Thank you so much for sharing this amazing newsletter! After reading it, I can now realize how I have been teaching my English classes (sadly using the terms 'native' and 'non-native'!) and it is truly mind-blowing to reflect on what I can do to make my bilingual students feel more comfortable when learning English! Plus, when I started my French learning journey, I couldn't help myself thinking/translating in both English AND Spanish (mother tongue) when encountering a new French phrase or word, and I felt horrible about it! I kept on thinking 'I'm learning French, so I should be thinking in French!' Wow, your article has truly opened my eyes on why I was doing that, and that there's nothing wrong with it! Thank you again!
Thank you so much for this comment, Paula! I love that you'll be able to use what you learned in the classroom! I felt the same way when I first learning about translanguaging. I was also doing things like translating and wondering whether a similar phrase existed in my first language, but I would also feel guilty! My favorite part of the theory is that it validates and empowers bilinguals. Prior to learning about it, I always felt like my Spanish and English weren't as good as monolinguals, but now I know how well I communicate in both languages and that comparing bilinguals to monolinguals is unfair. Thanks again for reading and for your comment!
Thank you so much for sharing this amazing newsletter! After reading it, I can now realize how I have been teaching my English classes (sadly using the terms 'native' and 'non-native'!) and it is truly mind-blowing to reflect on what I can do to make my bilingual students feel more comfortable when learning English! Plus, when I started my French learning journey, I couldn't help myself thinking/translating in both English AND Spanish (mother tongue) when encountering a new French phrase or word, and I felt horrible about it! I kept on thinking 'I'm learning French, so I should be thinking in French!' Wow, your article has truly opened my eyes on why I was doing that, and that there's nothing wrong with it! Thank you again!
Thank you so much for this comment, Paula! I love that you'll be able to use what you learned in the classroom! I felt the same way when I first learning about translanguaging. I was also doing things like translating and wondering whether a similar phrase existed in my first language, but I would also feel guilty! My favorite part of the theory is that it validates and empowers bilinguals. Prior to learning about it, I always felt like my Spanish and English weren't as good as monolinguals, but now I know how well I communicate in both languages and that comparing bilinguals to monolinguals is unfair. Thanks again for reading and for your comment!