Intercultural Learning in Amsterdam (9 & 10 March 2017) and Singapore (23 & 24 March 2017).

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Challenging the monolingual habitus of international school classrooms

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Explore millions of resources from scholarly journals, books, newspapers, videos and more, on the ProQuest Platform.

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Sharing their professional experiences on this webinar about the Benefits of Bilingual Education, part of Relocate Global's spring Great International Education & Schools' Fair, which offers fantastic resources to parents and employers of globally mobile populations alike, are:

Honouring cultures and diverse experience at school

Up until relatively recently, bilingualism in education was a controversial subject. People used to think a child growing learning two languages would be disadvantaged by this. But research and practice shows the opposite is true. Speaking multiple languages - and from an early age - lends a unique perspective to individuals' learning environments."There are advantages to being bilingual and we know it is not confusing," says webinar panellist Susan Stewart, Head of Multilingualism at the pioneering English-medium International School of London. "We know there are economic, social and cognitive advantages." Awareness of the value of multilingualism has grown alongside recognition of the importance of rootedness and connection with family heritage, and developing self identity - especially for children of internationally mobile families and families from multiple cultures.UNESCO - the United Nations' agency that promotes world peace and security through international cooperation in education, the sciences, and culture - is also backing multilingualism as a way of preserving linguistically diverse societies, sustainability and inclusion in education, particularly for all those on the move, as part of its Sustainable Development Goals.

Talking the right language about multilingualism

Today, people's indivudual language profiles are much more varied. People from families of mixed heritage are far more common, as is international mobility. This, says Susan Stewart, means there are different language and learning needs, both today and in the future, which is changing how we think about education and home languages."Young people's and adults' language profiles or portraits are far more complex than they were in the past," says Susan Stewart. "Children might have one or two languages they speak at home, another from the community they live in and there might be another language they are requred to use at school."While UNESCO still talks about "Mother tongue" to celebrate linguistic diversity each February, the picture is more complex that the term suggests. "For many, it is no longer their dominant tongue or strongest language," continues Susan Stewart. "Terms such as 'whole language' or 'personal language' can capture the nuances. The term bilingual or biliteral is also a lot more complex. It is more about linguistic diversity."In education, this perspective ties into another big shift in conversations around understanding the needs of multilingual children. This is looking at individual learning through the lens of more than one language and a dynamic, lifelong process. "When children learn, they are drawing on all languages to build understanding and make meaning," explains Susan Stewart. "As teachers and parents of bilingual children, we need to be aware of how different language combinations will result in children needing different levels of support as they develop their languages."Linked to this is the hot topic of translanguaging - a term that is used a lot in research and being taken on in many schools, whether international schools, bilingual schools or local state schools. "It is the flexible use of a child's full linguistic repertoire," says Susan Stewart.Describing in this context how ISL supports bilingualism and multilingualism while being an English-medium International Baccalaureate school, Susan Stewart says "what we do that is really special in that we strive to support every child's home language, so we currently have 22 home languages supported in the programme."

Parallel lines - finding the space in the middle

At bilingual Collège Français Bilingue de Londres (CFBL), based in Kentish Town, native French- and English-speaking teachers are appointed for their strong interest in languages and their native teaching styles. These culturally different approaches are delivered in the two languages shared equally across the week's timetable, which follows the French curriculum.Talking about the benefits of a bilingual education, Cecile Denais, Deputy Head Teacher at CFBL, which has around 700 students from nursery school-age up to Year 10/the end of troisième, says, "the bilingual dimension serves students usefully in their future careers and life. CFBL aims to take the best qualities of the English and French education systems to create a unique environment." This bilingual - and bicultural - approach means "students can take two different strategies to arrive at the same answer," says Cecile Denais. "This way of teaching allows students to experience two solutions and to choose the one that is most logical and efficient for their way of working. Learning in a bilingual environment or school gives the students mental flexibility, but also enables them to adapt more quickly to new situations as they move to adulthood and beyond."

The benefits of multilingualism

SIAL, a small primary, bilingual and bicurriculum school for children aged 3-11 based in Holland Park, approaches bilingual education in a similar way. Native Italian- and English-speaking teachers follow a recognised Italian and English curriculum, with additional language-learning support when needed."Our admission is totally inclusive," says Ines Saltalamacchia. "Child arrive from any background school system and we don't choose on their ability to understand a language. From a teaching point of view, if you can follow the children's need and rythm in their learning, then you can really get the best out of them because children develop in very different ways. "Definitely more adults are seeing benefits of being bilingual," continues Ines Saltalamacchia. "The number of people coming to us with no close link to Italy is increasing. Families are interested in a broader education. Studies show that a [bilingual education] gives an extra year to our children's minds. Growing up in a bicultural and multicultural environment exposes to them to different approaches to life. This is very important to teach our children tolerance and respect in our world community."Having access to multiple languages and curricula is also helping parents to prepare the next generation for a more uncertain world. "We don't know exactly what is going to happen with Brexit," says Cecile Denais. Nevertheless, for parents, whether French, English, bi-national or from elsewhere, the combination of the French curriculum and the British approach means they can be more flexible when it comes to future career moves and their children's education journeys.

Bilingualism - a language for uncertain times?

With mobility and international relocation plans on hold or hastily rearranged since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, and Brexit adding to uncertainty, schools have a vital role to play in providing stability and support for international families."The key terms of the moment are for us all to be very adaptable, while helping students and families keep their options open," says Susan Stewart. "Offering languages is such an ideal way to do so."We had families who joined us in the last lockdown who were new to English and new to UK. Their first encounter with English is learning online. That's why having those home language teachers who communicate in first language is so valuable so families can connect academically and socially." "The connection between family and school is paramount," agrees Ines Saltalamacchia, where SIAL's bicurricular approach offers flexibility to follow the English, Italian or IB programme in secondary school. As well as supporting children's learning, connecting families to each other through the school "creates a strong community " where parents support others who have just moved to the school. "We try to involve all parents as much as possible in school life and communicate in both languages."At CFBL, "parents organise a lot of activities and are involved in different school bodies, like the board and parent trustees," says Cecile Denais. "They help us provide the best education, which is not just about academics, but about helping each other."Clearly, on many levels, there is a growing appreciation of linguistic diversity and understanding of how multilingualism is critical to moving and settling successfully around the world, with educators and international schools having a vital role in this as we prepare young people for the future.
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Inclusion and international education: a multilingual future? | Ruth Holmes | Relocate magazine

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Sharing their professional experiences on this webinar about the Benefits of Bilingual Education, part of Relocate Global's spring Great International Education & Schools' Fair, which offers fantastic resources to parents and employers of globally mobile populations alike, are: Up until relatively recently, bilingualism in education was a controversial subject.

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Celebrating Multilingualism in International Schools | Global Take - SchoolRubric

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Celebrating Multilingualism in International Schools | Global Take

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Celebrating Multilingualism in International Schools | Global Take

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Resources for English Language Learners and Teachers | Pearson English

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With over 1,000 registrations for our recent Translanguaging webinar (if you missed it, you can watch the recording on demand and download the slide deck), it's clear that planning for multiple languages in the classroom is an important issue many of you want to know more about.

In this post, Eowyn Crisfield answers many of the questions raised in the webinar.

Q. How do we get parents and students to 'buy in' to translanguaging?

A. There can often be resistance to using home languages at school so there is no short and easy answer.

It takes time to educate, converse, shift mindsets, and create a multilingual community. The starting point is always education - for parents and for students. I think that a professional learning community or working group is a good place to start, either with a book club approach or a research approach. This group is responsible for gathering key research information that supports integration of home languages into EMI, and for developing a programme of articles/presentations/experiences to present to the students and parents.

