Translanguaging at school: students’ perspectives on using multiple languages

Presentation (2020, September 25)

Numerous scholars advocate for translanguaging pedagogies to increase participation and learning opportunities for all students, in particular students with a migration background (Rosiers, Van Lancker ... [more ▼]

Numerous scholars advocate for translanguaging pedagogies to increase participation and learning opportunities for all students, in particular students with a migration background (Rosiers, Van Lancker, & Delarue, 2018). Conversely, critics argue that translanguaging can contribute to reiterate unequal participation dynamics and question the equitable access to curricular resources (Hamman, 2018). While most qualitative studies draw on observations of classroom practices of the teachers and/or the students, only few consider the students’ perspectives on these practices. The present paper aims to address this issue. While my doctoral project explores the translanguaging practices of four fourth-graders of different backgrounds and their development over time, this paper investigates their perspectives on translanguaging. From January to December 2018, I observed the students’ interactions with their peers and teachers in Years 4 and 5 and identified and recorded key events. Subsequently, selected events were shown to and discussed with the students. Findings based on recordings from discussions and stimulated recall interviews revealed, first, that translanguaging was the default mode of communication of all four students and was perceived as a common practice. Second, the newcomers reported that they translanguaged to communicate quicker and that translanguaging was particularly frequent in students who were not yet proficient language users. Similarly, students with more experience in the education system perceived translanguaging as an inferior practice and indicated using their home language as a scaffold with other students, but not with their teachers. The students’ self-monitoring connects to the classroom practices. [less ▲]

Moving across and beyond language(s): insights into the translanguaging practices in a multilingual classroom

Speeches/Talks (2020)

Migration flows of the 21st century lead to increasingly multilingual societies and entail rapidly evolving language practices. In sociolinguistics and education, there has been a growing interest in ... [more ▼]

Migration flows of the 21st century lead to increasingly multilingual societies and entail rapidly evolving language practices. In sociolinguistics and education, there has been a growing interest in exploring these language practices. While most translanguaging studies carried out at school attend to the flexible use of two or more named languages, they only marginally acknowledge the pupils’ semiotic repertoires. Meaning making, however, occurs across and beyond languages. In this presentation, I will provide insight into the meaning-making processes of a newly arrived pupil in Luxembourg. As the instruction of French, German and Luxembourgish accounts for more than 40% of all curricular time, it can be difficult for newcomers to access the curriculum if they have to learn two or even three languages. This raises the question if and to what extent pupils draw on their resources to engage with the curriculum. My doctoral research tackles the following question: In what ways, to what extent and for what purposes do four multilingual fourth graders of different backgrounds deploy and develop their semiotic repertoires in interaction with their peers and teachers? To address that question, I visited two primary schools in Luxembourg where I observed, took field notes and video-recorded the pupils’ interactions as well as their use of multilingual and multimodal resources. A selection of recordings was discussed with the focal pupils in stimulated recall interviews. Observations, video-recordings and interviews were transcribed and analyzed with thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke 2013), multimodal interaction analysis (Norris 2004) and sociocultural discourse analysis (Mercer 2004) respectively. This presentation is based on the classroom interactions in one of the investigated schools and foregrounds one of the main findings: the pupils aligned their translanguaging practices to those of their peers. They adapted their language use to the interlocutor, orchestrated their semiotic resources in the same way as their peers and reproduced the teacher’s translanguaging practice. The study highlights the interconnectedness of classroom and individual practices and draws attention to the importance of resources other than linguistic ones in meaning-making processes at school. [less ▲]

Newcomers’ translanguaging practices in learning situations

Presentation (2019, November 06)

To expand learning opportunities for all students in bilingual schools, including newly-arrived ones, a growing number of scholars advocate for implementing translanguaging pedagogies that leverage the ... [more ▼]

To expand learning opportunities for all students in bilingual schools, including newly-arrived ones, a growing number of scholars advocate for implementing translanguaging pedagogies that leverage the students’ full range of semiotic resources (García et al. 2012). Yet, research which focusses on the newcomers’ translanguaging practices and involves multiple languages remains scarce. Counting less than 2% of Luxembourg’s primary school population (MENEJ 2018), newly-arrived students face an important educational challenge as the instruction of French, German and Luxembourgish accounts for 40.5% of all curricular time. While the present doctoral project investigates the language practices of fourth-graders of different language and migration backgrounds, this paper explores the extent to which two newcomers from different schools, Portuguese-speaking Harry and Slovenian-speaking Leon, mobilize their semiotic resources to learn curricular content in French and Science lessons while interacting with their peers and teachers. Data stem from forty-two days of observation throughout Years 4 and 5, approximately twenty hours of video-recordings and four semi-structured interviews with the students about some of the recorded events. Findings first show that, with peers, Harry and Leon used all institutional languages to discuss curricular content and Harry additionally used Portuguese and English. Second, with teachers, Leon flexibly used all institutional languages, but Harry did not. Third, both newcomers regularly translanguaged in Year 4 but almost completely dropped this practice in Year 5. The students’ differing translanguaging practices likely connect to the language practices of their interlocutors and the learning situations within the classroom contexts. [less ▲]

Translanguaging as a pedagogy, a practice or a strategy? Examples from a preschool and a primary school class in Luxembourg

Scientific Conference (2019, July 01)

The concept of translanguaging has been continuously redefined in education, psycholinguistics and sociolinguistics, which has led to some loss of meaning. Regarding teacher translanguaging, studies show ... [more ▼]

