Exploring the usefulness of translanguaging in a ha nam high school an exploratory action reseach project

The findings provide initial insights into the students‘ attitudes towards translanguaging and the possible benefits of translanguaging to students‘ learning English in the high school c

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDIES

LƯƠNG THỊ BÍCH HUỆ

EXPLORING THE USEFULNESS OF TRANSLANGUAGING IN A HA

NAM HIGH SCHOOL: AN EXPLORATORY ACTION

RESEARCH PROJECT

(Nghiên cứu hành động khám phá: Tìm hiểu lợi ích của việc sử dụng liên ngữ

tại một trường Trung học phổ thông ở Hà Nam)

M.A MINOR THESIS

Field : English Methodology Code : 8140231.01

Hanoi, 2020

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDIES

LƯƠNG THỊ BÍCH HUỆ

EXPLORING THE USEFULNESS OF TRANSLANGUAGING IN A HA

NAM HIGH SCHOOL: AN EXPLORATORY ACTION

RESEARCH PROJECT

(Nghiên cứu hành động khám phá: Tìm hiểu lợi ích của việc sử dụng liên ngữ

tại một trường Trung học phổ thông ở Hà Nam)

M.A MINOR THESIS

Field : English Methodology Code : 8140231.01

Supervisor : Assoc Prof Dr Lê Văn Canh

Hanoi, 2020

DECLARATION

I hereby certify that the thesis “Exploring the usefulness of using translanguaging

in the high school context in Ha Nam province: An action research approach” is my own

study in the fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts at University

of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This thesis has, in many senses, been accomplished with the help and encouragement of many people Therefore, I hereby wish to send my application to all of them

First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Assoc Prof Dr Le Van Canh for his invaluable and insightful comments, guidance, and encouragement he gave me during the time I tried to do the research This thesis would not be completed without his great help from the beginning when this study was only in its formative stage

My sincere thanks also go to all lecturers and staff of Postgraduate Studies for their valuable lessons and precious helps Thanks to their lessons as well as needed helps, I could overcome enormous obstacles when doing the research

In addition, I am also grateful to my colleagues and my students who helped

me collect the necessary data Special acknowledgement is also given to my students from classes 10A3, 11A6 and 11A8 for their participation in the experimental lessons

Last but not least, I am greatly indebted to my beloved family whose support and encouragement have always been the great source of inspiration for me in bringing this study to a success

Without all this support, I could not have finished this thesis

Lương Thị Bích Huệ

December , 2019

ABSTRACT

In recent years, there has been a significant shift from a monolingual approach to teaching English as a second or foreign language to multilingual perspectives According to these perspectives, learners‘ first language (L1) is considered as resources for learning the second language (L2) As a result, translanguaging in the EFL classroom has attracted great scholarly attention and interest The number of studies on translanguaging in different contexts is increasing considerably Despite this fact, the term ‗translanguaging‘ seems to be new to many Vietnamese EFL teachers This thesis may be the first one that deals with this topic This thesis reports on the results of an action research project on the benefits and drawbacks of translanguaging in a high school context In the light of the discussions relative to the effectiveness of translanguaging in the EFL classroom, the present study aims at providing functions of translanguaging in both language teaching and learning Data was collected from a student questionnaire, recorded student translanguaging, teacher self-observation and the reflection The findings provide initial insights into the students‘ attitudes towards translanguaging and the possible benefits of translanguaging to students‘ learning English in the high school classroom

Key words: translanguaging, L1, L2, code-switching

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

ABSTRACT iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS iv

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vi

LIST OF TABLES vii

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Rationale of the study 1

1.2 Aims of the study 1

1.4 Scope of the study 1

1.5 Significance of the study 2

1.6 Research Methodology 2

1.7 Structure of the thesis 2

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 4

2.1 What is translanguaging? 4

2.2 Translanguaging vs code-switching 4

2.3 Theoretical foundation of translanguaging 6

2.4 Previous studies on translanguaging in L2 classrooms 11

2.5 Chapter summary 14

3.1 Research context 16

3.2 Participants 17

3.3 Instruments 17

3.3.1 Questionnaires 17

3.3.2 Interviews 17

3.3.3 Classroom self- observations 18

3.4 Procedures 18

3.4.1 The exploratory action research 18

3.4.2 Data collection procedures 23

3.4.3 Data analysis procedures 23

3.5 Summary 23

4.2 Discussions and implications 47

4.2.1 Discussions 47

4.2.2 Implications 49

4.3 Summary 52

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 53

5.1 Summary of the study 53

5.2 Limitations and suggestions for further study 53

REFERENCES 55 APPENDIX I APPENDIX I: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS I APPENDIX II: INTERVIEWS FOR STUDENTS VIII

