INTRODUCING TRANSLANGUAGING PRACTICES IN AN INTERNATIONAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: THE CRITICAL ROLE OF INSTRUCTIONAL ASSISTANTS

Abstract

Language is the vehicle through which we express ourselves and interact with the people and places around us. Language shapes our identity within the varied communities in which we belong. Translanguaging is a concept that recognizes the importance of all languages and breaks down the political, social, and linguistic barriers to expression and learning through language. In this dissertation, working with a team of co-practitioner researchers at a school in Chiang Mai, Thailand, we reflected on our language experiences and our roles as educators in addressing how to best support multilingual learners in Kindergarten and Grade 1. I explored how the collaborative relationship of elementary school teachers can promote the development of multiple languages and negotiate the external pressures that impact language in schools. Two findings include: (1) Instructional assistants play a pivotal role in empowering multilingual language learners by creating safe spaces for learning that empowered students; and (2) Teachers and instructional assistants use emergent translanguaging practices that inform the school policy on language use. As co-teachers in multilingual language learning who used components of emergent translanguaging practices, the teachers recognized the value of leveraging each student's languages for learning. They designed and implemented instructional plans to respond to students' linguistic needs (García, 2009). The implications of this study include empowering multilingual learners to fully access the curriculum by providing them with opportunities to use their known languages for learning. Additionally, instructional assistants, who are often overlooked as classroom assets, can provide important instructional and linguistic expertise to multilingual learners by understanding the needs of multilingual learners and integrating language and instruction.