Translanguaging for Vocabulary Development: A Mixed Methods Study with International Students in a Canadian English for Academic Purposes Program

Abstract

Translanguaging has been largely implemented in bilingual classrooms, but there is a paucity of research investigating this approach in classrooms where more than two languages co-exist. Moreover, it is still unclear what particular dimensions of language learning are positively affected by translanguaging. This chapter reports results from a mixed methods study examining whether translanguaging has positive effects on academic vocabulary compared to a traditional monolingual approach. Seven English for Academic Purposes teachers used two different approaches with their students (n = 129): translanguaging to a treatment group and English-only to a comparison group. Data from students’ vocabulary tests, classroom observations, and learner diaries were analyzed and compared for convergence. Results show that students in the translanguaging group had significant higher scores in academic vocabulary at the end of the program compared to students in the monolingual group. Results also show that students in the translanguaging group engaged in meaning-making across languages and took an active role in language learning, suggesting that translanguaging may provide engagement in vocabulary learning in ways which monolingual practices may not. Implications for TESOL education in multilingual settings are discussed.

Appendices

Appendices

1.1 Appendix 1: Sample of a Pedagogical Translanguaging Task

Slides	Instructions
	You may want to start by asking students what idioms are and if they can recognize the one in the picture (reach/shoot for the stars)
	Suggested time: 1 min
	Ask students if they have ever heard of the idiom “take a rain check” and what it means. This task helps students reflect on the use of idioms in English and in other languages. Idioms are phrases that are fixed and have figurative or literal meaning. They can be used to represent meaning in a more accurate and creative way. Students can work in pairs or in small groups and share a few ideas about each question.
	Suggested time: 5 min
	Hand out accompanying worksheet and show each idiom in this slide to your students. Have students work in groups (of 3 or 4) and try to find out what the idioms mean. Give them about 20 s to write the meaning of each idiom in the worksheet (page 1). Tell them that they will be able to check their answers at the end of the activity and record their score in the worksheet.
	Suggested time: 10 min
	1. On page 2 of their worksheet, students check their answers and record their score.
	2. Ask students to reflect on a possible equivalent of this idiom in their languages/dialects. If there is an equivalent, ask them to write it and say it in the original language.
	3. Ask students to contribute with two idioms in their first language/dialect (or another language they know). They can say the idiom and have others in the group guess what idioms it is. In English conversations, students can use idioms in their first language and explain to the English speaker what this means.
	4. This question can be answered as a class so students can share the idioms in their first language/dialect with others.
	Suggested time: 10 min
	Get students to work in groups of 3 or 4 with (ideally) one person from a different language background.
	Give each group about 5 min to prepare their scene. Ask each student to pick one idiom in English and one idiom in their first language/dialect. When they present their scene, encourage students to speak the second idiom in their first language and explain it in English during the conversation. It is important that students understand how to use the idiom in their first language in English conversations to ensure more language and cultural diversity, even if the conversation is in English.
	Have groups present their scene in front of the class. Tell the groups that the audience will identify the idioms used.
	Suggested time: 15 min
	These questions serve to wrap up the task. You can ask these two questions to the whole class and have them share a few thoughts.
	Suggested time: 2 min
	This is simply a note to remind students to complete their diary entry. If you can remind them to do this when they arrive home, that would be much appreciated. Thank you for your collaboration!

1.2 Accompanying Worksheet for Pedagogical Translanguaging Task

Idiom	What do you think the meaning is?	Score
1. reach/shoot for the stars		▫ 1 point
		▫ 0
2. take a rain check		▫ 1 point
		▫ 0
3. off the top of my head		▫ 1 point
		▫ 0
4. give it a shot		▫ 1 point
		▫ 0
5. speak your mind		▫ 1 point
		▫ 0
6. go out of your way to do something		▫ 1 point
		▫ 0
7. a rip off		▫ 1 point
		▫ 0
8. have mixed feelings		▫ 1 point
		▫ 0
9. know your stuff		▫ 1 point
		▫ 0
10. get your act together		▫ 1 point
		▫ 0
11. play it by ear		▫ 1 point
		▫ 0
12. have second thoughts		▫ 1 point
		▫ 0
13. out of the blue		▫ 1 point
		▫ 0
14. have a chip on your shoulder		▫ 1 point
		▫ 0
15. get something off your chest		▫ 1 point
		▫ 0
16. burn your bridges		▫ 1 point
		▫ 0
17. call it a day		▫ 1 point
		▫ 0
18. play devil’s advocate		▫ 1 point
		▫ 0
Total score		/18 points

