Exploring Translanguaging Pedagogies in Bilingual Teacher Preparation: A Case Study

• In Event: Roundtable Session 42
  In Roundtable Session: Multilingual Pedagogies: Spaces for Flexible Language Use in Bilingual Settings

Abstract

This case study explores translanguaging practices in a bilingual teacher preparation program in South Texas. This study is grounded on a dynamic understanding of bilingualism and recent research on translanguaging pedagogies. Findings indicate that translanguaging practices were evident in preservice teachers’ Spanish academic writing in multiple ways, including translation and codeswitching strategies exposing students’ bilingualism and biliteracy skills. The study contributes to the current discussion on translanguaging in the field of teacher preparation by identifying a set of hybrid language practices that preservice teachers display and use as a semiotic tools to represent and construct meaning. Implications for translanguaging pedagogies are discussed that contribute to model a dynamic understanding of bilingualism, and to legitimize Spanish as a resource for learning.

Authors

• Sandra I. Musanti, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

• Alma D. Rodriguez, The University of Texas - Brownsville