Translanguaging and Intercomprehension in Romance Language Classrooms

Liliana Paredes
Sandra Valnes Quammen
Romance Studies, Duke University

In this presentation and workshop presenters will discuss a project designed to foster communities of practice amongst students and instructors. For students, this means becoming part of multilingual communities of language learners. Instructors participate in communities that foster innovative language pedagogy and grounds multilingualism in the educational mission of higher ed.

We first discuss work with French and Spanish learners to center multilingualism in beginning language study. The project reimagines college language learning as a process involving both the acquisition of language and intellectual engagement with concepts of community and identities. This involves multilingual projects, regular reflections, and critical considerations of the role of languages on campus.  

In the workshop component of the presentation, we will focus on instructors’ collaborative work to bridge languages in redesigning parallel introductory and intermediate Spanish and French courses. Presenters argue that, by centering shared experiences, building communities of practice across languages pushes the goal of language learning beyond a sole focus on proficiency. This work invites a reconsideration of everything from materials design and selection to the structuring of content to course outcomes to center both linguistic acquisition and the development of student identities as members of a multilingual community. 

Organized by: Dr. Jeannette Acevedo Rivera, Dr. Clorinda Donato, and Dr. Aparna Nayak