Exploring the Pedagogical Potential of Translanguaging Among Bilingual Peers Reading Together

• In Event: Translanguaging Practices and Vocabulary Development for Emergent Bilingual Learners

Abstract

This study examines how elementary students used Spanish and English during cross-age peer interactions to promote understanding of informational text and new vocabulary together. We draw upon the concept of translanguaging (García, 2009) to highlight the creative doing of languages as a social practice. Data analysis of student interactions was guided by functional linguistics to understand the functions of translanguaging in students’ conversations around text. Our findings reveal how students’ translanguaging facilitated language and content learning, emotional support, and task management. We also examine missed opportunities for translanguaging and how this influences students’ meaning making. The paper has implications for multilingual students’ learning in K-12 schools, and will discuss the benefits of peer-learning spaces that transcend traditional linguistic borders.

Authors

• Johanna M. Tigert, University of Maryland - College Park

• James Groff, University of Maryland - College Park

• Melinda E. Martin-Beltran, University of Maryland - College Park

• Megan Madigan Peercy, University of Maryland - College Park

• Rebecca Deffes Silverman, University of Maryland - College Park