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

AR : Action Research

L1 : First Language L2 : Second Language

EFL : English as Foreign Language ELF : English as lingual franca ELT : English Language Teaching SPSS : Statistical Packages for Social Sciences

TESOL : Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

TL : Target language

LIST OF TABLES

Table 4.1: Students’ attitude of L1 use in English classrooms (N= 80; Grade 11) 24 Table 4.2: Students’ attitude of L1 use in English classrooms (N= 45; Grade 10) 26 Table 4.3: The percentage of 11th graders’ responses towards the question 1 31 Table 4.4: The percentage of 10th graders’ responses towards the question 1 31 Table 4.5: Students’ perception of L1 use in learning grammar (N= 80; Grade 11) 32 Table 4.6: Students’ perception of L1 use in learning grammar (N= 45; Grade 10) 33

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

1.1 Rationale of the study

In recent years, working in bi/multilingual contexts, scholars, researchers and teachers in the field of second or foreign language education has been increasingly interested in the concept of translanguaging, defined as ―the planned and systematic use of two languages for teaching and learning inside the same lesson‖ (Lewis et al

2012, p 3), Teachers in many different contexts have begun to recognize the pedagogic potential of translanguaging (Li 2018a: 32) in ways that could also be beneficial to students In fact, translanguaging pedagogies are based on the view that bi/multilingual learner's first language (L1) can be valuable linguistic resources for second language (L2) learning While interest in researching translanguaging as

a pedagogical strategy in ELT classrooms is growing globally, it has received little attention in Vietnam In fact, the concept of translanguaging is new to many Vietnamese EFL teachers, and as a result, this innovative pedagogy has not been extensively researched in Vietnamese EFL classrooms Motivated by the benefits of translanguaging to L2 learning, I decided to use an action research approach to explore whether translanguaging works in the context of Vietnamese high schools

1.2 Aims of the study

This exploratory action research is aimed at exploring the students‘ attitudes towards translanguaging in the EFL classrooms and the possible benefits of translanguaging to students‘ learning English in the high school classroom

The study focuses specifically on using translanguaging in learning English

as well as evaluate the students‘ attitudes towards this pedagogy in a high school in

Ha Nam province The study limits itself to the teaching and learning English, and the subjects of the study are 125 non-English majors from three classes studying new ―English 10‖ textbook ( 10 A3) and ―English textbook 11‖ (11 A6, 11 A8) at a high school

1.5 Significance of the study

The findings of this study are beneficial in two ways First, they provide initial empirical insights into the possible benefits of translanguaging in the context

of Vietnamese high schools Secondly, the study will help to influence stakeholders‘ attitudes towards the role of L1 in L2 learning

1.6 Research Methodology

An exploratory action research design (Smith &Rebolledo, 2016) is used to achieve the aim of the study The study was conducted in two phases In the first phase, the researcher explored the students‘ attitudes towards to use of Vietnamese

in the English lessons through a survey questionnaire In the second phase, based on the results of the survey in the first phase, action, i.e., the use of translanguaging, was taken in the classroom with a focus on the possible benefits of translanguaging

to students‘ learning English in classroom learning tasks Then, the action was evaluated to measure the effect of translanguaging on students‘ engagement in classroom learning Data for this evaluation was obtained by means of the teacher‘self-observation, reflective journals and interviews of the students

1.7 Structure of the thesis

The thesis is composed of five chapters:

Chapter 1: Introduction- deals with the rationales, aims, methods, scope,

significance and design of the study

Chapter 2: Literature review – provides some theoretical background about

translanguaging and using the first language in the second language classrooms

Chapter 3: Research Methodology – presents the situation analysis,

participants, data collection instrument, data collection procedures and data

analysis The detailed results of the research are focused

Chapter 4: Findings and discussion – shows major findings, discussion and

some recommendations for teachers and learners in using of translanguaging in teaching and learning English

Chapter 5: Conclusion- is a review of the study, suggestions for further

research and limitations of the study

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter reviews the literature on translanguaging in second and/or foreign language teaching and learning It first provides the definition of the concept

of translanguaging Next, the theoretical foundation of translanguaging is discussed Finally, studies conducted in a variety of different contexts are reviewed to identify the research gap where the present study fits

2.1 What is translanguaging?

According to Conteh (2018), translanguaging was originated in Welsh bilingual education in the 1980s ‗Trawsieithu‘—a Welsh term coined by Cen Williams, and later translated into English as ‗translanguaging‘—was constructed as

a purposeful cross-curricular strategy for ‗the planned and systematic use of two languages for teaching and learning inside the same lesson‘ (Lewis et al 2012, p 3) Cenoz and Gorter (2011: 359) define translanguaging as ―the combination of two or more languages in systematic way within the same learning activity.‖ Thus, translanguaging is understood to be a wider concept which contains not only code-switching but many other kinds of bi/multilingual practices as well

While code-switching refers to the alteration of switch between languages by bilinguals in communicative event, translanguaging focuses on how bilinguals take advantages of their linguistic resources to make meaning or to make sense (Li, 2018b) The distinction between the two concepts is detailed in the following section Researchers use the term ‗translanguaging‘ to describe multilingual oral interaction (e.g García, 2009; Blackledge and Creese, 2010) and the use of different

languages in written texts (e.g Canagarajah, 2011; García and Kano, 2014)

2.2 Translanguaging vs code-switching

Code-switching is a bilingual-mode activity in which more than one language, typically speakers‘ native language (L1) and second language (L2), are used intransententially or intersententially (Cook, 2001) Code-switching has not been appreciated in traditional L2 classrooms where the students‘ target language

and native language were viewed as being compartmentalized or separated, and the target language was the ―legitimate‖ language in the classroom while the native language was a taboo Therefore, according to Creese and Blackledge (2000), code-switching is occasionally employed by language curriculum developers and instructors to assist language practices that multilingual speakers are engaged in Meanwhile, translanguaging is a term which has recently used in line with code-switching in the literature Similarly, translanguaging and code-switching are related to multilingual speakers‘ transferring between languages in a natural way Nevertheless, translanguaging was purposefully switched (Williams, 2002) in Welsh bilingual classrooms The purpose is, therefore, a marker distinguishing translanguaging from code-switching

García and Leiva (2013, 207) state: ―The concept of translanguaging goes beyond code-switching Code-switching refers to the mixing or switching of two static language codes Translanguaging, resting on the concept of transculturation, is about a new languaging reality, original and independent from any of the ‗parents‘

or codes, a new way of being, acting and languaging in a different social, cultural and political context Translanguaging brings into the open discursive exchanges among people in ways that recognize their values of languaging In allowing fluid discourses to flow, translanguaging has the potential to give voice to new social realities.‖

Another important distinction between translanguaging and code-switching involve modes and the means through which language is embodied (Canagajah, 2013).Translanguaging highlights various modes that users adopt in expressing their ideas The intersections of different linguistic elements embroidered in various modes illustrate the creativity and fluidity prioritized in translanguaging

In short, ― Translanguaging differs from the notion of code-switching in that

it refers not simply to a shift or a shuttle between two languages, but to the speakers‘ construction and use of original and complex interrelated discursive practices that cannot be easily assigned to one or another traditional definition of

language, but that make up the speakers‘ complete language repertoire.‖ (García

&Wei 2014) Translanguaging is a planned and systematic use of two languages for teaching and learning inside the same lesson Code-switching practice is particularly maligned by teachers in dual language education and bilingual students use language in complex and dynamic ways

2.3 Theoretical foundation of translanguaging

Recently, there have been significant changes in the outlook on the role of learners‘ language in second language learning, according to which learners‘ language are viewed as a resource in the English –as-a-foreign language (EFL) classroom (e.g Corcoll& Gonzales-Davies, 2016; Creese&Blackledge, 2010; Illman&Pietila, 2018) This view originates from new findings in neuroscience (Cook, 2008), bilingual education research (Anderson, 2008; Cummins, 2008) and multilingualism (Ortega, 2014) These findings have questioned the dominant English-only principle in ELT For example, Anderson (2008) has called for flexible approaches to pedagogy to respond to bilingual contexts that do not fit easily into existing paradigm The research documented in Lin and Martin (2005) and Arthur and Martin (2006) described the pedagogic potentials behind code switching These include increasing the inclusion, participation, and understandings

of pupils in the learning processes; developing less formal relationships between participants; conveying ideas more easily; and accomplishing lessons They spoke

of the ―pedagogic validity of code switching‖ (Arthur & Martin, 2006, p 197) and considered ways in which the research might contribute to a ―teachable‖ pedagogic resource Important avenues of research have begun to question the validity of boundaries around languages Garcia (2007) showed in her work in New York schools that languages are not hermetically sealed units Garcia prefers the term translanguaging (p xii) to code switching to describe the usual and normal practice

of ―bilingualism without diglossic functional separation‖ in New York classrooms (p xiii) Conteh (2018, p 446) notes,

