Translanguaging is "the deployment of a speaker's full linguistic repertoire without regard for watchful adherence to the socially and politically defined boundaries of named languages" (Otheguy, García, & Reid, 2015, p. 281). Previous studies have shown that translanguaging can be used in foreign language classrooms for specific functions, such as concept/language point explanation, comprehension check, content knowledge localisation, instruction reinforcement and creation of class rapport (Fang & Liu, 2020). However, most of these studies were conducted in European countries (Cenoz & Gorter, 2019) or were observed in contexts where students are bilinguals in English and another language (Lin & He, 2017). Rare attention has been paid to the L3 (a LOTE language) learning in Chinese context, where multilingual education is experiencing a fast-growing process (Shen & Gao, 2019).
In this study we explore translanguaging practices and students' and teachers' attitudes towards it in L3 Spanish audio-oral classroom in a Chinese university. 20 students and 1 Spanish native teacher participated in the study. A mixed-methods approach has been applied in this study：(1) 360 minutes classroom observation helps to look into multilingual and multimodal practices in classroom, (2) a questionnaire and four focus group interviews to understand the students' attitudes, (3) a stimulated recall interview to understand teachers' strategies and attitude in using diverse translanguaging practices.
According to data collected in this study, translanguaging practices conducted by the teacher in Spanish audio-oral classroom are mainly manifested in the following aspects：(1) concept/language point explanation: multimodal practices used for concept or content explanation include language shift, gestures and body movements, pictures, word cloud, asking students to refer to the dictionary, props; and those for language point or grammar explanation mainly reflected in using pictures and languages shifts. (2) instruction reinforcement: language shifts are the main method for the classroom instruction. (3) content knowledge localisation: task distributions were built around Chinese local culture, such as Chinese food, Chinese brands, etc. (4) comprehension check：the teacher using language shifts and gestures to confirm key concepts. (5) creation of class rapport：the teacher, although being Spanish, used Chinese humours to enhance the classroom interaction. In addition to the teacher's part, students also show translanguaging practices, such as gestures, language shifts, using pictures, computer and mobile phone etc. As for the attitude towards translanguaging in classroom, the teacher expressed positive attitudes, while students revealed ambivalent attitudes: some found translanguaging a very effective way to understand and participate in the classroom, but others felt guilty for relying on translanguaging in a Spanish audio-oral language classroom. Pedagogical implications for L3 Spanish learning and teaching from a translanguaging perspective were also discussed in the study.
Bibliography
Cenoz, J., & Gorter, D. (2019). Multilingualism, translanguaging, and minority languages in SLA.The Modern Language Journal,103, 130-135.
Fang, F., & Liu, Y. (2020). 'Using all English is not always meaningful': Stakeholders' perspectives on the use of and attitudes towards translanguaging at a Chinese university.Lingua,247, 102959.
Otheguy, R., García, O., & Reid, W. (2015). Clarifying translanguaging and deconstructing named languages: A perspective from linguistics.Applied Linguistics Review,6(3), 281-307.
Shen, Q., & Gao, X. (2019). Multilingualism and policy making in greater China: Ideological and implementational spaces. Language Policy, 18, 1-16.
