ERIC Number: EJ1051946
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0950-0782
EISSN: N/A
Moving out of Linguistic Boxes: The Effects of Translanguaging Strategies for Multilingual Classrooms
Makalela, Leketi
Language and Education, v29 n3 p200-217 2015
This paper reports on an investigation into the efficacy of a teacher preparation programme that introduced the teaching of African languages to speakers of other African languages in order to produce multi-competent and multi-vocal teachers. A mixed method approach was used to elicit from a pool of 60 (30 experimental; 30 control group) multilingual pre-service teachers the participants' storied reflections and their reading and vocabulary achievement scores. The results of the study show that translanguaging techniques used in the experimental class afforded the participants affective and social advantages as well as a deep understanding of the content. Similarly, a paired t-test has shown a statistically significant differential performance in favour of the experimental group after three months of a translanguaging intervention programme. Using the translanguaging approach, and comparing it to an "ubuntu" lens of viewing the world from an amorphous and continuous cultural space, I argue for development of a multilingual teaching pedagogy that is premised on this worldview to advance theory and practices of translanguaging as a teachable strategy. Future research possibilities are highlighted and pedagogical implications for multilingual classrooms are considered for adaptations in comparable contexts.
Descriptors: Multilingualism, Code Switching (Language), Control Groups, Experimental Groups, Teaching Methods, Program Effectiveness, Teacher Education Programs, Vocabulary Skills, Scores, Intervention, African Culture, World Views, Second Language Learning, Second Language Instruction, Native Language, Mixed Methods Research, History, Language Attitudes, Indo European Languages, Pretests Posttests, Language Tests, Foreign Countries, Preservice Teachers, Statistical Analysis, Word Recognition, Qualitative Research
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: South Africa (Johannesburg)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A