Translanguaging and Student Confidence in Culturally Responsive Classrooms

by Zahra Umer

Many schools claim to value diversity, yet multilingual students are still often expected to participate and demonstrate knowledge through one dominant form of academic English. Even when students understand classroom material, they may hesitate to participate because they are afraid of making mistakes or being judged by others. One important strategy connected to culturally responsive teaching is translanguaging, which recognizes multilingual students' languages and identities as strengths rather than problems. This topic became especially important to me after taking a class last semester where we learned about translanguaging and its impact on multilingual students. During my observation hours afterward, I began noticing these challenges much more clearly among ELL and ENL students. These experiences made me realize how strongly language anxiety and the classroom environment can affect participation and confidence.

Before multilingual students can participate confidently in classroom discussions and activities, they need to feel that their identities, experiences, and languages are respected within the classroom. Gloria Ladson-Billings explains that culturally relevant pedagogy promotes academic success, cultural competence, and critical consciousness (Ladson-Billings 160). Many classrooms unintentionally center one dominant language or communication style as the “correct” way to participate, causing multilingual students to focus more on sounding correct than expressing their ideas. Throughout my classroom observations and experiences working in schools, I noticed that students were much more willing to participate when classrooms felt collaborative and supportive instead of overly focused on correction. This made me realize how strongly the classroom environment affects participation and confidence.

One important way teachers can create this type of environment is through translanguaging. Ofelia García and Li Wei explain that multilingualism should be viewed as an academic resource rather than a limitation. They describe translanguaging as using language practices “fluidly and dynamically” rather than separating languages into strict categories (Wei & Garcia 95). Translanguaging allows students to use all of their language knowledge together instead of forcing them to completely separate languages in academic spaces. In practice, translanguaging can include brainstorming ideas in a home language before writing in English, bilingual partner discussions, or multilingual vocabulary support. These strategies help students focus on understanding and communicating ideas instead of constantly worrying about grammar or pronunciation. This is especially important because schools sometimes mistake silence for lack of understanding when the real issue is anxiety or fear of embarrassment. Supporting multilingual students through translanguaging doesn’t lower academic expectations. Instead, it creates more accessible ways for students to participate in difficult learning. Translanguaging allows students to build understanding first, which can strengthen academic language development over time. Rather than lowering standards, translanguaging gives multilingual students additional ways to access challenging academic material while still developing English proficiency.

During my fieldwork hours, I noticed students often participated more freely during partner conversations than whole-class discussions, even when they clearly understood the lesson. That difference made me realize that participation is not always a reflection of academic ability. This showed me how important differentiation is within the classroom. Students do not all communicate or demonstrate understanding in the same way, especially multilingual learners. Differentiation allows teachers to provide multiple opportunities for participation, such as partner discussions or multilingual supports, that help meet students' individual needs and create more accessible ways for students to engage with classroom material. When students feel less pressure to speak perfectly, they are often more willing to ask questions, share ideas, and take academic risks.

Translanguaging also strengthens multilingual students' confidence because language is deeply connected to identity. Nelson Flores explains that multilingual students are often viewed through “deficit perspectives” where language differences are treated as weaknesses instead of strengths (Flores 46). Similarly, Kate Seltzer explains that translanguaging helps normalize bilingualism within literacy classrooms instead of treating multilingual students as deficient (Seltzer 4). When schools expect students to completely separate their home language from classroom learning, they can unintentionally send the message that parts of their identity are less valuable in academic spaces. This strongly connects to my own teaching philosophy because I believe students learn best when they feel comfortable being themselves in the classroom. As someone that is an incredibly anxious student, I remember what it feels like to be scared to participate when you weren’t completely sure about an answer. That was a feeling I had even with English as my first language, I can only imagine how much more nerve racking it can be for our ELL and ENL students. When multilingual students feel their identities and languages are valued, they are more likely to participate confidently and engage authentically.

Translanguaging supports multilingual students’ participation and confidence because it creates culturally responsive classrooms where students’ identities and languages are treated as strengths rather than barriers. have seen how the classroom environment can directly affect whether multilingual students feel comfortable participating or remain silent. When multilingual students feel valued and supported, they are more likely to engage in learning, participate confidently, and take academic risks.

References

• Flores, N. (2019). Translanguaging into raciolinguistic ideologies: A personal reflection on the legacy of Ofelia García. Journal of Multilingual Education Research, 9(1), 5–17. https://research.library.fordham.edu/jmer/vol9/iss1/5/
• Ladson-Billings, G. (1995). But That's Just Good Teaching! The Case for Culturally Relevant Pedagogy. Theory Into Practice, 34(3), 159–165. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405849509543675
• Seltzer, K. (2021). Understanding translanguaging in U.S. literacy classrooms: Reframing bi/multilingualism as the norm. National Council of Teachers of English. https://ncte.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/SquireOfficePolicyBrief_Translanguaging_April2021.pdf
• Wei, L., & Garcia, O. (2013). Translanguaging to Teach. In Translanguaging (pp. 90–118). Palgrave Macmillan UK. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137385765_7