Researching Translanguaging as a Feasible Pedagogical Practice: Evidence from Chinese English-as-a-Foreign-Language Students' Perceptions. (August 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Jiang, Zhihui Will; Zhang, Lawrence Jun; Mohamed, Naashia
• Other Names: Fang Fan guest-editor.; Zhang Lawrence Jun guest-editor.; Sah Pramod K guest-editor.
• Is Part Of: RELC journal. Volume 53:Number 2(2022)
• Page Start: 371
• Page End: 390
• Publication Date: 2022-08
• Subjects: Translanguaging practices -- monolingual principle -- English-as-a-foreign-language classrooms -- student and teacher perceptions -- China; English language -- Study and teaching -- Southeast Asia -- Periodicals; English language -- Research -- Southeast Asia -- Periodicals; 406
• DOI: 10.1177/00336882221113653
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0033-6882

Abstract

Translanguaging as pedagogical practice and a theory of language has gained increasing importance in recent years. However, little research has reported Chinese English-as-a-foreign-language students' perceptions of translanguaging; neither has research examined the predictive effects of the factors contributing to the amount of student translanguaging in the Chinese English-as-a-foreign-language classrooms. This study intended to fill the gap by inviting 292 Chinese English-as-a-foreign-language students to respond to a questionnaire that explores students' perception of translanguaging. Two research questions were addressed: first, how do students' attitudes to translanguaging vary across second-language proficiency? Second, how is the amount of student translanguaging predicted by students' attitudes to translanguaging and the amount of teacher translanguaging? The results of a one-way analysis of variance revealed a statistically significant difference among the four groups in attitudes to teacher translanguaging and students' translanguaging. A post hoc test found that non-English major first-year university students had a significantly higher level of acceptance of teachers' and students' translanguaging than English major first-year university students. Multiple regression analysis showed that the amount of teacher translanguaging and student attitudes to translanguaging explained a significant quantity of the variance in the amount of student translanguaging. The implications of the study were also discussed.