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Directions:   Open the document and read pages 1 and 5. You are only reading pages 1 and 5.   2)Answer one of the following questions in this Padlet.  What is one new idea you learned about how to use translation with ENL students best? Or What is the best use of translation with ENL students? 

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Station 1  To Translate or Not to Translate, that is the Question.

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Station 1  To Translate or Not to Translate, that is the Question.

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 What is the difference between translanguaging and translation? 

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 Station 2 What Is Translanguaging and How Is It Used in the Classroom?

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 Station 2 What Is Translanguaging and How Is It Used in the Classroom?

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For years, research into the best instructional approaches for students identified as English learners has pointed to the concept of translanguaging.

Identified by bilingual education researcher Ofelia García, it's both a skill set and a total shift in the way language is thought of, used, and taught in K-12 classrooms where multiple languages are honored and addressed, even as English remains the dominant language of instruction, said Marybelle Marrero-Colon, the associate director of professional development for the Center for Applied Linguistics.

Researchers are looking into how it can be applied to formal assessments, such as state standardized tests on which English learners might struggle to demonstrate their academic proficiency because they are tested in an unfamiliar language.

Here's a look at what translanguaging means in the context of classroom instruction and how all educators, including monolingual English-speaking teachers, can cultivate spaces for translanguaging to occur.

Translanguaging is the ability to move fluidly between languages and a pedagogical approach to teaching in which teachers support this ability.

In translanguaging, students are able to think in multiple languages simultaneously and use their home language as a vehicle to learn academic English.

A student could be reading an article about the solar system in English, but in their brain, they are also thinking and making connections in Spanish. They might annotate in Spanish or first write down reading comprehension responses in Spanish and then figure out how to provide the responses in English, said Marrero-Colon.

It's all about encouraging students to access their full linguistic repertoires, said Emily Phillips Galloway, an assistant professor at the Peabody College of Education at Vanderbilt University.

Translanguaging is also multimodal. More research is underway, for instance, on hearing impaired translanguaging by students who are part of families with American sign language, Spanish sign language, and signs families create for themselves, said Maria Cieslak, the professional development content manager at the Center for Applied Linguistics.

Teachers can engage in a variety of activities that deliberately encourage translanguaging, ranging from providing vocabulary in multiple languages to collaborative translation opportunities. The goal is to get students translanguaging as a practice that can be leveraged toward supporting literacy outcomes and engagement, as well as other academic endeavors.

For example, two students could be assigned to solve a word problem, and one might be stuck on a word in English. The two students can then use an equivalent word in their home language to make sense of what the word problem is asking of them, Phillips Galloway said.

Or in group activities, students can be prompted to share with the rest of the class how something taught in English would make sense in Spanish by highlighting similar and different grammatical structures between the two languages, Marrero-Colon said.

"When you translate, you don't have to do it word for word. You're really trying to capture the feeling of that text," Marrero-Colon said.

Once teachers start doing these activities, research has found that students who have not spoken before start speaking and students who were not as engaged in text-comprehension activities suddenly are, she added. That's occurring because they are being encouraged to use their home language in class to think about language use overall.

Translanguaging extends beyond translation to something where students gain an understanding of how language functions and works.

Although translation activities are a way to engage in translanguaging, it's not word-for-word translation. It's about a student using the words and thoughts they have in their home language to make sense of English and then be able to respond in English, said Kia Johnson, the director of PreK-12 language and literacy at the Center for Applied Linguistics.

Translanguaging requires students to think about language components such as the placement of adjectives, what cognates are in various languages, and more in multiple languages at once, Phillips Galloway said.

Teachers don't have to speak the home languages of students to help them engage in translanguaging.

It does require teachers to be comfortable being a learner themselves as students teach them what they know about their own language. Some teachers may fear that students may engage in off-task behavior in languages the teachers don't understand, but research has found that in such cases, teachers are still able to register what is going on and get students back on task, Phillips Galloway said.

She also said that teachers who work in states with laws requiring English-only instruction can and should still allow students to use other languages in the classroom to help them access academic content.

The key, Marrero-Colon said, is flexibility. For instance, a student may need to write an essay in English. They can instead start with building a PowerPoint primarily of images that convey a story or meaning. The teacher can then use the PowerPoint to help students come up with words and phrases, then move to sentences and paragraphs, and so on.

