By Claudio Vargas, Educational Consultant and CASE Upper Elementary Director; Diana Vélez, Lawrence Hall of Science at UC Berkeley

Peek into a first-grade classroom where students are fully engaged in exploring how sound travels using a spoon-gong ⎼ a spoon attached to a cup by a string. 

As they gather around the class notebook to collectively make a model of how sound travels from the spoon to their ear, they explain their thinking using pictures, gestures, and English, español, and K’iché words and phrases. This is translanguaging in action.

Every student brings valuable experiences and knowledge to the science classroom drawn from their interactions with the natural world. Emerging Multilingual Learners (EMLs) offer even more: rich cultural and linguistic perspectives that deepen scientific understanding. By valuing everyone’s home languages, cultures, and prior experiences, we honor who we all are and create a solid foundation for science and language learning.  

Start with Prior Knowledge

Students thrive when lessons connect science to their everyday experiences and questions. Using local phenomena helps EMLs relate to science by blending what students already know from their families and communities with classroom learning. Encouraging the use of home languages boosts confidence and academic growth. Research shows that children with solid home language skills are more successful in learning a second language and excelling academically. 

Embrace Translanguaging

Students learn best when leveraging their conceptual, linguistic, and cultural resources to make sense of their world. Translanguaging allows students to use all their linguistic abilities, strengthening their understanding of both science and language. This approach supports cultural identity and fosters meaningful connections.  

Use Translanguaging Strategies

• Group Work: Arrange students by home language so they can use all their linguistic resources while engaging in practices such as discussing, investigating, sense-making, and modeling. Heterogeneous groupings of students with different proficiency levels in the language of instruction are also beneficial for students to share their linguistic expertise.
• Multilingual Materials: Use resources like posters, handouts, or videos in multiple languages and help students create bilingual glossaries and concept maps.  
• Bilingual Presentations: Encourage students to share projects in multiple languages.
• Science Notebooks: Let students use their language of choice while writing observations, explanations, and reflections.  
• Multiple Modalities: Use speaking, writing, drawing, gesturing, and other modalities to communicate conceptual understanding.

By leveraging their complete linguistic and cultural resources, EMLs gain a deeper understanding of science while being seen and included. This inclusive approach sets all students up for success!

About the Authors

Claudio Vargas taught as a bilingual K-5 teacher, coordinated the K-12 Science Programs at Oakland USD, and directed the Bay Area Science Project at UC Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science. He is currently an educational consultant with Sci-Lingual Education and a CASE board member.
claudio@sci-lingual.com

 

Diana Vélez taught bilingual 1st grade at Oakland USD and is currently a curriculum and equity specialist at the Lawrence Hall of Science at UC Berkeley. She works on various science education projects in ELD, the integration of science and literacy, and district-wide implementation of the NGSS. dvelez@berkeley.edu

Tags