Contributed by Joy Hamm
One culturally responsive method for celebrating our English Learners’ linguistic and cultural capital, specifically those who are native language literate, is by providing translanguaged books. Translanguaging is the fluid interchange between more than one language and encourages English Learners (ELs) to use their native language as a resource (García & Wei, 2014). Authors such as Julia Alvarez, Sandra Cisneros, and Judith Ortiz Cofer have experimented with the uninterrupted alternation between languages, which Otheguy, García and Reid (2015) have defined as “deployment of a speaker’s full linguistic repertoire without regard for watchful adherence to the socially and politically defined boundaries of…languages” (p. 281). An example of translanguaging, or the merging of two languages, is seen in Judith Ortiz Cofer’s (2004) novel, Call Me María: “[Mama] will say ¡Mira que lindo! while she’s dressing you for kindergarten and tell you that you will break many corazones in your life” (p. 25).
This brief explanation of translanguaging supports why our ELs, specifically native language literate, will benefit from this method of culturally and linguistically responsive reading. For more information, visit the following hyperlinks: CUNY-NYSIEB, check out their translanguaging guides, or download a list of Latino/a translaguaged books for K-12 students.
“An English-speaking Chinese girl, a Spanish-speaking man, and a Polish-speaking woman might not be able to converse, but when a sparrow trapped in their subway car needs help, their common concern bridges the language barriers between them.” (Amazon summary)
“Maria is a girl caught between two worlds: Puerto Rico, where she was born, and New York, where she now lives in a basement apartment in the barrio. While her mother remains on the island, Maria lives with her father, the super of their building. As she struggles to lose her island accent, Maria does her best to find her place within the unfamiliar culture of the barrio. Finally, with the Spanglish of the barrio people ringing in her ears, she finds the poet within herself.” (Amazon summary)
References
García, O., & Wei, L. (2014). Translanguaging: Language, bilingualism, and education. New York, NY: Pal-grave MacMillan.
Otheguy, R., García, O., & Reid, W. (2015). Clarifying translanguaging and deconstructing named languages: A perspective from linguistics. Applied Linguistics Review, 6(3), 281-307. https://doi.org/ 0.1515/applirev-2015-0014
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