Understanding Mandarin Immersion Teachers’ Translanguaging Stance and Practices: The Translanguaging Transformation Model in the Making

• In Event: Translanguaging in Various Classroom Settings: Opportunities and Challenges

Abstract

Translanguaging pedagogy has gained wide recognition in the education field. This study examined how teachers understand and adopt this approach in Mandarin/English immersion programs. A multi-case study approach was used to interview four Mandarin elementary teachers in California. The findings showed that the teachers held an incomplete understanding of translanguaging pedagogy and only partially adopted it in class. To better implement translanguaging pedagogy in a way that can reframe language separation practices in immersion programs, I proposed the Translanguaging Transformation Model which designates a concrete translanguaging space while also maintaining separate language instructional spaces. It is a hands-on model with a clearer demonstration for implementation purposes, which better meets the needs of current Mandarin/English bilingual teachers.

Author

• Ye Yuan, University of California - Santa Barbara