11:51:10 Hello, my name is Maya and welcome to episode one, Linguistic Skills and Translanguaging in the Classroom of our podcast, Teachers of the Future.
11:51:18 Today I have two special guests with me, Olivia and Sarah, here to answer some questions and talk about how to best design learning environments that are responsive to linguistic variation and affirming of linguistic diversity, as well as linguistic skills.
11:51:33 Hi, I'm Olivia. I'm a sophomore in the scholar Teacher Education Program at Adelphi for childhood education. I'm also a psych major
11:51:41 Hi, my name is Sarah. I'm a sophomore in the scholar Teacher Education Program as well. At Adelphi University, and I'm also majoring in childhood education, but my major is also psychology
11:51:56 Hey guys, I'm Maya. I'm also a sophomore in the STEP program at Adelphi University for childhood education as well as sociology.
11:52:04 So now that we're at the end of the semester and this social linguistic course is ending, how do you feel this course shifted your perspectives on language? I personally think that this course has changed the way I see languages.
11:52:15 and linguistics as a whole. What do you guys think?
11:52:19 I totally agree with you. I went into this course thinking that there was one correct way to speak.
11:52:24 And with a lot of the standardized views that we learned about. But now I see how those were wrong and that there's really no one way to speak languages.
11:52:33 And I see more of the beauty in how languages can be similar and yet so different from each other at the same time.
11:52:40 Yeah, so it sounds like this course has been very
11:52:43 transformative for you and that's really exciting
11:52:46 Sociolinguistics often like broadens perspectives by uncovering how deep like language is tied to identity
11:52:52 And so I think sociolinguistics deepens our understanding of how languages are living and dynamic systems.
11:52:59 that reflect and shape the experience.of their speakers. So I definitely thought there was one way to teach and i thought like
11:53:15 The classroom needed to know English and that's the only way that we can
11:53:19 teach our lessons but after this course, I've learned that there's many different ways that we could be open to our classroom and our students in the community to be more inclusive and provide a more collaborative environment.
11:53:31 Very good points. And like we worked on a project together and I think that it really helped us understand like what ways we can incorporate languages in our classroom and curriculum
11:53:40 Like in our project, we were able to design multilingual lessons to affirm like linguistic variation and translanguaging like the Yefferson book and stuff like that.
11:53:49 But before we get into that, I just want to ask our viewers to head over to our post on Instagram @aumultilingualism and comment what your beliefs about languages and linguistics are.
11:53:59 And like, maybe you grew up thinking that there's only one correct way to speak like me and Olivia or you did.
11:54:07 Mm-hmm.
11:54:07 Or maybe you attended a school that was full of linguistic diversity and variation.
11:54:10 So we want to hear from you. So now let's get to our questions and our personal experiences when it comes to languages and
11:54:16 Linguistics.
11:54:19 So let's see, question number one, what schools did you go to?
11:54:23 I went to Massapequa High School. All my life. I went to school in Massapequa all my life.
11:54:31 I went to Herricks High School, so I was in the Herricks District entirely, but I also for
11:54:36 Up until second grade, I went to elementary school in queens
11:54:40 So I went to PS173 and then I moved to Herricks.
11:54:44 So I personally went to a private school in Long Island. So I was kind of
11:54:48 used to all this like diversity and languages and stuff like that but
11:54:52 Especially when we spoke English, I feel like there was only the proper English we were supposed to be speaking, kind of like how we learned.
11:54:58 And there wasn't like you could just speak in slang. It was not accepted.
11:55:03 But was there any diversity in like your school
11:55:06 Not at all. My school, everyone.
11:55:10 look sounded the same. There was no diversity at all
11:55:14 not much language diversity either. Everyone spoke English and you would only hear people speaking foreign languages in the foreign language hallway so there was not much at all.
11:55:28 Okay.
