Volume 15 Issue 3 2021 AMAE Special Issue Centering Translanguaging in Critical Teacher Education: Cultivando Nuevos Conocimientos de Translenguaje en la Educación de Futuros Docentes Guest Editors Pablo C. Ramirez California State University, Dominguez Hills Armando Garza Ayala University of New Mexico Editors Patricia Sánchez The University of Texas at San Antonio Antonio J. Camacho AMAE, Inc. Associate Editors Julie L. Figueroa Sacramento State Lucila D. Ek The University of Texas at San Antonio Managing Editor Christian Fallas-Escobar The University of Texas at San Antonio Association of Mexican American Educators Journal A peer-reviewed, open access journal http://amaejournal.utsa.edu ISSN: 2377-9187 Ostorga Association of Mexican American Educators (AMAE) Journal © 2021, Volume 15, Issue 3 69 Translingual Practices for the Development of Latinx Teacher Candidates: A Pedagogy for the Border Alcione N. Ostorga University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Abstract This article explores the application of translingual pedagogies within a course on the development of bilingualism for Latinx bilingual teacher candidates (BTCs) in the U.S.- Mexico borderlands. Using a self-study methodology, it examines the application of translanguaging pedagogies for Latinx BTCs, and their evolving language ideologies. The participants were mostly emergent bilinguals (EBs) whose native Spanish language development was negatively impacted by hegemonic educational practices in the local K-12 schools. Therefore, while the first aim of my pedagogical practices was to promote learning of the content of the course, a second aim was to promote the development of academic Spanish language abilities, required for bilingual teacher certification. Findings include how the use of a translingual dialogic teaching approach led to the emergence of 1) a critical stance with an awareness of bilingualism as an advantageous resource in learning, and 2) the development of initial principles for their future practices that value translanguaging. Keywords: Translingualism, translanguaging pedagogies, bilingual teacher preparation, border pedagogies DOI: https://doi.org/10.24974/amae.15.3.446 A Pedagogy for the Border Association of Mexican American Educators (AMAE) Journal © 2021, Volume 15, Issue 3 70 “Mientras escribo este diario, puedo sentir a mis dos idiomas peleando en mi cerebro. El inglés quiere sobresalir, pero mis ganas de seguir practicando el español no lo deja…” [While I write this diary, I can feel my two languages fighting in my brain, the English wants to win, but my desire to keep on practicing my Spanish, won’t allow it....] (Journal entry by a student in this study) Within a university-based teacher preparation program in the borderlands, bilingual teacher candidates’ (BTC’s) linguistic development is an integral part of their professional and personal identities, requiring special pedagogies to promote a critical awareness of how their languages and identities were formed. The quote above illustrates the challenges faced by one of our BTCs as she grappled with her bilingualism. While given the freedom to express herself translingually in reflective journals, this BTC worked consciously at developing her academic Spanish ability, a requirement for certification, by forcing herself to write only in Spanish. Though Spanish is her native tongue, her school experiences in childhood hindered its full development to adult-like academic proficiency. The statement also illustrates how hegemonic language practices in schools that devalue a Latinx’1 home language, lead to the majority language taking over the mental processes, illustrated by her statement “el ingles quiere sobresalir,” so that multilingualism becomes a challenge, rather than a path to meaning making. These kinds of issues with languaging led me towards exploring translanguaging pedagogies, not only to promote multilingualism as a resource, but also to foster a critical awareness of the sociopolitical aspects of education for bilingual learners. My interest in using translanguaging in my course is part of a broader goal of developing border pedagogies for teacher development (Ostorga et al., 2020), which aims to address the contextual mitigating factors (Gallard Martinez, et al., 2018) that contribute to the identity formation of Latinx BTCs along border communities and that may in fact, impact their future practices as bilingual teachers. For these reasons, I embarked on the redesign of one of my undergraduate courses focused on the development of bilingualism, which prepares BTCs to work with emergent bilingual students (EBs) in elementary schools. My question was: how can I use translanguaging to promote learning of the content of the course on the development of 1The use of the gender inclusive term Latinx has been chosen to refer to Latino/a/x. Ostorga Association of Mexican American Educators (AMAE) Journal © 2021, Volume 15, Issue 3 71 bilingualism, while also supporting the development of academic Spanish language? I envisioned the application of translanguaging pedagogies as an opportunity for promoting BTCs’ professional development in a most culturally relevant and sustainable manner (Paris, 2012). To counteract the effects of educational practices that take away an individual’s rights to express themselves and develop the freedom to embrace their multiple cultures and languages, I combined the use of translanguaging pedagogies based on six components outlined by Cavazos and Musanti (2021) that include: 1) openness to language differences in learning, 2) language as a right and a resource, 3) metacognitive and metalinguistic awareness, 4) a learner centered approach, 5) collaborative and community centered instruction, and 6) the use of fair and engaged assessment practices. I also sought to promote teacher agency (Ostorga, 2018; Palmer, 2018) in these future teachers. Teacher agency refers to a teacher’s capacity to engage in appropriate professional practices and advocacy to benefit their students, rather than blindly following directions and policies that may be inappropriate or unfair. I particularly felt drawn to the idea of a multilingual pedagogy that could foster metalinguistic awareness (García & Wei, 2014) and a sociopolitical consciousness of language ideologies in education (Freire, 2020; García, 2017). I saw the promotion of sociopolitical awareness of multilingualism in bilingual education as a way to help my students develop fair teaching practices for the benefit of their future students. While aware of the challenges I might face in fostering this sociopolitical consciousness (Freire, 2020), I sought to help Latinx BTCs to embrace translanguaging as a way to make use of their multilingualism as a resource for meaning making and for communication. By applying specific translanguaging pedagogies that evolved from the work of other educators in higher education settings across the world (Mazak & Carroll, 2017), I aspired to develop a way for my students to purposefully maneuver their communications, completely capable of expressing themselves in multiple discourses, adept in both English and Spanish. The Current State of Bilingual Education Preparing teachers for Bilingual Education (BE) is surrounded by complexities and contradictions based on the knowledge and ideologies of linguistic development. Simultaneous bilingualism at an early age is recognized as advantageous, leading to divergent thinking and enhanced cognitive processing (Yang et al., 2011). For EBs, development of the majority A Pedagogy for the Border Association of Mexican American Educators (AMAE) Journal © 2021, Volume 15, Issue 3 72 language while continuing the development of the native language sustains their identity and culture, while promoting academic development. Ideally, EBs should be enrolled in dual language programs where they become bilingual and biliterate. Unfortunately, like most EBs in in the U.S, most of our BTCs were enrolled in early exit Transitional Bilingual Education programs (TBEs), where they were exited out of bilingual education as quickly as possible. Though studies show that it takes five to seven years for the full development of English as a second language in school (Collier & Thomas, 2017), TBE is most prevalent and a major contributor to the achievement gap in reading tests between Hispanics and the White majority (Hussar et al., 2020). Therefore, within the borderlands, our educator preparation practices must go beyond the mere presentation of pedagogical knowledge, to also include practices aimed at deconstructing the effects of hegemonic educational practices. Context of the Study To provide culturally appropriate and sustainable pedagogies for my Latinx BTCs, I explore my translingual practices as a multilingual teacher educator, within one section of a course on the development of bilingualism, a program requirement. Being in proximity to the US-Mexico border presents some unique characteristics in our student body and the nature of their future professional practices within the local communities. Unlike most teachers in the US who are white and unfamiliar with diverse communities where they will eventually work (McFarland, et al., 2019), many of the BTCs in our program come from the same communities where they will eventually teach. Yet, though familiar with the context of their future students’ lives, their experiences may have impacted their readiness for the profession. For example, since the development of their native Spanish language was hindered by the TBE they experienced as children (Guerrero & Guerrero, 2017), they have difficulties passing the required certification exam of Spanish skills. Furthermore, as documented in research (Garrity et al., 2016), Latinx BTCs often devalue their native language as a result of assimilation, which has implications for their future professional practices, such as perpetuating the current hegemonic practices. In addition to BTCs who experienced TBE as children, we also have BTCs who are Mexican nationals having either immigrated to the US as adolescents or adults. These BTCs experience different challenges as bilinguals. While their native language skills are strong, they Ostorga Association of Mexican American