The document discusses ways for students to investigate the languages present in their community through a community study. It provides suggestions for activities students can do such as taking photos of multilingual signs, collecting newspapers in other languages, listening for other languages spoken in public, and examining the use of language at community institutions. The document also provides steps to guide incorporating a community study into the curriculum, including inviting community members to share their languages and cultures.

1. COMMUNITY STUDY
Laura García Marqués
Maria Saborit Vidal
Vega Vicent Vicent

2. WHAT IS IT?
A community study is a way for all students to
investigate what languages and scripts are visible in
their community.
Students can do a lot of things such as: take pictures
of signs in other language, collect newspapers, listen
for people speaking in other languages and see how
other languages are used in community institutions.

3. TRANSLANGUAGING HOW-TO
1. Decide how to include a community
study in your curriculum.
 Can you do this at the beginning of the school year as
part of your “community building” activities?
 Can you incorporate
instruction?
this
into
your
literacy
 Can you incorporate this into your social studies
curriculum?

4. TRANSLANGUAGING HOW-TO
2. Collect pictures of multilingual
signs in your community.
 Have students bring in photographs of
signs that shows language other than
english
 Students can look multilingualism in
different types of signs.

5. TRANSLANGUAGING HOW-TO
3. Collect multilingual newspapers in
your community
 Have students look for newspapers
written in other languages, and bring
them into class.

6. TRANSLANGUAGING HOW-TO
4. Listen to languages in your
community
 Challenge students to pay close
attention to what they hear as their go
to different places in the community,
and share their findings with the class
around questions.
 You can also have student interview
people speaking LOTEs.

7. TRANSLANGUAGING HOW-TO
5. Look at community institutions
 Have students investigate differents
institutions in the neighborhood to see
if languages other that english are
visible, for example: the library, the
school...

8. TRANSLANGUAGING HOW-TO
6. Invite parents or community
member as teachers of languages
and culture
 You can invite them to come into the
classroom to teach students something
about their language and/or culture. This
creates a strong home-school connection
with EBLs’families, and helps all students
develop their awareness and
understanding of other languages and
cultures

9. IDEAS FOR IMPLEMENTATION ACROSS
GRADE LEVELS
• Elementay grades
The mother expressed how fulfilling it
was to be a part of the learnig takin place
and her daughter’s school, even thought
she herself didn’t have a high level of
formal education.
• Secondary grades
An 8th grade social studies teacher was
teaching students about the voting
system within a democracy. He timed the
teaching of this unit to coincide with a
local election going on in the community.