After reading Garcia et. al this week I found myself thinking a lot about what it means to translanguage in the classroom. I appreciated how García challenged the idea that a monolingual approach to academic language defines student success, by pointing out the shortcomings of classrooms that rely on narrow, limited forms of language instruction. Thinking about the languages of a bilingual student as two distinct and separate languages is a method of language policing that limits students to a small portion of their full linguistic potential. I appreciated how Garcia proposed a framework that accounted for the idea that a multi-lingual students true language is a intricate mix of all their linguistic capabilities and that they are not separate. This feeds into the policing of language because if multi-lingual students are forced to maintain a division between the languages they speak and label them as separate, it hinders the ability to use all linguistic elements they truly possess. The narrative that a student has to be "fixed" when they are bilingual as opposed to accepted for all their capabilities is shift that policy should reflect when thinking about language instruction in classrooms.
We can tie translanguaging to identity formation because not only does translanguaging in the classroom help students learn more effectively and utilize their multifaceted linguistic tool belts but it creates an environment of linguistic acceptance within the classroom and school. This would benefit students by not placing the "needs to be fixed" narrative on multilingual students as the environments they learn language in are actively accommodating their linguistic background as a tool itself. Instead of marginalizing multilingual students in classroom for the languages they speak, translangauging affirms a students identity and belonging. Overall the practice of educating educators on how to implement translanguaging in their classrooms will require more work, time and resources, but continuing to marginalize students because it "costs too much" or it is not important enough to spend resources on is a disservice to all students as language diversification is not a barrier to learning but a powerful asset that, when embraced, enriches the entire classroom community and promotes equity for all.