Translanguaging as a Pedagogical Practice for Successful Inclusion in Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Classrooms

Introduction

Modern classrooms not only in Greece but around the world, have been regarded as diverse mosaics, a fact which is closely related not only to the mixed-ability nature of the classroom but to the diversity that exists because of the increasing mobility rates of people in Europe in the 21^st century. In particular, Greece has long been acknowledged as a crossroad of cultures and languages which has affected the development of classrooms accommodating more and more students with different linguistic and cultural backgrounds. It is worth mentioning that current literature has turned the focus from teaching Greek language as a second language or as a target language for students with migration/refugee biography to teaching Greek in parallel with approaching and managing multilingualism in classrooms. In addition to the already-existed challenges the teachers had to deal with, this new focus has intensified the need for further teaching development from the part of the teachers. Various approaches and methods have been used, e.g. task-based learning (Willis, 1996; Willis & Willis, 2007), total-physical response (Asher, 1986), Content and Language Integrated Learning (Dalton & Puffer, 2011), Story-based teaching (McQuiggan, 2008), all of which are usually proposed as important and effective contexts for teaching students in such settings.

Recently, the research and teaching attention has been paid to “translanguaging” which is seen as communication practice of bilingual/multilingual students. However, over the last years, translanguaging has been considered a pedagogical practice which can support students’ literacy, communication, and creativity in a diverse classroom (Papadopoulos, 2020). Going further, translanguaging is seen nowadays as a key-element and key-factor for successful inclusion practices at school.

“Translanguaging” as a term was a creation developed as a continuation of the Welsh trawsieithu, coined by Cen Williams (1994, 1996) and then translated into English as “translinguifing”. At initial stages, “translanguaging” referred to a pedagogical practice within a framework that students are encouraged to alternate languages ​​for purposes of receptive and productive language use.

The performance of “translanguaging” refers to the use of the entire linguistic repertoire of the speakers, without being restricted to social and political boundaries (Otheguy et al., 2015). More specifically, translanguaging use implies the free process of developing and utilizing the entire language potential of bilingual and monolingual speakers. Within such a framework, teachers allow and encourage students not only to maintain and use their previous language practices, ‘but also to expand them and develop new ones, thinking and reflecting on both languages​​’ (Garcia, 2014 p. 66). Besides, in her own study, Papadopoulou (2018a) emphasizes the need for the coexistence and utilization of all the practices and strategies of expression of other-language students in a modern and creative language class.

Essentially, the promotion of translanguaging is an important priority as it is closely intertwined with the multiple language practices and strategies used by bilingual speakers in order to communicate and interact with their environment (Papadopoulos, 2020), to make meanings (Daniel & Pacheco, 2015), to share their personal experiences (Wei, 2011), to gain and maximize their knowledge and to gain a deeper understanding of the bilingual environment in which they operate (Garcia, 2009a; Papadopoulou, 2018b).