Translanguaging pedagogy: An integrative review study questioning its potential benefits and main concerns

Year 2023, Volume: 9 Issue: 3, 29 - 48, 31.12.2023

Pınar Koçer

https://doi.org/10.47216/literacytrek.1341219

Abstract

In the era of globalization, when cultural diversity and multilingualism cross borders, specific changes have been observed in human relations and educational implementations. Such changes in multicultural and multilingual contexts have made it necessary to create novel pedagogies for language teaching by tailoring traditional teaching and learning approaches. Therefore, adapting language teaching methods and techniques to multilingual and multicultural classrooms through translanguaging is one of the hottest issues in the current literature. Remarkably, the primary purpose of this present study is to portray a theoretical understanding of translanguaging and further discuss the pedagogical aspect of it in the Turkish context through an integrative review methodology. To this end, five research studies conducted in the Turkish context were selected based on certain criteria and analyzed through document analysis to reach a comprehensive picture of translanguaging practices in EFL classroom settings. By doing so, it attempted to argue its potential benefits and possible challenges to guide stakeholders about how and/or when to benefit from translanguaging pedagogy so that it becomes more precise and beneficial for classroom use.

Keywords

Translanguaging, pedagogical benefits, challenges, EFL context

References

• Bialystok, E. (2001). Bilingualism in development: Language, literacy and cognition. Cambridge University Press.
• Canagarajah, S. (2011). Translanguaging in the classroom: Emerging issues for research and pedagogy. Applied Linguistics Review, 2(2011), 1–28. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110239331.1
• Celce-Murcia, M. (2001). Language teaching approaches: An overview. Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language, 2(1), 3–10.
• Celic, C., & K. Seltzer. (2001). Translanguaging: A CUNY-NYSIEB guide for educators. New York, NY: City University of New York, Graduate Center. Available at http://www.nysieb.ws.gc.cuny.edu/files/2013/03/Translanguaging-Guide-March-2013.pdf/
• Cenoz, J. (2009). Towards multilingual education: Basque educational research from an international perspective. Multilingual Matters.
• Creese, A., & Blackledge, A. (2010). Translanguaging in the bilingual classroom: A pedagogy for learning and teaching? The Modern Language Journal, 94(1), 103–115. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.2009.00986.x
• Dağhan - Aslan, G., & Kıray, G. (2020). The Reflection of the first foreign language (English) by utilizing translanguaging strategies in the teaching of second foreign language (German). Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 16(3), 1368-1386.
• García, O. (2009). Education, multilingualism and translanguaging in the 21st century. In T. Skutnabb-Kangas, R. Phillipson, A. K. Mohanty, and M. Panda (Eds.), Social justice through multilingual education, (pp. 140-158). De Gruyter.
• García, O., & Kano, N. (2014). Translanguaging as process and pedagogy: Developing the English writing of Japanese students in the US. In J. Conteh and G. Meier (Eds.), The Multilingual Turn in Languages Education: Opportunities and Challenges (pp. 258, 277). De Gruyter.
• García, O., & Wei, L. (2014). Translanguaging: Language, bilingualism and education. Palgrave Macmillan Lewis, G., Jones, B., & Baker, C. (2012). Translanguaging: Origins and development from school to street and beyond. Educational Research and Evaluation, 18(7), 641–654. https://doi.org/10.1080/13803611.2012.718488
• İnci Kavak, V., & Kırkgöz, Y. (2022). Exploring university students’ note-taking in literature courses: A Translanguaging Perspective. Çukurova Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, 51(2), 1468-1486.
• Kucukali, E., & Koçbaş, D. (2021). Benefits and issues of translanguaging pedagogies on language learning: Students’ perspective. Turkish Online Journal of English Language Teaching (TOJELT), 6(3), 55- 85.
• Liu, Y., & Fang, F. (2020). Translanguaging theory and practice: How stakeholders perceive translanguaging as a practical theory of language. RELC Journal, 53(2), 391-399. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033688220939222
• McMillan, B. A., & Rivers, D. J. (2011). The practice of policy: Teachers’ attitudes towards “English only”. System, 39, 251-263. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2011.04.011
• Moore, P., & Nikula, T. (2016). Translanguaging in CLIL Classrooms. In T. Nikula, E. Dafouz, P. Moore, and U. Smit (Eds.), Conceptualising Integration in CLIL and Multilingual Education (pp. 211–234). Multilingual Matters.
• Nambisan, K. A., (2014). Teachers' attitudes towards and uses of translanguaging in English language classrooms in Iowa (Unpublished Masters Thesis). Iowa State University, Iowa, the USA.
• Newman, M., & Gough, D. (2020). Systematic reviews in educational research: Methodology, perspectives and application. In Zawacki-Richter, O., Kerres, M., Bedenlier, S., Bond, M., Buntins, K. (Eds.), Systematic Reviews in Educational Research (pp. 3-22). Springer.
• Peercy, M. M. (2016). New pedagogies in teacher education for teaching linguistically diverse learners. International Multilingual Research Journal, 10(3),165–167. https://doi.org/10.1080/19313152.2016.1185904
• Sali, P. (2014). An analysis of the teachers' use of L1 in Turkish EFL classrooms. System, 42, 308-318. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2013.12.021
• Wang, D. (2019). Multilingualism and translanguaging in Chinese language classrooms. Springer.
• Yuvayapan, F. (2019). Translanguaging in EFL classrooms: Teachers’ perceptions and practices. Dil ve Dilbilimi Çalışmaları Dergisi, 15(2), 678–694. https://doi.org/10.17263/jlls.586811
• Yuzlu, M. Y., & Dikilitas, K. (2022). Translanguaging in the development of EFL learners’ foreign language skills in Turkish context. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 16(2), 176–190. https://doi.org/10.1080/17501229.2021.1892698