All Children Thrive through Translanguaging

As part of the university/student-based community of practice that the ACTT (All Children Thrive through Translanguaging) project is fostering, Dr. Soon Young Jang has been offering bilingual story times through the University Library since Spring 2022 with her ECS 3600 students.

Students in ECS 3600 are engaged in the “Translanguaging Project” in which they work collaboratively to create a wide range of bilingual resources (such as books, songs/chants, graphic organizers) for multilingual children and their families. The culmination of this project is bilingual story times during which students share what they have developed throughout the semester with children and families who are joining the Cal Poly Pomona library!

Here are a few comments from the students sharing their experiences in the translanguaging project: “I had an amazing time, a blast throughout the entire process of creating these bilingual resources … It was honestly very touching to be able to create these projects in my native language because I only wish I had these types of resources growing up … I think that we created a very amazing resource for Spanish and English bilingual students, and I can’t wait to read it to my nieces all the time!” (Student A, Spring 2022). “The story time project was the most rewarding experience I had this semester, and it was truly a highlight. I learned and practiced so many tangible skills that I will carry with me in my future classroom, and it was one of the first times throughout my college journey that I really felt like I was getting valuable, hands-on teaching experience” (Student B, Spring 2023). “This course has impacted me in multiple ways. Not only did the translanguaging project help to show me the importance of promoting bilingualism and the power of research-based literacy strategies, but the course also helped me to understand different ways in which students can be supported. It helped me to question where our curriculum comes from, and how certain old ways of thought can systematically hold down marginalized students from success. I am now equipped with the knowledge to support marginalized students … I am also grateful for my first opportunity to work with children, I was worried for my first time but it was a very helpful experience that left me excited for my future in education!” (Student C, Fall 2022).

To date, 15 languages have been offered through the CPP Library Bilingual Story Times in addition to English. The languages include Armenian, Afrikaans, ASL, Arabic, Bengali, Dutch, German, French, Korean, Mandarin, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Tagalog, Vietnamese.

This semester, November 28 is the last day of bilingual story times. Everyone is welcome!

(To register: https://libguides.library.cpp.edu/storytime/spring2023).