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Code-Switching and Its Challenges: Perspectives on Translanguaging in the EFL/ESL Classroom Utah State University DigitalCommons@USU All Graduate Plan B and other Reports Graduate Studies 12-2017 Code-Switching and Its Challenges: Perspectives on Translanguaging in the EFL/ESL Classroom Michael Spooner Utah State University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/gradreports Part of the First and Second Language Acquisition Commons Recommended Citation Spooner, Michael, "Code-Switching and Its Challenges: Perspectives on Translanguaging in the EFL/ESL Classroom" (2017). All Graduate Plan B and other Reports. 1126. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/gradreports/1126 This Creative Project is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies at DigitalCommons@USU. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Graduate Plan B and other Reports by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@USU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. i CODE-SWITCHING AND ITS CHALLENGES: PERSPECTIVES ON TRANSLANGUAGING IN THE EFL CLASSROOM by Michael Spooner A portfolio submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SECOND LANGUAGE TEACHING Approved: Dr. Karin DeJonge-Kannan Dr. Maria Luisa Spicer-Escalante Major Professor Committee Member Dr. Abdulkafi Albirini Dr. Sylvia Read Committee Member Committee Member Dr. Bradford J. Hall Department Head UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY Logan, Utah 2017 Copyright 2017 © Michael Spooner All rights reserved DEDICATION This work is dedicated to the memory of Alberto, whose full name I do not know. Alberto was a Puerto Rican man who worked long ago with my father in a machine shop in Milwaukee. Alberto loved Spanish, his first language, and especially the way it was spoken in Puerto Rico. Even in their gritty blue-collar context, Alberto modeled the value of multilingualism, and he encouraged my young father to resurrect what remained of his high-school Spanish. That was before my time. Years later, as a child in Alaska, I found a handwritten letter from Alberto that my father had saved. I stared at the Spanish words and tried to sound them out. I came back to the letter many times, and, at some point, I memorized Alberto’s last line: No olvides la lengua bonita. Don’t forget the beautiful language. Alberto, I am three times older now than my father was when you knew him, but language learning still fascinates us both. Thank you. ABSTRACT Code-Switching and Its Challenges: Perspectives on Translanguaging in the EFL/ESL Classroom by Michael Spooner: Master of Second Language Teaching Utah State University, 2017 Major Professor: Dr. Karin deJonge-Kannan Department: Languages, Philosophy, and Communication Studies Structured in sections that represent the author’s teaching perspectives and research perspectives, the portfolio comprises reflective pieces written at the end of the Master of Second Language Teaching program and other pieces written as coursework during the author’s study in that program. In the first section, the author describes the principles that guide his own teaching and, in light of those principles, he reviews his experience as a learner, reports on observations of other teachers, and assesses his own performance based on observations done by others. The second section offers a set of four research papers that progressively develop and explore questions of code-switching and its potential for research-based application in EFL/ESL pedagogy. A long history of bilingual pedagogy in ESL exists, the author points out, but has largely been neglected since the end of the 19th century. Current research in translanguaging and translingualism offer a solid rationale for effective use of learners’ first language in EFL/ESL teaching, with particular attention to code-switching. His v position questions the traditional English-only classroom, arguing that monolingual policies are rooted in unexamined cultural fears and biases. The author suggests that a more appropriate balance can be achieved through teacher education based on examples in the research and in recent pedagogical work. (186 pages) LIST OF ACRONYMS ACTFL = American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages ALM = Audio Lingual Method CLT = Communicative Language Teaching CS = Code-Switching DLI = Dual-Language Instruction ELL = English Language Learner ESL/EFL/EIL = English as a Second/Foreign/International Language L1 = First Language / Native Language L2 = Second Language MATESOL = Master of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages MSLT = Master of Second Language Teaching SATS = Self-Assessment of Teaching Statement SCT = Sociocultural Theory SLA = Second Language Acquisition TBA = Task-Based Activity USU = Utah State University ZPD = Zone of Proximal Development vi LIST OF FIGURES Three principles of pragmatic interaction . .. 62 vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS One always owes more than one can say. My sincere gratitude to my fellow students in the MSLT program. They have been so patient with the older student in the back, and I am beyond grateful for what I learned from them at every turn. I hope I never behaved in the ways that sometimes afflict nontraditional students, especially us older American white guys. Many, many thanks to my committee members. Each of them has taught me more and inspired me more deeply than they imagine; individually, every year, they make a lifelong impact on all their students, and they have made the same difference to me. It is an honor to have been in their charge, and I hope that my work reflects well on them and on their wonderful program. Finally, I want to acknowledge, even cherish, the debt I owe to my wife and fellow sojourner, who in so many ways has made this enriching adventure possible. viii CONTENTS ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................... iv LIST OF ACRONYMS .................................................................................................... vi LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................. viii INTRODUCTION TO THE PORTFOLIO ........................................................................ 1 TEACHING PERSPECTIVES ........................................................................................... 4 Apprenticeship of Observation ............................................................................... 5 Professional Environment ..................................................................................... 10 Teaching Philosophy Statement ............................................................................ 12 Professional Development through Teaching Observations ................................. 27 Self-Assessment of Teaching ................................................................................ 32 RESEARCH PERSPECTIVES ........................................................................................ 38 Critical Reflection Essay ....................................................................................... 39 Introduction to the Critical Reflection Essay ............................................ 40 Solamente Inglés ....................................................................................... 42 Culture Paper ........................................................................................................ 55 Introduction to the Culture Paper .............................................................. 56 Kiss Me, Fatima ........................................................................................ 58 Language Paper ..................................................................................................... 76 Introduction to the Language Paper .......................................................... 77 Reconsidering Bilingual Pedagogy ........................................................... 78 Literacy Paper ....................................................................................................... 90 Introduction to the Literacy Paper ............................................................ 91 x Writing Instruction for English Learners in a Translingual Classroom .... 92 ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHIES .............................................................................. 122 Introduction to the Annotated Bibliographies ......................................... 123 I Code-Switching in the Literature ................................................ 125 II Code-Switching in the Classroom .............................................. 150 LOOKING FORWARD ................................................................................................. 166 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................... 169 1 INTRODUCTION TO THE PORTFOLIO Every path is unique, so let me offer a very brief narrative of how I came to the MSLT program at Utah State University. In 1979, I finished a master’s degree in American literature. Two years later, perhaps to redeem myself, I enrolled in an MATESOL program, and I nearly completed that program before life circumstances called me away. I regretted leaving language study behind, but as it happened, my work was in scholarly publishing, and in fields that allowed me to remain in touch with research and pedagogy in literacy, culture, language, composition, ESL, and other fields. By the time I
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