"Entre Hilos, Colmillos, y Monstruos": Newcomer Latinx Bilingual Students Learning Computer Programming Through Translanguaging

• In Event: Promoting Equity and Engagement in Secondary Classrooms

Abstract

The purpose of this case study is to examine how a small group of newcomer Latinx emergent bilingual middle school students use translanguaging practices to learn fundamental concepts of computer programming. Drawing on situated learning and translanguaging, we illustrate how a small group of newcomer students (fluent Spanish speakers) worked with a facilitator who did not speak Spanish and a co-facilitator who was not as fluent in Spanish to make meaning of strings (hilos) in computer programming. Data sources included video clips of group interactions and computer monitor data, curriculum guides, and student work. Preliminary findings yielded that the use of translanguaging allowed students to focus on understanding a concept (strings), while having flexible ways to name it.

Authors

• Carlos A. LopezLeiva, University of New Mexico

• Sylvia Celedon-Pattichis, University of Texas at Austin

• Marios Pattichis, The University of New Mexico