Dual Languaging as Strategy and Translanguaging as Tactic in Two-Way Dual Language Programs

This chapter focuses on the work of Michael de Certeau, and particularly, the notions of strategies and tactics from his influential The Practice of Everyday Life . The most widely used umbrella term for bilingual programs is dual language; a term which indicates that students receive instruction through two languages. In two-way dual language programs, approximately half of the students come from English-speaking homes and half come from homes where school’s partner language is spoken. Translanguaging across boundaries of named languages is understood as a languaging practice that is valuable and useful for bilingual speakers and emergent bilingual learners. Students translanguaged to share personal stories related to content, to make connections between specific content and other real-world knowledge/experiences, to demonstrate prior learning, and to support extended explanations of their reasoning. Translanguaging serves as a tool for students to express ways of speaking across language practices in academic contexts, which always rely on conversations that include words and expressions from multiple sources.