On a student level, how this key information is presented will depend on the age of the students. Young students connect more with the emotional aspects of using their own language, and can enjoy it with less questioning. Older students, especially if they are used to not using (or not being allowed to use) their languages may take more time to come around, and need a more fact-based approach. In classes with older learners, it is important to take time to develop a translanguaging stance (Garcia, Ibarra Johnson, & Seltzer, 2017), so they understand the advantages to using their own language.

Parent education is usually based on written communication and parent seminars, and including a participatory element (such as spending some time 'teaching' the parents a new language) can sensitise parents to the challenging situation their children are in, and the natural bridges and scaffolds that help understanding and development across languages.

Q. How can I manage a classroom of multilingual students when I don't speak their languages?

A: Part of the answer to this question is based on the answer to the first question.

Open and informative discussions with students about how using their own languages can be beneficial to their learning builds the base for the clear common agreements that guide classroom practice.

Some schools have a school-wide classroom language policy, but I think it is good to get students involved in the process. Students of all ages can have guided discussions about how their language use can be positive or negative, inclusive or exclusive, and how it can help them learn. From these discussions, you build a set of common agreements as your 'Classroom Language Policy', and make it visible (child-led) in a dedicated space. It should be a living agreement, and teacher and students should remind each other of how to use languages positively.

Although there isn't much research on student-student interactions when using their own languages in the classroom, what research there is (see, for example: Duarte, 2016) shows that given the mandate to use their own languages for learning, students do stay mainly on task even when the teacher cannot understand them.

Q. How is translanguaging different from code-switching?

A. There is no straight answer to this question, as it depends who you ask!

There are scholars who see no functional difference between code-switching and translanguaging, and there are scholars who believe that they are very different. It's a question that could be answered from a neurolinguistic, cognitive, sociolinguistic, sociocultural or pedagogical perspective, and often the perspective that one takes will influence their opinion on this question. There are also other terms that people use to describe the same types of language practices, such as bridging, code-meshing, and dynamic multilingual languaging. My perspective is it matters less what we call it, and more how we implement it.

Q. How can you take a translanguaging approach with students who are not literate in their own language (without home language literacy)?

A. The first step is to check to see if their language is available on Google Translate speaker buttons.

If it is, it means that at least they have a means to communicate, and the teacher has a way to ensure understanding when necessary. There is an excellent article describing this approach in the EAL Journal.

This can also be useful with older learners, especially when instructions are complex. It is also key to know the language profiles of all staff in the school: teaching, support, administrative. Having a clear picture of the linguistic pool available will sometimes help bridge the gap for a student who needs support and doesn't have a same-language peer.

Q. Do you have resources to share with parents and teachers?

A. There are good shareable resources available online which can be found on different platforms and organisations.

NALDIC has many good resources, and the Journal also signposts readers to research and practice resources. I have authored two short flyers: one for parents and one for teachers, both with a focus on the importance of first/home language development. They are designed to be helpful in promoting evidence-informed educational pathways for bi/multilingual children.

There are some other key readings in the bibliography below in the webinar which might be helpful as well.

Q. What research is there on translanguaging in other contexts?

A. There is an increasing body of research on translanguaging in different contexts.

While it is difficult to extrapolate from one situation or school to another, overall the research seems to indicate that in CLIL and foreign language teaching contexts it can be beneficial to strategically use students' first languages. For CLIL contexts this would focus on understanding content and acquiring language. In foreign language contexts some interesting findings are related to vocabulary retention, and class cohesiveness.

Translanguaging in immersion contexts, particularly in minority language contexts, can be a bit trickier. There are tensions between the usefulness of the L1 (majority language) and the possibility that without protected spaces for the minority language it will not develop properly. An example would be in Irish immersion schools, where the students are surrounded by English and are all English-dominant. Allowing English into the Irish classrooms would risk students losing the motivation to work on developing in Irish, and would also compromise the amount of input they would get in Irish. There are no clear answers to these questions. It is also the case that in these types of school, where students are learning a minority language through immersion, there are not the same concerns about loss of the first/home language. For example, in Canadian French immersion schools, the students live in English-speaking communities and families, and are surrounded by English in the media, etc. So their English development is never at risk from being in French immersion programmes, and there isn't any pressing reason to use translanguaging to support L1 development.

Below is a bibliography with additional readings focused on some of the questions shared live in the webinar. If you have trouble sourcing them, feel free to contact me through my website and I will share a digital copy. There were far too many questions (always a good sign) to address in one post, so I'll try and answer one every week or so on my teacher blog until I'm done!

Further Reading:

Allard, E. 2017. Re-examining teacher translanguaging: An ecological perspective. Bilingual Research Journal, 40(2), 116-130.
Creese, A., & Blackledge, A. 2010. "Translanguaging in the bilingual classroom: A pedagogy for learning and teaching?" The Modern Language Journal, 94(1), 103-115.
Duarte, J. 2016. "Translanguaging in mainstream education: A sociocultural approach". International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 1-15. doi:10.1080/13670050.2016.1231774
Karlsson, A, Larsson, P & Jakobsson, A. 2018. 'Multilingual students' use of translanguaging in science classrooms', International Journal of Science Education, DOI: 10.1080/09500693.2018.1477261
Lin, A. M. Y. 2006. "Beyond Linguistic Purism in Language-in-education Policy and Practice: Exploring Bilingual Pedagogies in a Hong Kong Science Classroom." Language and Education 20 (3): 287-305.
Lin, A. M. Y. 2013. "Towards Paradigmatic Change in TESOL Methodologies: Building Plurilingual Pedagogies from the Ground up." TESOL Quarterly 47 (3): 521-545.
Littlewood, W., & Yu, B. 2011." First language and target language in the foreign language classroom". Language Teaching, 41 (1): 64-77.
Lo, Y.Y. 2015. "How much L1 is too much? - Teachers' language use in response to students' abilities and classroom interaction in CLIL" .International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 18(3), 270-28
Lo, Y.Y. and A.M.Y. Lin. 2015. "Designing Multilingual and Multimodal CLIL Frameworks for EFL Students". International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 18 (3): 261-269
Macaro, E. 2009. "Teacher Use of Codeswitching in the Second Language Classroom: Exploring 'Optimal Use'." In First Language Use in Second and Foreign Language Learning, edited by M. Turnbull and J. Dailey-O'Cain, 35-49. Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters.
Moore, P. 2013. "An Emergent Perspective on the Use of the First Language in the English as‐a‐Foreign‐Language Classroom". The Modern Language Journal, 97, 1, p. 239-253
Tian, L., and E. Macaro. 2012. "Comparing the Effect of Teacher Codeswitching with English-only Explanations on the Vocabulary Acquisition of Chinese University Students: A Lexical Focus-on-form Study." Language Teaching Research 16 (3): 367-391.
Turnbull, M., and J. Dailey-O'Cain. (Eds.) 2009. "First Language Use in Second and Foreign Language Learning". Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters.
Wang, D. 2016. "Translanguaging in Chinese foreign language classrooms: students and teachers' attitudes and practices", International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, DOI: 10.1080/13670050.2016.1231773

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Translanguaging - what is it and how do you plan for it? FAQs

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With over 1,000 registrations for our recent Translanguaging webinar (if you missed it, you can watch the recording on demand and download the slide deck), it's clear that planning for multiple languages in the classroom is an important issue many of you want to know more about.

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Translanguaging – what is it and how do you plan for it?

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Translanguaging – what is it and how do you plan for it?

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Resources for English Language Learners and Teachers | Pearson English

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The term translanguaging has burst upon the applied linguistics and educational sector in the last years.

