The following are challenges and solutions identified by colleagues in the inaugural, synchronous, Teaching Multilingual Learners: An Introduction to Translingual Pedagogy workshop. Challenges are bolded below with solutions directly following in bulleted format.
Time difference
- different times for office hours
- organize conferences at 8 PM
- don’t take attendance
- record the classes (but do they watch them?)
- offer asynchronous options
- ask what time works best for them (survey)
- encourage them to form study groups
lingering questions:
What are some ways to share information other than a video or mini-lecture?
idea:
Group presentations; prepare their own slides for the presentation of material that the instructor would normally present. Teams.
Not participating in class
- facilitating culturally-mixed work groups
- let them Chat or poll as well as speaking
- start with the question of the day
- what’s going on behind the camera
- share own experience (like with studying abroad)
- pairwork looking at partner’s artifact
- slow your speech
- turn on the closed-captioning
- let them rehearse
- let them write first
- “fun time” at end of class (when we show our faces)
- give them time
- model wherever possible
- give examples
- present material multimodally
- have pictures
- have a student translate
Difficult vocabulary in course materials
- unpack metaphors and codes
- have a student make a glossary
- use images and examples
- have materials available ahead of time, e.g. on D2L
- remind them that this is a space for them, whether English is their first language or not, to learn and practice writing, not master the language—mistakes are welcome!
Understanding assignments
- Key assignment words like “summarize” or analyze”: be sure everyone understands them the same way
- invite them to ask questions
- Jamboard or Padlet for anonymous questions
- make links
- small group work on specific terms
- give models of how other students have approached an assignment
- invite students to actualize or embody the concepts
- Writing Center and English Language Center (ELC)
Attendance
- talk about class content multiple times in multiple forms
- reframe “attendance” as “engagement”
- help them understand the cultures they bring to the class
- D2L can help us know how much time they’re spending on various tasks
Extra work of translating
- Share out the work if more than one student with the same L1
- tools like online translation of transcripts and captions
- use images, examples, body language
- let students know that you’re rewarding this labor — have them make it visible in reflections
- ELC
- office hours (enlightening for instructor too)
- “visible thinking: cross between text and image”