Languages, literacies and literate programming: can we use the latest theories on how bilingual people learn to help us teach computational literacies?
Sara E. Vogel, Christopher Plekss Hoadley, Ana Rebeca Miranda Castillo, Laura Ascenzi‐Moreno · Computer Science Education · 2020
Background and Context: In this theory paper, we explore the concept of translanguaging from bilingual education, and its implications for teaching and learning programming and computing in especially computer science (CS) for all initiatives.Objective: We use translanguaging to examine how programming is and isn't like using human languages. We frame CS as computational literacies. We describe a pedagogical approach for teaching computational literacies.Method: We review theory from applied linguistics, literacy, and computational literacy. We provide a design narrative of our pedagogical approach by describing activities from bilingual middle school classrooms integrating Scratch into academic subjects.Findings: Translanguaging pedagogy can leverage learners' (bilingual and otherwise) full linguistic repertoires as they engage with computational literacies.Implications: Our data helps demonstrate how translanguaging can be mobilized to do CS, which has implications for increasing equitable participation in computer science.