11:55:28 In my school, so when I was in elementary school in Queens, there was a lot of diverse speakers and a lot of people from different countries that English was not their first language. So when I was in second grade, actually, my
11:55:39 preschool teacher had called my second grade teacher
11:55:42 Saying that I needed to help a student that was in the preschool
11:55:47 class who didn't understand English because his first language was push though which is what I speak. So I had to translate things for him and explain what the teacher was asking of him.
11:55:57 So I was really used to a lot of Afghan Pashto speakers at my school and it was pretty packed with those.
11:56:04 pretty populated. So we would be speaking with each other in that language. But once I came to Herricks and my first few years, it was a complete shift. So all I saw was like
11:56:15 like white people and that was all that it was. It was everyone speaking English and I didn't see any diversity up until
11:56:22 When I got to middle school, that's where it got pretty diverse because then it was three elementary schools coming together to form one middle school
11:56:28 And that's where I saw more people that looked like me. And then once I got to high school, people were moving to the district. So they were coming from the city and I got to meet and see a lot more people that look like me and as well as
11:56:42 a much more diverse environment for other people to see
11:56:44 their community.
11:56:47 Yeah.
11:56:46 So I kind of had a similar experience. Like I had a lot of diversity in my school. I had friends who spoke and wrote German.
11:56:53 Italian, French, Russian, like all these different languages. And we would always have
11:57:00 I understand a few languages, but I don't speak them all fluently. So I would just put in my words here and there and we would have like kind of speak to each other in foreign languages.
11:57:09 I honestly really enjoyed it. I felt like it kind of opened my linguistic skills.
11:57:14 But there's still something that when you're going to school or, for example, like to an English class or history class, you always feel like you have to speak in
11:57:21 proper English, even if you're around people that have
11:57:24 and speak many different languages and they're very diverse, you still feel like you have to be proper.
11:57:29 Does anybody else feel that?
11:57:32 Yeah, unfortunately, I didn't have
11:57:35 any diverse experiences in my school very minimal
11:57:38 But yeah, when I showed up to class, I always felt like I had to speak in the standardized or proper way, almost as if I was writing a formal essay.
11:59:09 So our outside languages weren't encouraged rather than speaking English and we were the only languages we would speak that were encouraged would be in our foreign classrooms. So it would be the main Chinese, Mandarin.
11:59:23 It would be French, Spanish, and Italian. And I felt like that didn't leave room for a lot of diversity for us to kind of
11:59:31 enhance like our
11:59:34 own language skills, I feel like we would be able to help
11:59:38 Others, like I did in my elementary school to kind of feel more comfortable like
12:00:15 So we were expected to speak in English because our languages would kind of
12:00:20 hinder our learning process and our teachers
12:00:24 mostly were white. So that's what they spoke to us in. They weren't really able to help the children who didn't speak other languages and if English was not their first language. So they would usually have to go to ESL. So I did see a lack of diversity with teachers, which is kind of what
12:00:37 discouraged us from not being able to speak our own language or bring our own culture to our classroom.
12:00:43 So like my school, for example, we had a lot of diversity, not just with the students, but also with the faculty.
12:00:49 So they were used to us speaking other languages, but still it didn't matter. Like when we went to class, you were supposed to
12:00:55 speak proper English and your essays always have to be proper. They didn't like slang they would always like
12:01:01 take it off. And I understand that they want us to speak correctly because that's how kind of our society wants us to think and speak.
12:01:08 But there still needs to be inclusion of diversity in the classroom setting and the curriculum, not just
12:01:13 in the environment.
12:01:15 I agree, yeah.
12:01:16 So what would you do to change the linguistic diversity in your classroom, like in the classrooms you grew up in or the classrooms that you will
12:01:24 soon be the teacher of.
12:01:25 I would use a lot of the strategies we used in our multilingual activity design like
12:01:30 even just reading books that
12:01:33 have English and Spanish in them were two languages or that
12:01:36 trans language, which we'll talk about more later
12:01:40 I think that makes sense.
12:01:42 the kids feel seen in their home language and also just making sure you're pronouncing the kids names correctly.
12:01:48 That's a big one.
