Nuestra NEBRIJA 35 - octubre 2020

45 would allow for the establishment of tight affecti- ve bonds with that language, analogous to those developed with the native language during early childhood. Mixing languages in the classroom At present, different international laboratories are exploring the way in which emotional diglossia can be remediated by introducing multiple lan- guages within the same context. This trend is based on proposals of translanguaging, which in its more generic version, addresses the effective in- clusion in the classroom context of all languages known to the different ac- tors involved (mainly chil- dren and educators). This implies managing these languages in a way that allows for, and even encourages, language or code switching at any time. Although a priori this type of methodological proposals may sound strange, it is plausible to think that they would help establish an adequate atmosphere without causing high anxiety levels. This more relaxed linguistic panorama could serve as a basis for unstressed communication in educational con- texts based on the free use and management of languages. In fact, an overwhelming number of studies have demonstrated the incredible ability of multilin- gual people to switch languages without suffe- ring exaggerated cognitive effort. Although code switching entails a cognitive cost that has been repeatedly documented in the scientific literatu- re, it should be noted that this cost does not seem to be directly reflected on learning. Moreover, it is well known that, in addition to explicit translation processes, multilingual persons also carry out implicit and seemingly automatic translation pro- cesses, transforming the written or verbal forms of one language into the other(s) language(s) in fractions of a second, often being unaware of this action. Considering that the cognitive cost of compre- hension and production in more than one lan- guage does not seem to impact educational pro- cesses negatively, and that the multilingual brain automatically performs linguistic juggling bet- ween languages, it is possible that the inclusion of native languages in contexts that so far were exclusive to foreign languages could help dissi- pate emotional diglossia. Hence, in a nutshell, the use of the native language within foreign lan- guage contexts as a pedagogical and psycho- logical tool needs to be promoted. When first confronted with proposals of this kind, a part of the educational community has been reluctant, under the incorrect premise that the mixing of languages in the classroom setting could lead to impoverished learning—be it of lower quality or less durable. In recent years, different research teams have been trying to demonstrate that the- se reticent postulates to language mixing lack scientific grounding, and an increasing number of studies are highlighting the error behind the “one subject-one language” rule that has prevai- led in multilingual education systems. The end of a myth Luckily, the myth associated with the negati- ve consequences of true multilingualism in the classroom has slowly been dismantled. Studies demonstrate that learning is not impeded in any way by the use of several vehicular languages. In this way, it is becoming clear that the rejection of language mixing lacks scientific support and, in the absence of negative or harmful effects, only the positive aspects of simultaneously using two languages remain, enabling bilingual learners to use their two languages in a naturalistic way. In my opinion, the mixing of languages should be encouraged and implemented as a method to end situations of emotional and educational diglossia, taking advantage of the different lan- guages spoken by a multilingual person as a psycho pedagogical tool. S tudies demonstrate that learning is not impeded in any way by the use of several vehicular languages