Language is seen as an ongoing ‗process‘ rather than a ‗thing‘, a ‗verb‘ rather than a ‗noun‘ (Becker, 1988: 25), as in the notion of ‗languaging‘ The focus moves from how many languages an individual may have at their disposal to how they use all their language resources to achieve their purposes

Li (2018b: 24) argues that translanguaging ‗challenges the conventional understanding of language boundaries between … culturally and politically labelled languages.‖

In educational contexts, translanguaging is a practice in which educators allow the mixing of languages in bilingual educational settings; this practice is also known among some linguists as ―code-switching‖ (Adamson&Fujimoto-Adamson,

2012, p.59) Meanwhile, Greese and Blackledge (2010) extended this even further,

to state that translanguaging goes beyond a basic acceptance or tolerance of the learner‘s native language to the ―cultivation of languages through their use‖ (p.103)

Rosemary Orlando (2019) argues that there are two types of translanguaging that can be developed in the classroom The first type consists of allowing and encouraging students to use their first language to help learning and translate when they do not understand It means that they can communicate with their friends in the class by using their mother tongue as well as in English This approach, when used

in English classroom, allows the development and support of learning both the content and improving English comprehension The second type is called ―planned translanguaging‖ This form of translanguaging is an extensive language into the curriculum to support both learning and language development In this approach, teachers while planning their lessons with two languages being integrated can consider their classroom procedure and their lesson content in order to decide where and when it may be beneficial to include L1 It is useful for students to work on a particular topic

Vogel & Garcia (2017) provide the three core premises for translanguaging:

- It puts forward that individuals select and implement features from a unitary linguistic repertoire in order to communicate

- It takes up a perspective on bilingualism and multilingualism that privileges speakers‘ dynamic linguistic and semiotic practices above the named languages of nations and states

- It recognizes the material effects of socially constructed named language categories structuralist language ideologies, especially for minoritized language speakers (p.4)

Cenoz&Gorter (2011, 2015) discussing the use of translanguaging in multilingual views, focused on multilingualism (FoM) through three dimensions:

These dimensions are related to each other because the multilingual speaker uses his/her whole linguistic repertoire to communicate in social contexts The use

of linguistic resources from the whole linguistic repertoire is referred to translanguaging In the context of multilingual education, there is a distinction between pedagogical and spontaneous translanguaging At first, pedagogical translanguaging is not limited to the alternation of input and output It included other pedagogical strategies based on the use of the multilingual speaker‘s linguistic resources from the whole linguistic repertoire Nevertheless, spontaneous translanguaging refers to the reality of multilingual usage in naturally occurring contexts where boundaries between languages are fluid and constantly shifting It can take place both inside and outside classroom Inside the classroom, translanguaging can have pedagogical value but it has not been planned in advance

FoM

The whole linguistic repertoire

The multilingual

speaker

The social context

as a pedagogical strategy Outside the classroom, translanguaging is used to

exchange the ideas as a socializing tool or making fun When understanding the

distinction, the researcher could design more activities depending on each purpose

of translanguaging as well as help learners distinguish the differences between

translanguaging and code-switching

The importance of translanguaging theory has been revealed in previous

research from different aspects (e.g.: linguistic, educational, socio-political, etc.),

and researchers tend to focus on three primary aspects, which could best reflect the

significance of this theory First of all, translanguaging is an approach to make use

of languages of bi/multi-linguals by considering they possess one linguistic

repertoire instead of several different autonomous language systems (Kasula, 2016;

García, 2009) Second, translanguaging also provides multilingual speakers with

support in affirming language identities by ―creating a social space bringing

together different dimensions of their personal history, experience and

environment, their attitude, belief and ideology, their cognitive and physical

capacity into one coordinated and meaningful performance‖ (Wei, 2010, p1223)

