Teaching Tips for Translanguaging

Senior Teaching Associate Josianne Block unpacks the concept of translanguaging. Josianne shares insights on how embracing learners’ linguistic resources can enhance communication, foster inclusivity, and create a more dynamic learning environment.

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Key talking points

What is translanguaging?
Josianne defines translanguaging as the natural blending of languages to communicate effectively. She shares real-world examples, such as using gestures, words from other languages we know, and cultural knowledge to convey meaning.

The role of translanguaging
Josianne explains how translanguaging reflects the interconnected nature of languages in our minds. Far from being a shortcut, it’s a powerful tool for building confidence and fostering curiosity among learners.

Classroom strategies
Josianne describes how she incorporates translanguaging into her teaching, including:

• Starting lessons by writing vocabulary words in learners' languages.

• Exploring cross-linguistic similarities with idioms and expressions.

• Creating visual displays that highlight the linguistic diversity of her students.

Safe learning spaces
Josianne emphasises the importance of establishing clear guidelines for using learners’ first languages. She shares how this approach helps students transition from relying on their native languages to gaining confidence in English.

Quick ideas to try

1. Vocabulary Connections: Begin a lesson by having students write translations of key vocabulary in other languages they speak on the board to spark engagement.

2. Compare Idioms: Discuss an English idiom and invite students to share similar expressions in their own languages.

3. Celebrate Linguistic Diversity: Create classroom charts or displays featuring common phrases in all the languages spoken by your learners.

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About Josianne

Josianne is based in Malta, a small island in the Mediterranean. She has over ten years of teaching experience in English and currently works as a senior teaching associate at the University of Malta. Josianne holds an M.A. in Applied Linguistics and TESOL and is also qualified to teach Italian and Maltese as foreign languages. Having taught several integration programmes, she is particularly interested in language dynamics and linguistic diversity within multilingual contexts. She also actively participates in local and international ELT conferences and enjoys conducting research.

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References & Resources

• Garcia, O., & Wei, L. (2014). Translanguaging: Language, Bilingualism and Education. Palgrave Macmillan.

• Kerr, P. (2014). Translation and Own-language Activities. Cambridge University Press.

• Translanguaging Guides. CUNY-NYSIEB. (2021). Available at https://www.cunynysieb.org/ translanguaging-re Accessed on 19/11/2024.

Watch the video with closed captions or refer to the transcript below.

Transcript

00:00:00:03 - 00:00:04:01

Laura

TESOL Pop, Season ten, episode nine.

00:00:04:03 - 00:00:22:24

Laura

Hello and welcome to TESOL Pop, the mini podcast for busy teachers. My name is Laura and joining me today to talk about Translanguaging is Josianne Block. Now what exactly is Translanguaging and how can we bring it into a classroom? These are the topics we're talking about in this episode. So let's jump to the conversation where I asked Josianne to explain what is Translanguaging mean to her.

00:00:23:01 - 00:00:52:00

Josianne

I would like to start by giving an example. So let's imagine that we're in a restaurant and I'm Spanish speaking, but I'm talking to you in English and I would ask you, could you pass me the pimienta, please? No, not the salt, the black pimienta. So I don't know the way the English word pepper. So I'm replacing it with the Spanish equivalent, hoping that you would still understand what I'm

00:00:52:11 - 00:01:18:18

Josianne

saying. And for me, that is Translanguaging. So using all the languages that I know, using all my linguistic resources, even gestures, so that I communicate my message to you. In reality, when I like think of Translanguaging, I always think of a very strong tree with very strong roots, like a very old tree with very strong roots.

00:01:18:20 - 00:01:46:05

Josianne

And the same happens in our mind during language production. The way that roots are intertwined is the same with languages. So they are not separate. They're all blended together. So when I'm speaking in English, the other languages that I know will help me communicate my meaning better. You know, so rather than separate languages, I use them all to convey my message.

00:01:46:07 - 00:02:04:10

Laura

And we see this happening in every day. I'm just thinking about the example you gave. I do that every day and using my German. There's moments where I forget a word and I have to point at things or gesture like you say, or use a French word that maybe the people here, because I live in Switzerland, they may know that.

00:02:04:12 - 00:02:13:05

Laura

And you kind of just trying to get that message across, aren’t you? Trying to communicate effectively to get the meaning across and to be understood?

