Routines for Translanguaging & Multilingual Thinking

In 2021, I began exploring the use of instructional routines to promote translanguaging (“the act performed by bilinguals of accessing different linguistic features or various modes of what are described as autonomous languages, in order to maximise communicative potential” [García, 2009]) and multilingual thinking (students using their compete linguistic repertoire as part of the thinking process for sense-making, but also to develop ‘critical multilingual language awareness’ [García, 2017; Hélot et. al., 2018]).

What are instructional routines?

• ‘…structured activities that occur repeatedly within the classroom’ (Litt et. al., 2015, p. 163).

• ‘…structured activities that are adaptable for the intent and purpose of the lesson’ (SanGiovanni, 2020, p. 108).

• ‘…a set of actions that are carried out principally by teachers and students within learning contexts. These routines help teachers and students know what to do next in instruction’ (Tobias & Duffy, 2009, p. 64).

Why are instructional routines useful?

• ‘Routines create a supportive, predictable learning environment that is needed for all students, especially emerging bilingual students’ (SanGiovanni, 2020, p. 108).

• ‘Instructional routines are popular with teachers for several reasons. First, they require less preparation than new lesson plans, and evidence-based strategies are right at their finger-tips when needed’ (Gibbons et. al., 2019, p.122).

• ‘They can create focus and efficiency…Students become accustomed to the established routines, so that less time is needed on instructions, assigning groups, and other repeated parts of your lessons…Routines benefit students because of their consistency – that is, students know what is expected of them – and benefit teachers because they can alleviate the need for answer innumerable questions about a classroom process, freeing the teacher’s time, so they are able to focus on student work and he feedback they need to give’ (Dillon et. al., 2022, p. 55).

So, I believe we can design and use instructional routines to enable translanguaging and multilingual thinking in order to

• …create a common language and shared understanding to promote translanguaging throughout the school

• …make translanguaging more actionable for teachers (how, not just the what and why)

• …help shift teachers’ habits, behaviours, mindsets

• …help teachers see the value and importance of translanguaging

• …act as a starting-point for teachers to explore other ways for enabling translanguaging through their pedagogical and curriculum design

• …increase teachers’ comfortability with translanguaging

Example Routines: