Translanguaging Fridays: Space for Language Learning While Making Mistakes

Translanguaging — the practice of leveraging all of one's linguistic knowledge to create meaning — is a pedagogical practice that meets students where they are in the process of learning a new language by validating individual experiences and allowing for mistakes.

“Translanguaging Fridays” is the brainchild of two faculty from the Department of Romance Studies, in which students from Spanish 111 and French 111 come together as one multilingual community. The two courses are accelerated elementary-level language classes meeting five days a week in the fall term, open to students with one year or less of high school-level Spanish or French.

Lessons are conducted in French, Spanish and English and include multilingual games, discussions and projects that explore the use of multiple languages on Duke's campus and beyond.