Educators (AMAE) Journal © 2021, Volume 15, Issue 3 73 grapple with other issues as they navigate the cultural context in the US, often experiencing ethnic prejudices and cultural dissonances. Befitting our context, Spanish is the language of instruction in some of our courses for BE preparation. The course described in this study focused on both the development of bilingualism (content of the course), and the development of academic Spanish language skills, since it is a prerequisite for certification. Thus, learning activities were aimed at promoting their linguistic development while they learned about the theoretical knowledge applicable to their future practices as BE teachers. I combined translanguaging pedagogies with team-based learning (Michaelsen et al., 2004), creating heterogenous teams of BTCs in my class based on a language survey (see Appendix A). Translanguaging became a part of the social interaction for learning, as every team contained experts in each of the two languages and the members supported each other in the assignments and in their linguistic development. Through these learner-centered pedagogies, I created opportunities for the students to develop metacognitive and metalinguistic awareness, as they analyzed their meaning-making and linguistic processes through course assignments. Most of the reading assignments for the course, were in Spanish, such as the textbook for the course (Montrul, 2013) and work by Rodríguez-Valls (2009), while others were in English (Garcia & Kleyn, 2016; Wright, 2010). Yet, I embraced translanguaging in all oral interactions. Spanish was a requirement in some of the written assignments to promote Spanish writing skills. However, weekly reflective journals allowed translanguaging in the written form. These focused on the BTCs’ learning process of the course content and they were invited to critically examine and evaluate the often, contradictory theories they read about in the textbook in relation to their own personal knowledge as bilingual learners. As part of the course, students engaged in activities that raised their awareness of their own Spanish proficiency. Fair and engaged assessment practices (Cavazos & Musanti, 2021) were founded on the principle of a fairer assessment ecology (Inoue, 2017). Thus, while graded on their understanding of the concepts learned, BTCs were made aware but not penalized for the quality of their writing in Spanish. Also, in this space, oral language practices were dictated by each individual student according to their linguistic needs. Therefore, many strong Spanish speakers preferred to speak in English to promote the development of their second language, while less fluent Spanish speakers chose to practice their Spanish skills with the support of their A Pedagogy for the Border Association of Mexican American Educators (AMAE) Journal © 2021, Volume 15, Issue 3 74 more capable Spanish speaking peers. I respected their choices and allowed the oral dialogue to flow freely in their preferred languages while requiring Spanish in most of the written assignments. The Key Assignment in the course was an analysis of their personal bilingual development. This two-part assignment (see figures 1 and 2) engaged BTCs in an autoethnographic study of their personal linguistic development, which promoted metalinguistic awareness. Figure 1 Key Assignment - Analysis of the Personal Bilingual Development - Part 1 The first part of the assignment included a narrative of the BTCs’ linguistic development and asked them to apply the concepts learned in the readings to their story. For instance, they could discuss if their bilingualism was simultaneous or sequential, or how their school experiences influenced their linguistic development. This part of the assignment also included an analysis of the results obtained in a practice version of the Spanish proficiency test used for certification. The test was included in the course to introduce them to the required certification exam but was not part of the course grade. Later, they discussed the evaluation of their writing responses with their linguistically diverse team members. As part of their analysis of the results, they were asked to develop short-term goals for the development of their Spanish proficiency along with an action plan to accomplish these goals. This component pushed them towards taking the responsibility for their linguistic development. Analysis of the Personal Bilingual Development: Part 1 Linguistic Short Term Goals Bilingual Development Outline Spanish Proficiency Practice test Content of Course and Activities Ostorga Association of Mexican American Educators (AMAE) Journal © 2021, Volume 15, Issue 3 75 Other course assignments included team-based coursework, where they applied concepts learned in the readings. The combination of the course activities led to weekly critical reflections which became an integral element of the second part of the Key Assignment. In this final portion, they presented a self-evaluation of their goals, and an analysis of their reflective journals. The assignment ended with an emergent set of principles for their future