Translanguaging and Academic Writing: Possibilities and Challenges in English-Only Classrooms

The study applied a translanguaging approach in a writing skill development class in the English department of a Bangladeshi public university. Data were collected through classroom observation, a pedagogical intervention, a focus group discussion with students, and a semi-structured interview with the class teacher. The study findings challenge monolingual approaches to academic writing in particular and demonstrate how a planned translanguaging approach allows teachers to relate English content to learners’ local language(s) and experience, thus promoting greater understanding and metalinguistic awareness while also affirming the bilingualism and supporting bilingual learners in their classrooms. These findings have implications for policy and practices designed to improve learning outcomes, as well as to enhance the satisfaction and self-esteem of multilingual students studying in an otherwise monolingual classroom located in multilingual countries.