La vida tiene muchas curvas [Life has many curves]
Contemplating a translanguaging praxis
In this article, a conceptual discussion grounded in our practice as educators and scholars we use a bilingual
poem, collaboratively written by young people from Latinx immigrant backgrounds, as an entry point to engage with existing
discussions among practitioners and scholars on connections between translanguaging and Freirean praxis, and more broadly, on
translanguaging and its potential for social transformation. Grounding our discussion in our work at a bilingual community
education non-profit organization that seeks to empower Latinx immigrants, we explore how we are developing translanguaging spaces
for immigrant students and families, spaces guided by a collective vision of social transformation, through what we call
translanguaging praxis. Through articulating this translanguaging praxis, we foreground the transformative
potential of translanguaging. We argue that translanguaging is not only a political act but that it can also be a critical,
rebellious and creative one through which educators, students and families can respond to dominant narratives on Latinx immigrants
in the US, co-constructing counter-stories through which they express who they are from their own perspectives and in dialogue
with each other.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction: Towards a translanguaging praxis
- 2.Our locations and shared points of inspiration, ideas and practice
- 2.1Obed: ¿Quién soy yo y por qué RevArte? [Who am I and why RevArte?]
- 2.2Holly: How did I arrive at RevArte, and what does it mean to have a leadership role there as a White, non-Latinx woman?
- 2.3Shared points of inspiration, thought and practice
- 3.Is translanguaging a house with too many rooms?
- 4.How do translanguaging scholars address social justice in their work?
- 5.Towards a translanguaging praxis at RevArte
- 5.1Action-Reflection
- 5.2Theory-practice
- 6.Sugerencias preliminarias [Preliminary suggestions]
- Acknowledgements
- Note
-
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Cited by
Cited by 1 other publications
Donley, Kevin
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Translanguaging as a theory, pedagogy, and qualitative research methodology.
NABE Journal of Research and Practice 12:3-4
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