Translanguaging in Dual Language Bilingual Education in the United States: Framings, Research, and Possibilities

• In Event: Dual Language Bilingual Education: Trends, Policy, Pedagogy, and Future Directions

Abstract

Objectives: This review of the literature focuses on studies on translanguaging in DLBE programs in the U.S. between 2014 to 2021. After providing a cross-article description of the contexts of the DLBE classrooms studied, I then present the analysis of the studies’ findings around the benefits of translanguaging in such programs, as well as areas of tensions and challenges that arise. Finally, I reflect on the need to continue to uncover its transformative power.

Methods and Frameworks: Translanguaging as a theory of bilingual languaging and learning has provided ways to open up spaces in DL classrooms where students can leverage their entire repertoire of knowledge and meanings (García & Lin, 2017; Li Wei, 2011; Sánchez & García, 2022). I conducted a search on empirical studies in the U.S. published in scholarly journals between 2014 and 2021 related to “translanguaging” in “dual language,” “dual immersion,” “two-way,” and “one-way” pre-school to high school classrooms. I excluded chapters in edited books in the U.S. and research outside of the U.S. This resulted in 28 empirical journal articles that I used in this study. I first did a descriptive cross-study analysis of the socio-educational contexts of the DLBE classrooms studied (i.e., type of program designation and students served, grade levels, and target languages of instruction for study) followed by a cross-analysis of the studies’ findings.

Results:
1) Contexts of the studies
Most of the studies were in Spanish/English DLBE programs and at the elementary level (24 studies each). Thirteen collected data during “Spanish” designated time, three during Chinese, and 11 in both languages. None collected data solely during the “English” designated time. All studies used qualitative research methods with three also including quantitative measures.

2) Findings of the studies
The studies’ findings show the importance of a language allocation policy in DLBE programs, albeit with translanguaging. I identified the following themes and sub-themes:
A) Benefits of translanguaging
● to support the students’ content knowledge and understandings,
● to validate their identities, and
● to develop and sustain their bilingualism, biliteracy and multilingual awareness.
B) Tensions and Challenges
● enacting translanguaging while maintaining the hegemony of named languages, especially English; and
● underrepresenting the heteroglossic/translanguaging practices of African American and other racialized bilingual students.

Significance: This systematic review of the empirical study of translanguaging in DLBE in the U.S. provides evidence of its benefits, but also the challenges and tensions that arise. This study also shows that there is still a need to uncover the transformational power (or the potential) of translanguaging in such programs.

Author

• Maite Sanchez, Hunter College - CUNY