3 ways to add translanguaging to your language objectives
Fun fact: I’ve been working in schools with multilingual student populations for the better part of 25 years, and the more I work with teachers and district leaders, the more I remain convinced that the two most misunderstood constructs in the field must be: translanguaging followed closely by language objectives.
And while I can’t wave a magic wand to suddenly imbue every teacher with robust linguistics knowledge, I can offer a humble series of tips on how you can infuse what you understand about translanguaging into your daily Language Objectives (henceforth, LOs).
But first: let’s tackle translanguaging, read my graphic below:
I'm going to assume that if you're reading this, you know what LOs are. Perhaps you've had some success with LOs, or you're an ML/ESL provider and you're tasked with rolling out LOs to your monolingual teachers (if this is you, I'm sending my thoughts and prayers).
Before we get to the LOs, I'd like to establish a few non-negotiables around translanguaging I use with my partner schools. The bottom line is: if these beliefs aren't agreed upon by all (or most) stakeholders in your district, then you won't make much of a change in the Disrupting the Monolingual Bias.
What do you think about these non-negotiables? Hit me up on the button below to learn how you can leverage these equity points in your district !🙂
Now to the fun part:
1. Write Language objectives that use translanguaging to seek or offer support from a teacher or another student
These LOs center your ELLs' need for belonging, safety and connection-building, so they feel that the classroom is a place FOR THEM. Here is a sample LO that achieves that learning target:
"Students will engage in a peer conversation where they explain a concept or assignment in their home language, but summarize or restate key points in English for reinforcement and cross-language understanding."
Translanguaging strategy: Encourage students to explain in their native language, then with help from a peer or a digital translation tool, switch to English for brief summaries to build understanding and fluency in both languages.
Linguistic Scaffold: Create some "language noticing" helpers in the class to ensure the translation tools are available, these same students can document new words or phrases for a growing bilingual glossary. (If you want to learn more about how to infuse linguistic scaffolds into your classroom, download this free resource!)
2. Write Language objectives that use translanguaging to create solidarity through Icebreakers and Warm-Up activities
Let's not forget that classrooms are an ELs' or newcomers first foray into building out their social worlds. Translanguaging meant for non-academic purposes is just as important, it helps lubricate a students' confidence and generate some social language with which to enter into more academic conversations.
Here is a sample exchange between two Ukranian-English speaking 5th graders on the north-side of Chicago. They're discussing (what else) Roblox! As you read the transcript, notice how the kiddos use English for terms like “level,” “power-ups,” and “coins,” while relying on Ukrainian for the broader discussion. This flexible language use helps reinforce concepts in both languages.
Hendrick:"Ти грав у новий Roblox update вчора?"(Have you played the new Roblox update yesterday?)
Vlad:"Так, грав. There’s a new map with extra challenges. Ти бачив нову карту з драконами?"(Yeah, I did. There’s a new map with extra challenges. Did you see the new map with dragons?)
Hendrick:"О, так! Я намагався пройти через той level, але it’s so hard! Не можу пройти через дракона."(Oh, yeah! I tried to get through that level, but it’s so hard! I can’t get past the dragon.)
Vlad:"Yeah, той дракон дуже сильний. You need to collect all the power-ups. Спочатку збереш всі power-ups, then ти можеш його перемогти."(Yeah, that dragon is really strong. You need to collect all the power-ups. First, collect all the power-ups, then you can defeat him.)
Hendrick:"Ааа, зрозумів! So, I need to find all the shields і тоді зможу його подолати."(Ah, I got it! So, I need to find all the shields, and then I can defeat him.)
Vlad:"Exactly! І потім, коли переможеш, ти отримуєш extra coins."(Exactly! And then, when you win, you get extra coins.)
Hendrick: "Круто! I’ll try that today after school."(Cool! I’ll try that today after school.)
3. Write Language objectives that use translanguaging to build up your ELs' disciplinary literacies in a content area.
This LO requires some advanced linguistic knowledge and training (build up your knowledge by booking this Spotlight Session). To combat the Monolingual Bias, we need to embed linguistic scaffolds into the specific content areas, while encouraging our kiddos to use their full linguistic repertoires. These objectives give students PERMISSION to use their prior knowledge (in the L1) and are especially helpful for upper- and middle school classrooms.
The more work I do in schools to bring a translanguaging stance (Ascenzi-Moreno & Espinosa, 2021), the more vibrant and joyful I observe the students to be. Who among us doesn't aim to create more affirming and calming classrooms for our emergent bilinguals? I'll close with this appeal from one of my academic elders, Mary Schleppegrell, on the need for whole-school commitments to design school ecologies with translanguaging at its core:
Quote about the role of agency in affirming bilingual students' intelligence and identity in schools, by Mary Schleppegrell and colleagues.