The concept of translanguaging has been continuously redefined in education, psycholinguistics and sociolinguistics, which has led to some loss of meaning. Regarding teacher translanguaging, studies show that it has been used as a strategy to further comprehension and learning, and as a pedagogy. The latter recognizes the existence of multiple languages in class and leverages the students’ semiotic system to make meaning and learn (García et al. 2017). Translanguaging has thereby been understood either as a resource-oriented pedagogy that challenges traditional conceptualizations of bilingualism and language learning, or as a pedagogy that fights social inequalities. Most research studies adopt the first view (Poza, 2017). The present paper combines two longitudinal doctoral studies and investigates the ways in which a preschool and a primary school teacher use translanguaging in their classes in Luxembourg. Drawing on interviews and observations, the findings show that the preschool teacher implemented a translanguaging pedagogy. She planned for the use of several languages, opened translanguaging spaces, and systematically translanguaged where she believed it would support learning (Kirsch et al. submitted). By contrast, the primary school teacher used translanguaging as a pedagogical strategy. She used the curricular languages and only translanguaged to support particular students. These differences are explained by the curriculum and the preschool teacher’s attendance of a professional development course. The findings contribute to our understanding of possible ways of implementing translanguaging as a pedagogy. [less ▲]

Translanguaging in a Multilingual Classroom in Luxembourg

Presentation (2019, April 12)

Research in bilingual and trilingual schools shows that knowledge and understanding can be increased by translanguaging (Baker & Wright 2017, Kirsch 2017), the enactment of a student’s linguistic and non ... [more ▼]

Research in bilingual and trilingual schools shows that knowledge and understanding can be increased by translanguaging (Baker & Wright 2017, Kirsch 2017), the enactment of a student’s linguistic and non-linguistic resources. Yet, research on translanguaging including migrant languages in multilingual schools remains scarce (Duarte 2018). In multilingual Luxembourg, over 60% of the students indicate to have a dominant home language other than Luxembourgish, with Portuguese being the most used language (MENJE 2018). Considering that theteaching of Luxembourgish, French and German accounts for 40.5% of the instruction time, little room is left for the students’ home languages and the school system is particularly challenging for the students whose language repertoires deviate from the official curriculum. The present doctoral project investigates how primary school students with a migration background deploy their language repertoires to learn. In this paper, I examine the extent to which two fourth-graders with a Portuguese background and a different migration experience mobilize their languages while interacting with the teacher and peers. Data stem from eighteen days of observation and video-recordings. The thematic analysis focuses on the students’ participation and their language use in different school subjects. Preliminary findings show that the students participate unequally and use their languages differently in terms of purpose and frequency and depending on their migration experience. The findings are tentative because data collection is on-going. [less ▲]

A Longitudinal Study on the Flexible Language Use of 4th Graders with a Migration Background in Multilingual Luxembourg

Presentation (2018, December 10)

(In)flexible Language Use in a Year 4 Class in Luxembourg: Which Languages in Which Subjects?

Scientific Conference (2018, September 06)

The project described in this paper is part of the broader research project ‘Capitalizing on Linguistic Diversity in Education’ that investigates how multilingualism can be used as a resource for ... [more ▼]

The project described in this paper is part of the broader research project ‘Capitalizing on Linguistic Diversity in Education’ that investigates how multilingualism can be used as a resource for educational success and social well-being in Luxembourg. Research projects in preschool, Year 1 and Year 2 classes show that teachers have begun to draw on children’s semiotic repertoires (Kirsch 2017, Kirsch and Bes 2017). The present doctoral research project aims to understand the ways in which and the extent to which, first, Year 4 and Year 5 teachers in three schools address linguistic diversity and, second, children draw on their language repertoire to learn. The focus lies on the translanguaging practices of teachers and children. Translanguaging is a pillar of multilingual pedagogies which promote social equity and build on socio-constructivist learning theories (García & Li Wei 2014). The education system in Luxembourg is trilingual in Luxembourgish, German and French. The curriculum is based on monoglossic ideologies and a compartmentalised view of language teaching (De Korne 2012). The system is particularly challenging for the 63.5 percent of primary school children who do not speak Luxembourgish as a first language and underachieve compared to the Luxembourgish-speakers (Menje 2017). This paper draws its data from six days of observations and video-recordings of learning activities in seven French, eight Mathematics and two Arts lessons from September 2017 to January 2018 in one school characterised by the diversity of its intake and the high SES of the families. The data collection is still on-going. The participants are the two teachers of the Year 4 class and three focus children of Slovenian, French and Icelandic background. The thematic analysis focuses on the type of learning activities, the school subjects, the speech acts, the language use, and the pedagogical use of translanguaging. The preliminary findings show that almost all learning activities are teacher-led and that interactions are based on initiation-response-feedback sequences. The teachers systematically translanguage between a target language and the other curricula languages to scaffold learning, build relationships and manage the classroom. Both teachers and children create a specific space for German which is highly unusual in Luxembourg. The children rarely draw on their home languages unless these are the three languages of the country. While translanguaging is frequently used as a scaffold, it is neither transformative nor does it contribute to raising equal opportunities (García & Kleyn 2016). [less ▲]

Language Practices in Luxembourgish Primary Schools: How and To What Extent Do 10- to 11-year-olds Deploy Their Language Repertoires During Classroom Activities?

Presentation (2018, May 04)

Perspectives on Translanguaging as a Pedagogy in Luxembourg

Presentation (2018, April 10)