translanguagingAnsätze

TranslanguagingAnsätze refers to pedagogical approaches that embrace and leverage the full linguistic repertoire of multilingual learners. Instead of viewing different languages as separate entities that should be kept apart, translanguagingAnsätze recognize that multilingual individuals draw on all their linguistic resources in a fluid and integrated way to make meaning. This perspective shifts the focus from a deficit model, which sees the presence of multiple languages as a barrier, to a dynamic model that views linguistic diversity as a strength and a powerful tool for learning.

These approaches encourage educators to allow students to use their home languages, other languages they know, and even elements of different languages within the same communicative act, such as in a classroom discussion or when completing an assignment. This can involve code-switching, borrowing words, or using grammatical structures from different languages. The underlying principle is that by validating and utilizing all of a student's linguistic knowledge, educators can foster deeper understanding, enhance academic achievement, and promote a more inclusive learning environment. TranslanguagingAnsätze are thus about enabling students to "translanguge," meaning to move flexibly across their linguistic resources to achieve their communicative and cognitive goals.