Translanguaging in multilingual classrooms: Insights from a pilot study in rural Vietnam

Abstract

This qualitative pilot study investigates translanguaging as both an ideologically motivated classroom practice and a methodological consideration in rural, multilingual Vietnamese high schools. Drawing on classroom observations, teacher interviews, and student focus groups, the study analyzes how teachers and students conceptualize translanguaging through language-as-resource, language-as-right, and language-as-problem orientations while developing instruments for a forthcoming Participatory Action Research (PAR) project. Thematic analysis indicates that teachers employ translanguaging pragmatically to enhance comprehension, sustain lesson flow, and prepare students for high-stakes examinations, reflecting a predominantly resource-oriented approach shaped by institutional pressures that often frame Vietnamese as a ‘problem’ under English-only expectations. Students, particularly those with lower proficiency and from ethnic minority backgrounds, regard translanguaging as vital for comprehension, participation, confidence, and identity affirmation, demonstrating a clear rights-oriented perspective. In contrast, higher-proficiency students exhibit ambivalence, underscoring the necessity for differentiated instructional strategies. These perspectives collectively illustrate the influence of policy, assessment systems, and sociolinguistic context on translanguaging practices. Methodologically, the pilot facilitated the refinement of observation categories, scenario-based interview prompts, and focus-group procedures, thereby enhancing the cultural sensitivity and analytical precision of the PAR instruments. The study offers empirical insights into the potential of translanguaging as an equity-oriented pedagogical approach in diverse EFL classrooms.