key concepts in elt

Translanguaging
Jean Conteh

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The origins of translanguaging lie in Welsh bilingual education in the
1980s (Lewis et al. 2012). ‘Trawsieithu’—a Welsh term coined by Cen
Williams, and later translated into English as ‘translanguaging’—was
constructed as a purposeful cross-curricular strategy for ‘the planned and
systematic use of two languages for teaching and learning inside the same
lesson’ (p. 3). Practitioners working in English as an Additional Language
(EAL) contexts in the UK have begun to recognize the pedagogic potential
of translanguaging (Li 2018a: 32) in ways that could also be beneficial
to other language education practitioners. Indeed, recent discussions of
translanguaging tie in well with an ongoing present-day reappraisal within
ELT of what Hall and Cook (2012) term ‘own-language use’ in language
classrooms.
Conceptually, translanguaging resonates with the ideas of Cummins
(2001), whose work has for long been influential among EAL practitioners
worldwide. His concepts of ‘common underlying proficiency’ (CUP)
and linguistic interdependence stress the positive benefits of transfer in
language learning. Researchers working in multilingual classrooms have
begun to use the term ‘translanguaging’ to describe multilingual oral
interaction (e.g. García, 2009; Blackledge and Creese, 2010) and the use
of different languages in written texts (e.g. Canagarajah, 2011; García and
Kano, 2014). Conteh (2018) provides a critical review of translanguaging
as pedagogy, arguing that the emphasis of research has so far been
on understanding processes of interaction rather than the pedagogic
potential. Recent work, such as that by Mertin (2018), shows the potential
of opening spaces for teachers’ voices in research and academic discourses
related to translanguaging. Her text contains two chapters written by
teachers, one in Brussels and one in Johannesburg, which provide
many examples of classroom activities that involve translanguaging,
such as using video clips in students’ home languages and constructing
translations collaboratively (p. 95).
Implied within translanguaging—whether considered as primarily as
a form of interaction or as a pedagogy—is a model of language that
contests some of the ways this has traditionally been conceptualized
in ELT. Language is seen as an ongoing ‘process’ rather than a ‘thing’,

ELT Journal Volume 72/4 October 2018; doi:10.1093/elt/ccy034  445

© The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press; all rights reserved.
Advance Access publication January 30, 2018
 a ‘verb’ rather than a ‘noun’ (Becker, 1988: 25), as in the notion of
‘languaging’. The focus moves from how many languages an individual
may have at their disposal to how they use all their language resources
to achieve their purposes. Li (2018b: 24) argues that translanguaging
‘challenges the conventional understanding of language boundaries
between … culturally and politically labelled languages’. Blackledge
and Creese (2010: 210–215), among others, link language and identity,
arguing that identity construction is an important factor in learning.
They suggest that translanguaging affords opportunities for the

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learner to make links—often in ways not available to their teachers—
between their experiences outside the classroom and those within. The
pedagogic benefits of this can be significant, such as with the children
described by Conteh (2015: 58) whose understanding of talk about time
was enhanced when they linked the English vocabulary to words their
mothers used in their home languages to describe measurements of
fabric.
There are controversies and challenges surrounding translanguaging
in research, policy, and practice. Some researchers question the need
for such a notion when the familiar concepts of code switching and
code mixing already provide a framework with which to understand
multilingual language use. Blackledge et al. (2014) have pointed
out the limitations of this position. They argue that it draws false
distinctions between so-called monolingual, bilingual, and multilingual
individuals, and suggest that in some sense, we are all ‘multilingual’,
having at our disposal a range of ways of using language, even if we
only speak and write one particular ‘language’. They contest the deficit
ideologies that surround multilingualism in education, and suggest
that concepts like translanguaging challenge traditional concepts such
as ‘standard’ and ‘target’ language, with their implied hierarchies of
languages. Moreover, they argue that translanguaging, among other
concepts, opens up important questions related to social justice in
language education, uncovering ‘the ways in which linguistic resources
are deployed in our societies and how this deployment of resources
reproduces, negotiates and contests social difference and social
inequality’ (p. 193).
The challenges to translanguaging in policy and practice in ELT
come from what Hall and Cook (2012: 297) call the ‘entrenched
monolingualism’ of these aspects. Despite rapid global increases in
migration and mobility and the ensuing growth of multilingualism
in the global north, in many language classrooms Cummins’s ‘two
solitudes’ (Cummins 2008) still prevail—languages are kept separate
and learners’ home languages are ignored. Language policies, curricula,
and assessment practices retain their preoccupations with national and
standard languages. But there are hopeful signs. Teachers who recognize
the importance of translanguaging in constructing relationships with
their learners that nurture mutual empowerment, and researchers who
recognize this power and are committed to acknowledging its importance
in their classroom-based investigations, together have the potential to
develop translanguaging pedagogies in the future.

446 Jean Conteh

References
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Blackledge, A. and A. Creese. 2010. Multilingualism:
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(ed.) The Multilingual Turn: Implications for SLA,
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Canagarajah, S. 2011. ‘Codemeshing in academic
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Conteh, J. 2015. ‘“Funds of knowledge’ for
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García, O. and N. Kano. 2014. ‘Translanguaging as
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Li, W. 2018a. ‘Translanguaging and co-learning:
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The Author
Dr Jean Conteh has worked in multilingual contexts
for her whole career, first as a primary teacher and
teacher educator in different countries and then as
an academic. She took up a Senior Lectureship at the
University of Leeds in 2007, where she developed
and taught a successful part-time Master’s course for
teachers. She has published many books, chapters,
and articles for different audiences, including
The Multilingual Turn in Languages Education
(Multilingual Matters, 2014) and the third edition
of The EAL Teaching Book: Promoting success for
multilingual learners in mainstream schools (Sage,
forthcoming). Her most recent book is Researching
Education for Social justice in Multilingual Settings
(Bloomsbury, 2017).
Email: jeanconteh@waitrose.com
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