User:Nikki 5762/Translingualism

Translingual Education

Translingual education encompasses classes as a whole learning a new language together and speaking multiple languages, or a monolingual student adjusting and learning their second language in a new classroom. This can mean the instruction of English in European schools to prepare students to adjust to the globalization of the world or accommodating a Spanish speaking student in an American classroom. According to Wlosowicz it is the “planned and systematic use of two languages inside the same lesson”, but can also apply to more than two languages which are spoken dynamically.

Multilingual education can be beneficial for students in bringing language awareness and valuing diverse languages. According to Cenoz and Gorter, there has been a worry for people in Europe learning english that their national language would not be used in a scientific and technical standpoint. Although, many classes are taught translingual in Europe for students’ future to increase international mobility/communication and learn to respect others’ cultures/identities. Education is growing in schools that have originally been monolingual and more often students are speaking multiple languages at home.

According to several scholars, language teaching and testing practices can strive for improvement so that multilingualism is better represented over the usual dominance of the native speaker model (of English). There is room for innovation and creativity among translingual students that can be acted on. As stated by Campbell, strategies that help students with their proficiency in both languages include reading instructions in one language and producing work in the other, or summarizing texts from one language into the other. Indicators of proficiency in language include accuracy as well as dexterity and resourcefulness. In the realm of translingual creativity Campbell also advocates for spaces of linguistic negotiation and a multimodal process (using several ways to communicate a message such as text, images, audio, etc.).

Teaching translingual can be difficult in that it needs to be very personalized and requires an instructor with multilingual proficiency. Although, a multilingual learner’s language awareness can be helpful in learning the new language by understanding the key differences between L1 (student’s first language) and L2 (student’s second language). Translingualism is important in that it views language differences as resources rather than deficits, otherwise known as code meshing which blends codes into the same environments.

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Throughout history, there has often been a European and monolingual bias in regards to language. According to Wei, the attention given to linguistic innovation has primarily been given to languages such as English, Spanish, and French. Linguistic innovation in English can be accomplished by non native and native speakers alike. Over the years the English language has borrowed and mixed with other languages and these deviations created from non native speakers are often seen as “mistakes”. The monolinguistic perspective views English as the “host” language and the other language as the “guest language” rather than treating them equally.