Despite the current world fame and popularity of the concept of translanguaging (TRLNG) in the scholarly literature and among teachers "on the ground," it is not without problems, which will be examined basing on an extensive overview of current pedagogical and research literature (k = 110; Paradowski, 2021; under review). Among the many caveats, we shall see how TRLNG may be less transformative and critical than has been suggested. We will also notice that TRLNG practices may unintentionally reproduce disadvantages and reinforce inequalities and the hegemony of majority languages, where language singletons in particular face steeper challenges. Moreover, not all students appreciate the opportunity to use their home language(s), pupils may not find the practice liberating at all, and it may actually cause a decrease in well-being. Finally, foreign language classrooms in particular require the reconciliation of many conflicting goals, necessitating a trade-off between the need to on the one hand 'cover' the curriculum within the allocated time, in a manner comprehensible to the students, and on the other the need to balance the acknowledgment of students' linguistic diversity, freedom of expression, and respect for the equality of languages with making them learn the concepts, register or language that is the target of instruction.
Naturally, many aspects and practices of TRLNG are worthwhile and salvageable. The final minutes of the talk will focus on these, concluding with a recommendation of more critically aware and reflective plurilingual pedagogies that always take into account the circumstances and ecologies of the classroom and the subjectivities of the students (see e.g., Byrnes, 2020).
Reference:
Byrnes, H. (2020). Navigating pedagogical translanguaging: Commentary on the special issue. System, 92, 102278. DOI: 10.1016/j.system.2020.102278
Paradowski, M.B. (2021). Transitions, translanguaging, trans-semiotising in heteroglossic school environments: Lessons from (not only) South African classrooms. In: C. van der Walt & V. Pfeiffer (Eds.), Multilingual Classroom Contexts: Transitions and Transactions (pp. 213–284). Stellenbosch: SUN PReSS.
Paradowski, M.B. (under revision). The limits and challenges to equitable pedagogical translanguaging in plurilingual foreign/second language classrooms: Towards more critically reflective and contextually informed instructional choices.
