Last semester, the University of Iowa College of Education, in collaboration with the Center for Translation and Global Literacy (CTGL), organized a series of impactful workshops aimed at empowering multilingual students. Sponsored by the National Resource Center Program, U.S. Department of Education, this initiative included two on-site visits to West Liberty High School on December 5 and 6, followed by a daylong workshop at the Lindquist Center on December 11, involving three different high schools from the Iowa City Community School District (ICCSD). 

The workshops focused on helping students recognize and utilize their home languages as valuable assets through various translation tasks. Dr. Belén Hernando-Lloréns, who led the workshops, emphasized the multifaceted nature of language and its reflection of diverse identities, highlighting bilingualism and Spanglish as a legitimate blend of Spanish and English. 

Through dynamic translation activities, such as cooperative graffiti and poetry analysis, students were encouraged to use their Spanish skills to translate contextual and cultural nuances. These activities guided participants to reflect on the musicality and (un)grammaticality of language, fostering a deeper connection to their bi/multilingual identities. In turn, students had opportunities to share personal experiences when faced with preconceptions about not speaking a "proper" language or its "correct" form. 

Building on the success of these events, the CTGL team looks forward to more opportunities to collaborate with local students and teachers, continuing their mission to provide a valuable academic experience for bi/multilingual students, enhancing their language skills and cultural awareness.