00:02:13:07 - 00:02:26:16

Josianne

Absolutely. I mean, we multilinguals like, okay, even if we're speaking in a language, sometimes we can't think of a specific word and then the word in another language pops up. So, you know, it's like a blend of languages.

00:02:26:18 - 00:02:45:11

Laura

In terms of your language learning experience, because, you speak multiple languages and you've studied them in schools, in different settings. Have you experienced translanguaging being used in your learning journey, or was is this quite new to you? I mean, I know you're a teacher now. I just wonder what your experiences with it.

00:02:45:13 - 00:03:06:04

Josianne

Oh, it's it's quite new. I mean, so my native language is Maltese, but when I was 11 years old, I started also learning Italian and French. And at the time in Malta, at least, the teachers were trained to like, speak only the language of instruction. So they wouldn't say a word in Maltese. They wouldn't say a word in English.

00:03:06:06 - 00:03:28:17

Josianne

Some teachers were less rigid about it. But then I remember I had a very, very strict French teacher, for example, and she spoke only French, which was my first year learning French. And I think her intentions were good. I mean, she wanted us to be exposed to French. She wanted us to try and speak in French.

00:03:28:23 - 00:03:54:07

Josianne

But in reality I wasn't very confident in French yet. So I just sat there I didn't say a word, even if I had like a question, or if I wanted her to clarify something, I wouldn't ask because I was really, really afraid to use French at that point. I think it's still translanguaging it's still a relatively new thing in Malta.

00:03:54:12 - 00:04:18:22

Josianne

I think since Malta also is like a bilingual country, English is an official language. We really value the importance of English. So we try to use only English in our English language teaching usually. However, things are changing, even if we look at the Maltese society. For example, now one out of five people in Malta are not Maltese nationals.

00:04:18:23 - 00:04:30:11

Josianne

So society is becoming more multicultural. I mean, we cannot just ignore the other languages, you know, because they are very, very present in society and even in the classroom as well.

00:04:30:13 - 00:04:45:07

Laura

So when you're teaching, you said that translanguaging is a feature that you brought into your classrooms. Well, what does it look like? Could you give us a snapshot of what's happening when you're teaching your young adults, right? You're teaching young adults and teenagers.

00:04:45:09 - 00:05:10:10

Josianne

Yes, yes, yes. My students are mostly between 13 and 16 years old. And first of all, I'd like to think that, like Translanguaging and even the use of the first day, first language is not something - it's something natural, you know. It's like I said in the beginning, it's a natural process. So whether I like it or not, I think that is where it happened, to be honest.

00:05:10:12 - 00:05:44:04

Josianne

However, like examples, I don't know, from the classroom, like when they're doing group work. And so there are two students who speak the same language. They will ask for help in their first L1 [first language] to, communicate what they're saying when they don't know a word, they would translate it, and so on. But even if, two people speak a different language, they they would still, if they don't know a word in English, they would still like, use their languages to find similarities between their language.

00:05:44:05 - 00:06:07:07

Josianne

For example, I've had a Spanish student and then Italian student. Now the languages are very similar. Yes, but they would like, I don't know, this word in English, but I know it's in Italian. And the other one knew it in Spanish. And they would like, it's almost the same word you know. So it's, it instils a lot of curiosity among the learners.

00:06:07:09 - 00:06:43:12

Josianne

And for example, last year I also discovered that the English word eraser, like the Maltese equivalent and the Vietnamese equivalent is very similar. And that for me was very strange because they are two languages which are completely different. But the way they sound, we say gomma and even in Vietnamese they say something similar. So I try to build a lot of you know, like build on this curiosity and on this linguistic diversity among the learners.

00:06:43:14 - 00:07:06:02

Josianne

Even if you look at the classroom, there are visual charts in which their languages are included. I think the most important thing is that, I try to make them feel that it's okay to use their first language. It's not something like to be ashamed of your first language is something that you should be proud of.

00:07:06:04 - 00:07:34:08

Laura

I'm really interested in how you're training your learners to kind of utilise all their language tools in the classroom, without taking risks and using the language that they're learning, because it can be quite, well, I think I'm speaking more from the perspective of older teens and adults that I've taught before. They can be a bit reticent about taking that leap to make mistakes in the language they're learning, and they can end up staying in their comfort zone of the languages they know.

00:07:34:14 - 00:07:48:01

Laura

I wonder how you kind of push your students to recognise that they've got these wonderful language tools, use them, but also use it in a way that pushes you forward in your progress.