practices as bilingual educators based on their learning of the content, and the analysis of their personal bilingual development (see Figure 2). Figure 2 Key Assignment - Analysis of the Personal Bilingual Development - Part 2 In essence, all the course activities aimed to engage students and instructor as members of a community of learners. Through our dialogical discussions, we examined our experiences in relation to the theoretical principles learned, such as the value of dual language instruction in promoting bilingualism/biliteracy and the opposing views about translanguaging in different contexts. In other words, students were encouraged to incorporate their personal knowledge of bilingual development as they critically examined theories presented by experts against their lived experiences. This approach represents an example of the community centered approach in instruction explained by Cavazos and Musanti (2021). My instructional design contributed to the creation of a classroom space where the translingual community of engaged learners/educator worked together to develop their practices and learn. After my introduction as a Final Key Assignment Principles for future practice Analysis of the Personal Bilingual Development Part 1 (corrected and revised based on feedback) Self Evaluation of Goals Analysis of Reflective Journals A Pedagogy for the Border Association of Mexican American Educators (AMAE) Journal © 2021, Volume 15, Issue 3 76 teacher/learner, and a multilingual individual, I explained the general organization of the course with a presentation that invited them to see themselves as learners/researchers, perhaps bringing new light to the current knowledge as presented by experts. My presentation included pictures to exemplify this stance, with the course represented as a community of learners. For example, one picture showed a circle of people with the word learn in the center where the professor was not identified as a leader but was a member of the circle like all others. Another picture in the presentation showed college students in their team, dialoguing about their investigations. The dialogue bubbles representing the words spoken by team members was written in both English and Spanish, suggesting that translanguaging discourse was appropriate. In addition, in the prompts for their weekly reflections, I included questions that guided them into a critical and inquisitive stance. For example, I purposely chose readings where theories contradicted each other, such as the presence of one single linguistic system with two languages, or two separated language systems within our brain. Then I invited them to evaluate these readings based on their experiences as bilingual learners, choosing their own specific point of view. Diverse perspectives in theoretical readings such as code-switching vs translanguaging, were aimed at promoting a critical stance and the opportunity for transformation of their tacit assumptions, a key component in promoting transformative learning (Taylor, 2017). I guided them in this process by asking them to examine assumptions, and if necessary to develop their own positions as they analyzed research and theory juxtaposed with their own experiences. These pedagogical moves contributed to the creation of a learner centered, collaborative community where translanguaging was a right and a resource for learning (Garcia & Wei, 2014). Research Methods I examined my translanguaging practices as a way of maximizing the BTC’s learning of the content, while transforming their perspectives of linguistic development through an analysis of their own growth as bilingual beings. I saw my students/participants as co-researchers (Goodson, 1995), including their voices and perspectives. For this reason, I used a self-study method called co/autoethnography (Taylor & Coia, 2009), which is reflective and participatory. Thus, as a participant observer, I shared with my students my own emerging stance on translanguaging situated within my own knowledge and experiences as a Brazilian Portuguese Ostorga Association of Mexican American Educators (AMAE) Journal © 2021, Volume 15, Issue 3 77 native speaker and invited them to engage in a critical dialogue about the contradictory theories presented in the course readings. Through this process, I explored my pedagogies while evolving my understanding of my students’ personal linguistic development. This method allowed me to examine language and teacher professional development within my course, a community of learners, myself included. Co/autoethnography is situated within self-study of teacher educator practices (Loughran et al., 2007), but capitalizes on the participants’ roles as co- investigators, which in this study was emphasized in the key assignment, an undergraduate research project. Thus, as explained by Taylor and Coia (2009), we deconstructed the issues of authenticity and power as we shared our stories and reflected upon them. Data sources included the Key Assignment, researcher notes, and my reflections posted in a translingual faculty learning community. However, the present analysis focuses on the