12:01:50 like having them say their names for themselves you know
12:01:54 Like, don't just guess what their name is. Have them say it, you know, because a lot of kids
12:01:59 they don't feel comfortable correcting the teacher in the room.
12:02:02 That's a good one because that does happen a lot.
12:02:04 Yeah, I agree.
12:02:06 Even like sometimes it would be really simple names like for example a name like Lucia. They would mistake it for lucia
12:02:13 And I feel like a lot of the a lot i've had a few lucchias in my classroom and i know like
12:02:18 they would have to correct the teachers. And I would be shocked because even such like an American name got mispronounced. So it's like all the other students who have more diverse names that come from different backgrounds
12:02:30 their names are going to get like botched as well. And it's like, I have a very basic name. So it's
12:02:36 very easy to pronounce. And I don't know what it feels like for those kids who
12:02:41 like their name is always mispronounced. And sometimes it'd be like, oh, I'm used to it already. So I just don't even correct them. And I'd say no but like they should know your name. They should be able to pronounce the name.
12:02:49 Agreed.
12:02:50 your name that because it's yours you know they want you to pronounce their name correctly as teachers we should expect the same and kind of make sure that our teachers know how to say your name because that's our identity.
12:03:04 Like I had, for example, my name is Maya. It's super easy. But I would have like some teachers write it with like an I and then they would call me Mia the whole time.
12:03:11 So like, I kind of understand that, but it's not to the same level as a student never getting his name
12:03:18 or her name pronounced right.
12:03:20 A student's name is very important, especially if they want to
12:03:22 the student to feel comfortable in the classroom with the teacher.
12:03:26 I also think it's important to let the children use whatever languaging skills they want so not just
12:03:32 like writing or speaking, they could use words, emojis drawings like
12:03:38 let them use whatever skills they want in their repertoire.
12:03:42 Yeah.
12:03:43 So…
12:03:42 I don't know how to pronounce that word.
12:03:44 So what techniques would you use to encourage translanguaging in the classroom? I would personally use the Efferson book because I really like that idea of having the students write their story
12:03:54 in their own like their own
12:03:56 family's language and in English as well and like help the students who don't speak English also write it
12:04:03 in English as like a group activity and try to get everybody not just to know who the student is and about them, but also to
12:04:11 kind of give them more linguistic skills that they will use and later need in life.
12:04:15 So I would really like that activity.
12:04:17 Yeah.
12:04:20 I loved it.
12:04:18 That book was really, really good like i really like reading it. It had such an important message too about what we were talking about with the names
12:04:27 But I also think it's important
12:04:29 to let kids
12:04:35 Just be themselves.
12:04:36 Yes, yes.
12:04:43 I agree.
12:04:39 Let them use whatever language they want in their writing. They could switch between the two and it's the teacher has to put in the effort to understand what they're meaning.
12:04:57 100%.
12:04:48 Or if they don't understand, teachers might say, oh, I don't want to look into what this means. No, like you have to look into what it means or ask them what it means.
12:04:59 Yeah, I feel like this also ties into the question where is there any activity or technique you like the most and would incorporate in your classroom? Because I personally really like the Kahoot that we came up with because
12:05:07 That one's also really good.
12:05:09 Yeah, I feel like it allows the students to collaborate and get exposed to different languages.
12:05:15 amongst themselves rather than the teacher enforcing it and putting it putting herself and putting him or herself in charge. So with the students collaborating, they're able to
12:05:25 teach each other, which makes a more comfortable environment just because there's no higher authority to control the situation. It's more of it's in the kids hands and the students hands. So it's what they come up with it's with
12:05:37 they decide to choose as their questions for the rest of the class to answer kind of gives them that authority where it's like, okay, I'm in charge of
12:05:44 My language, I get to express my language to the class how I want to. This is the best way that I know how to. So I'm going to allow my other classmates
12:05:52 to kind of learn all about my culture with the way I want to teach it rather than someone who doesn't know much about it. It's just what I've told them.
