A pedagogical perspective on the connection between translingual practices and transcultural dispositions in an Anthropology classroom in Bangladesh

Abstract

ABSTRACT The study investigated integrating a combined approach of translingualism and transculturalism in an anthropology content learning classroom of a Bangladeshi private university. Data were collected from classroom observation, a pedagogical intervention, a focus group discussion with six students, and a semi-structured interview with the class teacher. The analysis of the observation data demonstrated several attempts at integrating translingual-transcultural approaches to make sense of anthropology content despite the stipulated English only policy. The intervention data and participant responses revealed a contact zone of diverse cultural and ethical systems to draw on through this translingual-transcultural approach, providing a holistic teaching and learning experience for the researcher and the students. The participants’ response revealed a structured linguistic inequality imposed by the English-only policy among different student groups in the focal university. Without the confines of an English only classroom culture, the combined approaches of translingualism and transculturalism supported a classroom environment with reduced discrimination and injustice arising from student backgrounds and English competency. The participants were able to reflect positively on their relationships, investments, and experiences with broadened dispositions involving their fuller semiotic resources, including both language and culture elements.