Translanguaging and minoritised language revitalisation in multilingual classrooms: Examining teachers’ agency

Abstract

In multilingual classrooms, pedagogical translanguaging has been touted as a transformative and empowering practice to support minoritised languages. This study examines how teachers’ orientations and attitudes towards students’ translanguaging influence their agency in the revitalisation of minoritised languages. I draw on the thesis that teachers’ language ideologies and stances towards translanguaging are important aspects of classroom language practices that impact decisions regarding which languages should be used, when, and how they should be used. Data were obtained through semi-structured interviews with six purposively selected teachers from three primary schools in Hwange district in Zimbabwe. Findings show that teachers’ dispositions toward students’ translanguaging are linked with their minoritised language concordance and discordance and have implications for language revitalisation. Language concordant teachers tend to position themselves as enablers of translanguaging by embracing and creating opportunities for learners’ L1 translingual practices during English-medium lessons. This stance cultivates in the learners a sense of pride in their languages and positions them as equally useful resources, thereby challenging English-centred monolingual practices. On the other hand, language discordant teachers’ indifference towards learners’ translanguaging does not inspire confidence for the revitalisation of minoritised languages in the classroom.