All students can benefit from a classroom welcoming of translanguaging because few use academic English at home, regardless of their home language.

For instance, Black students may be fluent in African American Vernacular English and can use translanguaging activities to engage in academic classroom English, Johnson said.

An example of English-only translanguaging is asking students to turn William Shakespeare's sonnets into modern pop songs, because it is a use of language in different registers, or levels of formality, Phillips Galloway said.

Students are also more interested in acquiring more languages after hearing their peers use their home languages, which helps them succeed in an increasingly global society, she added.

The more opportunities students have to use language, whether that's English or not, breeds more language use, which is then associated with language learning.

"I think the mistake that we often make is that we don't help students to make the connections between the linguistic resources that they bring in languages other than English," Phillips Galloway said. "And in the course of doing that, we take a whole set of resources that could be used for comprehending texts as they read in English, or learn to write text in English, we take those resources off the table."

More research has found that allowing students to participate in translanguaging helps English learners eventually outperform their monolingual peers because they become more flexible in thinking about and using language in academic contexts, Marrero-Colon said.

Improved curriculum, professional development, and mindsets around the value of home languages can all help schools to encourage translanguaging and support students in the process.

Phillips Galloway is working with colleagues on a curriculum that better guides teachers in translanguaging activities since not all curricular materials recognize the concept.

Researchers at the Center for Applied Linguistics, including Cieslak, also work on professional development and policy discussions that help educators and policymakers alike understand how English learners bring with them linguistic assets that should be nurtured for overall academic success.

"It's about understanding cultural identity, and my language is part of my identity," Cieslak said. "And I'm going to naturally translanguage, whether you tell me I can or cannot."

Ileana Najarro is a reporter for Education Week covering race and opportunity in schools across the country.

A version of this article appeared in the August 16, 2023 edition of Education Week as What Is Translanguaging and How Is It Used in the Classroom?

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What Is Translanguaging and How Is It Used in the Classroom?

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Research into the best instructional approaches for students classified as English learners has pointed to the concept of translanguaging.

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Directions: Read the article and answer the following question. What is one strategy you can take back to your classroom? 

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Station 3: Strategies to help new immigrant students

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Station 3: Strategies to help new immigrant students

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The influx of students from new immigrant families these past few years has presented many challenges for New York City public school educators. These children have varying levels of literacy and some have had interrupted formal education. Many belong to families who are struggling to meet basic needs such as food, warm clothing and shelter. All have experienced dislocation, and some suffered traumatic experiences in their homelands or on their journeys to this country.

First steps

For educators struggling to support these students, the first step is easy: Just smile. "Make sure these children feel seen every day they're in your classroom," said Katie Kurjakovic, an English language learner specialist at the UFT. Body language and gestures can be used to communicate and set a friendly tone. "Make them feel welcome," she said.

If the newcomer is new to your class, ask your administration for details on country of origin, education background, English language proficiency and home and/or school languages if it wasn't provided to you. With that information in hand, pair up the newcomer with a more-established student who ideally speaks a common language.

"Having a buddy is the best way to help newcomers get acclimated to the routines of school," said Panagiota Kaiafas, an English as a new language (ENL) teacher at the Queens School of Inquiry.

Building community

It's important to make newcomers feel included in your class. For example, assigning classroom roles that don't require language, like timekeeper or class photographer, "can make them feel an equal part of the classroom and a contributing member," said Kurjakovic.

Rick Colon, an affiliate field liaison at the UFT Teacher Center, recommends asking newcomer students to keep digital journals where they can take pictures from their life, surroundings or culture. "This is a way you get to see that kid," said Colon. "And that serves as a bridge to acquire and practice language, because you can talk about something seen in their pictures."

Colon suggests creating a hallway bulletin board that displays each student's country of origin, languages spoken, likes and dislikes, and even favorite sports teams. Students will see what they have in common with other members of the school community.

These personal connections can help build bridges and trust. "Students are in school buildings to learn content," he said. "But schools also have the power to be hubs of the community where people come together for resources and guidance. But you only do that with people you trust and know."