12:05:59 So if it's coming firsthand from me, then I know what's best because it's coming straight from me. So I'm able to teach my classmates exactly what I want them to know.
12:06:08 And like all the great things about the culture.
12:06:10 That's really good. Also, like.
12:06:13 Did you guys ever have a teacher who encouraged translanguaging in their classroom?
12:06:19 Me too.
12:06:17 I only had one and they were really good about it and they…
12:06:22 They weren't too strict when it came to like
12:06:25 switching back and forth from
12:06:27 like the way we spoke in language like for example i had a science teacher
12:06:32 in middle school who kind of spoke the same language as me and my family but
12:06:37 Sometimes when I didn't understand the question, I felt like I couldn't just understand it in English. So I would switch to the other language.
12:06:42 And that was for me like a kind of a balance, but also it felt comfortable that I was able to just understand it better
12:06:49 And have somebody who cared and understood it. Like I could ask a question and he would answer it right away. He wouldn't like say, no, you have to say it in English so everybody can understand. He would answer it and then he would explain it in English so everybody could understand it.
12:07:00 And I felt like that's good because sometimes even though we're students and we're born in America and we live here.
12:07:06 Sometimes if we have a different language we speak at home, we kind of switch back and forth and we need that
12:07:12 We need to be able to do that, I feel like.
12:07:14 that you actually can feel comfortable enough to switch back and forth from the language without being ridiculed or
12:07:20 getting in trouble.
12:07:22 Yeah, I agree because other than, like I said, my preschool teacher, I knew like if she wanted, if she could know the language that I was speaking, she would be more than willing to help out the student.
12:07:33 But because she didn't, she thought outside of the box and said, okay, this student still goes to this school. I know that she speaks this language.
12:07:42 How about I bring her to help the student? So she was always looking and looking for different ways to help.
12:07:47 But even though she couldn't do it herself, she was always trying to um
12:07:52 help the students by thinking of other ways to be able to help them learn. So I really like respect and appreciate that because it's not like she just gave up and was like, okay, well, you don't understand and I can't teach it to you so
12:08:02 We're just going to skip over it. But she really wanted the student to learn what she was teaching. And this was the best way that she could, this is the best thing that she could think of. And honestly, it worked because
12:08:13 I was able to translate for him and he was able to understand what she wanted him to know so i
12:08:17 I haven't had a teacher like that since other than if I was like in my Spanish class, she would be constantly switching from Spanish to English just in case like we didn't understand what she was saying in Spanish. She would teach it to us in English and then we would go over it in Spanish. So it wasn't just like strictly Spanish. It was a kind of, she was mixing two languages so that we could understand and so could she.
12:08:36 she would know that we're understanding because she's talking to us in our first language.
12:08:39 That's amazing.
12:08:40 I only had one teacher that really encouraged translanguaging in their classroom. It was my 10th through 12th grade Spanish teacher.
12:08:47 Mr. Cabelka and he would switch between the cognates in English and Spanish and it made it so much easier to understand the language
12:08:55 And while I appreciate his trans language in the classroom, I think that
12:09:00 it was limited to just the Spanish class. It should be in every class, not just the world language classrooms. It should be in the English class. It should be in every class. It should be in music. It should be in
12:09:11 I agree.
12:09:13 Everything, you know.
12:10:08 How do you feel it's having a teacher like that affected your way of teaching or will affect your way of teaching?
12:10:13 And I think it really will affect the way I teach, especially because if I felt so comfortable
12:10:19 to actually talk to my teacher
12:10:22 and use translanguaging in the classroom to understand the information and the curriculum better. I feel like every student should feel that way and they should have the chance to come to school and feel comfortable enough to
12:10:33 get the education they deserve, even if it means that they have to use a different language to get it because
12:10:37 Let's be honest, in this country
12:10:39 languages and foreign languages, you could hear them everywhere. There's so many different languages and diversity. And that's what's beautiful about it.
12:10:45 So if we could incorporate that in our classroom and in our school, I feel like that would be even better.