various data sources within the Key Assignment. A grounded theory approach (Charmaz, 2006) was used in the analysis based on a reflexive process and constant comparative analysis (Glaser, 1965) of emergent themes. I specifically looked for participants’ perspectives of their experiences against the new knowledge they gained from the course and emerging ideas about practices as future educators. Like the quote at the beginning of this chapter, when the original quoted text is in Spanish, I provide an English translation to facilitate comprehension. Participants Based on a survey given on the first day of class, of the 29 Latina BTCs in the course, 19 spoke both languages at home, 7 spoke only Spanish and 3 only English. Their experiences with bilingualism varied significantly. Eighteen BTCs were US born, simultaneous bilinguals, others were Mexican born immigrants who entered school in the US during elementary or secondary school, except for one transnational BTC who learned English in a dual language school in Mexico. Twenty experienced early TBE programs, while two were placed in English immersion from the beginning of their education. Findings Based on the data analysis, I present the findings in two categories: 1) translanguaging pedagogies in practice, based on the BTC’s perspectives of the course activities and 2) emergent linguistic ideologies, especially as these relate to the BTCs’ future professional practices. A Pedagogy for the Border Association of Mexican American Educators (AMAE) Journal © 2021, Volume 15, Issue 3 78 Translanguaging Pedagogies in Practice The application of a community centered approach allowed for everyone to share their experiences and linguistic development leading to their conceptualization of the content of the course. Students became aware of the variations in bilingual development as they shared the initial outline of their bilingual development, in preparation for Part 1 of the Key Assignment. After sharing the outlines within each team, students were asked to choose one team member to share their outline with the entire class. The activity led to an awareness of the diverse experiences bilinguals can have and their impact on linguistic development, as explained in the following excerpt from a journal by Maria (all names are pseudonyms to preserve the anonymity of the participants), who immigrated from Mexico at the age of 11: Una de las cosas… [que] jamás había realizado y aprendí esta semana … como cada persona adquiere su bilingüismo … de muchas diferentes maneras … Me llegué a sorprender ... lo diferente que eran las historias de cada una de nosotras ... es bueno conocer las historias de otros porque hay mucha diversidad en este país. [One of the things ... that I had never realized, and I learned this week … how each person acquires their bilingualism ... in many different ways. … I was surprised about how different each of our stories were ... it is good to know the histories of others because there is much diversity in this country.] As explained, the activity led to a deeper conceptualization of the diverse ways of becoming bilingual, a crucial understanding for the development of effective BE teachers. Self-awareness is further illustrated by another student, Johana, also a Mexican immigrant at the age of 12, as she became aware of her linguistic processes as a bilingual: Me hacen sentir que … soy normal … que soy bilingüe secuencial … que es la razón por la que pienso en dos idiomas …y traduzco todo lo que escucho ... que eso es normal … que muchos bilingües … lo hacen. [… they make me feel …. that I am normal …. that I am a sequential bilingual ... which is the reason why I think in two languages … and that I translate everything I hear … that is normal… many bilinguals ... do it.] Ostorga Association of Mexican American Educators (AMAE) Journal © 2021, Volume 15, Issue 3 79 Both journal segments illustrate outcomes of the class activities since they demonstrate a developing awareness of their linguistic processes and development. In response to the ecology of fair assessment (Inoue, 2017) I created through course activities, BTCs found the freedom to express themselves multilingually instead of fearing judgement. I was able to create this relaxed atmosphere conducive to learning as I applied the principles of fairness in assessment, while combining them with other methods of instruction. For example, I made use of team-based learning as designed by Michaelsen et al. (2004) where before teamwork is submitted, students engage in a gallery walk to examine other teams’ work and are guided through an evaluative discourse where they judge the quality of the various drafts using a rubric (see Appendix B). Consequently, they learned how to use the rubric and to think more deeply about the concepts in the course. Ultimately, it led them to achieve higher levels of learning of the objectives of the assignment though social interaction. Combining this method with a multilingual dialogue offered the opportunity to use translanguaging in the discussion and to build on the community centered approach. For example, in one team-based