Translanguaging
Learning English
Translated from the Spanish by Lori M. Carlson
Life
to understand me
you have to know Spanish
feel it in the blood of your soul.
If I speak another language
and use different words
for feelings that will always stay the same
I don't know
if I'll continue being
the same person.
Aprender el inglés
by Luis Ambroggio
Vida
para entenderme
tienes que saber español
sentirlo en la sangre de tu alma.
Si hablo otro lenguaje
y uso palabras distintas
para expresar sentimientos que nunca cambiará n
no sé
si seguiré siendo
la misma persona.
Carlson, L. M. (Ed.). (2013). Cool salsa: Bilingual poems on growing up Latino in the United States. Square Fish.
TranslanguagingTheoryConceptPracticeStance…orAlloftheAbove_CALCommentary.pdfWhat is Translanguaging?
Translanguaging is a dynamic form of bilingualism that focuses more on communication than language itself. It is not going from one language code to another, but rather posits that "bilinguals have one linguistic repertoire from which they select features strategically to communicate effectively" (p. 1. A CUNY-NYSIEB Guide for Educators. (2013))
Translanguaging is a pedagogical strategy that recognizes students' assets and welcomes the language(s) they bring to academic tasks, thereby empowering them to engage more fully with challenging material.
More Resources
The Translanguaging Guides below are from the City University of New York (CUNY) Initiative on Emergent Bilinguals. Visit their website cuny-nysieb.org for more resources and ideas to develop equity in the classroom through translanguaging practices.
Translanguaging-Guide-March-2013.pdfTranslanguaging-Guide-Curr-Inst-Final-December-2014.pdfTLG-Pedagogy-Writing-04-15-16.pdfTranslanguaging connects to creativity
When students can access all of their linguistic repertoires, new and amazing things are created.
Come on everyone
Get up and dance
Don't be shy tonight
Quit standing by the doors
Hit the floors
Young and old
I'm gonna rock your world - Chubby Cree
"Basically [we're] trying to reach out to the world for healing and for prayers and for love. To show them that we're here to share all this with you." - Carol Powder
"Translanguaging allows writers to negotiate between English and their home language writing styles. They use their first language knowledge and build up their second language knowledge; gaining confidence in learning to write in English while being empowered by their own cultural practices."
-Peña, J., Larraguibel, N., Avalos, M., & Jiang, X. (2020, November 2). Bilingualism, multilingualism, translingualism - we do it all. The Peer Review.