Third, translanguaging theory has deep social justice implications for the

education of bilingual students (García, 2017), especially for the US education

system in which bilingual or multilingual speakers used to be considered as

disadvantaged learners However in English classrooms, we can design many

interesting activities by using translanguaging García has summarized major

objectives of using this pedagogy as follow:

- to support students as they engage with and comprehend complex content

and texts

- to provide opportunities for students to develop linguistic practices for

academic contexts

- to make space for students‘ bilingualism and ways of knowing

- to support students‘ socioemotional development and bilingual identities (García, 2017, p29)

According to Lewis, Jones and Baker (2012), García and Li (2014), there are two types of translanguaging strategies: ―teacher-directed translanguaging to give voice, clarity, reinforce, manage the classroom and ask questions and student-directed translanguaging to participate, to elaborate ideas, to raise questions It means that teachers and students actually become active and excited with multiple languages in different contexts (Lewis: 665-670)

Jenkins (2019) explains the importance of the concept of translanguaging in ELF studies and she emphasizes that translanguaging should be regarded as a normal language behavior and focuses on the need to develop the relationship between English and other languages Whereas, Seidlhofer (2017) highlights the importance of considering English as an additional communicative resource in the multilingual speaker‘s repertoire and of building on the learner‘s own language experience

Cummins (2008, p.65) points out that ―translanguaging allows for students to use their native language as a tool to help them excel in their target language.‖ It is clear that developing students‘ native language strengths the base for English and increases learners‘ literacy skills in their native languages Translanguaging allows English language learners to have a chance to choose how to express themselves using all of the linguistic resources available to them, whether it is in their native language (L1) or in the target language (TL) The researcher emphasized that the key to the students‘ progress and achievements was the respect paid to the native language and culture and the students used them as aids for learning Briefly, through translanguaging, the student can create an identity as a language learner who incorporates his or her L1 and home culture as well as the TL and culture to solve social situations and opportunities for communication

Lewis, Jones & Baker (2012b: 644) summarize Williams (1996) pedagogic theory

as follows:

―The process of translanguaging uses various cognitive processing skills in listening and reading, the assimilation and accommodation of information,

choosing and selecting from the brain storage to communicate in speaking and writing Thus, translanguaging requires a deeper understanding than just translanguaging as it moves from finding parallel words to processing and relaying meaning and understanding.”

2.4 Previous studies on translanguaging in L2 classrooms

Tina Gunnarsson (2014) presented in her research that learning English by using trangslanguaging brings learners a number of benefits:

- the message of the instructor is more easily conveyed

- the message is more easily comprehended by students

- increased understanding of class content

- students can communicate in any language in order to get their point across or collaborate with other students

- a focus on function rather than form

- increase student motivation

- increase student participation in class discussions

In her study, translanguaging is used effectively in Swedish classrooms For example, the researcher taught the students how to draw on their complete language repertoires when learning (not just language learning).She also allowed her students

to collaborate with other students speaking the same language/s or both languages (L1 and L2) when she believed this could help them learn more effectively

Moreover, the teacher created a classroom atmosphere where translanguaging was accepted as the norm – translanguaging space (Wei 2011) She, thus, encouraged the students to be open to using different language tools (dictionaries etc.) and stimulated them to participate in metalinguistic discussions by, for instance, contrasting and comparing to other languages The author reported that translanguaging could be applied in four skills in learning English and it did increase the participation of the students and developed the fluency in using languages She pointed out that a translanguaging pedagogy is important for language minoritized students, whether they are emergent bilingual or not, because

it builds on students‘ linguistic strengths The implication of this study is that the teacher should take advantages of the students existing skills and take their background into account when teaching – language, culture and history as well In brief, the teacher can teach students how to use their complete language repertoires

as a resource for learning

Nambisan (2014) showed in his research on teachers‘ attitudes towards the use

of translanguaging in English language classrooms in Iowa that translanguaging is utilized in one specific ESL context and evaluate about the interest among teachers in these practices In the study, the survey used items based on the McMillan and Rivers‘ (2011) study and other items to collect information about the teacher‘s experience and teachers‘ attitudes towards use of L1 in the classroom The results showed that translanguaging helps students by providing a safe environment where their identities and cultures were valued, which helped the more reserved students take a more active and involved role in their education The researcher also proposed some implications for the teacher to make use of using translanguaging in English classrooms