From modest origins as 'trawsieithu', the original Welsh word, used to describe a particular observed pedagogy, to the global phenomenon accompanied by conferences, journals, and no small amount of controversy, it can be hard to focus in on how it might be helpful when faced with a group of multilingual learners from diverse language backgrounds in a classroom.

While many of the pathways translanguaging has taken are interesting and important, in this post, as in all of my translanguaging work, I centre on the original Welsh characterisation.

Defining pedagogical translanguaging

In its original iteration, translanguaging was defined simply as the planned and systematic use of two languages within the same lesson, by specifying and varying the language of input and output.¹ In the observed settings, teachers were having students engage with content in one language (Welsh or English) as input for learning, and the output was planned to be in the other language. The pedagogical practice did not have any negative effects on language development or academic development, and indeed seemed to confer some benefits. This led to a growing interest in investigating how languages can function together for learning, rather than being kept separate, as was the general practice at the time. The idea of dynamic language use, rather than isolation, was, and remains to some extent, challenging to long-held notions about language acquisition and development.

Translanguaging in action

In the literature on translanguaging in the classroom, there are two different types that can be defined. The first is serendipitous, or unplanned, translanguaging. This type of translanguaging happens spontaneously in classrooms where linguistic diversity is valued and seen as a resource for learning. It can take the form of students translating/explaining to each other, the teacher doing the same, use of technology to allow for communication, and myriad other ways in which children will innovate with their languages to participate fully in the class learning and socialisation.

The second type is planned translanguaging, where the teacher makes considered decisions about the learning objectives, based on their understanding of the needs of their multilingual learners, and plans for language use accordingly. This type of translanguaging is where access to content can be made possible for new language learners, and where teachers can draw on students' families, and prior knowledge to promote learning. It is also a method for enriching the curriculum in English-language schools which rely on mainly Western resources for learning. To develop this approach, we must consider a planning framework for implementation.

Creating a framework for implementation

Working from this original iteration, I have expanded the definition to include processing, which is an integral part of a learning cycle. Pedagogical translanguaging then becomes 'the planned alternation of the languages of input, processing, and output in a learning cycle'. This definition allows for a clear framework for the planning of language alternation, and is key to teacher task design. Far from being a classroom linguistic free for all, which is something teachers often worry about, planned pedagogical translanguaging can be carefully planned and managed, even by a monolingual teacher.

Before any teacher can start implementing a translanguaging pedagogy, they first need to know the language profiles of their students, including:

How well do they speak their home language(s)? Some children who have never lived in their 'home' country may actually not be very strong in their home languages, which makes it difficult to use them for learning.

Do they have any literacy skills in their own language? Again, how you implement translanguaging varies immensely for students who are literate in their own language(s).

Once you have gathered this information, you are able to make productive decisions about how using home languages can be beneficial for different children in your class.

Planning for translanguaging

There are two simple questions that teachers can ask when applying a translanguaging lens to their teaching. This first is 'Will this content be inaccessible for any of my learners because of their level of language?'

It's important to remember that it takes students 5-9 years to develop full academic competency in a new school language, which means that this question will very often be affirmative. If indeed the answer is yes, then the teacher needs to determine what parts of the learning cycle will include home/dominant languages, to ensure that all students understand the content and can show their learning.

One might reasonably think that if all students are able to access the content through the school language that there would be no need for translanguaging. In fact, even when this is the case, there are many other reasons to integrate home languages into the learning cycle. If a class is doing a unit on ecosystems, having all students research an ecosystem from the country of their home language will enrich the learning of all the students, but bringing in a wider knowledge base and perspective.

The same could be said for any learning in humanities/social studies - the added value of having students research a topic from different perspectives, through the lens of information in different languages, can only have a positive impact on overall learning.

If you are interested in knowing more about pedagogical translanguaging, including sample task cycles, do watch our webinar.

Watch the webinar: Translanguaging: what is it and how do you plan for it?
Recorded Thursday 11 June 12:00 BST | Watch on demand
Want to learn more about translanguaging? In this webinar, Eowyn Crisfield, specialist in bilingualism in education and teacher-training, looks at a framework for translanguaging and specific planning strategies for implementation.

¹ Lewis, G., Jones, B., & Baker, C. (2012). Translanguaging: origins and development from school to street and beyond. Educational Research and Evaluation: An International Journal on Theory and Practice, 18(7), 641-654.

Further reading

Cenoz, J. (2017). Translanguaging in School Contexts: International Perspectives. Journal of Language, Identity & Education, 16(4), 193-198.
Cenoz, J., & Hunston, S. (Eds.). (2015). Multilingual Education: Between language learning and translanguaging. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Duarte, J. (2015). Cross-linguistic transfer of academic language in multilingual adolescents. In H. Peukert (Ed.), Transfer Effects in Multilingual Language Development - Hamburg Studies on Linguistic Diversity (pp. 221-248). Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Garcia, O., & Kleyn, T. (Eds.). (2016). Translanguaging with Multilingual Students. New York: Routledge.
Garcia, O., Ibarra Johnson, S., & Seltzer, K. (2017). The Translanguaging Classroom: Leveraging student bilingualism for learning. Philadelphia: Caslon.
Lewis, G., Jones, B., & Baker, C. (2012). Translanguaging:origins and development from school to street and beyond. Educational Research and Evaluation, 187, 641-654.
Paulsrud, B., Rosen, J., Straszer, B., & Wedin, A. (Eds.). (2017). New Perspectives on Translanguaging and Education. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Spiro, J., & Crisfield, E. (2018). Linguistic and Cultural Innovation in Schools: The Languages Challenge. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

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Translanguaging - what is it and how do you plan for it?

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The term translanguaging has burst upon the applied linguistics and educational sector in the last years. From modest origins as 'trawsieithu', the original Welsh word, used to describe a particular observed pedagogy, to the global phenomenon accompanied by conferences, journals, and no small amount of controversy, it can be hard to focus in on how ...

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Department for Education, South Australia

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9 – Translanguaging – what is it and why do we want to use it?

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'Translanguaging' - the use of different languages together - can be a powerful tool for learning ... but it can also go against the grain for language teachers who are used to supporting learners to master the intricacies of a single language. In this post, we ask what the research tells us about 'translanguaging' and how it can be used to support EAL learners in the classroom.

Picture the scene: two students are sitting together, working intently on a handout. They have different first languages but some shared knowledge of the words and phrases of each other's languages, so they are moving in and out of English to get their message across. Another two students are sitting together nearby. Both of them are Spanish speakers, but are very strong in English and often use it as their main language. At other times, as now, they blend Spanish and English together.

Are either of these examples of translanguaging?

In both cases, yes. The young people are using resources from different languages together, with very little regard for what we might call the 'boundaries' of named languages such as 'Spanish' or 'English'. They are using elements of each language together to communicate more effectively. This is translanguaging: it's about using the all your language resources to communicate.

Translanguaging is the act performed by bilinguals of accessing different linguistic features or various modes of what are described as autonomous languages, in order to maximize communicative potential.

Ofelia García (2009: 140)

Translanguaging is about communication, not about language itself. There are times when we need to be language teachers, focusing on accuracy in English so that our learners can pass exams and be taken as proficient speakers in wider society. Much of the time, though, we are working with students to explore concepts, add to their knowledge, make connections between ideas and to help them make their voices heard by others. This is often about communicating, and this is where using all our language resources can be very valuable.
A (very) brief history of translanguaging ...
Translanguaging is nothing new - it can be a very natural way for multilingual people to communicate - but as a focus of research it emerged in the 1980s in Bangor, north Wales. Cen Williams and colleagues were investigating strategies for learners to use two languages (Welsh and English) in a single lesson. They came up with the term 'trawsieithu' to describe reading or hearing input in one language (e.g. English) and writing or speaking about it in another (e.g. Welsh, or vice versa). The term was translated into English (and popularised) as 'translanguaging' by their colleague Colin Baker (see Lewis, Jones and Baker 2012).

