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BC TEAL Journal Volume 2 Number 1 (2017): 46-48 

Book Review 

 

Translanguaging: Language, Bilingualism, and Education 

 

Ofelia García and Li Wei 

New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014, 175 pages 

ISBN 978-1-349-48138-5 (softcover) 

 

Reviewed by 

 

Connie Lam James 

Simon Fraser University 

 

In Translanguaging: Languaging, Bilingualism and Education, García and Wei challenge more 

traditional views of bilingual education by inviting readers to consider language through a 

translanguaging lens. Pushing for an epistemological shift in how multilingual students’ 

language practices are viewed, the authors present translanguaging as more than an alternative 

category to notions such as bilingualism, multilingualism, and plurilingualism. With 

translanguaging, language practices are not seen as separate autonomous systems but as one 

linguistic repertoire, better addressing the complex linguistic practices of diverse and 

multilingual students and therefore potentially enacting change in societal and educational 

structures. Throughout its seven chapters, this book delves into the concept of translanguaging in 

relation to other corresponding concepts, with the authors ultimately arguing towards a 

translanguaging pedagogy in bilingual education.  

 

 The book is divided into two parts, with Part One consisting of two chapters that situate 

translanguaging in the context of related theories of bilingualism. In Chapter 1, García and Wei 

introduce readers to different conceptualizations of language. The authors examine definitions of 

bilingualism, multilingualism, and plurilingualism and critique more traditional notions of 

bilingualism and multilingualism that take an additive approach to language education, framing 

languages as discrete and autonomous systems that must be kept separated, especially in learning 

contexts. However, whereas some scholars such as Makoni and Pennycook (2007) would go as 

far as contesting the existence of languages as a whole and positing languages as invented and 

constructed, García and Wei acknowledge that bilingual speakers must navigate languages as 

part of their lived realities. They therefore stress the need for concepts such as translanguaging in 

order to encompass individuals’ complex language practices in today’s constantly changing and 

shifting world.  

 

 Chapter 2 provides a more in-depth examination of translanguaging, beginning with its 

Welsh origins, and then tracing how translanguaging has since been expanded upon by different 

scholars. In solidifying their own definition of the term, García and Wei particularly accentuate 

the criticality and creative aspects of translanguaging. By positioning “the language practices of 

bilingual people as the norm” (García, 2012, as cited in García & Wei, 2014, p. 22), 

translanguaging addresses different sociocultural issues such as hybridity in culture and identity, 

and the oftentimes liminal and marginalized spaces people can live within. Individuals play with 



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BC TEAL Journal Volume 2 Number 1 (2017): 46-48 

language and negotiate different identities within and against conflicting dominant ideologies; by 

conforming to certain ideologies but resisting others, transformation can occur.  

 

 Part Two consists of five chapters which take the discussion of translanguaging 

specifically into the realm of education. It begins with Chapter 3 in which the authors deem 

current models of bilingual, second language, and foreign language education insufficient 

because of how they separate languages and/or homogenize language groups. They proceed to 

review several studies that showcase different ways of integrating students’ home languages into 

students’ learning. However, the authors insist that these strategies are only paving the way for 

reform; to truly harness students’ linguistic resources, there needs to be a change in epistemology 

that advances beyond just scaffolding students’ understanding of a lesson. In order for readers to 

imagine this potential, García and Wei refer in Chapter 4 to education in the United States where 

there is an ever-emergent population of diverse and multilingual students. In addition to 

cognitive engagement, translanguaging in education should involve giving students a voice that 

challenges monolingual ideologies, traditions, and educational practices, giving consideration to 

different and often delegitimized language practices and cultures, and thus developing students’ 

critical awareness of these practices and cultures.  

 

 Chapters 5 and 6 focus on translanguaging in the classroom. Chapter 5 summarizes 

studies that demonstrate students translanguaging, processing information through interaction 

using their home languages, and thereby leveraging their linguistic resources to mediate and 

expand learning possibilities. Chapter 6 explores different classrooms in different subject areas 

where teachers have adopted a translanguaging pedagogy. García and Wei present teachers who 

have made room for students to share and challenge ideas but who are also co-learning and 

establishing bonds with their students as they learn bits and parts of students’ languages and 

cultures. 

 

To conclude, Chapter 7 articulates the main strategies, principles and goals of 

translanguaging pedagogy that can be elicited from previous chapters and studies discussed in 

the book. The authors provide concrete examples of what to do in the classroom by breaking 

down which translanguaging strategies can potentially be used for what purposes, while 

providing suggestions for further readings to expand on these strategies. The authors close by 

posing the main challenge: translanguaging is not an accepted legitimate pedagogy and practice, 

especially in teachers’ assessment and evaluation practices. They argue for the restructuring of 

the education system and deeply-rooted epistemologies in order for change to occur.  

 

 Altogether, García and Wei offer a comprehensive and informative introduction to not 

only translanguaging but also related concepts. In order for the authors to make the argument for 

translanguaging in education, they provide a useful and detailed description of relevant theories, 

and thus their introduction can serve almost as a small survey course in language and 

bilingualism. Regarding translanguaging in particular, the book can be useful for those who have 

continuously seen the term in recent literature but in a more abstract discussion without concrete 

examples. For a more nuanced awareness of the topic of bilingualism and multilingualism, 

however, it might be useful to read this book alongside other works and studies (on language 

maintenance or minoritized languages, for example) that might better situate the concept of 

translanguaging amidst debates surrounding language in an ongoing dialogue. 



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BC TEAL Journal Volume 2 Number 1 (2017): 46-48 

 

 Finally, as a key element in this book is a change in epistemology, the book’s inclusion in 

some shape or form in teacher education courses would be very beneficial. García and Wei state 

that we are living in a world with “new patterns of global activity characterized by intensive 

flows of people” (p. 9) highlighting the possibility for teachers to find multilingual students in 

their classrooms. In the British Columbia (BC) context specifically, there is an existing diverse 

population—with a continuous influx of new immigrants, transnationals, and refugees—who are 

learning English as an Additional Language (EAL) or are in varying EAL scenarios for a myriad 

of reasons and purposes, but who also have their own complex language repertoires, 

backgrounds, and mixed social and cultural practices. Translanguaging potentially offers the 

field of EAL in BC new possibilities for learning, while simultaneously celebrating the language 

and cultural practices that are representative of contemporary learners in BC, Canada. Overall, 

this book can be for all educators, starting a discussion that questions structures and traditions in 

order to reimagine new approaches and possibilities for bilingual education.  

 

References 

 

García, O. (2012). Theorizing Translanguaging for Educators. In Celic, C. and Seltzer, K. (Eds.) 

Translanguaging: A CUNY-NYSIEB guide for educators (pp. 1-6). Retrieved from 

http://www.nysieb.ws.gc.cuny.edu/files/2013/03/Translanguaging-Guide-March2013.pdf 

Makoni, S., & Pennycook, A. (2007). Disinventing and reconstituting languages. Clevedon, UK: 

Multilingual Matters.  

 

 

 
The BC TEAL Journal is licensed under a 

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. 
Copyright rests with the authors. 

 

 

http://www.nysieb.ws.gc.cuny.edu/files/2013/03/Translanguaging-Guide-March2013.pdf
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

