Translanguaging: improving the quality of

education for immigrant students in

Chilean schools
Sofía Bustamante
 Introduction
❏ Return to democracy
❏ Economic growth and political stability
❏ Receiving country
❏ Migrant enrollment in Chilean school system has increased by 616% between 2014 and 2019
 Problem to solve
The growing arrival of migrants to the Chilean school system has revealed the lack of specific policies
aimed at their proper incorporation into school institutions.

Consequences:
➔ Unequal integration of migrant students and parents into the school system.
➔ Experiences of racism and discrimination on a daily basis in educational establishments.
➔ Teachers use compensatory strategies of inferior quality or minimum demand.

The National Policy for Foreign Students 2018-2022 aims to guarantee the right of education and inclusion of
foreign students. The problem is that the most visible actions of the Chilean government have been limited to
arrangements that have to do mainly with access to the educational system.
 Linguistic perspective
➢ Detrimental for second language acquisition
➢ Critical period
➢ Lessons in the country’s official language
Translanguaging as a
potential solution
“Translanguaging is the process of making meaning, shipping
experiences, gaining understanding and knowledge through the
use of two languages” (Baker, 2011, p.288)

★ It creates a social space for the multilingual language user

★ Scaffolding→ the use of the mother tongue to think and
extend inner speech.
★ Additional need for support in order to maximize academic
development.
 Conclusion
❖ The implementation of translanguaging in
educational establishments could be a way to
equalize the quality of education between
immigrant and non immigrant students.
References:
- Jara Males, Loreto, & Vuollo, Eevamaija. (2019). For the right to education of the migrant community in
Chile: integrated approaches from the civil society and diverse educational actors. Estudios
pedagógicos (Valdivia), 45 (3), 333-351. https://dx.doi.org/10.4067/S0718-07052019000300333
- Castillo, Dante, Santa-Cruz, Eduardo, & Vega, Alejandro. (2018). Immigrant students in chilean public
schools. Calidad en la educación, (49), 18-49. https://dx.doi.org/10.31619/caledu.n49.575
- Mora Olate, María Loreto. (2018). Educational policy for migrants in Chile: an eloquent silence. Polis
(Santiago), 17(49), 231-257. https://dx.doi.org/10.4067/S0718-65682018000100231
- Pan, Y., & Pan, Y. (2010). The Use of L1 in the Foreign Language Classroom. Colombian Applied
Linguistics Journal, 12(2), 87-96. Retrieved from: https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=305726659007
- Lewis, Gwyn & Jones, Bryn & Baker, Colin. (2012). Translanguaging: Developing its conceptualisation
and contextualisation. Educational Research and Evaluation, (18), 1-16.
- Servicio Jesuita a Migrantes (2020). Access and inclusion of migrants in the educational field. Retrieved
from: https://www.migracionenchile.cl/informe-educacion/