TEACHERS’ TRANSLANGUAGING PRACTICES IN BILINGUAL CLASSROOMS: A CASE STUDY AT AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN HUALIEN, TAIWAN (CHINA)

DOI: 10.18173/2354-1075.2025-0124

Abstract

Translanguaging is a teaching approach that encourages students to use all of their language resources to support learning, and it has become increasingly popular in multilingual classrooms. This present study aims to explore how Taiwanese teachers employ translanguaging in actual bilingual elementary classrooms. Primary data was classroom observations collected from four elementary teachers in Hualien, Taiwan over four weeks. The findings revealed that teachers used a variety of strategies, such as switching between two languages, English and Mandarin, using gestures, visuals, facial expressions, and tone of voice, to support students during lessons. These practices served five main purposes: (1) explaining concepts or language points, (2) checking students’ understanding, (3) contextualizing content knowledge, (4) reinforcing instructions, and (5) fostering positive classroom relationships. By employing translanguaging practices, teachers created a more inclusive learning environment. Drawing on the findings, this study discusses how translanguaging can be a powerful tool to support both language and subject knowledge development, as well as student engagement