Language Policy as Pedagogy for Bilingual Teachers in Translanguaging Spaces: A Case Study

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session 31
  In Roundtable Session: Exploring Bilingual Teacher Education

Abstract

Using a case study approach, this paper examines the pedagogical measures taken to support the Spanish development for a group of bilingual preservice teachers in a university-based teacher education program in Texas. Classroom language policies were developed collaboratively and deliberately throughout the semester, with each new assignment and in-class activity warranting discussion between instructor and students about the language demands and expectations. These co-created language policies by both the instructor and the students became a pedagogy as the participants’ perceptions of their own Spanish language development in this translanguaging space allowed them to consider the language policies in their future elementary bilingual classrooms. Implications include the need for horizontal language policies that foster effective cross-linguistic and pedagogical choices.

Author

• Blanca Gabriela Caldas, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities