(2020) Translanguaging and French immersion

• What is translanguaging?
• What is the link between translanguaging and language teaching?
• Is translanguaging negative and should it be avoided at all costs?
• What are the arguments against translanguaging?
• Do FI students translanguage? If so, why?
• What does this mean for FI teachers in Canada?
• Conclusion
• Références/References

What is translanguaging?

When I first started research on Francophone and French immersion (FI) students, it was evident that I needed to know more about bilingual communication. You may have heard of terms like code-switching, cross-linguistic transfer, and translanguaging. While there are differences between these terms, they are all examples of bilingual communication. As language teachers, you have probably seen bilingual communication in class or you might even do it yourself. Linguists developed the term “code-switching” which is when a “multilingual speaker switches freely between languages (codes) within a single utterance or conversation” (Valenti, 2014, p. 280). An example of English/French code-switching is “I want du lait”. Cross-linguistic transfer, a term that also originates from the field of linguistics, is defined as a “language learners’ use of linguistic knowledge of one of their languages to leverage the learning of another language” (Yang et al., 2017). An example of this would be when a language learner notices that the word “different” in English means the same thing as the word “différent” in French. Noticing these similarities is a useful strategy for all language learners, even those with specific language impairments (Kambanaros et al., 2017). Translanguaging, on the other hand, owes its origins to the field of education. The term was first used to refer to teachers who used code-switching as a teaching strategy (Williams, 1996). It has since been developed into a theoretical and pedagogical stance by Ofelia García, an American professor specialized in bilingual education and her colleagues (Kinsella, 2016).

Translanguaging includes linguistic practises such as code-switching, cross-linguistic transfer, borrowing, translation, etc. (Nikula & Moore, 2019). The important difference for educators is that these linguistic practises are considered natural forms of communication for bilinguals and multilinguals (Pacheco & Smith, 2015). However, translanguaging is not only a set of linguistic practices specific to multilinguals. It is also a theoretical stance that views languages as connected and not part of separate, autonomous systems (García & Kleyn, 2016). Translanguaging researchers believe that the ultimate goal of communication is to be understood. If a bilingual or multilingual uses more than one language and they are understood, than that communication strategy is effective.

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Is translanguaging negative and should it be avoided at all costs?

In educational contexts, translanguaging among students is not viewed positively. In many cases, student translanguaging is thought to be a linguistic mistake (Canagarajah, 2011; Dumais & Nolin, 2010). In the FI classroom, teachers sometimes protect French by avoiding or minimizing contact with English and by banning translanguaging since it does not respect a standard language form and it threatens the preservation of French (Walker, 2006). Schools often promote a monolingual ideology that seeks to keep languages separate. The French teacher and the English teacher are often two separate people, even in cases when these teachers speak and could teach both languages. This teaches students to “artificially” separate the languages they speak “for the sake of social rules” (Otheguy, 2016, p. xi). Yet, Otheguy (2016) warns that some contexts require the use of only one language. For this reason, it is important for students to develop the ability to communicate in only one language. While it is an educational goal to improve students’ linguistic proficiency, translanguaging teachers “do not tell students to stop using their own language features, or to stop drawing on them for learning” (García & Kleyn, 2016, p. 17). Instead, adhering to a translanguaging philosophy requires teachers to welcome translanguaging practices in their classroom, to view these practices as a resource and to acknowledge and promote linguistic diversity (Allard, 2017; Canagarajah, 2011; García & Kleyn, 2016; MacSwan, 2017; Pacheco & Miller, 2016).

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Do FI students translanguage? If so, why?

The easy answer to this question is yes. More interesting though, is why do students translanguage, when do students translanguage and what do they think about translanguaging? The following quotations were selected from my larger study on scholastic linguistic landscapes in three Manitoban schools, more specifically the quotations were selected from the qualitative interview data of semi-structured interviews with 37 grade 11 students (aged 15 to 17) conducted in 2016 (Cormier, 2018). The following two perspectives show how translanguaging occurs naturally in the FI context :

• “I think everybody at our school does this thing called Franglais so like sometimes we’ll just be speaking in French but then they’ll be some words in English that we use because we don’t know them in French, more for speaking and less for writing because writing we have like tools that we can use to find the words that we need” (Nikko)
• “It’s just more natural[1]” (Aura)

Aurore adds that the end result of her communicative strategy is that she is understood: “like say you speak to me in French, I respond in English, like we still understand each other”. The previous quotations described translanguaging in students. The following quotation shows how teachers use translanguaging as a comprehension strategy, or at least this student perceives the purpose of her teachers’ translanguaging in that way :

• “There’s always that little bit of Franglish that you end up using because teachers use it even like if they’re trying to explain a concept to you and then for 2 seconds they’ll switch over and then they’ll switch back, it’s just I don’t know a common thing to do” (Vera)

Some students also admit that they translanguage because they lack vocabulary in French and some students admit that speaking in French requires more effort:

• “Sometimes I’m very lazy so I’ll just speak in Franglais or I’ll just speak English[2]” (Mycroft)

Finally, it is clear to some students that translanguaging is considered taboo in FI because language mixing is not a standard language practice:

• “So we’ve tried to get rid of that and just like have French and then English and have them be like two different things” (Sophie)

As these quotations have shown, translanguaging exists in current student and teacher linguistic practices. FI students are conscious of the fact that they translanguage. They are even conscious that they sometimes lack vocabulary or the effort required to speak only in French. It is then evident that teachers still need to teach French vocabulary and expose students to a wide variety of expressions while at the same time continuing to encourage and sustain French-language use. Ultimately, translanguaging as a linguistic practice has little chance of disappearing because when the students translanguage, their fellow students understand them and so do the teachers.

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Conclusion

To be clear, I am not arguing for more English use in FI pedagogy. In fact, I strongly believe that in a minority context, the focus needs to be on French. I would also argue for the judicious, conscious use of English with a pedagogical purpose. I am even arguing for the use of French in English class and the ability for teachers to borrow from French and to make the links between the languages explicit. For teachers who teach the languages in silos, I am arguing for less of a separation between language teachers and language classes and for conversations that lead to the sharing of best practices. Ultimately, teachers should highlight whenever they can that the same strategies students use to communicate in English can be used to communicate in French. Ideally, students should not view English and French as enemies but instead as friends who work together. Speaking English, or any other language for that matter, is not a mistake and is not wrong, it is just not the focus of FI. If you only speak English, then you will only speak English. It is possible that all of this is already done; students are aware of the connections between the languages they speak and they view linguistic diversity as a resource. If not, there is a place for translanguaging in FI. As Galante, (2020) notes, the main challenge moving forward is the lack of professional development available to teachers who are interested in adopting a translanguaging pedagogy.

[1]“C’est juste plus naturel ” (Aura)

[2] “Parfois je suis très paresseux donc je vais parler en franglais ou je vais juste parler en anglais” (Mycroft)

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