Making Heritages Available : Using Translanguaging to Foster 6th Graders’ Reading Comprehension

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This action research project had the purpose of exploring the role of translanguaging practices in fostering 6th graders’ reading comprehension of written literary texts at a public institution in El Carmen de Viboral, Antioquia. For this purpose, and as long as the COVID-19 pandemic allowed us, we ventured to read Franz Kafka’s story A Hunger Artist, adapted to make room for both English and Spanish languages. Data was collected through students’ artifacts, questionnaires, journals and a focus group interview. The analysis showed that, in spite of the limitations imposed by the pandemic, appealing to the rich linguistic fluidities of emergent bilinguals has promising possibilities for widening their access to content and a new language at the time they explore their particular voices.