Since then the term has expanded to cover the use of multiple languages in many contexts. It is one of a series of related terms (such as polylanguaging and flexible multilingualism) and the subtle differences between them suggest the wide range of academic work investigating how multiple languages are used - especially for learning. We can use 'translanguaging' as our general term.
The beginnings of a translanguaging pedagogy
Translanguaging pedagogy challenges what Jim Cummins (2008) called the 'two solitudes' approach to bilingualism, in which languages were kept strictly separate. It sees languages as a property of the community: the language resources that are relevant to the classroom are those shared by the students and the teacher. This separates the languages of the classroom community and the language of the test or the curriculum. We can use our classroom repertoire to learn, share and communicate, coming to focus on the language of the curriculum (highly formal and accurate English, for example) as necessary. It means making a distinction between forms of learning that require display (such as essays, often written in 'best English') and forms of learning that do not (such as worksheets). We can move between them within a lesson: perhaps using all our repertoire to discuss and to draft, moving into more formal/correct English to report to the group, back into translanguaging to revise the work-in-progress and into a very formal register for the final written product.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the strongly monolingual slant of recent education policy, much work into translanguaging pedagogy has been done outside mainstream classrooms. Creese and Blackledge (2010), for example, have looked at Gujarati and Chinese complementary schools. Li Wei and Zhu Hua (2013) studied learners at university, but connected translanguaging to migration and identity development in ways that are very relevant to school-based language policies. Hornberger and Link (2012) look at children the US, with an explicit focus on the restrictive language policies of that country, and offer ideas that are very applicable to the UK. A good starting point is García and Li Wei (2014) - a recent and very readable (only 165 pages) discussion that has a strong focus on translanguaging and education, with one author based in the US and one based in the UK.

The first issue of the EAL Journal (published in September and free to all NALDIC members) features Li Wei writing about translanguaging and the EAL classroom. Click here for information on how to join.
Recent developments
García's recent work has focused on translanguaging pedagogy as a political act, a critical response to the monolingual bias of current education policy. Earlier this year the South London EAL Group (part of NALDIC's national network of regional interest groups) discussed García's work on translanguaging stance - a teacher's political commitment to encouraging bilingualism in her classroom. The video below features Constant Leung discussing this approach and explaining how it connects to the UK context:
Constant Leung discussing Ofelia García's work on translanguaging, at NALDIC's South London EAL group. But what about exams?
Very often, we meet the colleagues who are keen to encourage multilingualism in their classroom (even experiment with a translanguaging pedagogy), but who are worried about how it will affect their students' exam performance.

A translanguaging approach is entirely consistent with high expectations in exams - if we recognise the difference between language and communication.

testing the proficiency of children in a language must be kept separate from testing their proficiency in language.

(Otheguy, García and Reid 2015: 299)

Translanguaging pedagogy is about you and your students. It draws on the languages you have available to your group - so even if you don't speak all (or any) of the other languages your students do, you can welcome them and encourage the learners to use them in the classroom. You can then make a distinction between your classroom approach to languages and the language resources the students will need to use in exams. If you have used a translanguaging pedagogy in your classroom (even if that wasn't the term you used for it) we would love to hear from you.
References
Creese, Angela and Adrian Blackledge (2010). Translanguaging in the Bilingual Classroom: A Pedagogy for Learning and Teaching? Modern Language Journal 94 (1), 103-115.

Cummins, Jim (2008). Teaching for Transfer: Challenging the two solitudes assumption in bilingual education. In: Jim Cummins and Nancy H. Hornberger (eds). Encyclopedia of Language and Education Vol. 5: Bilingual Education (2nd edition edition). Boston: Springer Science + Business Media.

García, Ofelia (2009). Education, multilingualism and translanguaging in the 21st century. In: Ajit Mohanty, Minati Panda, Robert Phillipson and Tove Skutnabb-Kangas (eds). Multilingual Education for Social Justice: Globalising the local. New Delhi: Orient Blackswan, pp.128-145.

García, Ofelia, S. Johnson and K. Seltzer (forthcoming). Translanguaging Stance. In: Ofelia García (ed.). The Translanguaging Classroom. Philadelphia, PA: Carson.

Lewis, Gwyn, Bryn Jones and Colin Baker (2012). Translanguaging: origins and development from school to street and beyond. Educational Research and Evaluation 18 (7), 641-654.

Li Wei and Zhu Hua (2013). Translanguaging Identities and Ideologies: Creating Transnational Space Through Flexible Multilingual Practices Amongst Chinese University Students in the UK. Applied Linguistics 34 (5), 516-535.

Otheguy, Ricardo, Ofelia García and Wallis Reid (2015). Clarifying translanguaging and deconstructing named languages: A perspective from linguistics. Applied Linguistics Review 6 (3), 281-307.

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Interested in translanguaging and what it means for EAL? We look at the research and share the essential info.

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What is translanguaging?

Translanguaging is the term used to describe practices that allow and encourage EAL learners to use their full linguistic repertoire in order to empower them and help them to realise their full potential. This means encouraging them to speak, write and/or translate to and from their first language or any language they speak and English, to support their learning.

Encouraging translanguaging involves fostering positive attitudes towards multilingualism and encouraging EAL learners to be proud of all their language skills. Allowing learners to choose which language to use at any time is a key feature of translanguaging.

Examples of activities

Translanguaging can be used with EAL learners at all stages of English language proficiency, at any age and across the curriculum. Here are a few examples:

1. Bilingual and multilingual glossaries:

These are useful to help EAL learners to build on their prior knowledge. For example in Organs and Systems there is a multilingual word bank giving the names of organs, which many EAL learners may know in their first language. Other resources on this website recommend encouraging learners to compile their own bilingual glossary of key terms.

2. Drafting written work in first language:

When being asked for an extended piece of writing, such as a newspaper article in English, EAL learners with good literacy skills in their first language often produce a more sophisticated result if they are encouraged to draft it in their first language before writing it in English, particularly if they are at the New to English or Early Acquisition stages. This is because they can concentrate on the content first without being constrained by thinking about how to express it in English. They can then try and translate it with the help of a bilingual dictionary or translation software.

3. Online research:

If learners are asked to conduct their own research on a topic this can often be done entirely or partially in their first language. For example in Life and Works of Charles Dickens learners are asked to find out information such as which books some of his most famous characters appear in, or matching the name of a character with a short description, and some of this research could be carried out in the EAL learner's first language.

4. Group discussion:

Many of the group and pair discussions in resources on this website provide good opportunities for translanguaging.

How translanguaging works

As well as the examples above, translanguaging includes any activity that empowers learners to choose which language they use, for example:

Note making (e.g. making their own notes from a text, graphic organiser or during practical work), in their first language, English or a mixture

Note taking (e.g. noting down information while someone is talking or while watching a video), in any language(s)

Use of subject specific books in their first language

Any collaborative group or pair activity with peers who share a language, where the discussion can be in their language(s) of choice

Encourage and support EAL learners to take GCSE exams in their first language (if available)

Make EAL learners feel proud of their first language, and make positive references to their bilingualism in class

Encourage development of first languages by providing texts in a range of languages, e.g. fiction and non-fiction books, magazines and newspapers

Top tip: Make sure that the EAL learners in the class are clear that they are encouraged to use their first language in lessons (unless asked to use English for a specific task) and that this will help them to develop both/all their languages.

