Translanguaging: developing scientific scholarship in a multilingual classroom

ABSTRACT

Achievement in the learning area of science in Zimbabwe shows significant gaps in comparison to other countries in the global south. Science achievement of bilingual learners has been discussed at different levels, including cultural responsiveness in science teaching, but the emphasis has been placed primarily on the development of science literacy in English which happens to be a second language to more than 80% of the learners and teachers in the country. Few studies have focused on teachers’ and learners’ use of translanguaging practices in a bilingual or English as Second Language science classroom. The aim of the present study is to investigate whether – and, if so, in what ways – translanguaging benefits learning with a focus on form one General Science in a rural secondary school in Zimbabwe. Results show that use of instructional materials written in home languages and allowing translanguaging practices in the classroom affect learners’ performance in science tests, creates a comfortable learning environment for all learners, and provides them with a reflective space to think about how language stratification has excluded African languages that are deemed inferior from the classroom, hence from accessing scientific knowledge.

KEYWORDS:

• Science education
• multilingualism
• translanguaging
• bilingualism

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their constructive feedback, the Hub for Multilingual Education and Literacies, the School of Education (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg), the principal, teachers and learners who participated in the study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Erasmos Charamba

Erasmos Charamba is a postdoctoral research fellow in the School of Education, University of the Witwatersrand and holds a PhD in Education, Master’s degree in Education (Science Education), and a Bachelor of Education Honours degree (Science Education). He is an experienced and qualified Science educator who has taught at primary, secondary, and University levels.