Translanguaging in Science Education

This edited volume explores translanguaging practices in multilingual science classrooms, highlighting opportunities for using students' home languages as meaning-making tools. It discusses and problematizes contingent hindrances and obstacles, exploring different theoretical starting points and educational tools and activities.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 275 pages
Publication date: 25 February 2023
Publisher: Springer Nature Switzerland AG

This edited volume delves into a comprehensive examination of diverse translanguaging practices in multilingual science classrooms across Hong Kong, Lebanon, Luxembourg, South Africa, Sweden, and the United States. It presents groundbreaking possibilities for leveraging students' home, first, or minority languages as valuable tools for meaningful scientific learning. Furthermore, it encourages exploration of the utilization of language resources and other multimodal resources, including gestures and body language, to enhance communication and understanding. The book also addresses and critically examines the potential challenges and obstacles that may arise from these practices in diverse global contexts. This includes a review of various theoretical frameworks that may be challenged by such an approach. These issues are approached from multiple perspectives and methodological foci, encompassing primary, middle, secondary, higher education, as well as after-school programs for refugee teenagers. Within these diverse educational contexts, the book showcases and disseminates a wide array of educational tools and activities in science education, such as teacher-led classroom discussions, language-focused teaching approaches, teachers' use of metalinguistic awareness, scaffolding strategies, small-group interactions, and computer-supported collaborative learning. By highlighting and sharing these effective practices, the volume aims to provide valuable insights and resources for educators and policymakers seeking to promote inclusive and equitable science education for multilingual learners worldwide.

Weight: 438g
Dimension: 235 x 155 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9783030829759
Edition number: 1st ed. 2021