Translaguaging as perceived by Lithuanian university EFL students

Abstract

This is guided by the research question ‘What are university students’ views on translanguaging?’ To understand students’ point of view, Lithuanian university students studying English as a foreign language (N=31) were involved as participants through an anonymous online questionnaire, including open-ended and closed-ended questions, which was utilised to gather data. The findings suggest that Lithuanian EFL students view translanguaging as beneficial both inside and outside the classroom, as it is highly acceptable, facilitates students’ communication (enabling them to understand others, be understood, and express their emotions), and aids vocabulary and grammar learning. However, their translanguaging is limited to their use of L1 (Lithuanian) and English in the English classroom, but Russian is sometimes involved in their translanguaging practices outside the classroom, too.