STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS ON THE USE OF TRANSLANGUAGING IN EFL CLASSROOM

Abstract

Translanguaging plays a pivotal role in multilingual classrooms. In most of the cases Pakistani students tend to switch languages during teaching and learning process. The researcher explored the perceptions of students on the use of translanguaging in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms in Baluchistan. The current study is based on the Translanguaging Theory, proposed by Gracia and Li wei (2014), which presents a comprehensive overview on multilingual practices in the pedagogical context. This theory unveils the strategical linguistic usage by teachers and students in order to teach and understand the difficult concepts, classroom participation and to deduce the meaning by analyzing the context. The sample of the present study included 400 students participants (251 male and 149 female) from two districts of Baluchistan. A survey was conducted through 50 questionnaires for students’ responses.  The findings of the present research reveals that the purposeful use of translanguaging for learning English in the Pakistani context is an effective strategy for students. Further, this study will have important implications for representatives, practitioners, and researchers in the field of English linguistic and literature.