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“Colibrí” ‘Hummingbird’ as Translanguaging Metaphor

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Envisioning TESOL through a Translanguaging Lens

Part of the book series: Educational Linguistics ((EDUL,volume 45))

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Abstract

This chapter explores translanguaging as theory and practice by first introducing superdiversity as a phenomenon that leads to the creation of adolescent newcomer programs and then discussing how translanguaging intersects with these spaces in terms of sociolinguistic and pedagogical exploration. Relevant theoretical and empirical studies engage translanguaging as an important framework for supporting bi/multilingual adolescents. Drawing on ethnographic and classroom discourse analysis, the chapter then analyzes a key moment from a “Bilingual Biomes” project in a 10th grade Biology classroom at a Central Ohio adolescent newcomer program in which a “colibrí” ‘hummingbird’ becomes a salient metaphor for translanguaging as theory and practice. Specifically, this metaphor explores translanguaging’s potential to destabilize national/named borders between languages, create opportunities for shared understanding, and evoke moments of unexpected joy.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    All names pseudonyms.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. American College Casablanca, Casablanca, Morocco

    Brian Seilstad

  2. Department of Teaching and Learning, College of Education and Human Ecology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

    Somin Kim

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  1. Brian Seilstad
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  2. Somin Kim
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Correspondence to Brian Seilstad .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Bicultural-Bilingual Studies, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA

    Zhongfeng Tian

  2. Department of Teaching, Leadership & Professional Practice, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND, USA

    Laila Aghai

  3. College of Education and Human Ecology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

    Peter Sayer

  4. Department of Teacher Education and Higher Education, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, USA

    Jamie L. Schissel

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Seilstad, B., Kim, S. (2020). “Colibrí” ‘Hummingbird’ as Translanguaging Metaphor. In: Tian, Z., Aghai, L., Sayer, P., Schissel, J.L. (eds) Envisioning TESOL through a Translanguaging Lens. Educational Linguistics, vol 45. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-47031-9_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-47031-9_12

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