Exploring Opportunities and Challenges Using Translanguaging Pedagogy to Develop Reading Comprehension: A Study of Indian Multilingual Classrooms

Exploring Opportunities and Challenges Using Translanguaging Pedagogy to Develop Reading Comprehension: A Study of Indian Multilingual Classrooms

Mukhopadhyay, L., Loganathan, S., Patil, V.K., Qamri, S., Ravindran, M.R., Balasubramanian A., Vogelzang, M., and Tsimpli, I.

Journal of Educational Studies  2023 No. si1

https://doi.org/10.59915/jes.2023.special.1.14

Abstract

Indian classrooms are multilingual by default though learners’ multilingual resources are not always utilized to their fullest potential.  The aim was to develop comprehension and vocabulary knowledge in English of fifth-grade learners through the translanguaging pedagogy.  For the present study, four participant English teachers from low SES government primary schools in Hyderabad were trained to design lesson plans based on the translanguaging reading model.  The teachers were observed in four lessons, based on which narrative notes were written to understand the teachers’ translanguaging practices.  The opportunities and challenges they faced while implementing the lesson plans were mapped through narrative notes of the classroom observations and teacher views expressed in semi-structured interviews.  The findings of the study suggest that the teachers were able to integrate translingual strategies to develop vocabulary knowledge by using learners’ L1 knowledge and elicit meaning, as well as help them make inferences by using a variety of questions to draw links between text-based ideas and their schemata or background knowledge.  The difficulties of implementing translanguaging steps in a systematic manner and lack of teachers’ reflecting habits were found to be significant challenges.  The study has implications for teacher education and policy recommendations for promoting translanguaging pedagogy in multilingual contexts like India. It affirms that learners’ first languages are resources in the classroom that can pave a way for inclusivity and equity in education.