Every now & then I read a study that nudges me to rethink how I see a particular group of learners. In this instance it’s what we assume about multilingual learners’ “ability” versus their opportunity to show it. The study left me wondering what our assessments are measuring exactly.
The study, published in Frontiers in Communication—explores what happens when bilingual middle‑schoolers are allowed to use all their linguistic resources during a digital science assessment on states of matter (not a topic that comes up often in my lessons, TBH).
The study
Fifteen Spanish–English bilingual students (ages 12–14) completed a 16‑item digital science task involving modelling, explanation & revision. Crucially, the assessment included bilingual test forms, read‑aloud options, pop‑up glossaries & the choice to answer in writing or orally, in either language or both.
To understand students’ real‑time reasoning, the researcher used concurrent & retrospective think‑alouds—a method well‑established in SLA research (Ericsson & Simon, 1980; Bowles, 2010).
- Concurrent think‑alouds: students verbalise their thoughts as they work. For example, a learner might say, “I don’t know this word in English… I’ll switch to Spanish.” This captures immediate processing, monitoring & decision‑making.
- Retrospective think‑alouds: immediately after each item, the researcher asks follow‑up questions (“Why did you switch languages here?”). This helps uncover reasoning that wasn’t verbalised in the moment.
Together, these methods reveal not just what students do, but why they do it—an invaluable window into multilingual cognition.
The findings
- 7 students used only one language (5 Spanish‑only, 2 English‑only)
- 8 students used both languages strategically
- 11 students wrote all open‑ended answers in Spanish—even those rated as highly proficient in English
- Only 1 student chose oral responses; most preferred writing because it allowed pausing, revising & clarifying
- All students used the glossaries, but wanted them for more words
- Read‑aloud tools were used selectively—some found them clarifying, others redundant
What’s striking is the metacognitive sophistication: students monitored comprehension, evaluated whether a language was “working,” & switched when needed. This aligns with translanguaging theory (García & Wei, 2014; Otheguy et al., 2015), which views multilingual repertoires as fluid, interconnected systems rather than separate boxes.
Why this matters
The study reinforces what scholars such as Cenoz & Gorter (2021) & Schissel et al. (2018) have long argued: monolingual assessments distort what multilingual learners know. When students can use their full linguistic repertoire, they demonstrate deeper conceptual understanding—not just English proficiency.
A particularly telling pattern: several advanced English users still chose Spanish for complex explanations because it allowed more precision. This echoes Dewaele’s (2012) work on cognitive comfort in the home language.
In short: restricting languages restricts thinking.
Teacher Takeaways?
- Allow multilingual planning & drafting
Even in English‑medium (& multilingual) classrooms, letting students brainstorm or outline in their home language can support conceptual clarity before producing English output. - Frame translanguaging as a strategic tool
Students in the study weren’t “avoiding” English—they were making informed decisions to support comprehension & accuracy. - Use multimodal scaffolds
Glossaries, visuals, read‑alouds & flexible response modes help learners show what they know without linguistic bottlenecks.
Do you ever actively invite students to switch languages when tackling complex ideas in class?
Leave a Reply