00:07:48:03 - 00:08:14:07

Josianne

I think it's, continuous. It's a gradual thing, you know. So the first thing is that it's very important that the rules are well established from the beginning. So I would, I would like to, I would like them to know when it's okay to use their first language. In other situations, it's not okay (sort of) - I would prefer them to use English.

00:08:14:09 - 00:08:39:04

Josianne

And it's very important for them to know that their language is not there to replace English. It's there to facilitate the English learning process. It's something that like goes hand in hand. But it's not that they, they can only use, for example, Italian or Maltese or whatever. This is something that, I mean, it's a it's a bit of a challenge.

00:08:39:04 - 00:09:17:02

Josianne

They learn gradually, but I really, really make it clear that just using your first language without using English, that's not translanguaging that would be like abusing, you know. So, I think the most important thing is that from the beginning, we try to establish a very safe environment. What happens usually is that in the beginning they would like depend on their first language a lot, but as we move along, they would use more English and less their first language.

00:09:17:04 - 00:09:40:02

Josianne

So I try to develop a safe environment where they can trust me and like we don't, we're all all, all in this together. So our aim is to learn English because English is important to integrate into Maltese society. So yes, we use our language, but we have that mindset, mindset in place.

00:09:40:02 - 00:10:00:01

Laura

So I'm listers are thinking, how can I bring translanguaging more into my classrooms? Without taking too much time? Because obviously, you know, the whole premise behind TESOL Pop is mini things for people to take away and try. What would you suggest for listeners to have a go at this week?

00:10:00:03 - 00:10:23:04

Josianne

I'm going to maybe suggest something that I did in the beginning of this translanguaging journey for me. For example, let's say we're teaching a new topic, let's say food. What I do is I would write the word food on the whiteboard, and then I will ask them to come and write the word in their first language. This is fun.

00:10:23:06 - 00:10:47:24

Josianne

It's like, fun way to introduce the topic. But it's also like acknowledges the language of the learners. And then we would compare it to different languages. We would see the similarities with English and maybe the differences, like it's not just they're just numbers that I'm acknowledging, not just you as a student, but also where you come from, your linguistic background and so on.

00:10:48:01 - 00:11:14:08

Josianne

So this sets the ground for learning, I think. So no more motivated. And yeah, to build that relationship even with me. Then another thing I do is every week we learn an expression in English or an idiom, I don't know, a piece of cake, break a leg and so on. We do it via a game, hangman.

00:11:14:10 - 00:11:47:22

Josianne

And then when we guess it, first we explain the meaning, but then I ask them to stop and reflect about their native language. And maybe there is a similar expression. It could be a direct translation, but it could be something completely different. For example, once I was doing to go cold turkey and there was a student from Colombia, she told us, ‘oh, in Colombia was, say, to cut a tree from its roots,’ for example.

00:11:47:24 - 00:12:14:04

Josianne

So it's, very interesting and it increases language awareness. We're not just there to learn English, but also to be aware of how languages work after all. I think this also leads to what a person I follow call it co-learning. So it's not just the teacher teaching and the learners learning, it's more like of a collaborative process.

00:12:14:06 - 00:12:34:08

Josianne

I think if we're going to use Translanguaging in the classroom, we should like not be afraid to give a bit of our teacher authority to the students. So yes, we are teaching English, but we're also learning from our students as well. So it's this, sort of collaborative yeah thing.

00:12:34:12 - 00:12:43:05

Laura

Josianne it's been lovely talking to you today. Thank you so much for sharing insights and translanguaging and sharing those lovely activities for people to try this week.

00:12:43:07 - 00:12:50:03

Josianne

Thank you. It's been great talking to you. It was an amazing opportunity, honestly. Thank you.

00:12:50:05 - 00:13:07:16

Laura

So if you'd like to follow Josianne and her work on Translanguaging and everything else English language teaching, then you can check her out on LinkedIn. I've included her link to her LinkedIn socials in the show notes so you can find those easily. Now, if you have a question or an idea that you'd like to pitch to TESOL Pop, you can contact us by going to the website tesolpop.com.

00:13:07:17 - 00:13:28:20

Laura

Finally, you can support the work that we do here at TESOL Pop by sharing today's episode with your teaching community to continue the conversation, by leaving a rating and review wherever you listen to the podcast so more educators can discover us, or by even buying Haven and I a coffee by going to ko-fi.com/tesolpop

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