Translanguaging is a rapidly developing concept in bilingual education. Working from the theoretical background
of dynamic bilingualism, a translanguaging lens posits
that bilingual learners draw on a holistic linguistic repertoire to make sense of the world and to communicate
effectively with texts. What is relatively underdeveloped
is the pedagogical aspects of translanguaging. This classroom-based study conducted in the southeastern US asks
2 questions: (a) How might teachers create a translanguaging space for students, and (b) what would this space look
like? The authors, 1 classroom teacher and 1 researcher,
engaged emergent bilingual students in small group reading of a culturally relevant text and observed students’
active participation through strategic and fluid translanguaging practices. The authors argue that the linguistic
norms of schooling should reflect the discursive norms
of emergent bilingual students, and that teachers create
translanguaging spaces as a path to educational equity