"Teacher, ¿Puedo Hablar en Español?" A Reflection on Plurilingualism and Translanguaging Practices in EFL

This article uses a classroom experience to exemplify ways in which students as social beings learn English as a foreign language in Colombia and how the teacher uses trans[cultura]linguación. This is a process of making meaning during English-learning tasks while comparing specific linguistic vari...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Yecid Ortega (Author)
Format: Book
Published: Universidad Nacional de Colombia, 2019-07-01T00:00:00Z.
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Summary:This article uses a classroom experience to exemplify ways in which students as social beings learn English as a foreign language in Colombia and how the teacher uses trans[cultura]linguación. This is a process of making meaning during English-learning tasks while comparing specific linguistic variations as students learn about both their own culture and other people's cultures. Borrowing from plurilingualism and translanguaging, I describe how a teacher attempts to use a social-justice approach to teaching English by valuing her students' linguistic and cultural repertoires. I conclude by outlining the implications this has for proposing a paradigm shift from monolithic frameworks of learning language(s) to more dynamic ones in which students' cultural and linguistic backgrounds are deployed as a platform for addressing issues that are relevant to their communities.
Item Description:10.15446/profile.v21n2.74091
1657-0790