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From the English-only classroom to Translanguaging

Edita Saluzzo

Created on October 17, 2025

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Teacher Educator Edita Saluzzo

From the English-only classroom to Translanguaging?

1869-1898

2000

2009

1962

2009

Quiz time

Sarmiento´s teachers from USADirect Method

Studies on childhood bilingualism Pearl and Lambert (1962)

Cummins´studies on bilingualism

Dr Ellen Bialystok (2009)The Bilingual Advantage

From Code-switching to TranslanguagingGarcia (2009)

Ofelia García explains two perspectives:

  • the external societal perspective
from which we say there are twonamed languages asstandardized conventions that belong to nation states. Schools teach and test from this perspective…

the internal perspective of the speaker language as a unitary meaning making system of speakers that is always with them and that reflects this entanglement of world's cultural and linguistic practices in which all bilinguals are always immersed…

Bilingual Advantage

Several studies seem to agree that the bilingual's languages are a locus of conflict between competing linguistic elements and that dealing with this conflict involves processes that enhance cognitive control.

Bilingual advantage: sustained use of multiple languages throughout life is associated with increased metalinguistic awareness and cognitive flexibility (Bialystok, 2009).

Cummins on Language and Identity
How the EO turn into a policy?

The “English-only” policy is defined as the attempt of institutions to identify English as the only mediator of promoting interaction in the classroom and of giving instructions (Auerbach, 1993). This policy has been popular in language teaching because it is believed that “the more students are exposed to English, the more quickly they will learn; as they hear and use English, they will internalize it and begin to think in English; the only way they will learn it is if they are forced to use it as a pedagogical framework” (Auerbach 1993: 14-15). Auerbach, E. (1993). Reexamining English Only in the ESL Classroom. TESOL Quarterly, 27, 9-32. https://doi.org/10.230

The Direct Method

Principles

The historical roots of the“English-only” movement as the implementation of monolingualism date back to Direct Method that emerged against Grammar-Translation Method in the late 19th century. This policy encourages the use of the target language only (Sampson, 2012).

Demonstrate, never translate. Act, never explain. Use sentences, never speak with single word. Ask questions, never make a speech. Teach Grammar inductively.

What is the difference between referring to students who are developing English as emergent bilinguals, rather than English language learners? Our conceptualization of language as practice and of translanguaging as languaging bilingually makes us understand that it is impossible to simply be a learner of any language, without incorporating features of the new language into one linguistic repertoire. Thus, language learners are not simply “adding” a “second” language. Instead, new language practices are emerging as students become bilingual. Speaking about emergent bilinguals reminds us that by developing the new language features that make up English, students who are learning English are indeed becoming bilingual. Understanding this simple fact would mean that all educators, and not just bilingual ones, would need to understand bilingualism and leverage translanguaging in instruction (CUNY; NYSIEB guide for educators, 2014) https://www.cuny-nysieb.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Translanguaging-Guide-Curr-Inst-Final-December-2014.pdf

Early Research

The Bilingual advantage

Early research that relied on standardized assessments of intelligence reported negative effects of bilingualism for children, but a study from Pearl and Lambert(1962) reported better performance by bilingual than monolingual children on verbal and non verbal intelligence tests.

  • Peal, E., & Lambert, W. E. (1962). The Relation of Bilingualism to Intelligence. Psychological Monographs: General and Applied, 76, 1-23.
  • https://doi.org/10.1037/h0093840