Reading and translanguaging with bilingual students from Chinese immigrant backgrounds

This small-scale study explored class conversations between a teacher and two bilingual students in their reading activities in a Chinese heritage language classroom. The inquiry draws upon the theoretical perspectives and literature on translanguaging. The data sources included video recordings of class conversations, artifacts provided by the participants, and informal conversations, which were utilized to ensure the validity. Based on the thematic analysis, the findings revealed the teacher’s use of various pedagogical methods, such as questioning and providing examples, to engage the bilingual students in meaning-making during their reading activities. More importantly, the teacher strategically navigated translanguaging during the activities, valuing the students’ language choices and encouraging the students to take an active role in their language and literacy learning. The study contributes to the educational field by examining the underexplored research on reading and translanguaging in Chinese heritage language education.