College
Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences
Date of Last Revision
2025-05-09 09:08:32
Major
Adolescent to Young Adult
Honors Course
EDCI 431-002
Number of Credits
2
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts in Education
Date of Expected Graduation
Spring 2025
Abstract
This qualitative study explores the impact of lexical gaps and untranslatable words on self-expression and communication in English-speaking classrooms. Seven interviews were conducted with bilingual or non-native English speakers representing a variety of linguistic and cultural backgrounds, including Arabic, Portuguese, Marathi, Hindi, Spanish, Chinese, and Vietnamese. Each interview investigated how language impacts self-expression, or the ability to communicate thoughts, emotions, and identity within the classroom. The findings suggest that untranslatable words and cultural concepts from participants’ native languages offer insights into cultural perspectives, which are often undervalued and not represented in English-speaking classrooms. Additionally, all participants desired greater language inclusivity in classrooms and emphasized the importance of accurately integrating native languages and cultural perspectives into instruction. These findings suggest that the language of home and day-to-day life is deeply intertwined. Based on these findings, the study proposes that honoring students’ linguistic identities can enhance classroom inclusivity, ownership, and communication. Ultimately, rather than viewing lexical gaps as deficits, they can be seen as lenses through which multicultural classrooms are formed. Through consistent, student-led discussions, students, like Shakespeare, can be literary scholars in their own right as they introduce these words and phrases into the classroom language.
Research Sponsor
William Visco
First Reader
Harold Foster
Second Reader
Elizabeth Rhoades
Honors Faculty Advisor
William Visco
Proprietary and/or Confidential Information
No
Recommended Citation
Boledovic, Ashley, "Lost in Translation: The Absence of Untranslatable Words in the English Classroom" (2025). Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects. 2028.
https://ideaexchange.uakron.edu/honors_research_projects/2028
Included in
Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons, Language Interpretation and Translation Commons, Literature in English, North America, Ethnic and Cultural Minority Commons, Other English Language and Literature Commons