Advancing Social Justice in Higher Education: The Classroom Dynamics of Translanguaging Spaces

• In Event: Translanguaging Research

Abstract

This case study used classroom observations to explore how two instructor’s translanguaging stance was reflected in their own and in their students’ use of language in a large Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). The results of the study revealed that the instructors observed enacted their translanguaging stance in their syllabi and course design. The instructors used translanguaging pedagogies intentionally and purposefully in response to their students’ linguistic diversity, opening translanguaging spaces through their own use of language for teaching. As a result, students’ bilingualism and biliteracy were promoted and leveraged to maximize their learning. The results of the study show how instructors in HSIs play a key role in the development of a linguistically inclusive approach to instruction in higher education.

Authors

• Sandra I. Musanti, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

• Alma D. Rodriguez, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

• Alyssa Cavazos, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley