DISCUSSION
Respond individual to the 1ST respond and 2ND respond each one individual an a positive way with positive comments to the peers. AS A PERSONAL OPINION USE POSITIVE COMMENTS.
1ST RESPOND Translanguaging in Today’s Classrooms
Strike #1
Right off the bat, I can’t help but notice the year that this was written in. The information and data that was cited within the article is even older. From 1998- 2008, there was a 51% increase in the immigrant population. Imagine what the population is now? I have been in education for 29 years. I have not seen much change in the manner in which immigrant students are provided services/education. I am lucky, I guess, in that I teach in an area where I can fluently speak the majority language. I have been around long enough to see the same programs called different names. The programs are now being offered via digital formats. Students sit in front of a computer to learn a new language.
Strike #2
High stakes testing in English is a sore topic among educators. In Texas, nothing has changed since this article was written. Students can test in their native language up until 5th grade. In middle school, they will start testing in English regardless of how long they have been in the US or whatever country they come from.The use of headphones is allowed. Headphones allow for a text to be read out loud, Last year, a new student from Matamoros enrolled at my school and was placed in my classroom, two weeks before the STAAR test. She had to take the test. She was allowed headphones for the English STAAR test to be read allowed. She was also allowed a digital Spanish/English dictionary. I have always been against high stakes testing to determine a child’s ability or career pathway.
Strike #3
Re: Beatriz – She attended school in Pennsylvania. Education was provided in English. She worked in collaborative groups with Spanish speaking classmates. How many of her teachers spoke Spanish? Was it a sink or swim situation for Beatriz? In other words, was it complete immersion into an English only environment.. I worked in North Carolina. I was the ONLY teacher on campus that spoke Spanish. The students I was asked to talk to too had to learn to speak English – they had no other option. I now teach in Brownsville, right on the border, a Spanish speaking student does not have to learn English to succeed in my community.
2ND RESPOND STRIKE ONE:
My Dad always says the best way to learn another language is to be immersed in it: watch movies in that language, read books in that language, listen to music in that language, even move to that foreign country and spend a month in that language, etc. I completely agree with him. I feel that a person’s constant immersion in language is paramount and think starting as early as possible with a child is key. I am pleased to see a successful Scenario 1 with “A Mexican-heritage first-grader in Pennsylvania mov[ing] fluidly back and forth between English and Spanish over the course of her day.” (Hornberger & Link 240) At such an early age, shifting from one language to the next almost becomes second-nature which will only lead to a successful life of biliteracy. If only all U.S. students could experience this!
STRIKE TWO:
“Obama’s positive outlook on bilingualism recognizes not just the fact that children of US immigrants rapidly learn English, but also the notion that multilingualism provides economic advantages.” (Hornberger & Link 240) This is almost a follow-up to my Strike One: Are there really any DIS-advantages to being multilingual? I cannot think of anything, but perhaps my fellow students can? It really seems like a win-win in every scenario: business or personal. Is there honestly anyone out there that is not impressed when they meet someone who is fluent in multiple languages? I remember one of my teachers in New York City easily shifting from one conversation in one language to the next without missing a beat; he was his own interpreter: one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen!
STRIKE THREE:
I love this idea that, in terms of multilingual classrooms, “educators need not master each and every language spoken by their students to use translanguaging as a pedagogical practice” (Hornberger & Link 242). I’m sure there are a number of teachers reading this who can breathe a sigh of relief. (I know I did!) I think the emphasis in the classroom shouldn’t be on a teacher who is 100% fluent in multiple languages, but a teacher that is fluent enough (and courageous enough) to face a classroom of multiple languages. In a perfect world, every classroom has a passionate teacher that has a workable grasp on multiple language – but, how realistic is this scenario? I’ve always said this: success in the classroom comes down to the teacher. A teacher who hasn’t mastered multiple languages but encourages multilingualism at school is SO much more effective than a teacher who is multilinguchoal but doesn’t foster excitement.
