Translanguaging in a Mandarin Dual-Language Classroom

• In Event: Cultivating Bi/multilingual Learners' Full Range of Knowledge(s) and Skill(s): The Promise of Translanguaging Spaces

Abstract

This case will report on a multi-case study in a Chinese/English dual-language elementary classroom offering insight into the interconnectedness between bilingual competence and knowledge construction. The study shows that, despite language-separation practices and limited access to plurilingual resources, as cognizant language users, bilingual students were forming their discursive practices for situated use and optimized learning (García & Li, 2014). Participants will be invited to envision the powerful potential of purposefully guiding our emergent bilingual students (EBs) to metacognitively consider and strategically act upon the rich linguistic, cultural, and social resources at their disposal.

This was a collaborative research engagement involving both school instructors and university researchers involving a co-construction of knowledge and insights (Parson, Hewson, Adrian, & Day, 2013). I spent one semester in the fall of 2018 observing the classroom, interviewing the teacher participant, and collecting student work samples.

I was in the classroom two times each school-week for the entire semester. In total, I collected 83 pages of material from the 13 children from both classes whose parents signed the consent form. These included 26 pages of Chinese and English bilingual writing (13 in science, 13 in math), 32 pages of worksheets (19 in science, 13 in math), and 25 pages of project writing/drawing (8 in math, 17 in science).

The data was coded via preset codes of ethnicity, gender, age, Chinese, English, translanguaging (operationalized as the concurrence of both languages in one utterance, writing sample, or reading of text), and types of behavior (e.g., groupwork, one-on-one, independent). There was thematic analysis of writing, speech, and behaviors of students and the instructor (Lanham, Foltz, & Laham, 1998).

The dual-language instructor, Mrs. Wu, was expected to teach math and science in 90% Mandarin, but in order to maximize communication and student comprehension, utilized translanguaging between English and Mandarin, as well as gestures and kinesthetics, to engage in her entire semiotic repertoire in her instruction. She also had bilingual reading material and welcomed English in her students’ engagements with her, each other, and their learning.
In addition to language allocation, she instituted interactive minilessons, like moving around like molecules in different states of matter and engaging in a mock economy. The students’ enthusiasm for learning led to superior unit scores as well as end-of-the-year evaluations.
Also, parents of students reported increased interest, with one even claiming, “My son used to hate math, but now he can’t stop talking about it!” As further evidence of the benefits of translanguaging, Mrs. Wu’s students were better prepared for their next grade’s courses in math and science compared with the other dual language class and the mainstream class.
There were also social benefits due to the children’s ability to communicate naturally with each other, engendering more appetitive peer relationships as opposed to the other dual language classroom.

Author

• Xiaodi Zhou, The University of Texas - Brownsville