If you haven’t yet heard educators use the term, translanguaging, you will soon. Although the term is not new in linguistics, there is growing awareness about what it is and its relevance to education and practices in the classroom.
Translanguaging, put simply, is when bilingual or multilingual individuals use a combination of two languages to communicate. We sometimes think of the brain as having separate compartments for each language such as one area for English and another for Farsi. A completely erroneous idea is that one language could potentially crowd out space for another language. It is this and other misconceptions about language development that has led some teachers to be concerned that if students continue to develop their home language, it will interfere with English language acquisition.
The fact is the human brain doesn’t process languages separately. As researchers have explained, multilingual students have one complex linguistic system that can have features of one, two, or more languages. In school, students draw on these linguistic resources to communicate and make sense of instruction.
My first experience with translanguaging was a few decades ago when I had returned from teaching at a university in Taiwan. I had been immersed in the Chinese (Mandarin) language for a year and shortly after returning to the U.S., I had a professional meeting. Several times when the individual gave me information, I replied, “Hǎo de” (okay). When I left, I felt mortified and hoped he hadn’t noticed. At that time, I didn’t realize that it was natural to process language in English while drawing on Chinese as well.
More recently, I’ve been observing two babies, both just over a year old, develop language. The first one is exposed exclusively to English and receives lots of language input from his parents and nanny. Book reading is a daily activity. He is fairly advanced, speaking in two- and three-word sentences. Although articulation is inexact, his parents understand his speech such as, “All better,” “No more yo-yo” (yogurt) and “Mommy go bye-bye.”
The second child spends 8 hours per day with a bilingual nanny. The parents have emphasized the importance of bilingualism and the nanny speaks Spanish most of the time. The parents speak about 90% English and 10% Spanish to the baby. Books are read daily, some in English and some in Spanish. At one year of age, he only grunted to communicate although he understood most everything in English such as, “Bring me the ball” and “Give me your hand.” Shortly thereafter he said, “Agua” (water) as his first word and now has about 10 spoken words in Spanish. His Spanish comprehension is better than English comprehension. For example, when asked, “¿Cuantos años tienes?” he holds up one finger, and he points to objects, body parts, and so forth when asked to do so in Spanish but much less so in English. With English-speakers, he is eager to communicate and is intentional in his speech, pointing to something and saying, “ne” or “ne-ne.” At this point he doesn’t say any discernable English words as he does Spanish words.
If language development continues in this way, when the two boys begin kindergarten the first child will be very well-equipped to meet the language demands of school. He will have an extensive English vocabulary and be familiar with reading text. The second child undoubtedly has a similar level of language development as the first, however his level of language proficiency may be more opaque. While both children have had similar exposure to text, vocabulary, and the world around them, the bilingual child may not be able to fully express his knowledge and understanding in English when he gets to school. He would benefit from translanguaging rather than being limited to using English alone since he will be processing information in both languages.
A classroom example of translanguaging is when the teacher reads a story aloud in English, pauses at various points in the text, and gives students and opportunity to talk together about a character, event, make a prediction, etc. When the students “turn and talk,” they are invited to share their thoughts in their home language or English, or a mix of both, with their paired partner. Sometimes certain words or expressions in one language convey a precise meaning better than another, or the context may dictate a preference. For instance, if the book read aloud is about soccer, when a multilingual learner turns to their partner to discuss a portion of text, they may begin speaking in English but switch to Spanish for a description of the way a goal was scored. The student is using the full complement of their linguistic repertoire in the discussion.
It is a misconception to think that combining languages indicates confusion.
Translanguaging is about communication, not about language learning. Teachers should not discourage the practice of translanguaging or prohibit use of students’ first language at school or at home. There are times when tasks require the use of English, such as making oral presentations to the class, assignments designed to focus on accuracy in English or to practice using academic English. Use of translanguaging doesn’t minimize the importance of becoming proficient speakers of English. Much of the time, though, teachers are working with students to explore concepts, add to their knowledge, and make connections between ideas. This is often about communicating, and this is where using all language resources can be beneficial.
Translanguaging is more than a good idea. It is the way multilingual individuals process language. Used strategically, translanguaging will not interfere with students’ ability to become confident and proficient speakers of English. The advantages of being bilingual are undisputed therefore developing multiple languages ought to be encouraged.