Translanguaging as a Practical Theory of Language

Wei, Li

doi:10.1093/applin/amx039

Cited by 1,278 publications

(312 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Concerns include difficulties in assigning phenomena to what appear to be discrete, preconceived, stable levels (scales), or conflating within the same “macro” level both global and local ideologies, and seemingly assigning such macro factors a determinist role in phenomena occurring at different scales. Canagarajah () and Li Wei () elaborate on, and illustrate, some of the problems with using traditional, static, structuralist categories related to time and space or even languages themselves.…”

Section: Theorizing the Social In Dfg () And Beyondmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Dimensions and Processes in Second Language Acquisition: Multilingual Socialization in Transnational Contexts

Duff

2019

The Modern Language Journal

105

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Social aspects of second language acquisition (SLA) and the contexts in which people attempt to learn and use languages and seek to become integrated within new and changing cultures have been examined for decades from various theoretical perspectives. In this article, I present some of the ways in which ‘social’ experience is being theorized in SLA and in broader fields that intersect with SLA, such as linguistic anthropology. I then discuss how the Douglas Fir Group (DFG, 2016) originally portrayed the many interlinking factors affecting SLA in our multilingual world on several analytic levels and suggest ways of perhaps reconceptualizing the model while retaining its powerful heuristic value. Next, I describe language socialization research as 1 productive social approach and provide examples of research in 2 transnational domains—study abroad and heritage language learning—that demonstrate a multiscalar approach to examining social dimensions of language development and use. The article ends with a discussion of transdisciplinarity in SLA research. I suggest possibilities for team‐based research projects that aim to understand cases from multiple, integrated perspectives on different scales of analysis, and then provide a brief reflection on some of the troubling political ideologies that SLA researchers who embrace multilingualism must now confront on a daily basis.

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Section: Theorizing the Social In Dfg () And Beyondmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Dimensions and Processes in Second Language Acquisition: Multilingual Socialization in Transnational Contexts

Duff

2019

The Modern Language Journal

105

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“…This interaction illustrates Herman's capacity to draw upon a variety of interactional resources that he holds in common with his interaction partner, including transitions from Spanish to English and back again (Wagner ). Writ large, incorporating multiple languages within meaning making processes is referred to as translanguaging (Wei ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Question–response–evaluation sequences in the home interactions of a bilingual child with autism spectrum disorder

Bottema‐Beutel

Oliveira

Cohen

et al. 2019

Intl J Lang & Comm Disor

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Background Prior research has described the prevalence and utility of questions in children's language learning environment. However, there has been little empirical investigation of the interaction sequences that ensue following caregiver questions. Understanding these interactions may be especially important for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), who may have difficulty engaging in reciprocal interactions. Question–response–evaluation sequences (QRE) are a particular type of interaction sequence launched by questions that have been examined primarily in classroom contexts. Less research has been devoted to understanding how caregivers and children with ASD leverage this interactional format in the context of home interactions. Aims We focus on QRE sequences within interactions between a 5‐year‐old bilingual child with ASD and his parents. In these sequences, the adult poses known‐answer questions, the child responds and the adult evaluates the response. QRE sequences are primarily structured by the questioner (i.e., the parents in our context), and we examine the interactive work done by parents to initiate, maintain and close these sequences. We also examine the child's contributions to these sequences. Methods & Procedures We applied conversation analysis (CA) to video recordings of home routines, such as play, book‐reading and schoolwork. Videos were fully transcribed using CA conventions, and 55 QRE segments were isolated from the data corpus for further analysis. Outcomes & Results Q‐word questions (i.e., where, what, why, when, how questions) were the most prevalent question format, and repetition of the child's response was the most prevalent form of evaluation. We found that QRE sequences were embedded within a variety of action trajectories that extend beyond pedagogical functions. These included repairing a prior utterance, extending collaborative play routines and engaging in topically connected labelling rituals. Conclusions & Implications QRE sequences appeared to strike a balance in terms of the level of constraint they placed on the child's contributions to interactions, and the affordances they provide for participating in and progressing through interactions. This study can help clinicians understand the types of interactions that can be pursued with QRE sequences in their work with children with ASD. The findings may also aid intervention researchers’ efforts to leverage caregivers’ existing strengths for adapting their interactional overtures to maximize children's engagement. Finally, this study provides an illustration of caregiver–child interactions in a population that is currently under‐represented in the literature.

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“…First, if we are serious about adopting a practice‐based theoretical model (Kramsch, ; Wei, ) to language education, this requires in‐depth sociolinguistic and ethnographic case‐study descriptions of multilingual people languaging in the real world. As Kramsch () argued, “multilingualism challenges the very goals” (p. 109) of language education that have typically imagined homogeneous, monolingual environments in their pedagogy and curriculum design.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, in asking for initial translations from English into Spanish, Winnie has opened up the space for translanguaging, which draws on their bilingual past and present. The spatial repertoire of the library, built on histories of inclusion, incorporated the two women's “translanguaging instinct” (Wei, , p. 24). Winnie's disposition is to communicate with whatever resources she has to hand.…”

Section: Translanguaging At the Information Deskmentioning

confidence: 99%

Translanguaging and Public Service Encounters: Language Learning in the Library

Creese

Blackledge

2019

The Modern Language Journal

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This article explores the information desk of a city library as a site for language learning. Using a linguistic ethnographic approach, the interactions between a customer experience and information assistant and the many library users who approach her information desk were analysed. Findings are that, in addition to providing information about library resources, information desks are sites at which bits and pieces of different languages are taught and learned. Such language teaching and learning episodes created interactions of inclusion and welcome that went far beyond purely transactional information. Rather, language‐related episodes created moments of human contact and engagement, which were upheld through the translanguaging practices of interactants, the disposition and workplace competence of library staff, and the spatial ecology of the information desk. Furthermore, the article contributes to ongoing theoretical debates about translanguaging by noting that normativity and pressure toward uniformity are as much a part of languaging processes as creativity and flexibility. Our definition of translanguaging recognises the opposing pull of centrifugal and centripetal forces. The article ends by asking what schools, and language education, might learn from public libraries in creating arenas that maintain communitarianism, diversity of expression, and the development of civic skills.

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Translanguaging as a Practical Theory of Language

Cited by 1,278 publications

References 41 publications

Social Dimensions and Processes in Second Language Acquisition: Multilingual Socialization in Transnational Contexts

Social Dimensions and Processes in Second Language Acquisition: Multilingual Socialization in Transnational Contexts

Question–response–evaluation sequences in the home interactions of a bilingual child with autism spectrum disorder

Translanguaging and Public Service Encounters: Language Learning in the Library

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