Pedagogical Translanguaging in Content Areas: Exploring Preservice Teachers’ Lesson Plans for Emergent Bilinguals

Abstract

The increasing linguistic and cultural diversity in K-12 schools necessitates preparing preservice teachers [PSTs] to address the unique needs of Emergent Bilinguals [EBs]. This study examined elementary preservice teachers’ (PSTs) lesson plans in English Language Arts, social studies, math, and science, focusing on integrating pedagogical translanguaging strategies. The research questions were the following: (1) What translanguaging practices are evident in PSTs’ lesson plans? (2) How do PSTs integrate these practices into their instructional planning for EBs? Fifty-six PSTs enrolled in a second language methodology course at a large urban research university participated in this study. This course, taken in their senior year or during student teaching, aimed to equip PSTs with skills for delivering linguistically and culturally appropriate instructions and assessments for EBs. For the final assignment, 56 lesson plans were analyzed using deductive and inductive coding methods with the Dedoose 4.2 software. The findings reveal that while PSTs effectively identified key vocabulary and used multimodal resources to support EBs, they need more training in leveraging EBs’ home languages, strategic grouping, multilingual collaboration, and translanguaging assessments in their instructional planning.