Language Policy in Higher Education in Puerto Rico: Opening the Door for Translanguaging Practices

• In Event: Translanguaging and Dynamic Language Practices in Bilingual Education

Abstract

This paper explores bilingual language policies throughout the 38 universities on the island of Puerto Rico and provides a case study report of university translanguaging practices. After providing a brief history of the language context of Puerto Rico, the authors describe the language policies used by the 38 island universities. After presenting the various policies, the authors focus their attention to a case study of a science course taught on one of the largest campuses on the island. The case illustrates the use of two languages to learn scientific content and how this is accomplished through reading texts in English while talking about them in Spanish, as well as other language combinations that are taken-for-granted in this bilingual environment.

Authors

• Kevin S. Carroll, Emirates College for Advanced Education

• Catherine Mazak, University of Puerto Rico - Mayaguez