Parents in the Classroom: Translanguaging and Informal English Vocabulary Learning Among Newcomer Prekindergarten Students

Abstract

This study examined benefits from the pedagogical practice of translan-guaging in a prekindergarten classroom at Edgeview School (To protect their anonymity, pseudonyms have been used for the name(s) of the school, teacher, parents, and children in this study.) in Western Canada. Translanguaging considers bilinguals’ language practices as the norm and centers newcomer children’s and their families’ linguistic knowledge. Newcomer parents were invited to the class-room and on the broader school landscape, bringing their home language along-side the English instructional language. Parent engagement in language learning provided a unique opportunity because parents possess the capacity to navigate both the school and home language. Further, extensive research demonstrates that when parents are engaged in their children’s teaching and learning, children are more successful, academically and socially. By bringing in home language in an informal way throughout daily classroom activities, English language vocabulary development of the young newcomer children was enhanced. This narrative inquiry shed light on the importance of parent engagement to newcomer children’s language development. By offering parents a place in children’s learning, currently untapped teaching and learning resources were opened up to maximize young children’s language learning outcomes.