Translanguaging as a Boundary Crossing Mechanism - A Turkish-American Youngster and her Linguistic Negotiation of Three Discursive Spaces

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Franzy

The study responds to growing linguistic and cultural diversity in U.S. schools and the persistent achievement gap between culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students and mainstream peers by advocating asset-based teaching grounded in students’ full linguistic knowledge. It addresses a research gap on how CLD learners make linguistic choices across multiple discursive spaces with differing norms, values, and practices. Using a case study of Elif, a Turkish-American student, interviews, observations, and field notes show negotiated boundaries ranging from smooth to insurmountable. Translanguaging functions as a boundary object mediating sociocultural discontinuities and enabling experiences between Turkish-dominant and English-dominant spaces.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages15

Reading Time38 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Theoretical Framework

Boundary Crossing Theory

OPEN ACCESS Australian Journal of Applied Linguistics ISSN 2209-0959 [https://journals.castledown-publishers.com/ajal/](https://journals.castledown-publishers.com/ajal/) Australian Journal ofApplied Linguistics, 3 (1), 11-25 (2020) [https://doi.org/10.29140/ajal.v3n1.284](https://doi.org/10.29140/ajal.v3n1.284) Translanguaging as a Boundary Crossing Mechanism: A Turkish-American Youngster and her Linguistic Negotiation of Three Discursive Spaces TUBAYILMAZ a ESTER DE JONG b a Necmettin Erbakan University, Turkey b University of Florida, USA [tubayilmaz@erbakan.edu.tr](tubayilmaz@erbakan.edu.tr) [edejong@coe.ufl.edu](edejong@coe.ufl.edu) Abstract In order to effectively respond to the increased linguistic and cultural diversity in U.S. schools and close the consistently documented achievement gap between culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students and mainstream students, teachers need to take an asset-based approach and be able to draw on CLD students’ entire funds of linguistic knowledge. However, few studies have examined CLD students’ linguistic choices in multiple discursive spaces with different linguistic norms, values and practices. This article addresses this research gap through a case study of Elif, a Turkish-American student and her linguistic boundary crossing experiences within and across three discursive spaces: her home, her Turkish heritage language school, and her mainstream school. Through in-depth analysis of interviews, observations, and field notes, the study revealed that Elif experienced different linguistic environments and boundary types. She negotiated experiences that ranged from smooth to managed to insurmountable boundaries. Finally, translanguaging practices acted as a key boundary object that mediated sociocultural discontinuities in the Turkish heritage language school, and facilitated Elif’s experiences between Turkish dominant and English dominant discursive spaces. Keywords: translanguaging, bilingualism, border crossing, heritage language, community-based language school, Turkish speakers Introduction As in other English-dominant societies like Australia and Canada, the population of culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students (i.e., who speak a language other than English at home) continues to grow in the United States. According to the U.S. Census Bureau (2013), the CLD student population increased from approximately 47 million in 2000 to approximately 62 million in 2013. The U.S. Census Bureau (2019) reported that the total CLD population in the U.S. was 48 % of the entire K-12 population in 2018. The English Language Learner (ELL) population, a subgroup ofCLD population, comprised of approximately 10% of the total student population in 2016 (National Center for Educational statistics, 2019) . CLD students face challenges in schools, as illustrated by persistent patterns of educational underachievement when compared to non-CLD students (Hornberger & Link, 2012; Martin-Beltrán, 2014) . To better address CLD students’ needs, research has suggested that teachers need to shift from a deficit-oriented approach to asset-based approaches to teaching and learning. Culturally and linguistically responsive pedagogies that treat CLD students’ experiences as a resource for teaching and learning, have been proposed as imperative for this group of students (Lucas & Villegas, 2013; Ruiz, 1984) . One dimension of asset-based teaching for CLD students is for teachers to understand and build on students’ linguistic repertoires as they develop within and across different contexts, that is,“the language and literacy practices that students bring with them from their home communities”(Martin-Beltrán, 2014, p. 212) as well as those being developed within formal school settings. To date, scholars have examined CLD students’ linguistic repertoires primarily from the perspective of students’ use of multiple languages either at home or at school. They note contin

FAQs

What problem does the article address in U.S. schools?

It addresses the need for teachers to respond to increased linguistic and cultural diversity and to close the consistently documented achievement gap between CLD students and mainstream students.

How was the study conducted?

The research is a case study of Elif, using in-depth analysis of interviews, observations, and field notes.

What role does translanguaging play in Elif’s experiences?

Translanguaging acts as a key boundary object that mediates sociocultural discontinuities in the Turkish heritage language school and facilitates Elif’s movement between Turkish-dominant and English-dominant discursive spaces.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Franzy