Pedagogical translanguaging and the construction of science knowledge in a multilingual South African classroom: challenging monoglossic/post-colonial orthodoxies

Probyn, Margie

doi:10.1080/19463014.2019.1628792

Cited by 51 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…For teachers to accept such practices (marking a student down for spelling) can be visible as a vital evil and a deviation from a monolingual ideal and a source of conflict and tension" [63,64,65]. Contrary to this view, Sobahle [52] argues that "it has also been established that students have both social and linguistic reasons for code-switching".…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Literacies in Multiple Languages in Higher Education: A Case Study on How Bi/Multilingual Students Acquire a 'Voice' to Strengthen Their Academic Writing

Pfeiffer¹

2021

ujer

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Research indicates that regularly bi/multilingual university students lean on their whole language repertoire whilst they may be writing in a language that is not always their home language (L1). Commonly, many university students are writing in a language that is not always their L1 and accordingly they locate methods to express themselves in their second or third language (L2/L3) efficiently. The cognizance of this paper can be at the impact of code-switching on university students at some point of the writing process. This qualitative study was conducted on university students in Switzerland and Brazil, in which they have been requested to finish a written questionnaire in English. The questions addressed in this paper study the variety of students that use their L1 'voice' whilst they may be writing. This paper also looks at the way students use their L1 'voice' when they undertake an extended writing task. An analytical tool regarding andragogy was used to research the facts to recognize the complexities that mature writers go through. Bi/multilingual students believe that once they write in English they think in English, however, the facts advocate this is not always constantly the case. In addition to my findings, it appears that L2 students are continuously borrowing words/phrases from their L1 whilst they may be writing in a language that is not always their L1. The implication of this study is to demonstrate lexical transfer that L2/L3 students make at some stage during their writing and that this should be regarded as the lack of exact equivalency in their L1 and not a lack of language proficiency. Finally, this study addresses methods whereby bi/multilingual students may want to use their code-switching to help them in their academic writing.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Literacies in Multiple Languages in Higher Education: A Case Study on How Bi/Multilingual Students Acquire a 'Voice' to Strengthen Their Academic Writing

Pfeiffer¹

2021

ujer

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“…As a pedagogical approach, translanguaging underscores the flexibility of multilingualism, considering the use of racialized, dynamic, and fluid language practices as valuable for their own sake and for the purpose of expanding students' semiotic repertoires and facilitating content-area learning. Some studies have highlighted that translanguaging pedagogies leverage students' familiar language practices to access new practices in the language of instruction and those valued within particular disciplines (e.g., Probyn, 2019). For example, Poza (2018) found that 5th-grade students' translanguaging practices facilitated the development of numerous skills central to those valued in science learning, including the use of discipline-specific vocabulary and visual supports to navigate complex texts, as well as skills surrounding the categorization of objects.…”

Section: Translanguagingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dismantling Persistent Deficit Narratives About the Language and Literacy of Culturally and Linguistically Minoritized Children and Youth: Counter-Possibilities

et al. 2021

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Despite decades of efforts, deficit narratives regarding language development and use by children and students from historically marginalized backgrounds remain persistent in the United States. Examining selective literature, we discuss the ideologies that undergird two deficit narratives: the notion that some children have a “word gap” when compared to their White middle-class peers, and students must develop “academic language” to engage in rigorous content learning. The “word gap” concept came from a study wherein a group of young children in low-income families heard fewer words than those in middle-class families. It assumes that language can only be acquired in one way—vocabulary exchange from one parent to one child—and ignores decades of research on diverse pathways for language development. We highlight an alternative perspective that language development builds on children’s experience with cultural practices and the harm on minoritized children by privileging a specific form of vocabulary acquisition. The second deficit narrative concerns “academic language,” a concept championed by scholars aiming to address educational inequity. The construct runs the risk of undervaluing the potential of students from historically marginalized backgrounds to engage in learning using language that is “informal,” nonconventional, or “non-native like.” It also is sometimes used as a rationale to relegate students to special programs isolated from more rigorous academic discourse, thus ironically removing them from opportunities to develop the academic registers they are deemed to be missing. We explore alternative frameworks that shift the focus from linguistic features of academic talk and texts as prerequisites for academic work to the broad range of linguistic resources that students employ for academic purposes in the classroom. Finally, we turn to a positive approach to youths’ language development and use: translanguaging by multilingual learners and their teachers. Translanguaging demonstrates the power of a resource-oriented perspective that values students’ rich communicative repertoires and actively seeks to disrupt language hierarchies. We argue that this approach, however, must be considered in relation to the broader social context to meet its transformative aims. Together, our analysis suggests counter-possibilities to dismantle deficit-oriented narratives and points to promising directions for research and practices to reduce inequity in education.

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“…Current studies in EAC in the South African context have focused mainly on science and mathematics teaching, such as Msimanga et al (2017), Msimanga and Erduran (2018), and Setati (2001). There is, however, an expanse of research output that focuses on mother tongue instruction (Heugh, 2009;Mathole, 2016) and translanguaging practices (Makalela, 2015;Probyn, 2019), which although related to EAC do not emphasise this approach. Thus, the purpose of this study is to come up with suggestions for improving the implementation of EAC by exploring the views of content subject teachers.…”

Section: The Context Of the Study: English Across The Curriculum In South Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

Content Subject Teachers’ Views of Implementing the English Across the Curriculum (EAC) Approach: A Study of Some South African High Schools

Mpofu

Maphalala

2021

JLE

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This article explores the views held by content subject teachers on the implementation of the English Across the Curriculum (EAC) approach in their high school classrooms. In South Africa, the EAC approach has been part of the school curriculum since 2014; however, to date, there is a paucity of studies that have focused on understanding how high school teachers implement this approach. In 2017, the South African Department of Basic Education reported that high school teachers were not using this approach without indicating why this was the case. To provide the views of the teachers, the present study drew theoretical insights from reflective teaching to explore the phenomenon. We conducted a qualitative intrinsic case study inquiry, during which we examined the views that 15 high school teachers held on implementing English language skills in content subjects. We collected data using a focus group interview form prepared based on Gibb's model. The findings indicate that content subject teachers have views on (i) the merits of EAC in general language development, (ii) EAC as a challenge to pedagogical-content knowledge, and (iii) strategies for improving the implementation of the EAC approach. This exploratory study has certain implications for the practice of implementing the EAC approach in content teaching, finding that there may be merit in the use of targeted continuing professional development for content teachers when implementing EAC. Secondly, there is a need for partnerships between teachers of English as a second language and content subject teachers, as this cross-curricular collaboration has the potential to enhance the implementation of the EAC approach in high school classrooms.

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Pedagogical translanguaging and the construction of science knowledge in a multilingual South African classroom: challenging monoglossic/post-colonial orthodoxies

Cited by 51 publications

References 27 publications

Literacies in Multiple Languages in Higher Education: A Case Study on How Bi/Multilingual Students Acquire a 'Voice' to Strengthen Their Academic Writing

Literacies in Multiple Languages in Higher Education: A Case Study on How Bi/Multilingual Students Acquire a 'Voice' to Strengthen Their Academic Writing

Dismantling Persistent Deficit Narratives About the Language and Literacy of Culturally and Linguistically Minoritized Children and Youth: Counter-Possibilities

Content Subject Teachers’ Views of Implementing the English Across the Curriculum (EAC) Approach: A Study of Some South African High Schools

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