A Multilingual Preschooler’s School Belonging: The Role of Translanguaging Pedagogy

To engage in learning, students must feel a sense of belonging. And yet, children often go to schools where language practices are different from those of their homes and where they often feel alienated. In this article, we look closely at the effects of translanguaging pedagogical practices on one multilingual young child’s sense of belonging in a Luxembourgish preschool, and ultimately in society. The focused video analysis identifies seven significant moments of translanguaging pedagogical interactions between the teacher and the child as she (a) develops the child’s voice as creator/teller of stories, (b) raises the class’s consciousness of multilingualism, (c) emphasizes multilingualism as resource, (d) engages with children’s wondering, (e) elaborates children’s wonderings, (f) creates a sense of being a collaborative ensemble, and finally (g) develops a sense that Luxembourgish belongs to all. Within each moment, we zoom in on the manifestations of the child’s developing sense of belonging by identifying his multimodal interactions with the teacher and with his classmates in relationship to components of belonging: engagement, attachment, connectedness, and community. The analysis shows that the teachers’ use of translanguaging pedagogical practices is related to the child’s increased relationship to people (the teacher and peers), as well as to the place (the pre-school). Beyond the focused child, the analysis shows that translanguaging pedagogical practices also made possible all the children’s sense of belonging as multilingual Luxembourgers.