Translanguaging for Linguistically Inclusive ESL Classrooms in Continuing Education

• In Event: Multilingual approaches to language planning, pedagogy, and assessment

Proposal

In a time where monoglossic language ideologies often prevail in language learning programs, we are called to examine the impact of “English-only” practices in our increasingly diverse classrooms by considering the possibilities for translanguaging pedagogies. Translanguaging was originally developed as a pedagogical practice to use learners’ proficiency in one language to develop their proficiency in the target language (Baker, 1993; Williams, 1994). In the past decade, translanguaging has shifted from a tool for scaffolding learning to a theory and pedagogy that advocates for social justice (Garcia & Wei, 2014; Garcia et al., 2017) and critical multilingual language awareness (Garcia, 2015, 2017; Prasad, 2015). In English as a second language (ESL) programs, translanguaging can empower teachers and students to recognize the diversity of students’ linguistic assets. By strategizing to include students' languages, language is not only a resource, but also a right (Ruiz, 1984) to raising more socially-conscious minds and challenging the hierarchical structures that valorize English. However, in Ontario, Canada, despite the encouragement by Ontario’s Ministry of Education to use home languages in the classroom (Ontario’s Ministry of Education, 2005, 2008), teachers are not consistently utilizing students’ languages in their classrooms as they perceived that it slows students’ English learning (Stille et al., 2016; Burton & Rajendram, 2019). As classrooms in North America continue to become more linguistically diverse, language teaching practices informed by translanguaging theory can help teachers to better support their plurilingual students with an assets-based approach that values their languages. Translanguaging can empower students who are often disempowered by English monolingual ideologies (Hurst & Mona, 2017). Thus, the act of including and promoting students’ languages in the classroom is an act of protest against monolingual practices so that students have agency in accessing the linguistic assets they bring to their learning.

There is a burgeoning body of research on how teachers implement translanguaging strategies in the K-12 and higher education contexts (Canagarajah, 2011; Gort & Sembiante, 2015; Hesson, Seltzer, Woodley, 2014; Kirsch, 2020; Liu, Lo, & Lin, 2020; Tamargo, Mazak, & Couto, 2016; Vaish, 2020). However, there is still a paucity of studies that investigate a very distinct group of English learners - adult ESL students who are studying in a secondary school curriculum. This qualitative study contributes to the understanding of how a translanguaging pedagogy can be adopted in the unique context of continuing education. To explore the possibilities of a translanguaing pedagogy, I turn to Kumaravadivelu’s (2012) KARDS modular model, a comprehensive framework for teacher preparation, as part of my conceptual framework and as a tool for data analysis. KARDS reflects and explains how language teacher education or professional development can develop translanguaging pedagogy in the classroom by enacting theory into practice. Each module is labeled as an active verb – (K)nowing, (A)nalyzing, (R)ecognizing, (D)oing, and (S)eeing – to reflect how language teacher education is a dynamic process. Kumaravadivelu’s model provides a holistic and transformative approach to professional development for both pre-service and in-service teachers.

Informed by translanguaging theory (Garcia and Wei, 2014) and KARDS (Kumaravadivelu, 2012), this presentation investigates ESL teachers’ stance and understanding of translanguaging and how a translanguaging pedagogy may be implemented in an online ESL course situated in a continuing education program in Ontario, Canada. This study is guided by the following research questions: (1) What are ESL teachers’ stance and understandings of translanguaging practices? (2) How might ESL teachers implement translanguaging practices in their classes? (3) How might plurilingual students in a continuing education program respond to translanguaging practices?

Employing a multiple case study (Yin, 2018), data was drawn from a 9-week ESL course co-designed by the researcher and teachers. The participants were three teachers and ten students. Data sources included classroom observations, the teacher’s weekly reflections, pedagogical artifacts (e.g., lesson plans, activities, assessments), and pre- and post- course interviews. Pedagogical artifacts were materials co-designed for the course which incorporated multimodal approaches to creating language texts and resources that included students’ languages. Data was also collected from student artifacts (e.g., class assignments and personal notes) and student interviews to analyze how students responded to the teachers’ translanguaging strategies. In addition, professional development in the form of workshops was conducted along with the collection of electronic communications such as emails, messages from Whatsapp, and phone calls when teachers needed additional support or had questions. A deductive and inductive coding scheme was developed from the KARDS (Kumaravadivelu, 2012) model to analyze participants’ stances, understandings, and experiences with translanguaging.

Findings indicate that teachers have complex stances toward implementing translanguaging in their classrooms. Their stances were influenced by their own language learning and language training experiences. Teachers demonstrated developing and evolving translanguaging stances that viewed the use of students' languages as a socio-politicized move, a strategy for inclusion, and a way to preserve languages. In their design and delivery of the course, teachers utilized students’ languages as a scaffold to produce final products in English and to create a welcoming classroom. However, the analysis also reveals that challenges with teaching online, a lack of time for preparation and delivery, limited professional development, and teacher-student rapport affected how in-service teachers prioritized the implementation of translanguaging strategies. The teacher participants specified a need for professional development to prepare them on how to implement translanguaging practices in their particular teaching context. This study indicates that professional development to support in-service teachers in the continuing education community can prepare them by providing them the space to challenge monoglossic ideologies and to broaden their understanding of how to intentionally and pedagogically include students’ languages by developing teachers’ critical language awarenesss. The KARDS model (Kumaravadivelu, 2012), can be a holistic approach for teacher education programs and professional development to prepare both pre-service and in-service teachers for incorporating translanguaging strategies into their pedagogical practices.

Author

• Wales Wong