Why is translanguaging a Great Idea for EAL learners?

All EAL learners have useful language skills in their first language, and many also have literacy skills, which they can build on to acquire academic English. Learners may sometimes find it easier to engage with new concepts in their first language and transfer that knowledge and understanding to English. The principle of building on the learner's prior knowledge is a key aspect of EAL pedagogy (NALDIC 1999).

Research such as the work of Cummins (dual iceberg and threshold theories), and Collier and Thomas (2002) recommends a socio-culturally supportive school environment for EAL learners that allows natural language, academic, and cognitive development to flourish in their first and second languages. Welsh research into bilingual education (Baker and Wright 2017) points to the advantages of bilingualism and bilingual education, and there is also research that suggests the cognitive benefits continue into later life (e.g. Bialystock et al. 2012).

Researchers into translanguaging, such as Garcia and Li, argue that giving EAL learners the opportunity to use their full language repertoire empowers them and enables them to reach their full potential. The importance of a positive attitude to multilingualism has been suggested by various researchers and activist for a long time. For example, Skutnabb-Kangas (1984) coined the term 'linguistic human rights' and challenged what she saw as 'linguicism'. Levy et al (2014) suggested that learners whose first language is seen as low status in schools feel less included. Conteh (2015) reinforces the idea that valuing multilingualism in schools promotes success for EAL learners.

References

Baker, C. and Wright, W.E., 2017, Foundations of bilingual education and bilingualism (6th edition), Bristol: Multilingual Matters.

Bialystock, E., Craik, F. I., Luk, G. 2012, Bilingualism: consequences for mind and brain, Trends in Cognitive Science 16, 240-250.

Conteh, J., 2015, The EAL Teaching Book: promoting success for multilingual learners (2nd edition), London: Sage.

Levy, T., Little, S., Clough, P., Nutbrown, C., Bishop, J., Lamb, T. and Yamada-Rice, D., 2014, Attitudes to Reading and Writing and their Links with Social Mobility 1914-2014: An evidence review, Sheffield.

NALDIC, 1999, The distinctiveness of English as an Additional Language: a cross-curricular discipline, National Association of Language Development in the Curriculum, Working Paper 5.

Skutnabb-Kangas, T., 1984, Bilingualism or not the education of minorities.  Clevedon, Avon: Multilingual Matters.

Thomas, W.P. and Collier, V.P., 2002, A National Study of School Effectiveness for Language Minority Students' Long-Term Academic Achievement. Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED), Washington, DC.

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Great Idea: Translanguaging Play What is translanguaging? Translanguaging is the term used to describe practices that allow and encourage EAL learners to use their full linguistic repertoire in order to empower them and help them to realise their full potential. This means encouraging them to speak, write and/or translate to and from their first language ...

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Translanguaging is when a multilingual person’s full linguistic repertoire is used and honored, instead of trying to keep narrowly focused on a single language.

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1 Introduction

The concept of translanguaging is gaining increasing attention in the field of language and literacy education. It is particularly intriguing to scholars and educators who are interested in bi/multilingual speakers' language uses in transnational spaces. This essay is a reflection on my use of translanguaging as pedagogy. First, I provide a working definition of translanguaging. I then situate my teaching and the role translanguaging played in it. Reflecting on my experience, I discuss how translanguaging holds potential to transform the relationship between the teacher and the student. I also discuss how this transformation may empower the student to develop, express and question various worldviews. I illustrate translanguaging's transformative potential by drawing upon Jacques Rancière's (1991) idea of emancipation and his representation of Joseph Jacotot's teaching. I conclude the essay with some implications for critical language teaching. The overall goal of the essay is to contribute to what Morgan (2014) has described as a reflexive journey towards becoming a critical language teacher.

2 What is translanguaging?

Broadly speaking, translanguaging refers to how bi/multilingual speakers draw upon their complex linguistic repertoire for communicative purposes in different contexts. As Sembiante (2016) writes, "translanguaging recognizes speakers' hybrid use of language in alignment with a variety of social purposes and communicative settings and acknowledges their ability to adapt to these diverse sociolinguistic situations" (p. 48). The term translanguaging was derived from Welsh and coined by Cen Williams. Initially, this term was used to refer to "a pedagogical practice where students are asked to alternate languages for the purposes of receptive or productive use" ( GARCÍA; KANO, 2014, p. 260). Since the time of its coinage, the term has been used in various ways by different scholars, such as Canagarajah (2011) and Otheguy, García, and Reid (2015). In this essay, translanguaging refers primarily to "the principle that bilingual speakers select language features from a repertoire and 'soft assemble' their language practices in ways that fit their communicative situations" ( GARCÍA; KANO, 2014, p. 260). Thus, translanguaging is more than what has been described as code-switching. It involves varied and tactical discursive practices that enable speakers to communicate with each other.

Translanguaging practices may be spontaneous or pre-planned. Studies have shown that translanguaging may be a natural phenomenon for many multilingual students, but the "acts of translanguaging are not [always] elicited by teachers through conscious pedagogical strategies" ( CANAGARAJAH, 2011, p. 8). However, other studies have revealed that some teachers take a proactive approach and provide "safe spaces for students to adopt their multilingual repertoire for learning purposes" ( CANAGARAJAH, 2011, p. 8). Taking this proactive approach, I was concerned with the pedagogical dimension of translanguaging. I was inspired by García and Wei's (2014) conceptualization of translanguaging as "a transformative pedagogy capable of calling forth bilingual subjectivities and sustaining bilingual performances that go beyond one or the other binary logic of two autonomous languages" (p. 92-93). This definition begs the question: what does translanguaging transform? One meaning of transformation that is becoming increasingly relevant is that "semiotic resources transform social structures" and may challenge "understandings of language as regulated or determined by existing contexts of power relations" ( CANAGARAJAH, 2018, p. 32). This meaning is important because spaces for dialogue that are required for a strong democracy are disappearing day by day. Liberating language from authoritarian power relations holds the promise of democratic dialogues.

Below, I discuss how translanguaging may transform the relationship between the teacher and the student. I also discuss how this transformation may empower students to articulate and critique different worldviews, which is necessary for democratic politics. I illustrate this potential by drawing on Rancière's (1991) idea of emancipation and his recounting of Jacotot's method of teaching. To achieve this goal, I use the method of reflection on practice.

3 Why reflect?

An effective way of professional learning is to reflect on one's own practice. The concept of reflective practice is premised on "the belief that teachers can improve their own teaching by consciously and systematically reflecting on their teaching experiences" ( FARRELL, 2008, p. 1). Reflection has always been at the centre of my professional learning and development. My conceptualisation of reflection is based primarily on Paulo Freire's (1970) emancipatory praxis, i.e., "reflection and action upon the world in order to transform it" ( FREIRE, 1970, p. 51). In Freire's notion of praxis, true reflection always leads to action. Thus, praxis is a symbiosis between reflection and action ( IRWIN, 2012). Freire argued that action without reflection is only activism, and reflection without action is nothing but verbalism. Inspired by the Freirean philosophy of praxis, I use reflection as a method of self-directed professional learning (see ANWARUDDIN, 2015a, for details). In summary, the key objective of reflective practice is to learn from past experiences so that they may positively influence future actions ( ERAUT, 1994).

4 Situating my teaching

In this essay, I refer to a course that I taught at the York University English Language Institute in Toronto, Canada. This course focused on academic reading and writing for pre-university students. All students taking this course were learning English for academic purposes. Many of them were conditionally accepted to various undergraduate programs at York University. Others were preparing for university admission. The majority of students in this class spoke Chinese as their first language. Another group of students' first language was Arabic. All of these students were highly motivated to learn academic English, which was partly reflected in the fact that they had come to a foreign country for higher education. These students' academic success was dependent, to a large extent, on their success in learning the English language.

