Translanguaging Practices of Bilingual Students in Science and Math Learning in a One-Way Chinese/English Dual-Language Program

• In Event: Contextualizing Translanguaging in Different Chinese-English Bilingual Educational Settings

Abstract

Purpose
Recent research has highlighted the success of dual language immersion programs in a variety of demographic contexts, yet there exist many challenges that can impede the implementation and effectiveness of these bilingual programs (Lindholm-Leary, 2012). Notably, many of the challenges seem to be rooted in monolingual ideologies that are at the heart of many traditional bilingual programs, which view bilingualism through a “dual” perspective, assuming it to simply be the sum of two languages instead of a complex and fluid bilingual state of being (García & Sylvan, 2011; Palmer et al., 2014). This study aims to challenge the monolingual policy permeated in current dual language immersion programs by providing empirical evidence of how translanguaging practices benefited students’ learning in a one-way dual language program.

Theoretical Framework
I used Dynamic Bilingualism (García, 2009) as the theoretical framework, a framework corresponding with dual-language immersion programs and speaking to the plurilingual paradigm that informs bilingualism as highly individualized, holistic, and dynamic.

Data Sources and Analysis
I adopted multi-case study as the research approach. Data were collected from a four-month long fieldwork with full day observations of three days per week, semi-structured and unstructured interviews with the three participants, drawings and written work produced by the participants in class, and the participants’ DRA2 (Developmental Reading Assessment) and Chinese midterm exam. Data analysis went through within-case analysis for each focal participant and cross-case synthesis. The within-case analysis began with open and descriptive coding. Then the open codes were collapsed into categories such as “content learning,” “Chinese language learning,” “English reading and writing,” “interaction with the teachers,” “translanguaging” etc. Later, comparisons between empirically based patterns and literature-based patterns were made to generate the themes.

Results
Findings reveal that even though the participants’ translanguaging practices were not formally recognized in school, translanguaging was the discursive norm in content classrooms. For example, in math and science classes, the participants always used English and Chinese to solve problems or learn a new concept. Through translanguaging, the students were more intellectually engaged with the class contents and texts.

Significance
Empirical studies conducted in dual language programs have provided evidence of how translanguaging benefits students’ bilingual development by validating and leveraging their practices (Esquinca et al., 2014; Somerville & Faltis, 2019; Bauer et al., 2020); however, few have taken place in a Chinese/English setting. This study addresses the research gap by providing evidence of how students translanguaged during learning in the Chinese/English dual language environment.

Author

• Xiaochen Du, Jump! Immersion School