Translanguaging Practices in Multilingual Foreign Language Classrooms in Cross-Border Regions

Abstract

This paper explores the theoretical foundations and pedagogical applications of translanguaging in multilingual and cross-border educational contexts. It reviews the emergence of translanguaging within the multilingual turn in sociolinguistics, highlighting its challenge to monolingual ideologies and its potential to support inclusive and equitable educational practices. The empirical component presents a case study conducted at Uzhhorod National University in Zakarpattia, a multilingual cross-border region of Ukraine. The study investigated the effectiveness of pedagogically structured translanguaging strategies in university foreign language classrooms. Thirty-four second-year students participated in an eight-week intervention, divided into an experimental group exposed to translanguaging-oriented instruction and a control group receiving traditional target-language-only instruction. Data were collected through teacher and student questionnaires, classroom observations, vocabulary and grammar tests, oral fluency assessments, and a final comprehensive language test. The findings demonstrate that translanguaging practices positively influenced students’ comprehension of complex linguistic material, vocabulary retention, communicative confidence, classroom participation, and intercultural awareness. Students in the experimental group displayed more favourable attitudes toward multilingual instruction and achieved higher levels of communicative, lexical, and grammatical competence than those in the control group. Teachers also reported that translanguaging facilitated the explanation of difficult concepts, reduced learner anxiety, and promoted active classroom interaction. The study confirms that pedagogically structured translanguaging can serve as an effective educational resource in multilingual university classrooms, particularly in border and cross-border regions characterised by linguistic diversity. The findings contribute to growing evidence supporting translanguaging as a transformative pedagogical approach that values learners’ complete linguistic repertoires and enhances both language learning and educational inclusion.