assignment, students were asked to apply concepts learned as they assessed EB students in a video segment in an English immersion class. Although the activity’s resources were in English, teams were allowed to choose the language for their written assignment. Two of the five teams completed the assignment in Spanish and the works from all the teams were displayed in their language of choice. This led to a translingual dialogue where they discussed each team’s work displayed in Spanish or English. In the discussion, teams voted for the best assignment based on the rubric, then explained their choices. Though evaluation was at the center of the dialogue, it flowed in a relaxed, and respectful manner. Here is how the activity was viewed by student Sonia, a US born Latina who experienced TBE as a child. In her reflection, she states: … fue una buena manera de mejorar nuestro trabajo porque tuvimos la oportunidad de observar que tipo de trabajo hicieron los otros equipos. ... y hicimos comparaciones para ver cómo podríamos mejorar el nuestro. Fue una manera divertida de recibir retroalimentación sobre nuestro trabajo. A Pedagogy for the Border Association of Mexican American Educators (AMAE) Journal © 2021, Volume 15, Issue 3 80 [… it was a good way to improve our work because we had the opportunity to observe what kind of work the other teams did … and we made comparisons to see how we could improve ours. It was a fun way to get feedback on our work.] This BTC articulated how the activity helped her reach new levels of learning. Through this team-based activity, I was able to integrate translanguaging for the promotion of learning where students used their entire linguistic repertoire as resources. Emergent Linguistic ideologies Throughout the course of the semester, I noted emergent language ideologies as students became researchers of their own bilingual development. The course activities provided experiences that led to emergent perspectives and principles for future practices. Here is an example of an emergent perspective from a reflective journal by Rosa, a US born Spanish speaker who experienced English immersion since Kindergarten and received Spanish instruction at home from her grandmother: En nuestra región es “normal” hablar translenguage porque vivimos cerca de la frontera. … cuando leí los capítulos asignados de la semana pasada, … y discutí con mis compañeras … me ayudó a reconocer que translanguaging is okay … There is no problem with speaking two wonderful languages within a sentence. [In our region it is “normal” to speak translanguage because we live near the border. … when I read last week’s assigned chapters, ... and discussed it with my peers … it helped me to recognize that translanguaging is ok … There is no problem with speaking two wonderful languages within a sentence.] This journal made use of translanguaging in the written form. The development of a strong value for the home language, Spanish, is evident and desirable. There are implications of ideological transformation of the tacit assumptions (Taylor, 2017), that often result from school experiences teaching them to devalue their culture and language. This student learned to value her home language, Spanish, a minoritized language, which is a crucial element of one’s own identity, with translanguaging emerging as an integral part of her bilingual discourse. BTC’s language ideologies have significant implications for their future practices as bilingual educators, which is evident in the following journal entry by Lorena, who was placed in English immersion at 2nd grade: Ostorga Association of Mexican American Educators (AMAE) Journal © 2021, Volume 15, Issue 3 81 If a student is bilingual, I do not think that the teachers or the school should ignore the mother tongue or contribute negatively to the development of the minority language. Teachers should help students to develop the oral and written mother tongue in order to use two languages [as] children and as adults. This statement illustrates a healthy language ideology that is sustainable, because it values the mother tongue while advocating for the promotion of bilingualism, possibly as part of Lorena’s future professional practices. Another example of a sustainable language ideology comes from Julieta’s principles for future practices, included in Part 2 of the Key Assignment: Para que el español, y otras lenguas que son minoritarias, sean tratadas con valor y con importancia, nosotros [los maestros] debemos de poder ayudar a elevar el estatus de estas lenguas… [Nuestras acciones deben] dar a entender que ninguna lengua del mundo es más importante que la otra. [In order for Spanish and other minority languages to be treated with value and importance, we [teachers] must be able to help raise the status of these languages... Our actions should imply that no language in the world is more important than the other] Julieta is a simultaneous bilingual who experienced some English immersion but was later transferred to a dual language program. These quotes from teacher candidates seem to demonstrate that through the applied translanguaging pedagogies some BTC’s