Translanguaging for Emergent Bilinguals

Translanguaging for Emergent Bilinguals is a thorough examination of the development, evolution, and current realities of educating emergent bilinguals in U.S. classrooms. Through engaging vignettes, readers follow the experiences of emergent bilinguals in a variety of monolingual settings, tracing the challenges encountered by both the students and the schools that serve them. The authors argue that the future of emergent bilingual education lies in an inclusive translanguaging pedagogy. By embracing home languages and cultures, this approach nurtures the development of multiple literacies, enabling individuals to thrive academically, socially, linguistically, and intellectually. The text begins by showing how the authors evolved from monolingual language educators to translanguaging educators and ends with concrete takeaways for successfully using this approach in different education settings.

Book Features:

• Challenges currently ubiquitous models for educating emergent bilinguals (EBs).
• Presents translanguaging as an approach that is well poised to serve the educational needs of EBs in the 21st-century globalized world.
• Draws on the experiences of the authors as bilinguals and as literacy educators who have worked with EBs and teachers for many years.
• Uses reader-friendly vignettes to illustrate and analyze the educational experience of EBs in U.S. schools.
• Answers questions and concerns through concrete strategies to help teachers implement translanguaging in diverse classrooms.

Danling Fu is a literacy professor in the College of Education, University of Florida. Xenia Hadjioannou is a language and literacy education professor at Penn State University, Harrisburg campus. Xiaodi Zhou is a language and literacy education professor in the College of Education of Georgia Southwestern State University.

“With remarkable writing ability, the authors in this book breathe life into a multifunctional translanguaging room through the vignettes in each chapter.”
-- From the Foreword by Ofelia García, The Graduate Center, City University of New York

“Fu, Hadjioannou, and Zhou have put together a fascinating volume offering practical as well as theoretical insights into translanguaging pedagogy. The focus on emergent bilinguals gives the book unique value and strengthens the argument that translanguaging is a positive and productive approach to learning. The rich examples of translanguaging practices in the volume open up new venues for practitioners, policymakers, and researchers alike for further studies and professional development.” —Li Wei, UCL Institute of Education, University College London, UK

“Translanguaging for Emergent Bilinguals contributes significantly to our understanding of the nature of translanguaging and its potential to transform the education of emergent bilingual students. Drawing on both research literature and a growing body of classroom experience, the authors insightfully articulate a wide variety of instructional strategies through which teachers can enable students to use translanguaging to expand their engagement with learning, affirm their identities, and ultimately increase their overall academic achievement."
—James Cummins, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto

Contents

Foreword by Ofelia García

Acknowledgments

Introduction
   The Journey from a Monolingual to a Translanguaging Perspective
   The Challenges in School for Emergent Bilinguals
   Overview of This Book

Chapter 1. Translanguaging: A Promising Approach for the Education of Emergent Bilinguals
   Demographic Shifts in U.S. Immigration
   A Fundamentally Monolingual Educational System
   Persistent Educational Challenges for Emergent Bilinguals
   Being Literate in a Globalized and Digitalized World
   Bilingual Practice and the Promise of Translanguaging
   Conclusion

Chapter 2. Meeting Academic Challenges
   Contrasting Monolingual ESL and Translanguaging in Meeting  Emergent Bilinguals' Academic Needs
   Considering Bilingual Programs or Translanguaging for Emergent Bilinguals' Academic Progress
   Conclusion

Chapter 3. Meeting Social Challenges
   Emergent Bilinguals in Monolingual School Settings: Encountering Social Challenges
   Translanguaging as an Alternative Social Outlook and Learning Environment
   Conclusion

Chapter 4. Meeting School Challenges
   Bilingual Education: Challenges and Solutions
   ESL Education for Emergent Bilinguals
   Translanguaging Practice in a Mainstream Classroom
   Conclusion

Chapter 5. Translanguaging in Action
   In Bilingual Education Settings
   In ESL Education Settings
   In Mainstream Classroom Settings
   Translanguaging and 21st-Century Global Competence

References

Index

About the Authors

Find additional chapter resources, companion videos, and more at http://www.translanguagingforebs.com/