4 1 The teaching of argumentative essay writing

The segment of teaching that I discuss here is about writing argumentative essays. While teaching this topic, I found it particularly challenging to explain the concepts of counter-argument, refutation and gene mutation. After several attempts of explanation and exemplification, I was not sure if all my students understood the concepts adequately. However, I felt that some students understood the concepts better than others. I noticed that there were at least two students in the Arabic-speaking group, and at least three students in the Chinese-speaking group, who had understood the concepts sufficiently. To make sure that all of my students had understood the concepts, I decided to turn to translanguaging. I put the students into two large groups, based on their first language. In other words, all Arabic-speaking students formed one group and all Chinese-speaking students formed another group. I asked them to discuss the concepts of counter-argument, refutation and gene mutation in their mother tongue. By the end of the group-discussions, I felt that all of the students had developed a sufficient understanding of the concepts.

5 Challenges of Translanguaging

The literature on translanguaging reveals numerous benefits of using translanguaging as pedagogy. For example, it provides learners with certain negotiation strategies in multilingual spaces ( CANAGARAJAH, 2013). Translanguaging may be an effective tool to disrupt "the hegemony of English in English-medium classrooms" ( GARCÍA; KLEYN, 2016, p. 26). Yet translanguaging as pedagogy poses challenges to both teachers and students. As Pacheco and Miller (2015) wrote: "implementing translanguaging pedagogies can be a daunting task, especially when the teacher does not speak students' heritage languages and students speak many different heritage languages in the classroom" (p. 2). This challenge applies to my teaching context, because I speak neither Chinese nor Arabic.

6 How did I know that the students had understood the concepts?

After asking the students to discuss the above-mentioned concepts, I ensured that those who had understood the concepts actively participated in the discussions. I joined both groups alternatively, and listened to their discussions (although I did not understand the literal meanings of their discussions). My method of knowing was similar to what Michael Polanyi (2009) described as tacit knowing. Polanyi was among the first philosophers to promote the idea of tacit knowledge or tacit knowing ( GASCOIGNE; THORNTON, 2013). Two of his observations are fundamental to understanding the notion of tacit knowledge. First, what is tacit is not tell-able. Polanyi's investigation of human knowledge begins with the argument that "we can know more than we can tell" ( POLANYI, 2009, p. 4). This argument seems rather obvious, but Polanyi recognizes that "it is not easy to say exactly what it means" ( POLANYI, 2009, p. 4). An example that he gave may be illustrative: "We know a person's face, and can recognize it among a thousand, indeed among a million. Yet we usually cannot tell how we recognize a face we know. So most of this knowledge cannot be put into words" ( POLANYI, 2009, p. 4). As I observed my students' discussions, I felt that they were having fruitful conversations, geared towards deepening their understanding of the concepts. Once the group discussions ended, I asked the students to share what they had understood. This time, they spoke in English only. The students were able to better explain the concepts, compared to their first attempt prior to participating in the mother-tongue-based discussion groups.

7 What did I learn?

The pedagogical activity briefly described above taught me that translanguaging, when used as a pedagogical principle, transforms the very relationship between the teacher and the student, as well as among the students. It may also contribute to students' intellectual emancipation, which is based on the idea of education as a democratic event. I illustrate this argument, first, by summarizing Rancière's notion of emancipation, and then, by re-telling the story of Jacotot's method of teaching.

Rancière approaches the idea of emancipation from a radically different angle. For him, emancipation is the consciousness of equality, and it "is the process of verification of the equality of intelligence" ( RANCIÈRE, 2007, p. 275). Traditionally, emancipatory education has been conceptualized as an intervention, wherein the emancipator empowers the one-to-be-emancipated so that the latter can gain a new understanding of oppression and may attempt to release him/herself from the cycles of oppression. Many critical projects have been caught up in this view of emancipation, which ultimately makes the oppressed dependent upon the emancipator. Rancière breaks with this view of emancipation, which denies the equality of intelligence and sows the seeds of mistrust in the interventions of the emancipator. Traditional critical projects, according to Rancière, often end up stultifying those-to-be-emancipated by making them "dependent upon the intervention of the emancipator" ( BINGHAM; BIESTA, 2010, p. 31). Thus, emancipation is the opposite of stultification, and stultification happens "whenever one intelligence is subordinated to another" ( RANCIÈRE, 1991, p. 13).

At the heart of Rancière's notion of emancipation is equality. However, he does not view equality as a destination. It is a point of departure (for a detailed overview of Rancière's logic of emancipation, see Anwaruddin, 2015b). Rancière (1991) argues that "what stultifies the common people is not the lack of instruction, but the belief in the inferiority of their intelligence" (p. 39). When applied to classroom pedagogies, his philosophy supports educational exchanges between the teacher and the students, which are based upon the maxim of equality. What each party needs to do is to verify that the other's intelligence is equal. This notion of equality leads to "intellectual emancipation as the verification of equality through what is common" and it "provides the substantive foundation for the democratic event" ( MEANS, 2011, p. 30).

Rancière's idea of emancipation can be illustrated through his recounting of Jacotot's teaching method. Jacotot taught Flemish students whose language he did not know, and the students did not know his language either. Jacotot used a bilingual edition of Télémaque (a didactic French novel), gave it to his students, and asked them-through an interpreter-to read the book. He was astonished at the way these students learned French to express themselves. Then, Jacotot proclaimed that "uneducated people could learn on their own, without a teacher explaining things to them, and that teachers, for their part, could teach what they themselves were ignorant of" ( RANCIÈRE, 2010, p. 1). Although Jacotot's teaching may seem to echo the principles of what is now known as the grammar-translation method, it actually affirms a radical philosophy of equality and emancipation ( ANWARUDDIN, 2017). As Rancière (2010) clarifies, Jacotot "is not an ignorant person who is thrilled by playing teacher" (p. 2). Rather, he is ignorant of an inequality of intelligence. While Jacotot does not transmit knowledge in a traditional sense, he becomes a means of knowledge for his students ( RANCIÈRE, 1991). Jacotot's approach not only dissolves the boundary of power between the teacher and the student, but it also respects each individual's social and political right to speak.

The right to speak is fundamental to our social and political existence. As Freire (1970) believed, to change the world, it must first receive a name. The act of naming then necessitates understanding, re-naming and efforts to transform it so that humans can attain significance to their existence and dignity as citizens. Transformation of the world requires saying the true word; however, "saying that word is not the privilege of some few persons, but the right of everyone. Consequently, no one can say a true word alone-nor can she say it for another, in a prescriptive act which robs others of their words" ( FREIRE, 1970, p. 88). Translanguaging, I argue, takes away this privilege of few people to speak.

8 Rethinking translanguaging for democratic education

García and Wei (2014) believe that translanguaging practices disrupt the "binary logic of two autonomous languages," and "changes ways of teaching and ways of learning" (p. 93). When translanguaging is used as pedagogy, the bi/multilingual student "takes control of his or her language practices in order to access texts and knowledge" (p. 93). My decision to "give up" my authority of explanation and, instead, to let my students take control of their learning by translanguaging was aligned with García and Wei's (2014) conceptualisation of translanguaging as transformative pedagogy. Jacotot's method of teaching provided me with an interpretive lens to reflect on my pedagogical practice. I did not speak the languages that my students were using during their group discussions. Yet I felt that they benefitted from their collective intelligence. Thus, translanguaging transformed my relationship with the students, because it provided me with a pedagogical resource to encourage them to speak. It helped the students to extend and adapt the repertoire of their semiotic practices in a particular sociolinguistic situation ( CREESE; BLACKLEDGE, 2015).

