Making Space for Multilingualism: Using Translanguaging Pedagogies to Disrupt Monolingual Language Ideologies within a Culturally Responsive Kindergarten Curriculum
Abstract:Monolingual language ideologies marginalize the language resources of multilingual students in English‐dominant classrooms. A teacher shares her experience of learning to leverage kindergarten students’ full linguistic repertoires. Translanguaging pedagogies allowed children to demonstrate their linguistic knowledge, provide authentic accounts of their own personal experience, and connect with family and community resources.
“…Neo‐nationalist discourses manifest in everyday classroom interactions through monolingual language ideologies (Chang‐Bacon, 2021; McClain & Schrodt, 2021; Wiley, 2014). As such, classrooms represent microcosms in which students are enculturated—both implicitly and explicitly—to reflect nationalist ideologies of language and social belonging.…”
Section: Theoretical Framework: Classroom Language Ideologies As Neo‐...mentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Daily incidents of students being reprimanded for using languages other than English have been widely documented and unabashedly reported as school policy or supposed effective pedagogy (G andara & Hopkins, 2010). Even without overt language restriction, bilingual children can keenly recognize the English dominance and devaluation of other languages in school spaces (McClain & Schrodt, 2021).…”
Neo‐national ideologies are often associated with despots and political extremists. Yet, we argue that neo‐nationalist discourses also manifest in everyday TESOL classroom interactions. In English‐dominant contexts, teachers send potent messages about who does or does not “belong” in classrooms, largely based on racialized notions of English proficiency. These dynamics create a classroom microcosm where students are apprenticed into linguistic normativity and anti‐immigrant sentiments, ultimately sustaining future generations of neo‐nationalist rhetoric. In light of these dynamics, we believe that teachers can play a key role in disrupting normative, monolingual language ideologies in classrooms, but that they often feel underprepared to do so. In this brief research report, we present findings from our ongoing examination of TESOL licensure endorsement candidates responding to deficit‐oriented microaggressions about multilingual learners in a simulated environment. Our results suggest teacher candidates have the desire to promote asset‐based orientations around multilingualism, but are often unable to do so in real time. These findings have important implications for teacher education and the underutilized potential of teachers for disrupting deficit‐oriented monolingual discourses that too easily turn into neo‐nationalist ideologies.
“…Neo‐nationalist discourses manifest in everyday classroom interactions through monolingual language ideologies (Chang‐Bacon, 2021; McClain & Schrodt, 2021; Wiley, 2014). As such, classrooms represent microcosms in which students are enculturated—both implicitly and explicitly—to reflect nationalist ideologies of language and social belonging.…”
Section: Theoretical Framework: Classroom Language Ideologies As Neo‐...mentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Daily incidents of students being reprimanded for using languages other than English have been widely documented and unabashedly reported as school policy or supposed effective pedagogy (G andara & Hopkins, 2010). Even without overt language restriction, bilingual children can keenly recognize the English dominance and devaluation of other languages in school spaces (McClain & Schrodt, 2021).…”
Neo‐national ideologies are often associated with despots and political extremists. Yet, we argue that neo‐nationalist discourses also manifest in everyday TESOL classroom interactions. In English‐dominant contexts, teachers send potent messages about who does or does not “belong” in classrooms, largely based on racialized notions of English proficiency. These dynamics create a classroom microcosm where students are apprenticed into linguistic normativity and anti‐immigrant sentiments, ultimately sustaining future generations of neo‐nationalist rhetoric. In light of these dynamics, we believe that teachers can play a key role in disrupting normative, monolingual language ideologies in classrooms, but that they often feel underprepared to do so. In this brief research report, we present findings from our ongoing examination of TESOL licensure endorsement candidates responding to deficit‐oriented microaggressions about multilingual learners in a simulated environment. Our results suggest teacher candidates have the desire to promote asset‐based orientations around multilingualism, but are often unable to do so in real time. These findings have important implications for teacher education and the underutilized potential of teachers for disrupting deficit‐oriented monolingual discourses that too easily turn into neo‐nationalist ideologies.
“…At the same time, US classrooms are increasingly diverse in terms of students’ cultures and language (Irwin et al, 2021), and this diversity comes with a recognition of varied home language and literacy practices and “funds of knowledge” (González et al, 2005) from families and communities. Students from all backgrounds, but in particular students from immigrant and multilingual families, benefit from sharing time routines that incorporate their family, community, and cultural experiences (McClain & Schrodt, 2021; Protacio & Edwards, 2015). Students and their families are a source of a wealth of diverse knowledge to contribute to the classroom learning community and provide a foundation for rich classroom discourse (Souto‐Manning & Martell, 2016).…”
Classroom discourse serves an important role in language, literacy, and other content area learning in early childhood and elementary classrooms. In this article, the authors define discourse as it relates to teaching and learning and overview the background of research on the topic. Then classroom discourse is reconsidered in the current context, including the field's growing understanding of the importance of knowledge for literacy, increasingly diverse student populations, and the rising prevalence of technology for instruction. Two traditional classroom discourse practices, sharing time and small‐group discussions, are revisited with these considerations. Suggestions are presented for how educators may update their approach to facilitating these types of discourse activities.
“…Teachers should honor these varying levels, building from what students know. In addition, students may pull from their home literacy experiences, integrating multiple languages into their writing (McClain & Schrodt, 2021). Listen to Ada share in Spanish about a time she wished her grandmother would buy her a doll but chose to go to another store instead.…”
Section: Oral Storytelling As a Foundation For Emergent Writingmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Excessive focus on isolated foundational skills in early childhood classrooms can frame culturally and linguistically minoritized children as deficient, thereby negatively shaping their sense of belonging in school settings (Dyson, 2018) and limiting their agency (Bingham et al, 2017). In contrast, writing instruction that integrates generative, conceptual, and procedural knowledge provides linguistically minoritized students a space of self‐declaration that affirms their identities (Dyson, 2018; McClain & Schrodt, 2021; Rohloff et al, 2022) while supporting foundational literacy skills (Rowe et al, 2021).…”
Oral storytelling is a culturally sustaining practice that aids emergent writing development by leveraging family and community capital to bridge student access to school-based literacy practices.
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