Non-Western approaches to and views on translanguaging in multilingual education

Researchers are increasingly critically examining the implied norms of monoculturalism and monolingualism in dominant Western, especially Anglo, philosophies of language learning (e.g. García 2011, Weber 2014). One result has... [ view full abstract ]

Researchers are increasingly critically examining the implied norms of monoculturalism and monolingualism in dominant Western, especially Anglo, philosophies of language learning (e.g. García 2011, Weber 2014). One result has been the recent move from theories of codeswitching (a monolingual perspective of switching from one language to another in conversation) to theories of translanguaging (a multilingual perspective of fluidly using multiple languages however best fits the context) (c.f. Cenoz & Gorter 2015, García 2009). However, still missing is an understanding of translanguaging from a non-Western perspective. For example, translanguaging research to date does not consider that the espoused goals of multilingual education are not always the same for non-Western societies (e.g. while Western research considers translanguaging useful for international communication and opportunities, this is often less important to Pasifika communities than supporting community cohesion) (Amituanai-Toloa 2009). Our panel therefore addresses this gap in translanguaging research by asking, ‘How can we challenge and expand our understanding of translanguaging into non-Western domains?’

           This panel brings together researchers who are both literally and figuratively crossing borders into non-Western domains in order to address translanguaging research from a non-Western perspective. Areas under discussion in this panel include a cross-regional analysis of China, the United States, and New Zealand; a Pasifika perspective of translanguaging in space and place; linguistic diversity through an Indigenous perspective; pedagogical translanguaging in South Africa; translanguaging for endangered languages; and the global co-construction of knowledge through translanguaging.

References:

Amituanai-Toloa, M. (2009). What is a Pasifika research methodology? The ‘tupua’ in the winds of change. Journal of the Pacific Circle Consortium for Education, 21(2), 45-53.

Cenoz, J., & Gorter, D. (2015). (Eds.). Multilingual education: Between language learning and translanguaging. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

García, O. (2009). Education, multilingualism and translanguaging in the 21^st century. In T. Skuttnabb-Kangas, R. Phillipson, A. Mohanty, & M. Panda (eds.), Social justice through multilingual education (pp. 140-158). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.

García, O. (2011). Educating New York’s bilingual children: Constructing a future from the past. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 14, 133-153. Weber, J.J. (2014). Flexible multilingual education: Putting children’s needs first. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.