Despite good intentions, some projects of emancipatory education end up stultifying students. Critical pedagogy is not immune to such danger. At times, discourses, such as empowerment and student voice, become what Elizabeth Ellsworth (1989) described as "repressive myths that perpetuate relations of domination" (p. 298). The emancipatory potential of translanguaging, as I view it through the lens of my classroom experience, may provide an alternative to the perpetuation of domination. The teacher's pedagogical goal should not be to simply give up his/her authority in the classroom. Instead, the teacher must trust the students' intelligence. Respecting the student's intelligence is important, because too much 'explanation' in the classroom often reinforces what Rancière (1991) calls the explicative order. Through his pedagogy, Jacotot endeavoured to overturn this explicative order. Commenting on Jacotot's pedagogy, Rancière writes:

Explication is not necessary to remedy an incapacity to understand. On the contrary, that very incapacity provides the structuring fiction of the explicative conception of the world. It is the explicator who needs the incapable and not the other way around; it is he who constitutes the incapable as such. To explain something to someone is first of all to show him he cannot understand it by himself. Before being the act of the pedagogue, explication is the myth of pedagogy, the parable of a world divided into knowing minds and ignorant ones, ripe minds and immature ones, the capable and the incapable, the intelligent and the stupid. ( RANCIÈRE, 1991, p. 6)

Thus, the teacher needs to abandon the role of "a sage on the stage" who explains difficult concepts to "ignorant" students as if they are always in need of instruction and 'explication'.

In the light of Rancière's critical philosophy, my reflection on the teaching of argumentative essays suggests that translanguaging may be used as transformative pedagogy, which holds the potential to disrupt the binary of the "intelligent" and the "stupid." It may provide a powerful pedagogical alternative to practices that are carried out in the name of critical pedagogy but that end up stultifying the learner. These stultifying practices institute dependency in a permanent position as if students are always in a "disadvantaged" situation and in need of interventions from the teacher. Translanguaging as pedagogy always respects the equality of bi/multilingual student's intelligence by encouraging them to draw from a rich repertoire of linguistic resources in a variety of sociolinguistic contexts.

Such encouragement and a relationship of equality between the teacher and the student, I would argue, are necessary to create a condition for critical language teaching. Here, my use of the term "critical" refers to examinations of "how people use texts and discourses to construct and negotiate identity, power and capital" ( LUKE, 2004, p. 21). Thus, critical teaching is inherently political. It sheds light on how material and discursive practices of domination are created, distributed and re-created. One key goal of critical language teaching is to examine political discourses in the classroom because the language classroom is a microcosm of the larger society. The classroom provides students with linguistic and conceptual tools to negotiate priorities and develop personal and social identities. Therefore, any political analysis in the classroom should ask: "Who speaks with authority? When, where and how can people respond?" ( MORGAN, 1998, p. 23). It follows, then, that an ability to speak freely is foundational to healthy and democratic politics. Translanguaging should be accepted as a conscious attempt to foster such an ability.

In its original sense, the term democracy denoted the power of speaking of those who were not allowed to speak. It is not surprising that democracy was deemed by many as a term of abuse, and that the ability of "demos" to speak was a scandal. As Rancière (2004) wrote, Greek and Trojan leaders denounced the scandal that "men of the demos - men who were part of the indistinct collection of people 'beyond count' - took the liberty of speaking" (p. 5). Pedagogical uses of translanguaging provide such a 'liberty of speaking' to those who would normally remain quiet. The liberty of speaking is necessary, because the contemporary democratic systems of governance are predominantly interest-based and do not allow everyone to speak with independent voices. According to common sense, people are less likely to be oppressed when they participate in democratic decision making. However, "an interest-based democratic process allows for the majority to violate the rights of a minority if it seems to be in the majority's interests to do so" ( YOUNG, 1993, p. 124). The minority, therefore, needs to be able to speak out for themselves. Translanguaging practices may be an effective way of doing so. In the classroom context, as well as in the larger sociopolitical arena, translanguaging is inherently empowering, because it makes linguistic arrangements "around experiences that are immediate to students" ( MORGAN, 1998, p. 19). By taking the "demos" into account, translanguaging opens the door of democratic education by listening to diverse voices. Being able to speak freely, the students may join a social space where "the political can always surge...in the work of reconfiguring the givens" ( RANCIÈRE, 2016, p. 125). Thus, translanguaging as a pedagogical practice holds the potential to encourage students to engage with "worlds and words created by the coloniality of power" ( GARCÍA, 2017, p. 17).

References

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GARCÍA, O.; KANO, N. Translanguaging as process and pedagogy: Developing the English writing of Japanese students in the US. In: CONTEH, J.; MEIER, G. (Org.). The multilingual turn in languages education: Benefits for individuals and societies. Bristol: Multilingual Matters, 2014. p. 258-277.

GARCÍA, O.; KLEYN, T. Translanguaging with multilingual students: Learning from classroom moments. New York: Routledge , 2016.

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Translanguaging as Transformative Pedagogy: Towards a Vision of Democratic Education

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This paper is a reflection on the use of translanguaging as pedagogy. The primary aim of the paper is to discuss transformative potentials of translanguaging...

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In the last 10 years or so, a new term has appeared in the field of bilingualism, most notably in the area of bilingual education: translanguaging. One of its most visible proponents is Professor Ofelia García of the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. In a 2015 publication with Ricardo Otheguy and Wallis Reid, she defines translanguaging as, "... the deployment of a speaker's full linguistic repertoire without regard for watchful adherence to the socially and politically defined boundaries of named (and usually national and state) languages."

Ofelia García has very kindly accepted to answer a few of our questions and we wish to thank her wholeheartedly.
Q: You are a strong defender of allowing bilingual students in school to use their entire language repertoire through translanguaging. You write, "... forbidding bilinguals to translanguage, or assessing it negatively, produces an inaccurate measure of their language proficiency." Can you expand on this a bit?
A: If we are truly interested in knowing what bilingual students know and what they can do with language, we must separate their ability to use certain forms of one language or another from their ability to use language. For example, in schools, students are asked to find the main idea of a text, to support an argument with text-based evidence, to infer, to make a convincing oral presentation, to work out a math problem. Especially emergent bilingual students may not be able to show that they can do these things if only allowed to use the language legitimized in school. Only by drawing from their entire language repertoire will bilingual students be able to demonstrate what they know, and especially what they can do with language. Being able to perform with language-specific features legitimized in schools is not the same as having general language ability or being knowledgeable of content.
Q: Translanguaging in the classroom functions well when the children and the teacher share the same minority language. But in many other classrooms, students come from many different language backgrounds. How can translanguaging take place then?
A: Translanguaging pedagogy requires a different type of teacher, a co-learner. Classrooms are increasingly multilingual in the world. It is impossible for teachers to know all the languages of students. But it is possible for teachers to build a classroom ecology where there are books and signage in multiple languages; where collaborative groupings are constructed according to home language so that students can deeply discuss a text in the dominant school language with all their language resources; where students are allowed to write and speak with whatever resources they have and not wait until they have the "legitimate" ones to develop a voice; where all students language practices are included so as to work against the linguistic hierarchies that exist in schools; where families with different language practices are included. Any teacher, including a monolingual one, can take up translanguaging to enable their bilingual students to make deeper meaning and legitimize their home language practices.
Q: Given that bilingual students, as they grow older, will increasingly find themselves interacting with monolinguals, especially in their future workplace, should schools also encourage them to "keep to one language" and measure their proficiency at doing so?
A: Translanguaging leverages the fluid language practices of all bilingual students and communities to learn deeply, while also equipping students to recognize when to use what features for what purposes. Of course, schools must develop bilingual students' critical metalinguistic awareness, and their ability to suppress some language features from their repertoire at appropriate times. And schools must give students affordances to perform with only some of their features at times. And teachers must assess what students can do using their entire repertoire of language features, as well as selected ones. Yet, teachers should not evaluate bilingual children's performances using only certain of their language features as being valid performances, and should not compare those performances to those of monolingual children in that language.

