use of TransLanguage to improve oral reading proficiency in a foreign language classroom

Abstract

Translanguaging is an approach that sees no boundaries between languages and allows their simultaneous use when teaching and learning a new language, therefore, it can be used as a scaffold device to develop a foreign language since it helps students clarify terms and make meaning. Nevertheless, it is a relatively recent term in Latin America, and investigations related to it are scarce. The main objective that guided this study was to apply translanguaging during English classes in a private High School to improve the students´ oral reading proficiency. A pre and post-tests were taken at the beginning and the end of one unit (which lasted 6 weeks) where students read a 300-word passage and words read correctly within a minute were counted. Also, a Likert-scale survey was applied to students and a teacher to know their experiences and perceptions after the application of translanguaging. A t-test was carried out and the results showed an improvement in the students´ oral reading proficiency (Mean = 221.55 in the pre-test and Mean = 243.22 in the post-test with a standard deviation of 42.20 and 30.20 respectively) after the usage of this approach with a difference statistically significant (p > 0.001). The mean of words read correctly increased in the post-test (M = 21.68; SD = 18.88). The use of translanguaging probably had a positive result on the skill studied and also in the students and teacher´s experiences when using translanguaging.