Translanguaging: Developing scientific inquiry in a dual language classroom

As teachers and students access their linguistic and cultural repertoire to teach and learn, comprehensible input may be possible as the result of teachers' systematic efforts to connect with their students. Some evidence of this purposeful connection has been found in studies that have explored teachers' efforts to prioritize meaning making over language division, language choice, or language correctness (Esquinca, Araujo, & De La Piedra, 2014; Sayer, 2013). In this article, the authors attempt to expand the understanding of language development and science learning in varied contexts, including those that seek to maintain the use of the minority language for science instruction. To achieve this goal, the authors use translanguaging as a framework allowing to focus on the dynamic use of languages in the academic context. In this study, the authors sought to answer the following research questions: (1) In what ways is translanguaging used in the pedagogical practices of a fourth-grade dual language science teacher?; and (2) How do students use translanguaging in a dual language science classroom?