12:10:51 just make the environment a lot safer and safer
12:10:54 more comfortable for the students.
12:10:57 Yeah.
12:10:56 I feel like having a teacher that encouraged translanguaging not only made learning Spanish so much easier.
12:11:02 But it also made
12:11:05 fun like fun
12:11:06 Yeah.
12:11:06 I could switch between both of them and use cognates and just talk
12:11:11 in both English and Spanish in one sentence and it made it so much easier and also so fun. And I think that will affect my teaching because after taking this class
12:11:22 I'll incorporate his ways into my elementary school teaching.
12:11:28 Yeah, it…
12:11:27 Not just in the Spanish classroom.
12:11:29 when I'm teaching all the subjects.
12:11:32 Yeah, I agree. I definitely think that my Spanish teacher and my preschool teacher inspired me even from such a young age, to be able to incorporate that into my own classroom because I want
12:11:42 them to feel the same feeling that that kid felt when I came to help him. And I feel like that would create a very comforting
12:11:50 environment for them because they'll feel more confident to express themselves rather than shying away because they can't express themselves in the main language that everyone else is speaking.
12:11:59 So being able to like allow them to
12:12:02 to kind of express themselves.
12:12:05 would be a really, it would be really rewarding for myself just because I know now that I'm creating a classroom environment where kids are
12:12:12 comfortable with their own culture and their own identity. So I definitely would carry out carry what they did in my own classroom.
12:12:21 So what is your guys' first language?
12:12:24 Mine is English, but do you guys have a different language that you speak as your first primary language?
12:12:29 No, I grew up speaking English and surrounded by English speakers.
12:12:34 I grew up speaking Push though first. So my parents and my brother would mainly speak to me in Pashlo only.
12:12:42 And then eventually like um when i got to like pre-k and
12:12:46 that area i learned english so i feel like a lot of people nowadays are also doing that where if two people two parents speak two different languages
12:12:54 One parent will only speak to them in one language and the other parent will only speak to them in another language and completely disregard English because they're going to learn it in school anyway. So being immersed in those two languages or that one language that you won't learn in school, I feel like is really beneficial and it gives you an advantage.
12:13:10 Because then when you're younger, it's easier to learn something rather than when you're older. So they're able to take that with them and
12:13:16 In the real world, it gives them that advantage because they're able to communicate with different people.
12:13:22 So that's definitely something that I would do as a parent and like what I would like immerse my children with like two different languages and only speaking to them
12:13:31 in the most foreign language because the primary language here would be English and they're going to learn that regardless.
12:13:36 So I agree. My family does that too. Like we speak a foreign language as well but
12:13:42 My first language is mostly English
12:13:44 The people I grew up around, like friends and schoolmates they were all they all spoke English. But at home like when I get home, we only speak like the language that my family and like my parents speak because
12:13:55 That's just easier to keep, like what you said, keep the language going and have…
12:13:59 that they'll be able to speak to people like when i have uh
12:14:03 family that doesn't live in America. They live in like foreign countries. It's easier
12:14:07 to speak with them in that foreign language than for them to try to understand me in English.
12:14:13 You mentioned a good point of keeping the language going.
12:14:16 My grandfather kept
12:14:19 fluent in German throughout his entire life, even though he never lived in Germany.
12:14:25 He grew up here all his life and it was just remarkable that he was able to keep that up, you know.
12:14:30 I think it's important that the languages continue and that
12:14:34 The family continues the language going because
12:14:37 It's part of their history, part of their ancestry. And it's also so beautiful. And like we learned in this class, the more languages you speak, the more creative you are, the more understanding.
12:14:45 That's good.
12:14:48 Yeah.
12:14:47 And language is our identity. Language equals identity.
12:14:50 So we got a few more questions to finish up here.
12:14:54 So is there any activity or technique you would like the most and would incorporate in your classroom? I said personally Yefferson, the Yefferson book of having them write their own story and
12:15:03 English and in their own family language because I think that's very important. But what do you guys think?
