Translanguaging

The origins of translanguaging lie in Welsh bilingual education in the 1980s (Lewis et al. 2012). ‘Trawsieithu’—a Welsh term coined by Cen Williams, and later translated into English as ‘translanguaging’—was constructed as a purposeful cross-curricular strategy for ‘the planned and systematic use of two languages for teaching and learning inside the same lesson’ (p. 3). Practitioners working in English as an Additional Language (EAL) contexts in the UK have begun to recognize the pedagogic potential of translanguaging (Li 2018a: 32) in ways that could also be beneficial to other language education practitioners. Indeed, recent discussions of translanguaging tie in well with an ongoing present-day reappraisal within ELT of what Hall and Cook (2012) term ‘own-language use’ in language classrooms.

Conceptually, translanguaging resonates with the ideas of Cummins (2001), whose work has for long been influential among EAL practitioners worldwide. His concepts of ‘common underlying proficiency’ (CUP) and linguistic interdependence stress the positive benefits of transfer in language learning. Researchers working in multilingual classrooms have begun to use the term ‘translanguaging’ to describe multilingual oral interaction (e.g. García, 2009Blackledge and Creese, 2010) and the use of different languages in written texts (e.g. Canagarajah, 2011García and Kano, 2014). Conteh (2018) provides a critical review of translanguaging as pedagogy, arguing that the emphasis of research has so far been on understanding processes of interaction rather than the pedagogic potential. Recent work, such as that by Mertin (2018), shows the potential of opening spaces for teachers’ voices in research and academic discourses related to translanguaging. Her text contains two chapters written by teachers, one in Brussels and one in Johannesburg, which provide many examples of classroom activities that involve translanguaging, such as using video clips in students’ home languages and constructing translations collaboratively (p. 95).

Implied within translanguaging—whether considered as primarily as a form of interaction or as a pedagogy—is a model of language that contests some of the ways this has traditionally been conceptualized in ELT. Language is seen as an ongoing ‘process’ rather than a ‘thing’, a ‘verb’ rather than a ‘noun’ (Becker, 1988: 25), as in the notion of ‘languaging’. The focus moves from how many languages an individual may have at their disposal to how they use all their language resources to achieve their purposes. Li (2018b: 24) argues that translanguaging ‘challenges the conventional understanding of language boundaries between … culturally and politically labelled languages’. Blackledge and Creese (2010: 210–215), among others, link language and identity, arguing that identity construction is an important factor in learning. They suggest that translanguaging affords opportunities for the learner to make links—often in ways not available to their teachers—between their experiences outside the classroom and those within. The pedagogic benefits of this can be significant, such as with the children described by Conteh (2015: 58) whose understanding of talk about time was enhanced when they linked the English vocabulary to words their mothers used in their home languages to describe measurements of fabric.

There are controversies and challenges surrounding translanguaging in research, policy, and practice. Some researchers question the need for such a notion when the familiar concepts of code switching and code mixing already provide a framework with which to understand multilingual language use. Blackledge et al. (2014) have pointed out the limitations of this position. They argue that it draws false distinctions between so-called monolingual, bilingual, and multilingual individuals, and suggest that in some sense, we are all ‘multilingual’, having at our disposal a range of ways of using language, even if we only speak and write one particular ‘language’. They contest the deficit ideologies that surround multilingualism in education, and suggest that concepts like translanguaging challenge traditional concepts such as ‘standard’ and ‘target’ language, with their implied hierarchies of languages. Moreover, they argue that translanguaging, among other concepts, opens up important questions related to social justice in language education, uncovering ‘the ways in which linguistic resources are deployed in our societies and how this deployment of resources reproduces, negotiates and contests social difference and social inequality’ (p. 193).

The challenges to translanguaging in policy and practice in ELT come from what Hall and Cook (2012: 297) call the ‘entrenched monolingualism’ of these aspects. Despite rapid global increases in migration and mobility and the ensuing growth of multilingualism in the global north, in many language classrooms Cummins’s ‘two solitudes’ (Cummins 2008) still prevail—languages are kept separate and learners’ home languages are ignored. Language policies, curricula, and assessment practices retain their preoccupations with national and standard languages. But there are hopeful signs. Teachers who recognize the importance of translanguaging in constructing relationships with their learners that nurture mutual empowerment, and researchers who recognize this power and are committed to acknowledging its importance in their classroom-based investigations, together have the potential to develop translanguaging pedagogies in the future.

Dr Jean Conteh has worked in multilingual contexts for her whole career, first as a primary teacher and teacher educator in different countries and then as an academic. She took up a Senior Lectureship at the University of Leeds in 2007, where she developed and taught a successful part-time Master’s course for teachers. She has published many books, chapters, and articles for different audiences, including The Multilingual Turn in Languages Education (Multilingual Matters, 2014) and the third edition of The EAL Teaching Book: Promoting success for multilingual learners in mainstream schools (Sage, forthcoming). Her most recent book is Researching Education for Social justice in Multilingual Settings (Bloomsbury, 2017).

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