Abstract
This study introduces the CACTI (Classroom Approaches to CLIL and Translanguaging Inventory), a formative assessment tool for guiding translanguaging in context. It comprises a comprehensive inventory of translanguaging practices to (1) assess how translanguaging is occurring in classes where academic subjects are taught in English, (2) illuminate pedagogical gaps and inclusion/equity limitations in different teaching situations, and thus (3) shape translanguaging more intentionally. The literature review draws on García, Ibarra Johnson, and Seltzer’s (2017) translanguaging stance, design, and shifts, along with other bi/multilingual classroom practices that went into the tool design. The methods section describes the CACTI’s construct operationalisation and validity testing. At the same time, the findings illustrate the CACTI’s use with two teachers in an elementary EFL setting and a secondary ESL setting. In the first case, an elementary EMI teacher in China rejected a translanguaging stance, allowing translanguaging shifts only when students struggled with English and implementing no translanguaging designs. This approach benefited immersion, yet the lack of metalinguistic discussion in L1 affected grammatical accuracy. In the second case, a secondary English teacher in Canada embraced translanguaging in creative writing. However, she did not encourage translanguaging in research presentations due to information in students’ L1s that she could not fact-check, inadvertently excluding other languages from more “serious” academic work. The study concludes with how the CACTI can illuminate pedagogical or equity gaps in specific settings so teachers can develop context-specific goals for expanding translanguaging practices without losing immersion or scaffolding academic English.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 63-86 |
Number of pages | 24 |
Journal | European Journal of Applied Linguistics and TEFL |
Volume | 13 |
Issue number | 1 |
State | Published - 2024 |
Keywords
- classroom language policy
- English-medium instruction (EMI)
- teacher education
- Translanguaging
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Language and Linguistics
- Linguistics and Language