Article: The translanguaging pedagogies continuum (Ossa Parra and Proctor, 2022)
Summary:
Research into best practice for teaching multilingual learners (in the US and elsewhere) has focused on English-only instructional settings, and systemic monolingual contexts. This runs contrary to findings that multilingual learners benefit from accessing their full linguistic repertoire in instructional contexts as a tool for learning additional languages.
Translanguaging pedagogy offers an alternative. The authors outline a continuum of approaches for incorporating translanguaging in the classroom, with the goal of moving teachers towards more socially just practice.
Phew, I think I got most of the buzzwords in there!
So what’s this continuum?
It’s quite interesting actually! The ‘corriente’ is the flow or current – a metaphor for how fluid and dynamic multiple language use can be under the surface, yet can appear quite uniform when viewed from the outside. Here are the different levels of harnessing the corriente:
The authors link these to social justice theory (Fraser’s categories of recognizing, ensuring access, and representing – see main article for reference). Social justice-tinged language is used to define the purpose of translanguaging itself – as a tool to ‘disrupt strict language separations’, yet the authors can’t find ways to exemplify translanguaging practices without talking about languages as separate systems (‘new language’, ‘other language’, ‘students’ home language’, ‘their stronger language’, ‘students languages’). This seems misplaced given their overall argument, but then it’s hard to think of a suitable description as an alternative.
The categories…
Listening to corriente involves building knowledge of multilingual’s translanguaging practices. Recognizing that:
- translanguaging is common in early childhood classrooms
- It is a mechanism of self-regulation during planning and problem-solving stages
- It is sometimes avoided when learners feel it is not ‘sanctioned’ or allowed
- Monolingual educational landscapes abound but multilinguals do tend to forge a ‘linguistic third space’
Implications:
- Educators should challenge monolingual ideologies
- They should recognise and learn about the communicative practices of multilinguals
This is basically taking a strength-based or asset-based stance.
Channeling the corriente means encouraging learners to use translanguaging practices to help them access the curriculum. Channelling:
- learner contributions in any language
- learner languages for scaffolding and differentiation
- knowledge of learner languages for strategic grouping
- learners prior knowledge of language and concepts (in other languages) to share with others
Implications:
- this creates fairer learning conditions
- It’s empowering for learners
- It opens up spaces for learners to share linguistic expertise (I guess ultimately enhancing learning for all)
Flowing with the corriente involves deliberate design of curriculum and practice to tap into multilingual learners’ funds of knowledge. It addresses the representation of social justice. The research summary focuses on various interventions related to translation – translation of texts, Young Interpreter Schemes, instructional design, etc. To be honest, I found the research summary in this section a bit light.
Implications:
- Embracing cultural repertoires as well as linguistic ones. Celebrating these.
- Weaving culturally relevant literature into the curriculum; allowing these to be explored through translanguaging strategies.
For me this is hinting at some form of ‘culturally sustaining pedagogy’, although the concrete details are lacking.
The conclusion stresses how aspects of the translanguagjng pedagogy continuum are not mutually exclusive.
Relating this to my context
The article begins by talking about perceptions based on federally-funded research, seemingly a critique of US state school contexts. This is very different to international private schools, where parents might pay for the (assumed) privilege of a monolingual classroom setting, and may hold the belief that this creates the ideal conditions for language acquisition.
There are clearly levels of embracing other languages in the classroom as a learning tool – my worry is that this continuum is perhaps not itself clear on what constitutes ideal practice – ‘flowing with the corriente’. It’s all very well capturing data on language interventions to exemplify the value of translanguagjng, but it’s another to try and better understand how such a natural language learning phenomenon plays out anyway, and covertly, in many classrooms globally.
Overall, this article is informative in the sense that it tries to document some kind of discreet-to-explicit translanguagjng continuum, yet it’s weak when it comes to practical application. That’s what busy subject-specialist teachers need. The social justice slant almost gets in the way of practical suggestions, and that makes me question the goals of the researcher. That slant also lacks clarity, as the concept of valuing a ‘linguistic repertoire’ is repeatedly undermined by referring to languages as separate, isolated entities.
It’s an interesting read, but perhaps more relevant in contexts other than those which impose systemic monolingualism at the request of clients.
Categories: General, reflections, teacher development
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