The videos from this week highlight the importance of translanguaging as the foundation for teaching Emergent Bilinguals. Through the videos, it was clear how teachers view bilingualism as an asset to improve their education rather than a deficit. I think I really appreciated how teachers considered the student’s linguistic practices not only in the classroom but beyond that. By acknowledging students' identities and strengths, teachers become co-creators that allow them to value students' lived experiences and linguistic repertoires.
Espinet’s text develops the idea of critical translanguaging literacies pedagogy empowers educators to affirm students' linguistic practices and their identities by also critiquing †he inequalities that dehumanize emergent bilinguals. It encourages the implementation of textos that center Latinx children and their communities as well questioning racism and language hierarchies. One of the things that really stood out to me was the discussion of italicization and translation in these textos. The choice to italicize Spanish or not deeply affects how a reader interprets the characters identity and language practices. Choosing to italicize Spanish unnecessarily and not for emphasis marks the language as the “other,” separate from English, and leaves it for interpretation in a stereotypical way. It is essential for Spanish to be written naturally without italics to mirror the authentic language practices of the Latinx community. Similarly, not including translations of words or Spanish quotes is a powerful political and pedagogical choice. It validates Spanish as fully legitimate and refuses to exclusively provide service to English-speaking audiences. This also challenges linguistic hierarchies by appreciating translanguaging practices or bilingual practices rather than sticking to monoglossic linguistic structure.
The “I’m Multilingual” reading emphasizes what translanguaging can look like when it is intentionally integrated into school practice. The design of the KAPPA schools positions translanguaging and bilingualism at the core of education. One example that made me think dialectically about this was Jaime using multimodal communication by including images and drawing that illustrates how translanguaging goes beyond languages and how much it interconnects to multiple modes of knowledge and making meaning. I really appreciated KAPPA's approach and how much it provides a model on how schools can create transformational spaces that connect classroom pedagogy with linguistic and cultural practices of students that affirm their linguistic identities and create environments where multilingualism is celebrated. This was also reflected by the example of the t-shirts that had the phrase “Im multilingual. Are you?” that celebrates multilingualism but also opens the space to have conversations about the importance of using their whole linguistic repertoire and the appreciation of Multilingual programs. Overall, this reading really reinforced how much translanguaging is not just a teaching method but a tool that transforms how we think about linguistic practices, power dynamics on linguistics, and belonging in education.