Clarifying the Roles of Translating, Interpreting, and Translanguaging
How to Effectively Incorporate Home Languages into Your Classroom
Take a minute to consider your opinions on how and when multilingual learners (MLs) should use their home language in content classrooms (e.g., math, social studies, science). For each statement in Figure 1, decide if you agree, disagree, or are undecided. Consider why you hold these opinions.
Figure 1. Home Language Reflection
| Statement: Home language should… | Agree | Disagree | Undecided |
| Never or rarely be used in the content classroom to support multilingual learners’ understanding of academic content. | |||
| Strategically be used to support multilingual learners’ understanding of academic content and to provide opportunities for students to make connections across languages. | |||
| Frequently be used to share academic content in a language that is understandable to multilingual learners. |
As you read this article, please keep in mind your opinions, and note if what you read leads you to think differently about this topic.
In Figure 2, we present the five guiding principles for culturally responsive teaching that Diane Staehr Fenner and I discuss in our book, Culturally Responsive Teaching for Multilingual Learners: Tools for Equity (2021). The fourth guiding principle, which is emphasized, focuses on leveraging students’ linguistic and cultural backgrounds.
In this article, I will invite you to take a closer look at what it means to leverage the cultural and linguistic assets of multilingual learners through the strategic inclusion of their home language(s) during instruction. First, I’ll begin by defining some key terminology, making the distinction between the terms interpret, translate, and translanguage. Then, I will share both the value of, and considerations in, using home language in content classrooms. Finally, I will conclude with some specific strategies to incorporate true translanguaging practices into instruction.
Figure 2. Five guiding principles for culturally responsive teaching
Defining Terminology
The rise of online translation tools has led to greater opportunities for students to use their home languages as they learn academic content. Particularly, in our work with districts, we are increasingly being asked questions about when to use translations of academic content, how to incorporate translanguaging practices into instruction, and how to strategically use home language more generally during instruction. However, in order to respond to those questions, I want to share first how we define each of these terms in our work with MLs. In Figure 3, I provide a short definition¹ of each term along with an example.
Figure 3. Interpret, Translate, and Translanguage Definitions and Examples
Interpret: Orally translate a spoken or signed language from one language to another simultaneously or consecutively.
Example: A teacher is giving a lecture on factors leading up to the American Revolution. During the lecture, he pauses frequently for the bilingual paraprofessional to interpret into French for French-speaking students.
Translate: Transfer written text from one language (source language) into another language (target language) while preserving the content, style, and context of the original text.
Example: In a math class, a Portuguese-speaking student uses an online translation app to translate a math word problem from English into Portuguese before completing it.
Translanguage: Use more than one language to communicate and make full use of one’s linguistic resources (Creese & Blackledge, 2010²; Garcia et al., 2017³).
Example: Students in an English language arts class respond to a quote from a novel that they are reading. Students have an option to create a response using any language they would like (or a combination of languages) as well as visual representations.
By comparing these definitions and examples, we can see that interpreting, translating, and translanguaging are not the same. Interpreting and translating are the substitution of one language for another, whereas translanguaging is the integration of multiple languages as a means to foster multilingual communication. Compare the examples in Figure 4. As you do so, consider these questions:
• What do you notice about the different ways that home language can be used in content classrooms?
• How do you think these strategies might support multilingual learners at different levels of English language proficiency?
Figure 4. Examples of Interpreting, Translation, and Translanguaging
| Interpreting | Translating | Translanguaginging |
| A science teacher presents a lesson about energy transfer. A bilingual student who is fluent in Arabic and English periodically whispers what the teacher is saying in Arabic to an Arabic-speaking newcomer student who does not understand the lesson. | Arabic-speaking newcomer students are given a short text about energy transfer that the teacher translated using an online translation tool from English to Arabic. Students read the text in Arabic and answer questions about it in English using sentence stems and a glossary. | Arabic-speaking students at varying English proficiency levels work in a group to read and annotate a short text in English about energy transfer. Their discussion is mostly in Arabic, with some English terminology included. Their annotations primarily include notes in Arabic and drawings. |
| A bilingual social studies teacher reviews a list of key terms and definitions for a unit on exploration. He provides the word and definition first in English and then in Spanish. | The social studies teacher gives Spanish-speaking MLs at varying English proficiency levels in his class a list of key terms and definitions in Spanish for a unit on exploration. Students use the list of words to support their understanding of key unit concepts in English. | Spanish-speaking MLs at varying English proficiency levels develop a glossary of key terminology for a social studies unit on exploration. The glossary includes a translation of the word in Spanish, a simple definition in English, a visual representation of the word, and an opportunity to identify words that are cognates (e.g., exploration – exploración). |
As you can see from the examples in Figure 4, translanguaging opportunities provide greater opportunities for MLs to integrate their languages and use their full linguistic repertoire to engage with content. This is not to say that there is never a place for direct translation or interpretation. In our work with educators of MLs, our SupportEd team advocates for the strategic inclusion of, and opportunities for, home language use during content instruction. Now, let’s take a deeper dive into considerations around home language use.
