“Aye Maestro, ¿Qué Se Yo De español?”: A Mixed-Methods Study on the Use Of Translanguaging in L1 and L2 with Third Grade Bilingual and Emergent Bilingual Latino Students

Abstract

In the age of high stakes accountability, districts are being asked to provide and demonstrate academic achievement for all students including English Learners(ELs), who maybe also be identified as Emergent Bilinguals (EBs), or Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD). This becomes increasingly challenging especially for small rural districts where resources and expertise may be limited. This study explores how employing a translanguaging model, with third grade Latino students identified as bilingual or emergent bilingual, assisted students with the metacognitive and metalinguistic processes to construct meaning in their reading. This study investigates how an adaptation of the TRANSLATE Literacy Approach was used as part of a RTI model helped students use and explore their L1 knowledge repertoire to make sense of L2 text. A mixed-method design was use to collect quantitative as well as quantitative data. A pre and post T-test investigated the statistical significance of using this approach. Quantitative data were also collected using ethnographic strategies of informal and structured interviews, observations, and reflective memos to develop thick descriptions of the student discourse and behaviors that were occurring in context. Qualitative data analyses show readers disposition to using both Spanish and English influenced reading behavior as well as cultural identity. This study calls for further investigation where other teachers and other instructional staff beyond the main researcher can replicate the use and outcomes of this translanguaging strategy.