"Peacher, eu quero a chable!": práticas translíngues no ensino remoto de inglês em uma escola infantil bilíngue

Abstract

The Language and Literature course license language teachers to teach at the primary and secondary educational levels. In light of globalization and the overvaluation of the English language, there is a growing investment in learning English from an early age and adopting bilingual education. However, teaching English in kindergarten is vastly different from teaching it in primary and secondary schools or language institutes. As such, language teachers must adapt their paradigms and concepts according to the specific context in which they are teaching. During my experience as an English teacher in nursery schools, I have noticed that children naturally and spontaneously mix languages and create words when constructing meanings. This observation aligns with García and Li Wei’s (2014, p. 32) finding that “human beings have a natural translingual instinct”. Canagarajah (2013) and García and Li Wei (2014) further argue that translingualism is a characteristic of subjects’ multiple language practices in the construction of meanings in society. To this extent, my research is based on the hypothesis that children are naturally translingual and proposes the following question: “What translingual practices did children and teachers engaged in while learning English in a bilingual school during the pandemic?” To respond to this query, I used the ethnographic research methodology. I looked over the transcripts and notes from my online classes to have a better understanding of these practices. In addition, I looked over a questionnaire and an interview with an English teacher who worked at the same bilingual school as me. After analyzing the research data, I came to the conclusion that some aspects of translingual practices, such as codeswitching,multimodality, and creativity, should be valued since they reveal that communicative practices are inherently translingual. Furthermore, monolingual teaching methods been demonstrated to be harmful to language teaching since they restrict students and foster an atmosphere of anxiety and insecurity. Thus, Translingualism is a practice, which is present in the classroom even though many teachers are unaware of it or end up adopting monolingual postures and attitudes that limit students’ ability to alternate languages. Thus, translingualism is also revealed as a positive trait in language teaching, as they can enhance their pedagogical practices by embracing an innovative approach in teaching and learning that recognizes the language and cultural diversity that prevails in the classroom. The intention of this study is to provide insights into how to teach English to bilingual children based on the concept of translingualism, which empowers educators to foster a more inclusive and welcoming learning environment. As a result, children are encouraged to express themselves freely, different ways of thought and communication are appreciated, and the imposition of rules and patterns of behavior that may limit their freedom of expression is kept to a minimum.