Pushing linguistic boundaries: translanguaging in a bilingual Science and Technology classroom

Abstract

ABSTRACT In spite of the fact that increased transnational flows of people have altered the social, cultural, and linguistic landscape, education in Zimbabwe still follows a monolingual trajectory. The use of a language of instruction different from the students’ home language has been identified as the major factor in students’ academic underachievement. This article reports on a study that sought to investigate the role played by language in the academic performance of 40 fourth-grade Science and Technology students at a primary school in Bikita district, Zimbabwe. In this mixed-methods study, participants were randomly assigned to either the control or experimental group using Research Randomiser. The experimental group had translanguaging-informed intervention while the control group followed the traditional monolingual approach. A paired t-test revealed a statistically significant difference in the academic achievement of the two research groups in the post-test suggesting the efficacy of translanguaging in the classroom. The present research findings are in line with previous research which affirm the academic benefits of doing away with ‘named languages’ through the use of students’ linguistic repertoire in the classroom.