What Does a Language-Inclusive Classroom Actually Look Like?
Imagine walking into a classroom of 24 students. There are six languages represented in the room. The teacher speaks English, and perhaps a little French.…
Translanguaging vs. Code-Switching: What’s the Difference?
A student is explaining something to a classmate in English. Halfway through the explanation, she switches to Arabic, clarifies her point, and then returns to…
Why Multilingual Learners Aren’t Just the EAL Department’s Responsibility
Why multilingual learners become the EAL team’s responsibility A multilingual learner is struggling with a science text. The classroom teacher notices. Someone says: “Can EAL…
UDL for Multilingual Learners: Linguistic Variability Is Learner Variability
Universal Design for Learning asks us to anticipate learner variability rather than wait for students to struggle and then add support. But in multilingual schools,…
Does Translanguaging Slow Down English Development?
Rethinking English exposure, multilingual learning, and what success should look like Questions about translanguaging and English development often begin with a simple concern: if students…
Translanguaging Strategies for the Classroom: Using Students’ Full Linguistic Repertoires Purposefully
Translanguaging Strategies for the Classroom: Using Students’ Full Linguistic Repertoires Purposefully If you search for translanguaging strategies, you’ll find plenty of suggestions: Let students discuss…
How to Use Translanguaging When You Don’t Speak Your Students’ Languages
One of the most common reactions I hear when I talk about translanguaging is: “That sounds great, but I don’t speak my students’ languages.” Fair.…
Translanguaging Course for Teachers: Practical Strategies
Practical Strategies for Multilingual Classrooms If you teach multilingual learners, you may already know that their languages are an asset. The harder question is usually:…
How Can a School Become More Language-Inclusive?
Walk into almost any international school and you’ll probably see multilingualism everywhere. Students speaking different languages on the playground. Families communicating across languages at pickup. Teachers…
Translanguaging vs. Translation: What’s the Difference?
One of the most common misunderstandings I hear about translanguaging is that it basically means translation. Let students translate the worksheet. Let them look up…