developed language ideologies that will foster culturally appropriate and sustainable practices for their students. There was no evidence of opposition to translanguaging as part of instruction. Discussion and Implications for Bilingual Teacher Education Generally, translanguaging has been frowned upon and the accepted appropriate instructional practices have been to separate languages into specific spaces or times. Recently educators have begun to acknowledge its value in conceptualization and learning (Freeman et al., 2018; García, 2017), yet the debate about its value continues (Guerrero, 2021). While a translanguaging stance as integrated into my course was quite liberating, now there is a need to study how this multilinguistic system within us, can be used to facilitate learning for BTCs. Bilingual teacher education practices should emphasize the professional development of BTCs A Pedagogy for the Border Association of Mexican American Educators (AMAE) Journal © 2021, Volume 15, Issue 3 82 with a focus not only on the teaching of the various disciplines while promoting linguistic development, but also on the way they capitalize on their students’ linguistic and cultural resources to learn and develop. Furthermore, our pedagogies for BTCs need to be based on the contextual factors that have impacted their development and those of the educational settings where they will eventually work. In this milieu, the use of translanguaging becomes complex for it must be used strategically to promote biliteracy and academic development. First and foremost, as future teachers, they should allow bilinguals to use their full linguistic repertoire while learning the different academic disciplines. Yet, their responsibility will also include teaching the structures of each of the languages of instruction and all the accompanying formalities as part of language arts, as a discipline to be taught. For this reason, bilingual teachers must have a clear understanding of the different kinds of languaging for different purposes. Therefore, based on their BTC’s future professional responsibilities, teacher educators must also understand how to choose translanguaging for specific purposes and situations and how to help bilingual BTCs grapple with these complexities. This includes using translanguaging while guiding BTCs to examine the current knowledge of bilingual development that recognizes the value of multiple languages in the learning process. A key element in the use of translanguaging for teacher educators, is enacting collaborative and community centered instruction (Cavazos & Musanti, 2021). Thus, as we, teacher educators, develop our translanguaging pedagogies, we also guide BTCs in deconstructing the hegemonic language ideologies of assimilation that were in many cases, a part of their own experiences as students in U.S. k-12 schools. To be successful in this endeavor, class activities and the pedagogical stance of the teacher educator must include the creation of dialogical spaces where students and instructor explore ways to develop their practices. This was exemplified in the assignment where BTCs studied their own development as bilinguals using the theories and concepts presented. It included the sharing of the different experiences allowing them to examine their personal development against those of their peers. As demonstrated in the journal excerpts from Maria, Johana and Sonia, this dialogical context where students and professor are learners/researchers, led to a deeper understanding of the sociopolitical complexities in becoming bilingual. Furthermore, this dialogic space allowed BTCs to then develop their own emerging principles for future practice, as illustrated by Julieta in part 2 of the key assignment. Ostorga Association of Mexican American Educators (AMAE) Journal © 2021, Volume 15, Issue 3 83 This pedagogical approach can foster the critical stance necessary for these future bilingual teachers to advocate for their students’ linguistic rights, promote healthy cognitive and academic development, as well as a strong cultural identity. However, one course such as the one presented here is not enough; this kind of approach needs to continue throughout the program for the emergent critical stance to fully develop throughout all their educator preparation courses. The lack of connection to a field assignment as part of the course due to program logistics was a limitation of this study. Another limitation was the fact that this approach was used by only one instructor for this one course in the program. This emergent study needs to expand and include collaborations with other teacher educators teaching similar courses, with an emphasis on promoting biliteracy for BTCs and their students through pedagogies that respect their linguistic and cultural practices. Ultimately, our teacher education pedagogies should aim to promote TCs who are accepting of their future students’ translanguaging practices as they learn new concepts in class. Ultimately, our bilingual teacher education practices should aim to promote BTCs who are accepting of their future students’ translanguaging