Translanguaging Pedagogy in Cameroon EFL/ESL Secondary Classrooms

Abstract

First language rights in Cameroon EFL/ESL classrooms are marginally protected as they hardly meddle with teacher-student interactions. This study conducted in secondary grammar education in the Adamawa region seeks out English foreign language teachers’ attitudes towards translanguaging in the teaching of English. Teachers had to pronounce themselves on the importance of shuttling between English and French/Fulfulde during English lessons and state the conditions under which the use of students’ first language in second language teaching was suitable or detrimental to students’ growth in English. A population of 40 teachers was elicited through questionnaires and data analysis procedures adopted Ehrman, Leaver & Oxford (2003)’s theoretical framework. Findings revealed that a great deal of teachers reluctantly translanguaged when they taught English to French-speaking secondary students. They were more tolerant when students used French in class to meet their needs more than when they expressed themselves in Fulfulde. The challenge encountered by many teachers in the implementation of translanguaging pedagogy in classroom settings was mainly linguistic competence. Acknowledging EFL teachers’ shyness towards the use of learners’ L1 in the learning of second language, the researcher recommends a shift of paradigm in EFL teaching in Cameroon classrooms where the use of native languages by students should not be seen by their teachers as dramatic, odd, unproductive and shameful.