12:15:09 Yeah, I really like the Yefferson book
12:15:11 But I also really like how this class encouraged us to use subtitles.
12:15:17 I'll definitely
12:15:16 It's a good one.
12:15:18 be including that in my lesson plans as a teacher because not only does it make the material more accessible
12:15:26 But it makes it easier for them to read and put it in their mind. And, you know, you read along with it. I always watch shows and movies with subtitles now. It makes it so much easier to learn.
12:15:38 I agree with the subtitles. There's actually this thing on um
12:15:44 on Google that will allow you to translate the page into the language that you want. So like for my Google Classroom, for example, if I wrote it out in English, I would want my students to still try to read it in English and then translate the page into the language that they speak.
12:16:00 Because at the end of the day, my goal is also to teach them English and because that is what they will be speaking in school and with other people. So I would encourage them to speak English and to learn and read English.
12:16:13 But that doesn't mean that I would take away from the fact that they do have their own identity, their own culture to embrace.
12:16:19 So then I would recommend using that tool on Google Classroom to translate the page into the language that they speak.
12:16:27 That's honestly very smart. And I feel like it would also give him a life skill of being able to do that, let's say when they're traveling and they want to understand
12:16:34 What the menu is or what they're reading or what this historic monument is.
12:16:39 These things that we're trying to teach them are skills that aren't just skills they're going to use in school, but these are like life skills. Like they have to know how to understand or how to use technology in the best way. So like, what is one thing that you would like to see in your classroom after incorporating these ideas? That's exactly that. I would want my students
12:16:57 to be able to use all these skills that I give them as a tool to better their lives, to better their understanding of languages.
12:17:05 of a linguistic repertoire of the whole thing.
12:17:10 I agree.
12:17:09 I want them to feel proud of their language.
12:17:12 Exactly. That's the most important.
12:17:13 Proud of who they are.
12:17:13 Yeah, I would want them to be comfortable in their own space and be able to embrace it with their other classmates rather than hide it away and only use it in their home.
12:17:24 Where like the classroom is where the classroom
12:17:27 Mainly the classroom is where they spend their time because you're in the classroom for seven to eight hours a day. And by the time you get home, it's like.
12:17:33 You start your homework, you eat your dinner, you do an activity, you go to sleep. So being in the classroom majority of your time of day
12:17:39 you should be able to embrace who you really are instead of shying it away until you get home for those few hours.
12:17:44 I agree. And our last question.
12:17:47 Oh, no, you could say.
12:17:46 I also want the student. Oh, sorry. I also want the student, I want the students to know that the standardized view of language is wrong and I want them
12:17:55 to embrace language diversity and the beauty of it.
12:17:58 That's very important. They should know there's not just one proper way to speak English or any language.
12:18:02 There's multiple languages and diversity is the most beautiful thing there is.
12:18:05 So our last question for our podcast is what do you expect
12:18:09 from your students after teaching this lesson.
12:18:12 I expect them to feel, like Olivia said, and like you said, proud of who they are, of their history, their ancestry, of their linguistic repertoire, the linguistic skills.
12:18:22 But also to encourage diversity in their classroom, to want to hear other languages, to want to learn other languages.
12:18:29 To want it.
12:18:31 I want them to want to have a class that is diverse
12:18:35 but also that everyone can express who they are in their own culture, heritage, language, and not to feel ridiculed or not accepted.
12:18:44 Everybody should feel accepted and loved in their own setting.
12:18:48 I expect students to feel more enabled and comfortable to tap into their full languaging repertoire.
12:18:54 And like all the things you said just
12:18:58 curiosity about other languages too and wanting to explore
12:19:03 Yeah, I want them to push it forward and
12:19:06 use what they took from my classroom and my lessons and use it with other people
12:19:10 So that when they meet somebody who doesn't speak English or English is not their first language, they can remember what we learned in class and they can use those skills to help
12:19:19 communicate with other people.
12:19:21 In the real life.
12:19:23 I agree. So thank you very much for watching our podcast, Teachers of the Future, and we will see you in our next episode.