Q: Turning to the more linguistic and cognitive aspects of translanguaging, how does the notion that a bilingual is not two monolinguals in one person- something I stressed as early as 1985- tie into translanguaging?

A: Your notion is essential to the concept of translanguaging. Translanguaging is based on François Grosjean's idea that bilinguals are not two monolinguals in one (see here). That is why their performances in one or another language cannot be compared to that of monolinguals, since they would then be expected to draw only from less than half of their entire repertoire. This puts bilinguals in an unfair position.
Q: In what way is translanguaging different from interacting with other bilinguals, changing base language freely, translating whenever needed, and intermingling one's languages in the form of codeswitching and borrowing?
A: There is an epistemological difference between the theoretical position on language contact that has led to the constructs of borrowing, code-switching, calques, language interference, etc. and the concept of translanguaging. Language contact studies start with named languages as categories, and then look across these named categories. Linguists often refer to the behavior of bilinguals when they go across these named language categories as code-switching. It is an external view of language. But translanguaging takes the internal perspective of speakers whose own mental grammar has been developed in social interaction with others. For these bilingual speakers, their language features are simply their own. Translanguaging is more than going across languages; it is going beyond named languages and taking the internal view of the speaker's language use.
Q: The linguistic phenomena mentioned in the previous question have been studied by researchers for more than 60 years. What are the benefits of replacing them with "translanguaging" when the behavior is clearly the same?
A: The behavior may look to be the same from the external social perspective, from a perspective that doesn't question why named languages and language hierarchies exist or the relationship between language and power. But seen from the internal perspective of the bilingual speaker, translanguaging behavior is clearly different. Translanguaging legitimizes the fluid language practices with which bilinguals operate. It posits that bilinguals have a much more complex and expanded repertoire than monolinguals. Bilingual speakers then appropriate all their linguistic features, no matter their social standing, instead of categorizing them as belonging to one national group or another to which they may not belong.

Q: In your 2015 paper with Ricardo Otheguy and Wallis Reid, you state that we all have our own idiolect- a collection of individual lexical and structural features- and that there are large areas of overlap among idiolects so that we can communicate with one another. People call this sharing a language (e.g. English), something that is psychologically real for them, and yet you state that language is only a social and political construct, not a lexical or structural one. Can you explain?

A: Linguists can only describe linguistic features, but they cannot say as linguists which features constitute one language or another. The naming of a language is always a social, political and economic decision, not a linguistic one. Thus, it is not true that separate named languages have linguistic reality. However, it is true that languages are social constructs that have had very important real and material consequences in the lives of people, some bad, and some good. This social construction of language also has an important identity function for groups and individuals that cannot be denied. But named languages have often been constructed by a process of standardization that leaves out the practices of minoritized populations.
Q: Bilinguals, according to you, only have one idiolect made up of more lexical and structural features than monolinguals and a more complex socio-cultural marking of which features to use and when. What evidence do you have, cognitive or neurolinguistic, that bilinguals do not have separate idiolects, one for each of their languages?
A: I am a sociolinguist who has specialized in the education of bilinguals. My evidence comes from the classrooms and from listening to bilingual children. From the bilingual 11-year-old who once told me: "Spanish runs through my heart, but English rules my veins," concretely expressing that for him there is one language system that cannot be separated because otherwise it would lead to his death. From the 5-year-old Spanish-speaker who was learning English by repeating after the teacher, "That tree is grander." From the teacher who tells me that her young first graders are always talking to themselves in Spanish, even when working through English. The work of neurolinguists is also beginning to show that when bilingual speakers perform linguistically, all the features of their repertoire are activated and available, even though speakers selectively suppress some features depending on the communicative situation in which they find themselves.

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Growing up internationally often provides children with the opportunity to learn a new language but how do you ensure that the child continues to develop their mother tongue?

The British School in The Netherlands

Jihann Pedersen and Claire McGuire from The British School in The Netherlands (BSN) explain how the school's unique approach to language learning is helping students to embrace the old and the new.Growing up internationally is an exceptional experience that influences every child's identity in a unique way. It is a challenge but also an enormous learning opportunity, and the multicultural mind-set that can be gained by learning how others communicate is something that enriches a pupil's time at school as well as their view of themselves and the world.

What is translanguaging?

One important way that the BSN incorporates this goal in day-to-day teaching and learning is through translanguaging. This is a model of language learning which allows the student to grow their school language skills while at the same time accessing, developing and making connections with their mother tongue or home language.It is a mind-set that goes beyond the language classroom, integrating language learning with all school subjects and encouraging students to access their multilingual abilities to express themselves throughout their school day. With over 60 per cent of students speaking a language other than English at home, and over 35 language groups represented, this is key to ensuring that all students at the BSN have the best possible learning experience. In a more traditional model of language learning, a student may be discouraged from speaking their home language while at school, and pulled out of their regular class time to take remedial English classes if they are deemed unable to participate at the desired level. As students may be able to express themselves more clearly in their home language rather than in simplified English, translanguaging allows them to share their ideas and participate more confidently in class. Students can decide for themselves in which language they want to think and plan. Learn more about international education in our interview with Kieran Earley, CEO and Principal of the British School in The Netherlands, who talks about what makes his school stand out, the state of the world post-Brexit, and what is important to look for in international education.

English and native languages hand-in-hand

For example, Year 6 pupils with a language in common are given opportunities to plan investigations in their home language, thus increasing their technical vocabulary, before presenting their investigation to the class in English. Pride in one's cultural identity and confidence in one's knowledge and ability to participate in the curriculum has room to grow.Another excellent example can be found in one of the BSN Foundation Two classrooms, when translanguaging was put into action while reading the popular storybook The Little Red Hen.Initially the story was read in English as part of a lesson that highlighted the repetitive nature of the text and helped students recognise rhythm and emphasis in storytelling. Over the following weeks, many parents were invited into the classroom to read the book in their home languages.As students were already familiar with the story, they were still able to follow along while their classmates had the opportunity to recognise rhythm and emphasis in their home language as well as in English. Students were proud to hear their home languages represented in class and excited to share something so integral to their cultural identity with their classmates.

Developing cultural awareness

On describing the programme, one parent said, "[My daughter] had the freedom to work in English or Spanish - or both. It was so good for her self-esteem. She felt like she had choices, not limitations on her languages. Translanguaging has given a depth to [her] language that I did not expect."The benefits of translanguaging are not lost on native English speakers. Even the students who speak English as their home language are active language learners. They are encouraged to use their Dutch alongside English on a day-to-day basis.Making sure the multicultural aspect of the BSN is integrated into every class nurtures a heightened cultural awareness and respect for differences between all members of the BSN international community, and makes sure each student knows that their unique identities, families and backgrounds are valued.Translanguaging is an important tool for expanding rather than restricting multilingualism and cultural identity, while still delivering excellent English as an Additional Language (EAL) education.For more information, follow the BSN English as an Additional Language team on Twitter here: @BSN_EAL

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Rewriting the rules of language learning | Education Guides | Relocate magazine

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Growing up internationally often provides children with the opportunity to learn a new language but how do you ensure that the child continues to develop their mother tongue?