Investigating the Effect of Translanguaging on EFL Students’ Interaction and Engagement. The Case of Master One Didactics and Applied Languages at Belhadj Bouchaib University of Ain Temouchent

Abstract

Translanguaging is a new pedagogy adopted as a medium of interaction and engagement among the students’ in EFL classes within a multilingual context where learners are frequently exposed to a range of linguistic phenomena that impact their academic performance. They often tend to develop and minimize errors in oral communication. Thus, Sociolinguistic concepts such as Code-switching, Code mixing, bilingualism _multilingualism, borrowing, and translanguaging play a crucial role in shaping language use within the academic context. These phenomena are tightly related to both the learners’ language acquisition and communicative abilities. This work explores the translanguaging use in the educational context. It seeks to analyse its effects on EFL students’ interaction, engagement, and learning outcomes. It also, investigates how translanguaging shapes students’ attitudes and language practices towards translanguaging, highlighting their language practices and experiences. Therefore, Master one students’in Didactics and Applied Languages at Belhadj Bouchaib University were selected as a sample population to accomplish the research study. To carry out this research, two instruments of data collection were used: A questionnaire was devoted to EFL students, and a semi-structured interview was addressed to EFL teachers. The data were quantitatively and qualitatively analysed. The research findings showed that the reason behind using translanguaging is due to the limited vocabulary and issues in finding the exact equivalents. Other languages are used to support classroom interaction and communication. Additionally, the cultural aspect has a relation to the learners’ language acquisition. At last, the study highlights some suggestions and recommendations that can be used as a translanguaging strategy integrated in EFL classes.