Educators suggest putting up displays that honor or recognize the newcomers' culture and traditions. "Incorporating their cultures around the school can be very healing," said Kurjakovic. "Cultural bereavement plays a role. These children have been wrenched from families and their cultures."

Encouraging speech

Amy Mascunana, an ENL teacher at Pelham Gardens MS in the Bronx, says teachers should "always offer the opportunity" to newcomers to speak in class. She forewarned, however, that it's normal for newcomers to experience a silent period. Pressuring them to speak "is just going to make things worse," she said. "They're just absorbing the language."

If newcomers choose not to speak at first, don't sideline them. Instead, Mascunana advised, try to elicit a physical response through a signal, like a thumbs up or down. "It's balancing making them feel included without pressuring them to include themselves," she said.

Once a student does feel comfortable enough to speak, provide plenty of positive reinforcement. "Always compliment and praise the student's effort," said Kaiafas. "Help them understand they are not the only English language learner in the school."

Avoid publicly correcting first speaking attempts. "It's about communication and meaning more than structure at this point," said Kurjakovic. "They will get the structure later. You just want to encourage them to talk."

Providing sentence starters, images and word walls can help build spoken language. Mascunana gives discussion questions in advance so students "think about and form a response so when I call on them, they're not under pressure. Now they can participate in a way that feels safe."

"Turn and talk," a popular discussion method, should be more structured for English language learners, Colon advised. The Teacher Center uses a conversation prompt called QSSSA for Question, Signal, Stem, Share and Assess. The teacher provides students with a question, a gesture to signal when they are ready to answer and a sentence stem. They share their answers with a partner or group, and teachers can then assess student responses.

When to translate

Digital tools make translation easy, but educators should be judicious in using them. "Well-meaning teachers often translate everything for their newcomers," said Mascunana, but it's neither necessary nor effective.

It's better to translate only key words or short passages. The New York State Education Department's Office of Bilingual Education and World Languages resource, "Using Translations as a Support, Not a Solution," offers effective examples to integrate home languages in class instruction.

A strategy called "treating the text" uses selective translation, images, chunking, highlighting and graphic organizers for tackling written English. Select "the meatiest paragraph from a longer piece or what gives the gist of what you want them to talk about and grapple with," said Colon, and then annotate that excerpt to support comprehension.

Schoolwide practices

Kurjakovic said students feel more confident and get acclimated sooner when the entire school uses the same discussion protocols and classroom routines. "They know what's expected of them, their stress level goes down and they're ready to engage more," she said.

School staff can request professional learning on ELL teaching strategies. The 2023 contract stipulates that professional development should be collaboratively developed by the school-based staff development committee, so creating common protocols and routines can be made a priority.

Remember to celebrate the small achievements and don't focus so much on your students' ability to quickly rise to a higher ELL proficiency level, Colon advised. "That number doesn't reflect the learning they have undertaken in the months they've been here," he said.

Above all else, be compassionate and welcoming.

Newcomers need to know "this is a community," said Colon. "I'm going to learn from you as much as I hope that you're going to learn from us."

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Strategies to help new immigrant students

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The influx of students from new-immigrant families these past few years has presented many challenges for New York City public school educators. Here are some proven strategies to support them.

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Module 2 Lesson 1 Resources ENL Directions: Identify a modification from this lesson. Use audio recorder for your response.  Click the plus sign. Click on microphone. Allow microphone. Press microphone icon. Last save and add. 

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Building Cultural and Linguistic Equity for MLs_ELLs in the Mathematics Classroom_V5_WEB Directions: Read pages 7, 8, and 9. Another option What this 6 minutes video https://meld.sdsu.edu/index.php/curriculum/ answer following: Identify one or two ideas that resonate with you. What do you want to know more about?

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Building Cultural and Linguistic Equity for MLs_ELLs in the Mathematics Classroom_V5_WEB

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Amplify Resources for MLLs Directions: Go and check out these resources. Share one resource you can implement in your class. 

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Skim following pages 11, 16, 21, and 29  Answer following question:  What is one thing you notice about the strategies/ideas from these pages? 

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Prince Royce - Stand by Me (Letra/Lyrics)

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What are some best practices for using this information in your classes?

For example "One strategy I am planning to use to enhance my teaching is using the QSSA protocol to structure conversations in the classroom."