Pedagogical translanguaging in a trilingual context: the case of two EFL classrooms in a Xinjiang university

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper examines the translanguaging practice of two EFL teachers in a Xinjiang university, where English and Mandarin Chinese are predominant but Uyghur is minoritised as a medium of instruction. We focus on data in which the teachers translanguage across all three languages and make a case for the conception of pedagogical translanguaging which is differentiated from spontaneous translanguaging and in which named languages (or naming languages) can play an important role in the instruction (Cenoz, J., and D. Gorter. 2017. “Sustainable Translanguaging and Minority Languages: Threat or Opportunity?” Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 38 (10): 901–912. doi:10.1080/01434632.2017.1284855; Cenoz, J., and D. Gorter. 2020. “Pedagogical Translanguaging: An Introduction.” System 92: 102269. doi:10.1016/j.system.2020.102269). More specifically, named languages can be helpful in accomplishing specific goals of pedagogical translanguaging, in particular, developing metalinguistic awareness of multilingual students whose mother tongue /community language is minoritised. While translanguaging across all three languages appears a very useful teaching resource, it is restricted to the teaching of English vocabulary and grammar, areas in which students are perceived to be weakest. Moreover, the use of Uyghur only when it is felt to be most needed suggests that much more ‘breathing space’ (Cenoz, J., and D. Gorter. 2017. “Sustainable Translanguaging and Minority Languages: Threat or Opportunity?” Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 38 (10): 901–912. doi:10.1080/01434632.2017.1284855; Cenoz, J., and D. Gorter. 2020. “Pedagogical Translanguaging: An Introduction.” System 92: 102269. doi:10.1016/j.system.2020.102269) is required to sustain Uyghur and to exploit the full pedagogical potential of the ethnic language.