Elisa Xu
Immigration remains one of the most popular debates in the traditional immigrant-receiving countries such as Canada and the U.S. The newcomers usually feel pressured to learn new ways to think and behave so that they could attain membership in the host society. (Lee & Chen, 2000) This is a normal phenomenon not only for adults, but also for children. Newly arrived children usually have some language problems as they cannot communicate with their peers or teachers at school, and most importantly, they need to adapt to the new environment, unfamiliar surroundings, and conditions.
Previous research suggested that the enthusiasm of the teacher for children’s cultural heritage can stimulate their learning motivation and self-esteem. (Yao, 1985) In this sense, being interested in target students’ heritage culture and heritage language can provoke their learning motivation, create a safe place for them, and reduce their depressed mood caused by “cultural shock”. Some scholars and teachers have already begun to challenge the one language-only policy and suggest including students’ whole linguistic repertoire–many having an L2, L3, even L4–in the classroom. An interview did by British Council in London had shown an example.
Considering the social landscape nowadays, the increase in immigration, the student mobility, the travel, and the globalization across the world have driven scholars and language teachers to pay attention to the linguistic diversity in their classroom. (Kubota, 2016; Piccardo, 2013)
I deeply believe that the translanguaging, the plurilingualism or the code-switching teachers use in the classroom can help immigrant children improve their language skills, build their multicultural identity in the new host society, as well as reduce their depression or anxiety in the unfamiliar environment.
REFERENCES
Lee, B. K., & Chen, L. (2000). Cultural communication competence and psychological adjustment: A study of Chinese immigrant children’s cross-cultural adaptation in Canada. Communication Research, 27(6), 764–792.
Yao, E. L. (1985). Adjustment needs of Asian immigrant children. Elementary School Guidance & Counseling, 19(3), 222-227.
García, O. & Kleifgen, J. A. (2019). Translanguaging and Literacies. Reading Research Quarterly, 0(0), 1-19.
Miller, E. R. & Kubota, R. (2013). Second language identity construction. In Herschensohn, E. & Young-Scholten, M. (Eds.) Second Language Acquisition. Cambridge University Press.
Galante et al. (2020). “English-Only Is Not the Way to Go”: Teachers’ Perceptions of Plurilingual