Idiom	Meaning	Is there an equivalent/translation in your first language/dialect?
1. reach/shoot for the stars	To set your goal or ambitions very high	▫ Yes ▫ No
		If yes, write it here:
2. take a rain check	To refuse an offer/invitation but with the hope/promise that it can be postponed to a later date/time	▫ Yes ▫ No
		If yes, write it here:
3. off the top of my head	Using only the ideas you have in your head at that moment	▫ Yes ▫ No
		If yes, write it here:
4. give it a shot	Give it a try	▫ Yes ▫ No
		If yes, write it here:
5. speak your mind	Say what you honestly feel	▫ Yes ▫ No
		If yes, write it here:
6. go out of your way to do something	To take extra time to make an additional effort to do something	▫ Yes ▫ No
		If yes, write it here:
7. a rip off	Something overpriced	▫ Yes ▫ No
		If yes, write it here:
8. have mixed feelings	To be unsure about something	▫ Yes ▫ No
		If yes, write it here:
9. know your stuff	To know something very well	▫ Yes ▫ No
		If yes, write it here:
10. get your act together	Start behaving properly	▫ Yes ▫ No
		If yes, write it here:
11. play it by ear	To improvise; to not make a plan but decide what to do as you do it	▫ Yes ▫ No
		If yes, write it here:
12. have second thoughts	To have doubts	▫ Yes ▫ No
		If yes, write it here:
13. out of the blue	Unscheduled, improvised	▫ Yes ▫ No
		If yes, write it here:
14. have a chip on your shoulder	To seem angry all the time because you think you have been treated unfairly or feel you are not as good as other people	▫ Yes ▫ No
		If yes, write it here:
15. get something off your chest	To say something serious or difficult that you have been thinking about for a while	▫ Yes ▫ No
		If yes, write it here:
16. burn your bridges	Ruin a relationship	▫ Yes ▫ No
		If yes, write it here:
17. call it a day	Expression said near the end of a day which means “That’s enough for today. Let’s end and go home.”	▫ Yes ▫ No
		If yes, write it here:
18. play devil’s advocate	To argue against somebody just so you can hear your opponent’s reasoning	▫ Yes ▫ No
		If yes, write it here:
Write an idiom in your first language/dialect		Is There An Equivalent/Translation In English?
		▫ Yes ▫ No
		If yes, write it here:
Write an idiom in your first language/dialect		Is There an equivalent/translation in English?
		▫ Yes ▫ No
		If yes, write it here:

1.3 Appendix 2: Sample of a Monolingual Task

	You may want to start by asking students what idioms are and if they can recognize the one in the picture (reach/shoot for the stars).
	Suggested time: 1 min
	Before starting the warm-up, ask students if they have ever heard of the idiom “take a rain check” and what it means (the meaning will be in the next activity).
	This is a warm-up to help students reflect about the use of idioms in English. Idioms are phrases that are fixed and have figurative or literal meaning. They can be used to represent meaning in a more accurate and sometimes fun way.
	Students can work in pairs or in small groups and share a few ideas about each question.
	Suggested time: 5 min
	Hand out worksheet and show each idiom in this slide to your students. Have them work in groups (of 3 or 4) and try to find out what they mean. Give them about 20 s to write the meaning of each idiom in the worksheet (page 1). Warn them not to look at page 2 because the answers are there. Tell them that they will be able to check their answers at the end of the activity and record their score in the worksheet.
	Suggested time: 10 min
	Students can continue working in the same group of 3 or 4.
	1. On page 2 of their worksheet, students can check their answers and record their score. If you have a competitive group, you may want to check who had the highest score and won the game.
	2. Assign one or two idioms for each of your students (e.g., one student will have idioms 1 and 2, another student will have idioms 3 and 4, etc.). You might want to allow them about 5 min to complete their sentences.
	3. Tell students to share their sentence with the whole class. If you want to turn this step into a listening activity, you might want to ask students to write down the sentences they hear. This could be good listening practice.
	Suggested time: 10 min
	Get students to work in groups of 3 or 4.
	Give each group about 5 min to prepare their scene. Ask each student to pick one idiom in English to use during the presentation of the scenario.
	Have groups present their scene in front of the class. Tell the groups that the audience will identify the idioms used. This is also good listening practice.
	Suggested time: 15 min
	This question serves to wrap up the task. You can ask this question to the whole class and have them share a few thoughts.
	Suggested time: 2 min
	This is the end of task 5. Thank you for your collaboration!

1.4 Accompanying Worksheet for Monolingual Task

Idiom	What do you think the meaning is?	Score
1. reach/shoot for the stars		▫ 1 point
		▫ 0
2. take a rain check		▫ 1 point
		▫ 0
3. off the top of my head		▫ 1 point
		▫ 0
4. give it a shot		▫ 1 point
		▫ 0
5. speak your mind		▫ 1 point
		▫ 0
6. go out of your way to do something		▫ 1 point
		▫ 0
7. a rip off		▫ 1 point
		▫ 0
8. have mixed feelings		▫ 1 point
		▫ 0
9. know your stuff		▫ 1 point
		▫ 0
10. get your act together		▫ 1 point
		▫ 0
11. play it by ear		▫ 1 point
		▫ 0
12. have second thoughts		▫ 1 point
		▫ 0
13. out of the blue		▫ 1 point
		▫ 0
14. have a chip on your shoulder		▫ 1 point
		▫ 0
15. get something off your chest		▫ 1 point
		▫ 0
16. burn your bridges		▫ 1 point
		▫ 0
17. call it a day		▫ 1 point
		▫ 0
18. play devil’s advocate		▫ 1 point
		▫ 0
Total score		/18 points

Idiom	Meaning	Sentence
1. reach/shoot for the stars	To set your goal or ambitions very high
2. take a rain check	To refuse an offer/invitation but with the hope/promise that it can be postponed to a later date/time
3. off the top of my head	Using only the ideas you have in your head at that moment
4. give it a shot	Give it a try
5. speak your mind	Say what you honestly feel
6. go out of your way to do something	To take extra time to make an additional effort to do something
7. a rip off	Something overpriced
8. have mixed feelings	To be unsure about something
9. know your stuff	To know something very well
10. get your act together	Start behaving properly
11. play it by ear	To improvise; to not make a plan but decide what to do as you do it
12. have second thoughts	To have doubts
13. out of the blue	Unscheduled, improvised
14. have a chip on your shoulder	To seem angry all the time because you think you have been treated unfairly or feel you are not as good as other people
15. get something off your chest	To say something serious or difficult that you have been thinking about for a while
16. burn your bridges	Ruin a relationship
17. call it a day	Expression said near the end of a day which means “That’s enough for today. Let’s end and go home.”
18. play devil’s advocate	To argue against somebody just so you can hear your opponent’s reasoning