Translanguaging: Centralizing the Learner in Multilingual Classroom Transactions

Abstract

In a multilingual classroom, students come from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. They bring various cultural experiences, knowledge, and linguistic resources with them, however, most of the time, these resources remain unutilized as the medium for discourse in the classroom is often the dominant language. As a result, minority languages remain ignored and the students from minority linguistic backgrounds might feel at a disadvantages if they cannot voice their views in the classroom (Mohanty, 2009). Most of the students leave their education for these linguistic reasons, and the dropout rates are quite high among minority students (MacKenzie, 2009). In this scenario, translanguaging can be an alternative strategy to provide space to minority learners in the mainstream classroom where they will be able to communicate more freely. This study was conducted in a school in the Paschim Medinipur district of West Bengal, India. The purpose of the study was to explore how translanguaging promotes learners’ space inside the mainstream classroom and how it promotes language practice where learners can bring their creativity and imagination to the classroom. A qualitative approach to content analysis has been adopted to analyze the data. Findings show the active involvement of students in the translanguaging classroom and suggest that translanguaging encourages students’ creativity and imagination in a multilingual classroom.