A Tale of Two Latinx Teachers: A Borderlands Perspective About the Constructions of Translanguaging

• In Event: Fairmont Roundtable Session One
  In Roundtable Session: Borderlands Biliteracies: Centering Education on the Realities of Transfronterizx Communities (Table 12)

Abstract

Objectives or purposes
We analyze the testimonios (Delgado et.al, 2012) of two Latinx teachers from the Tejas-Mexico borderlands who teach in two dual language bilingual education program (DLBE) models -one-way immersion (OWI) and a two-way immersion (TWI). Specifically, we examine how each teacher provided a testimonio about translanguaging on the borderlands and what it looked and sounded like to put translanguaging into practice in their teaching with young children. Our paper asks: How do two Latinx teachers' testimonios about translanguaging on the borderlands translate into practice in the DLBE classroom?

Perspective(s) or theoretical framework
We draw on borderlands’ theoretical frameworks of border thinking (Mignolo, 2000) and bridging (Anzaldúa, 2009) to situate language and languaging within the sociohistorical tensions of the borderlands. Border dwellers can be actional as they challenge oppressive structures and delink from colonial notions, and yet must also bridge their intersecting realities and identities as they navigate their social spheres. Additionally, we look to prior research examining the linguistic borderlands of bilingual classrooms as they go about pursuing academic achievement and how they go about being bilingual (Auer, 1998).

Methods, techniques, or modes of inquiry
In this paper, we focus on the border thinking pedagogical practice of testimonios to frame and understand the borderland experiences teachers draw from to inform their teaching. Testimonios are individual accounts, such as teachers sharing about their language practices (i.e., orally, written, or digital) and connecting them to oppressive experiences. We identified emerging themes about how each teacher drew from their borderlands experiences and translanguaging practices to teach in OWI and TWI classrooms. We chose to hone in on moments that exemplified what we observed in the larger picture of the two classrooms.

Data sources, evidence, objects, or materials
Using qualitative methods, this paper includes multi-site case studies where authors collected data as participant-observers in Texas DLBE classrooms. Data consisted of video/audio recordings with a thematic analysis of moments that exemplified what we observed in the larger picture of the two classrooms.

Results and/or substantiated conclusions or warrants for arguments/point of view
This paper hones in on the experiences of two Latinx teachers from the Tejas-Mexico borderlands and how they drew from their borderland experiences to embody translanguaging pedagogies in their designated classrooms. The findings include testimonios about how both teachers untangled language histories and trauma on the borderlands. While the OWI teacher framed translanguaging as a necessary resource for scaffolding purposes during language learning in his classroom, the TWI teacher drew from borderlands translanguaging pedagogy to center students' identities and experiences.

Scholarly significance of the study
This paper adds to the DLBE literature by examining how two Latinx teacher´s experiences in the borderlands and translanguaging practices contribute to our understanding about what it means to grapple with the tension of embracing our experiences in the borderlands as racialized bilinguals and leveraging those experiences for teaching and achievement in DLBE classrooms.

Authors

• Suzanne García, California State University - Monterey Bay
  Presenting Author

• Christian E. Zuniga, University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley
  Presenting Author