practices as they learn new concepts in their classes. Our practices as teacher educators then, should model how translanguaging can be used within lessons as a means for students to use all their linguistic resources to learn. Amid this complexity, we need to further study how and when to translanguage in our pedagogical practices in bilingual teacher preparation in a way that can lead to a positive transformation in the education of all EBs. Such studies need to examine ways to promote the development of future teachers who will maximize multilingual development as part of their total development as human beings. In other words, our educator preparation practices must not only address BTC’s academic and linguistic development, but also strengthen their cultural, and ethnic identities while promoting the development of professional identities that include the capacity for agency and advocacy. A Pedagogy for the Border Association of Mexican American Educators (AMAE) Journal © 2021, Volume 15, Issue 3 84 References Cavazos, A. 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W. (2017). Transformative learning theory. In A. Laros, T. Fuhr, & E. W. Taylor (Eds.), Transformative learning meets Bildung: An international exchange (pp. 17–29). Sense https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6300-797-9_2 Taylor, M., & Coia, L. (2009). Co/autoethnography: Investigating teachers in relation. In C. A. Lassonde, S. Galman, & C. Kosnik (Eds.), Self-Study research methodologies for teacher educators (pp.169–186). Sense. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789087906900_011 Wright, W. E. (2010). Foundations for teaching English language learners. Caslon. Yang, S., Yang, H., & Lust, B. (2011). Early childhood bilingualism leads to advances in executive attention: Dissociating culture and language. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 14(3), 412 – 422. doi:10.1017/S1366728910000611. A Pedagogy for the Border Association of Mexican American Educators (AMAE) Journal © 2021, Volume 15, Issue 3 86 Appendix A Class Survey 1. At home I speak in: a. English. b. Spanish. c. Both. 2. Spanish Abilities (circle all that apply) a. I am a native Spanish speaker. b. I can read and comprehend university level readings in Spanish. c. I can speak in Spanish but have difficulties understanding college written material in Spanish. d. I can read and speak in Spanish, but with some difficulties. e. I have no difficulties understanding written and oral communications in Spanish. f. I have no difficulties writing in Spanish at a level appropriate for college work. 3. I was born in __________________ (state and country). 4. State place of residence: a. If in the US - I have lived in the United States since the age of ________________. b. If not in the US – where do you live? (country) _______________. 5. As a child in school, I experienced: (circle all that apply). a. Bilingual education in elementary school. b. Bilingual education at the middle and/or high school level. c. Bilingual education where I was rushed out of Spanish instruction as soon as possible. d. Received no bilingual education instead was Immersed in ESL instruction only. 6. Diversity of experience: a. I have lived outside the United States at least for 1 year during my lifetime. b. I have always lived within the USA but, lived outside the Rio Grande Valley for at least 1 year in my lifetime. c. I have always lived in the Rio Grande Valley. 7. Experience with children: a. I have children. b. I don’t have children but have had some experience taking care of children. c. I never took care of children. 8. Experience in schools: a. I have had experiences working in a school setting. b. I have never worked in a school. 9. Experience with technology a. I am a very confident user of technology (text, emails, Microsoft word). b. I feel ok with technology but don’t consider myself very proficient. c. I stay away from technology whenever I can. 10. Experience with Blackboard a. I am familiar with most blackboard tools such as journals, assignment submission, discussion tools, email, and wikis). b. I am familiar with some blackboard tools. c. I have never used blackboard before this course. Ostorga Association of Mexican American Educators (AMAE) Journal © 2021, Volume 15, Issue 3 87 Appendix B Rúbrica para Asignación en Equipo #3: El trabajo será evaluado bajo los siguientes criterios: 1. El ensayo incluye: • exposición de los elementos mas importantes en el sistema de educación bilingüe en las escuelas de Texas • Explicación acerca del criterio para promoción afuera de educación bilingüe • Retos que resultan de la manera como el Sistema trabaja. 2. Dos ejemplos: • Incluyen explicación del contexto escolar donde cada estudiante esta asistiendo clases. • Incluyen suficientes detalles de por lo menos 2 de los componentes en el SOLOM para apoyar los puntos expuestos en el ensayo. • Hacen conexiones claras con los puntos expuestos en el ensayo. 3. La conclusión del ensayo incluye sugestiones y prácticas necesarias para apoyar el aprendizaje para cada ejemplo. También Incluye citas para apoyar las sugestiones hechas.