Anyone who needs a translator will never learn Dutch. Translation apps are for people who don’t want to learn the language. These statements can still be heard in the corners of school hallways in 2023, even amongst professionals working with multilingual families. Nevertheless, here’s a gentle plea for a society in which translation and the will to learn Dutch both have a place.

You learn Dutch by using Dutch, or so I was always told. But is this really true? Hanneke Baart is a teacher of newcomer students and in her experience, the use of the home language can actually increase their understanding of Dutch. When she started looking into this concept, she discovered that researchers had already given it a name: translanguaging.

‘Taalachterstand’ is a controversial word that is often associated with children from minority backgrounds in Dutch schools. Here we present four reasons why we should stop using this word. This is especially important if we are policymakers or educators whose words impact the lives of children and families with a minoritized linguistic background.

“Ten before half five”: why so complicated? We spoke with multilingual children about how they tell time in Arabic, Turkish, and Dari. What are the similarities and differences between doing this in their home language and in Dutch, and how do they handle this? In what languages do they think about time? We learned from their insights and experiences.

If two brains are better than one, then are two (or more) languages not better than just one? In a meeting with parents and caregivers, Erin experienced how conversations are enriched when people are allowed to use all their languages. “I’d venture to say that without help from multiple languages, it wouldn’t have been possible to have a conversation of such high quality—one where multiple ideas, solutions, and mathematical language were included.”

How can language play a role in the participation of multilingual children in science museums? This is what we asked multilingual children and their families. In particular with science museums, language is vital. As a visitor, you can do and experience fun activities but if you want a more in-depth understanding, you’re going to need language.

Interestingly, “language-free” solutions, such as non-verbal communication, were suggested more often than adding languages to the museum.

I teach math to group 3 & 4, where several children speak Farsi. In this one instance, one of the students already understood the assignment and another one didn’t. So I said: “Do you want to discuss it in Farsi?”. Four eyes squinted back up at me.

The aim of the ‘home’ project is to explore how caregivers can be empowered through the use of translanguaging strategies. …How can parents and caregivers play a role in previewing certain mathematical concepts in the home language as an introduction to what is learned in class?

Incorporating families’ home languages, through translanguaging strategies, can lead to increased engagement, curiosity and sense of belonging in science, which is important because migrant and multilingual groups are currently underrepresented in science.