ABSTRACT
This article presents a vision for fostering multilingualism in schools that extends the notion of translanguaging to include the realm of multilingual curriculum theorizing. We locate our analysis at the intersection of multicultural education, multilingual education, and curriculum studies in order to conceptualize language, culture, and curriculum that are responsive to students’ language practices and cultural locations, as well as reflexive of the dynamics of power and privilege within the classroom. By placing “languaging” practices at the heart of curriculum development, the article takes up Spivak’s postcolonial discursive work, which eloquently articulates the distinctions between translation and transcoding and suggests that the former is a necessary, ethical obligation within the global moment. The article concludes with a review of successful examples of multilingual curriculum development and offers suggestions for future work in this area.
