“I made many discoveries for myself”: The development of a teacher candidate's pedagogical knowledge of translanguaging

Abstract

While research has highlighted the importance of translanguaging for emergent multilingual learners (EMLs), very few studies have focused on teacher candidates (TCs)’ knowledge of translanguaging and how they implement the pedagogy. Using ethnographic methods and multimodal conversation analysis, this study examined how an English as an Additional Language (EAL) TC's knowledge of translanguaging evolved and how she bridged theory to practice in a field-based setting. The participant was a multilingual speaker who did not speak her EMLs' home languages. Data sources included: 1) the participant's course assessments, 2) a reflection, and 3) transcripts of a video classroom observation. The findings revealed her strong stance and ability to use a variety of strategies to create a translanguaging space, as a result of her training. We recommend teachers to enrich their pedagogical repertoire by understanding the affordances of a diverse range of multilingual, multimodal, and multi-sensory resources to effectively facilitate the teaching and learning processes. We also advise teacher educators to be intentional in course design, offering opportunities for TCs to reflect and connect their second language acquisition knowledge with pedagogical translanguaging in order to discover their own ways to create a translanguaging space for EMLs.