TEEM 11 (Vol. 11, No. 2) - Summer 2020

Special Issue on Multilingual Learners: Translanguaging

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p. 5 From the Editors

p. 8 Translanguaging and the Mathematics Classroom

The Translanguaging Study Group

Abstract: Understanding how students use language is important for mathematics teachers, particularly when considering how best to teach mathematics with bilingual students. Translanguaging is a theory that provides a useful lens for understanding the language use of bilingual students. In this article, we share our perspectives on translanguaging and how this perspective might impact our instruction with bilingual students.

p. 15 TODOS Mission and Goals

p. 16 Poetry Corner

Lawrence Mark Lesser

Abstract: UTEP's Lawrence Lesser turned to poetry to help navigate these pandemic times, a reflection on infection and inflection! First published in the June 2020 issue of Radical Statistics, this poem could actually be used with high school students learning about the inflection point of a (logistic or other) graph, and then going on to make corona-connections with the meaning of the word inflection in the registers of linguistics and communication.

p. 17 Flowing With the Translanguaging Corriente: Juntos Engaging With and Making Sense of Mathematics

Luz A. Maldonado Rodríguez, Texas State University at San Marcos
Gladys Krause, William and Mary
Melissa Adams-Corral, The Ohio State University, Columbus

Abstract: The translanguaging corriente, or current of language practices, as described by García et al. (2017), is always flowing through your mathematics classroom, whether you realize it or not. The corriente, how multilinguals use all their languages to learn and engage with content in school and make sense of a complex world, requires educators to reconsider what is understood about language and mathematics. By rethinking how we view language separation in the multilingual mathematics classroom, we propose that teachers teach with a translanguaging stance in order to access multilingual students’ full linguistic repertoires and to develop deep mathematical understanding.

p. 25 TODOS Live!

p. 26 Translanguaging to Persevere: Supporting and Recognizing the Meaning-Making Process for Latinx Bilingual Students of Mathematics

Joseph DiNapoli, Montclair State University
Hector Morales, Jr., Northeastern Illinois University

Abstract: This paper describes the translanguaging and perseverance practices of Latinx bilingual students and the careful preparation of their English-speaking, monolingual teacher to establish a supportive classroom environment. Drawing on the constructs of translanguaging mathematical practice and perseverance in problem-solving, we share our observations of a group of four Latinx bilingual students as they leverage their bilingualism to productively struggle to make sense of an exponential function. We discuss this vignette to reveal the pedagogical decisions that helped support these students to dialogically leverage their communicative resources to help persevere with in-the-moment mathematical obstacles. Such decisions included selecting and enacting a challenging mathematical task conducive for perseverance, encouraging a linguistically sensitive learning environment, and providing access to mathematical tools as learning resources.

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p. 35 Transmodalising for Equitable Mathematics Instruction for Multilingual Classrooms

Sujin Kim, George Mason University
Jennifer Suh, George Mason University

Abstract: This paper introduces a repertoire of practice called transmodalising to support discursive practices in the multilingual mathematics classroom. Using the transmodal framework, we describe a classroom vignette of a mathematics classroom using translanguaging and transmodalising that promoted discursive practices and equitable access to rigorous mathematics for emergent bilingual learners. Our discussion highlights the ways in which transmodalising practices align with research-based recommendations for mathematics instruction for English learners (ELs) by treating language as a resource, supporting ELs’ participation in mathematical discussions while learning English, and drawing on all meaning-making resources, including home languages, multimodal tools, and out-of-school experiences.

p. 43 “Whenever My Mom Speaks Spanish at Home, It Helps Me Understand More in Math”: Reflections on the Testimonios of Bilingual Latinx Students

Carlos Nicolas Gomez, The University of Texas at Austin
Stacy R. Jones, The University of Texas at Austin
Hilary Tanck, Clemson University

Abstract: In this paper, we share three insights from our conversations with 46 upper elementary Latinx students at predominantly white schools: 1) Students’ were silenced, but they persisted; 2) Students’ relationship with mathematics was enveloped in language; and 3) Students’ mathematics and community were tied together through language. By highlighting the testimonios of our participants, we hope teachers reflect on how they empower and raise the voices of their bilingual Latinx students to counter deficit storylines. We also provide opportunities for growth in creating more equitable spaces for bilingual Latinx students.

p. 52 Call for Papers

p. 53 TODOS Position Statements

p. 54 TODOS 2020-2021 Leadership

p. 55 TODOS 2021 Conference