Teaching Beyond Words: Every Classroom Has Its Own Language

Anjanette Farrar
Jul 10
3 min read

“When I say every classroom has its own language, I'm not talking about English, Swahili, or Spanish. I'm talking about the unspoken language of culture, lived experiences, identity, relationships, curiosity, fear, confidence, and belonging. Every classroom speaks it. The question is whether we're listening.” -Anjanette Farrar

A Lesson I Never Expected to Learn

When I packed my bags for Tanzania, I expected a language barrier.

I speak English. Many of the students I would be working with spoke Swahili. While some understood a little English and I quickly learned a few Swahili phrases, we did not share a common language. As an educator, that was intimidating. How do you teach when you can't rely on words?

The answer, I discovered, is that you stop relying on words alone.

Throughout my time working alongside students and educators in Tanzania, I found myself constantly adapting. I leaned into visuals, demonstrations, music, movement, modeling, facial expressions, and collaboration. Sometimes another educator translated. Sometimes students helped one another. Sometimes a smile or a shared laugh communicated more than a perfectly crafted explanation ever could.

The experience reminded me that teaching has never been about talking.

It has always been about connecting.

The Flight Home Changed My Perspective

When I returned home, I couldn't stop thinking about the classrooms I have served throughout my career—as a classroom teacher, instructional coach, district coordinator, and now as an educational consultant.

Although we often share the same spoken language, I began to wonder if we are experiencing our own version of being lost in translation.

Not because students and educators speak different languages...

But because we often fail to understand one another.

Every Classroom Has Its Own Language

Every classroom speaks through culture, lived experiences, confidence, fear, curiosity, frustration, relationships, identity, and belonging.

Students communicate long before they ever raise their hands to speak.

Their questions, behaviors, engagement, silence, and interactions are often reflections of their lived experiences long before they are responses to our instruction.

The question is:

Are we listening?

Student Voice Is More Than Speaking

We often define student voice as giving students opportunities to talk. While that's important, I believe the student voice begins much earlier. It begins when educators learn to recognize what students are already communicating:

A student who refuses to participate may be communicating uncertainty rather than defiance.
A student who constantly asks questions may simply be asking for clarity.
The quiet student may be processing deeply.
The student who finishes early may be asking for greater challenge.
Behavior communicates.
Engagement communicates.
Silence communicates.
Curiosity communicates.

Every student has a voice—even when it isn't spoken aloud—and that voice is shaped by their lived experiences.

The Role of the Educator: Becoming a Translator

The best educators I've worked with all share certain characteristics:

They become students of their students.
They don't simply deliver instruction.
They learn how the learners in front of them receive it.

That doesn't mean lowering expectations. It means removing unnecessary barriers.

In Tanzania, I didn't make learning easier because of the language difference. I changed how I communicated it. That distinction matters.

Instead of asking, "How do I make this easier?"

Perhaps we should ask,

"How do I make this more understandable?"

This Lesson Doesn't End With Students

The idea of translation extends beyond the classroom:

Instructional coaches must learn the language of teachers.
School leaders must learn the language of their staff.
District leaders must learn the language of the communities they serve.
Support becomes meaningful only when people feel understood.

Before we ask others to embrace change, we must first understand the lived experiences that shape how they receive it.