Inclusive Education, Translanguaging and Bilingualism

[Special Interest Group for Translanguaging and Inclusive Education]

[Composed and Posted by Bilin Academy - Bilingual Education]

Delighted to reflect on our latest parent webinar, "Bilingual Bridges: Navigating the Future of Language Learning and Translanguaging." It was a privilege to host Professor Kevin W. H. Tai, who offered profound insights into the transformative approach of translanguaging.

This method extends beyond mere bilingual communication to include a diverse array of multimodal tools—writing, visuals, audios, and semiotics—gestures, body language, and other non-verbal cues. These are everyday tools that, when integrated into educational settings, help bridge the gap between classroom learning and real-world communication.

The webinar also highlighted the power of co-learning environments, where learning is a two-way street between children and adults . Children have valuable perspectives that, when integrated into educational discussions, not only enrich their learning but also promote equity and deeper familial relationships.

Bilin Academy's mission is to provide effective and accessible language learning for K12 learners from diverse linguistic backgrounds, and to support parents with the right tools for their educational roles. We recognize that parents also need valuable resources to support their children's educational journeys effectively.

We're excited about the discussions sparked by this event and the insights shared by Professor Tai. It was a step toward empowering parents and educators by connecting them directly with leading academics like Professor Tai, to explore educational strategies that reflect the real-world diversity and dynamism our children navigate daily.

Currently, Professor Kevin W. H. Tai serves as the Co-Director of the Centre for Advancement in Inclusive and Special Education (CAISE) at The University of Hong Kong (HKU). His educational background includes a Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Linguistics from UCL, and an MSc in Applied Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition at University of Oxford. His academic journey reflects a strong commitment to language education and inclusivity. He has recently joined our Parent-to-Teacher Advisory Committee, an initiative aims to bridging educational expertise with community engagement.

Professor Kevin W. H. Tai

BA (Hons 1) (Newcastle, UK), MSc (Oxon), PhD (UCL), FHEA, FRSA

Assistant Professor of Language and Literacy Education 

Co-Director, Centre for Advancement in Inclusive and Special Education (CAISE)

Chair, Special Interest Group for Translanguaging and Inclusive Education, CAISE

Chair, Working Group for Research, Academic Unit of Language and Literacy Education

Faculty of Education

The University of Hong Kong

Honorary Research Fellow, IOE, UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society, University College London

Editor, The Language Learning Journal (Routledge)

Assistant Editor, International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism (Routledge)

Executive Guest Editor, Learning and Instruction (Elsevier)

Research Advisor, Cambridge Educational Research e-Journal

Awardee of RGC Early Career Award (ECA) (2023/24), Research Grants Council of Hong Kong

Email (HKU): kevi...@hku.hk

Email (UCL): kevin.tai@ucl.ac.uk  

Telephone: (852) 3917 6107

Website: https://web.edu.hku.hk/faculty-academics/kwhtai