Translanguaging As A Pedagogical Tool in Sla: Investigating Its Effects on Language Proficiency and Cognitive Flexibility

Abstract

Translanguaging as a pedagogical tool in second language acquisition states the presentation of diverse planned approaches on triggering students’ resources from their entire linguistics repertoire. It holds various practices but they all share the characteristics of being intended by the educator with a pedagogical purpose and applying resources from the students’ entire linguistics range. Pedagogical translanguaging assumed as deliberate instructional approaches that incorporate two or more languages and target at the growth of the multilingual repertoire as well as metalinguistic and language mindfulness. The study investigates the perceptions and practices of English language teachers towards translanguaging as a pedagogical tool in second language acquisition and the effects of translanguaging on language proficiency and cognitive flexibility and the opportunities translanguaging provide in SLA and the challenges regarding the use of it in SLA. A qualitative approach was used to conduct the research. The participants of this study were 5 teachers of Higher Secondary Level. Data was collected through open-ended questions. Data was analyzed through thematic analysis. The findings of the study support the growing body of literature that highlights the benefits of translanguaging as a pedagogical tool for teaching English as a second language. However, challenges related to institutional policies, cultural expectations, and resource availability need to be addressed for translanguaging to be fully integrated into teaching practices.