Translanguaging and positioning in two-way dual language classrooms: a case for criticality

ABSTRACT

This article examines the role of translanguaging practices and pedagogies in two-way dual language classrooms. Much of the recent expansion of dual language programs across the US has occurred in mid-sized cities and rural communities where English monolingualism is the norm; however, the extant literature on flexible language practices in bilingual learning spaces has largely ignored the implications of translanguaging in these contexts. This case study of a Midwestern dual language classroom provides evidence that flexible language practices can both bolster and hinder the aims of two-way programs. Drawing from these findings, I argue for the creation of a critical translanguaging space, a sociolinguistic learning environment that interrogates micro- and macro-level power flows in the classroom and establishes strategic spaces for language use.

KEYWORDS:

• Translanguaging
• bilingual education
• two-way immersion
• classroom discourse
• elementary education
• bilingualism

Acknowledgements

First and foremost, I would like to thank the teacher and students at Rockland Elementary who welcomed me into their bilingual classroom. I am also incredibly grateful to Maggie Hawkins, Lesley Bartlett, Deb Palmer, and Patrick Proctor for their support and feedback throughout the writing process. I would also like to thank the journal editors and reviewers for their insightful comments. Last, but certainly not least, I would like to thank my husband Mike for his love, support, and close editing in this and in all my writing endeavors.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. All names of people and places are pseudonyms.

2. This programmatic classification did not reflect students’ language preference nor did it represent the students who were already proficient bilinguals and used both languages at home (these students were generally classified as ‘Spanish-dominant’). However, for the purposes of analysis and to make visible the ways in which different students engaged with translanguaging in the classroom, I will refer to students as ‘Spanish-dominant’ or ‘English-dominant.’ While language dominance is a relevant analytic distinction here, in my wider scholarship I prefer the term ‘emergent bilingual’ (García, 2009), an asset-based term that acknowledges students’ full linguistic repertoire.

3. The classroom teacher selected ‘Maestra Gabriela’ as her pseudonym in homage to her great-grandfather, Gabriel, a Mexican immigrant whose story inspired her to reengage with her own Spanish language heritage and to become a bilingual teacher.