Translanguaging to support emergent bilingual students in English dominant preschools: An explanatory sequential mixed-method study

ABSTRACT

Emergent bilinguals (EB) from Spanish-speaking homes are an already large and rapidly growing population in the U.S., yet limited research examines their language environments, particularly in the English dominant contexts where most attend school. This explanatory sequential mixed-methods study first quantitatively examines adults’ use of Spanish and use of questions in audio recordings captured by microphones worn by EBs (N = 12) in English dominant preschools. Because a correlation between use of Spanish and use of open-ended questions was found, the authors engaged in further qualitative analysis of Spanish utilization to gain insight into the nature of the relationship. Qualitative analysis suggests that teachers’ use of translanguaging enabled EBs to participate more fully in English dominant classrooms.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Janna Brown McClain

Janna Brown McClain, PhD, is an assistant professor of elementary and special education at Middle Tennessee State University. Her research focuses on preparing teachers to meet the increasing language demands of the classroom, both in terms of honoring students’ linguistic backgrounds and supporting students’ access to the language of school.

Jeannette Mancilla-Martinez

Jeannette Mancilla-Martinez, EdD, is an associate professor in the Department of Special Education and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Graduate Education for Peabody College of Education at Vanderbilt University. Her research examines the central role of supporting students’ language comprehension to mitigate later reading comprehension difficulties.

Israel Flores

Israel Flores, PhD, is a Senior Manager of Learning and Impact for Noggin at Nickelodeon. His research examines the symbolic development of very young children, specifically how they learn from representational artifacts and media. He also investigates how technology and translanguaging practices support learning for multilingual children.

Laura Buckley

Laura Buckley is a doctoral student in language, literacy, and culture at Peabody College of Education, Vanderbilt University. She studies early language and literacy development of emergent bilingual students. Her current research focuses on the role of translanguaging in supporting linguistically diverse students’ oral language development in preschool classroom contexts.