Innovation in Language Learning
Pedagogical Translanguaging: Supporting Multilingual Students to Learn Italian in University Language Courses
Elena Pirovano, University of Melbourne (Australia)
Abstract
In Australia, as in many other English-speaking countries, higher education language courses are often framed from a monolingual perspective, based on the assumption that students enrolled in university courses are mainly monolingual English speakers. Consequently, often languages are taught in separation, with a native speaker of the language as the ideal model and the use of the target language only in the classroom. These practices are increasingly contested due to the number of multilingual students enrolled in language courses at the tertiary level [1]. Moreover, new conceptualisations of language use, language learning and language competence have developed in the 21st century as a reflection of broader societal changes with enhanced attention to the positioning and potential of the linguistic practices of multilinguals [2]. Within this new context, pedagogical
translanguaging is defined as a planned and conscious teacher stance of recognising the multilingual experience of students as a resource and creating a space where to acknowledge and leverage this knowledge of and experience with multilingual practices in the learning process [3]. Recent research recognises pedagogical translanguaging as a supportive and more inclusive practice in multilingual language learning spaces, although little research has investigated how it supports the learning of languages other than English for multilingual students enrolled in university language courses. This paper reports on data collected in a short course of Italian for beginner students at an Australian university, planned within a pedagogical translanguaging framework. Data collected include collaborative writing tasks and student reflections on the writing process. The analysis explores the language class as a translanguaging space created through a negotiated process between the teacher and the students. It discusses how a translanguaging design based on the teacher’s choice of providing translanguaging affordances and reflections promoted translanguaging practices within the student collaborative learning process. The findings suggest that the pedagogical translanguaging framework enabled students to activate translanguaging practices and achieve enhanced linguistic
competence as well as express more agency and identity in the learning process.
Keywords: language education, higher education, translanguaging, multilingualism, Italian
REFERENCES
[1] Ollerhead, S., & Baker, S. (2019). Is there any appetite for “linguistic hospitality” in monolingual educational spaces? In V. Anderson & H. Johnson (Eds.), Migration, Education and Translation: Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives on Human Mobility and Cultural Encounters in Education Settings (1st ed., pp. 145–160).
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[2] May, S. (2014). Introducing the “multilingual turn”. In S. May (Ed.), The
multilingual turn: Implications for SLA, TESOL and bilingual education (pp. 1–6). Routledge.
[3] Cenoz, J., & Gorter, D. (2022). Pedagogical Translanguaging (1st ed.).
Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009029384
