“My heart beats in dos idiomas”. Translanguaging and its relationship with linguistic ideologies in a spanish heritage language classroom: Creation and appreciation of subaltern discourses

Abstract

Translanguaging (García, 2009) refers to the simultaneous and flexible use of multiple languages ​​in a single communicative act. Unlike code-switching, where languages ​​are treated as discrete, alternating systems, translanguaging understands multilingual people operating from a single, integrated repertoire. In the Spanish classroom, this approach challenges monolingual ideologies that prioritize the exclusive use of a single, standardized language form, often viewing local or hybrid dialects as “contaminations” of the language. Presented here are activities carried out in an online advanced Spanish class at the university with heritage speakers who mostly have Spanish as their mother tongue; they came to the United States as children or were born here and learned Spanish informally at home. The activities revolved around translanguaging (reflection and creation). Specifically, students answered two questionnaires, before and after the activities, related to language mixing, language ideologies, and slam poetry (they had to give their opinion on two poems related to the experiences of two poets who are between two languages ​​and cultures, and then, they had to create a poem). They also voted for the best in the class (the best written and the best recorded on video –they shared all the written ones with the class, but only some wanted to share the recorded one). Moreover, the activities involved multimodality and transmodality, expressing ideas in various formats. In a multimodal classroom, students can generate presentations that combine text, images, and sound, or use videos to explain complex concepts. This integration of modes enriches the learning experience and allows for developing a broader range of communicative skills. Transmodality goes further; it is not about using multiple modes, but rather, it emphasizes how a message or content can change or adapt when moving from one to another.  Analyzing these practices and attitudes towards translanguaging in the Spanish classroom allows to identify how dominant ideologies are challenged while allowing subaltern people to express their agency. Through this approach, it is possible to observe how students navigate between their different languages, varieties, and styles or registers to construct meanings, negotiate identities, and resist linguistic subordination.