In this week’s post, I aim to answer the question, “What does it mean when translanguaging is said to be a ‘critical pedagogy’ or ‘decolonizing research approach’?” This question is answered in recent commentaries by Pramod K. Sah (in collaboration with critical English language teaching scholar Ryuko Kubota) and Prem Phyak. According to Sah, toContinue reading “What is translanguaging as “critical pedagogy” or “decolonizing research”?”
Category Archives: Definitions
Translanguaging and transformative pedagogy (Part 2): Jim Cummins writes about “Teachers as knowledge generators”
In Part 1, I discussed how Jim Cummins defines “transformative pedagogy” (Cummins, 2000) as collaborative relations of power between teachers and students, policymakers, curriculum designers, administrators, parents, communities, and academic researchers when they combine social justice with genuine concern for learning. In this post, I summarize Cummins’ (2021) more recent book chapter on what translanguagingContinue reading “Translanguaging and transformative pedagogy (Part 2): Jim Cummins writes about “Teachers as knowledge generators””
Translanguaging and transformative pedagogy (Part 1): Jim Cummins defines “transformative pedagogy”
Welcome to the two-part series about translanguaging (TL) and transformative pedagogy (TP)! In this post, I summarize Jim Cummins’ (2000) book chapter on what transformative pedagogy is—a no bullshit piece, and despite most of the examples being from the U.S., the principles are important for teachers to know, at any level of education, anywhere inContinue reading “Translanguaging and transformative pedagogy (Part 1): Jim Cummins defines “transformative pedagogy””
Interviewing people about language learning: Know your epistemology
If you take a Masters degree in the social sciences, the first course you will take will be Research Methods, and the first chapter of your Research Methods textbook will address terms like methods, methodology, theory, and epistemology. Epistemology is the highest term in the four-level hierarchy: it is the way we understand social reality,Continue reading “Interviewing people about language learning: Know your epistemology”
Once again, what are “translanguaging” and “code-switching” (within and beyond the classroom)?
The purpose of this definition post is to explain (1) the difference between translanguaging and code-switching as sociolinguistic phenomena, or phenomena observed by sociolinguists (people who study language use in interaction), and (2) how translanguaging/code-switching are understood in classroom pedagogy, which is different from how they are understood as sociolinguistic phenomena. The first question isContinue reading “Once again, what are “translanguaging” and “code-switching” (within and beyond the classroom)?”
Translanguaging in language immersion classrooms: To what extent can it be done?
In this week’s post, I summarize an article about the extent to which translanguaging/code-switching/first language (L1) use is appropriate for language immersion classrooms (Ballinger, Lyster, Sterzuk, & Genesee, 2017). The article is by Canadian scholars—as the early immersion research from French immersion in Canada is often cited today by proponents of other types of immersion,Continue reading “Translanguaging in language immersion classrooms: To what extent can it be done?”
Chinese-English bilingual education in China: A critical analysis of research
Chinese-English bilingual education is on the rise in China, particularly at the university level, with some trials in K-12 education in the form of (i) bilingual private schools and (ii) experimental public schools in socioeconomically elite areas. In this post, I summarize an article about this educational trend by Prof. Guangwei Hu, a Hong KongContinue reading “Chinese-English bilingual education in China: A critical analysis of research”
How to analyze classroom talk: Part 4 of 4
This is the fourth and final post on methodology for analyzing classroom talk, preceded by posts on Turn-taking, Contextualization, and Narrative. In this post, we look at how to analyze Interactional Frames. First, we examine what “frame” means and look at ways to analyze how frames are used in small units of talk (e.g., 1-2 sentences) thatContinue reading “How to analyze classroom talk: Part 4 of 4”
How to analyze classroom talk: Part 3 of 4
This is the third post on methodology for analyzing classroom talk, preceded by posts on Turn-taking and Contextualization. In this post, we look at how to analyze Narratives. I begin with a discussion of what “narrative” means in everyday spoken interactions, and how that’s different from our common understanding of narratives. Then we look at how toContinue reading “How to analyze classroom talk: Part 3 of 4”
How to analyze classroom talk: Part 2 of 4
Image source: Wikimedia Commons Welcome to the second post on methodology for analyzing classroom talk, which began with a post on Turn-taking. In this post, we analyze Contextualization. While turn-taking is about who talks, when, and how much, contextualization is about how we understand people’s words, or how we attempt to manage how others understandContinue reading “How to analyze classroom talk: Part 2 of 4”
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