Greggio and Gil (2007) reported in their study that the beginner group used code-switching in four particular situations: i) explaining grammar, ii) providing instruction, iii) monitoring or assisting students, and iv) correcting learners during the course of an activity The results showed that this switching from the L2 to the L1 by the teacher was used to clarify words (especially difficult words), expressions, structures or rules to make sure that the learners understood her clearly and effectively Using code-switching is applied in different levels depending learners‘ language proficiency in an EFL context The author concluded that professionals in the realm of foreign or second language learning should be open to the benefits that code-switching offers in facilitating classrooms interaction and language learning

Baker (2001) points out some educational advantages of using translanguaging He notes that using translanguaging promotes a deeper understanding of the subject matter In addition, it helps the development of the

weaker language For example, the second language or foreign language is often considered as the weaker language and the mother tongue or the first language is more dominant Next, using translanguaging facilitates home-school links and cooperation Lastly, it helps the integration of fluent speakers with early learners When using or discussing the topic in one language and then writing about it in another language means that the subject matter has to be cognitively processed or digested

McMillian and Rivers (2011) surveyed 29 participants (all native-speaker EFL instructors) about their beliefs regarding the role of L1 in the EFL classroom

At first, the authors believed that some of the participants who are hesitant to allow the L1 into the classroom may be preoccupied about how to incorporate it if their proficiency is low, so that portion of the questionnaire allowed for data collection to draw an interference on that topic However, the responses were different from that hypothesis Surprisingly, the teachers who had a more positive view of L1 use in the classroom had lower self-reported proficiency scores in Japanese, whereas the teachers who opposed L1 use had a higher proficiency rating The study provided valuable insight into the minds of teachers and helped share their viewpoints on why they agree with or oppose the presence of the L1 in the EFL classroom

Chungke & Shumin Lin (2017) chose a translanguaging approach to TESOL

in Taiwan in their research They emphasized that this approach in ELT stems from the changing roles of a language teacher from providing linguistic knowledge and skills to building learners ‗self-learning capacity, learner agency and L2 identities It also discusses the viability of a translanguaging approach in TESOL in Taiwanese contexts In this paper, they used some examples of translanguaging practices in an EFL classroom in a rural junior high school in Taiwan to illustrate the potentials of translanguaging pedagogy for developing learner agency and identities In this study, the teacher intuitively translanguaged in intentional and purposeful ways The teacher in this study used all elements in her and students‘ linguistic repertoires, including English in her EFL classrooms She used ―translanguaging‖ to teach by blending English into her repertoire of teaching and by encouraging

students to translanguage in using English along with other languages

To sum up, some studies influenced and guided this current study on using translanguaging in English classrooms This suggests that the teachers can make use

of translanguaing to explain complex concepts, vocabulary, and grammatical features or structures (Ahmad, 2009; Greggio and Gil, 2007‘ McMillan and Rivers, 2011; Tian and Macaro, 2012) When teaching new vocabulary items, it is helpful for instructors to code-switch into the L1 to use definitions that are easier for the students to understand, which helps them catch the meanings and allows them to have better understanding what they are learning (Ahmad, 2009) In aspect of grammatical features and structures, using L1 can assist the teacher to explain the difficult points of grammar more easily because it sometimes makes the students confused when the teacher uses the TL to present the grammar‘s rules Cook (2001) pointed out that translanguaging is a natural practice and allows students to make connections between their L1 and L2

2.5 Chapter summary

This literature review shows that interest in translanguaging is increasing However, in order to make translanguaging a widely accepted pedagogy, more research is needed

Creese and Blackledge (2010: 113) emphasizes ―the need for further research

to explore what ―teachable‖ pedagogic resources are available in flexible, concurrent approaches to learning and teaching languages bilingually.‖ In making this call, they echo what other scholars like Lin and Martin (2005) have also considered important in order to move multilingual language acquisition forward

According to Canagarajah (2011), what current classroom studies show is that translanguaging is a naturally occurring phenomenon for multilingual students Translanguaging cannot be completely restrained by monolingual educational policies

It can occur with minimal pedagogical effort from teachers However, such studies might give the impression that translanguaging doesn‘t have to be taught (p 8)

Canagarajah (2011: 9) goes further and recommends, ―As we develop teachable strategies of translanguaging, we have to consider some serious issues for

assessing the effectiveness of this practice.‖

Despite the reported value of translanguaging to second language learning, this pedagogical practice has not been applied widely and adequately researched both globally and in Vietnam This fact motivates me to conduct this exploratory action research in order to find out the students‘ attitudes towards translanguaging and how translanguaging can work in the context of a high school in Vietnam, where exposure to English outside the classroom is limited to the students