Benefits of Home Language Use During Instruction
There is no question that the strategic inclusion of home language use during instruction is essential for many reasons. Fundamentally, this practice honors students’ home language(s) and cultures and helps highlight for all learners the value of multilingualism. Using translated resources can be an efficient way to build background knowledge through home language texts, videos, or teacher-created resources. Similarly, strategic interpretation by a bilingual educator can support understanding of key ideas or abstract concepts.
The strategic inclusion of home language can also support students in building metalinguistic awareness, or the understanding of how languages work, enabling them to use their home language(s) as a resource for their acquisition of English (Escamilla et al., 2022⁴). However, it is also important to be cautious about overuse of interpretation or translation during instruction. Our Considerations for Integrating Home Language Supports as a Scaffold for Multilingual Learners tool can provide some guiding questions as you plan to integrate strategic home language use into your instruction.
Considerations For Using Interpretation and Translation During Instruction
It is important to honor and draw from MLs’ home languages. Nonetheless, the overuse of translation and interpretation can result in missed opportunities for MLs to acquire English and be an ineffective use of valuable teaching time. Reflect on these considerations:
• Students may not know or understand the academic language in their home language, so a direct translation may not be helpful to them in accessing the content. Students may still be developing literacy skills in their home language, so a written translation may also not be helpful for all students.
• The overreliance on direct translation and interpretation does not support English language development because students can depend on the translation or interpretation. This type of consistent use of home language may discourage students from using English. Also, unless all your MLs speak the same home language, you may be interpreting for only a select group of MLs which can leave the other MLs feeling unsupported.
• Direct interpretation of all content is time-consuming and not a good use of class time. You can only cover half as much content if all content is being interpreted.
Furthermore, interpretation and translation should be understood to be just one of many types of instructional scaffolds that can be used to foster students’ acquisition of language and content learning. Additionally, teachers using home language as a scaffold should have a clear understanding of students’ home language and literacy skills. Teachers should also discuss with students their preference for home language use in the classroom.
In contrast to interpretation and translation, the strategic and intentional inclusion of translanguaging opportunities can be a valuable way to foster multilingual learners’ understanding of academic content as well as support English language development.
Strategies for Implementing Translanguaging
I suggest the following strategies for integrating translanguaging practices into content classrooms:
• Translanguaging in student writing practices: If literate in their home language, students incorporate both English and home language in their writing. They can also brainstorm and plan using a graphic organizer in their home language and then write in English.
• Cognate word study: Students compare cognates in English and their home language and determine language patterns. This type of language analysis supports language integration. Figure 5 is an example of this strategy.
Figure 5. Cognate Word Study Example
| English | French |
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• Student groupings: Teachers strategically group students so they can engage in multilingual discussions when exploring content.
• Text annotation: As in one of the examples provided in Figure 4, students annotate an English text with home language annotations (if literate in the home language) and images to help them make connections to the text.
• Language portfolios: Students collect multilingual artifacts that they produce and reflect on their language development in English and their home language.
In conclusion, after reading through the list of strategies, which one stands out to you as one you might want to integrate into your teaching or share with colleagues in your context? What other ideas do you have for strengthening translanguaging opportunities in your setting? We’d love to hear your ideas. To explore more ideas for culturally responsive teaching for MLs, please explore our online resources.
About SupportEd
SupportEd is a woman-owned business based in Fairfax, Virginia providing Multilingual Learner (ML) professional development, personalized coaching, technical assistance, and resources for educators across the United States and Canada. Founded in 2011 by Dr. Diane Staehr Fenner, four-time best-selling author and ML expert, SupportEd builds authentic partner relationships and meticulously crafts customized solutions to fit every partner’s strengths and goals. SupportEd equips teachers and administrators with the practical tools and strategies necessary to champion MLs’ success within and beyond the classroom. Visit SupportEd.com or call (202) 660-1444 to learn more.
References
¹ The definitions of interpret and translate were developed based on the expertise and experience of the SupportEd team and our work with districts. The definitions were supplemented by Chat GPT 3.5 to note the distinction between the two terms.
² Creese, A., & Blackledge, A. (2010). Translanguaging in the bilingual classroom: A pedagogy for learning and teaching? The Modern Language Journal, 94(1), 103–115.
³ Garcia, O., Johnson, S., & Seltzer, K. (2017). The translanguaging classroom: Leveraging student bilingualism for learning. Caslon.
⁴ Escamilla, K., Olsen, L., & Slavick, J. (2022). Toward comprehensive effective literacy policy and instruction for English learner/emergent bilingual students. National Committee for Effective Literacy for Emergent Bilingual Students.
Comments (2)
Badar Abbas
The literature which was provided in the lectures is helpful for entire job.
JMSolomon
It is a great idea to use the art of translanguaging when dealing with a diverse population. It is a way of making everyone feel accepted and welcomed.