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter provides background information about action research, the current situation of teaching and learning English by using translanguaging at a high school and a description of the methodology employed to collect data for the study This study is a modest attempt to respond to the call for more research on translanguaging by exploring the students‘ attitudes towards translanguaging as well

as the possible benefits of translanguaging to students‘ learning English in the high school classroom

3.1 Research context

The study was conducted at an upper-secondary school, a rural school of former Ha Nam province The school has 29 classes with over 60 teachers of all subjects English is taught as a compulsory subject Currently there are 8 teachers of English and over 1200 students ranged from grade 10 to grade 12 Most of the students come from villages and towns in Thanh Liem district and Phu Ly city

Although most students are aware of the importance of learning, English is not paid much attention by most of the students in school Few students choose English as a subject to take university entrance exam Teaching English has encountered some difficulties First of all, the class is often large with multi-level students There are from 40 to 45 students in each class It is hard for teachers to set

up communicative activities, monitor class and give feedbacks The second is most students are not familiar with teaching in English They cannot understand lessons if teachers speak English all the time The last is the lack of materials Materials for reference and self-study are not available Furthermore, some facilities needed for learning such as computers and projectors…are not enough

Normally, students have three periods of studying English every week It is a limited time for students to practice and develop skills as well as enrich their vocabulary and structure capacity What‘s more, English is hardly used to talk outside classroom All these factors have great effect on the students‘ results in learning English They usually have low proficiency in English so they lack

vocabulary items or structures to express their ideas in English As a result, they feel lack confidence and motivation when learning English

3.2 Participants

The participants of the study were 125 students who were from my classes 10A3, 11A6 and 11A8 The research was conducted in the second term of the school year All the participants took part in the survey questionnaires by answering all the given questions In addition to questionnaires, 10 students were interviewed

in order to have in – depth data

3.3 Instruments

3.3.1 Questionnaires

According to Selinger and Shohamy (1989) a questionnaire is widely used in second language acquisition research to solicit information about certain conditions and practices, in particular to collect data on phenomena which are not easily observed, such as perceptions and attitudes It is also used to obtain background information about the research subjects (Koul 1984) A number of techniques are used to collect data through questionnaires The kinds of questions are various, consisting of Yes/No question, multiple choice, Ranked question, and question in Likert scale

The survey questionnaires which were used in the study consist of eleven checklist questions and scales shopping from strongly agree to strongly disagree Part I was about the students‘ personal information including gender, age, number of years in learning English and class Part II aimed to find out the level of students‘ participation, their assessment towards using translanguaging in English lessons and the influences of applying translanguaging on their involvements in English class activities

3.3.2 Interviews

Selinger and Shohamy (1989) point out that the use of interview as data collection instrument permits a level of in-depth information, free response and flexibility that can not be obtained by other procedures In this study, semi-structured interview which consists of ten questions (four of them focused on using

translanguaging and their attitudes towards translanguaging) was used There were specific core questions determined before hand, but at the same time it allows some elaboration in the questions and answers

Interviews were conducted in English between the researcher and 10 students The interviewees may be good at or bad at learning English They could answer in written or oral form There were ten interview questions for the students acted as a conversation All of the interviews were carried out in Vietnamese to help the interviewees express their opinions more easily and exactly The interviews were recorded under the permission of the interviewees The purpose of interviews

is that the research could understand the students‘ attitude toward learning English

in general and toward using translanguaging in particular Each interview lasted about three or five minutes including questions, answers and explanation The interviews were in the form of an informal conversation compiled in a paper sheet and recorded their answers to investigate their complete understandings about utilizing translanguaging in English lessons The interviews were conducted in a following week after processing the questionnaire for the students

3.3.3 Classroom self- observations

Besides survey questionnaires and the interviews, self-observation was also used to justify the reliability and validity of the information about factors affecting students‘ attitudes and the change in their participations in classroom activities The researcher observed several English lessons she herself taught, noted down and recorded the students‘ behavior and activities In each lesson, the information of teacher‘s and students‘ activities, teaching techniques (giving instructions, encouragement, comment and feedback) and students‘ involvement and attitudes towards some ways of using translanguaging were noted and analyzed

3.4 Procedures

3.4.1 The exploratory action research

3.4.1.1 The exploratory action research

The exploratory first phrase which justified use of the adjective ―explorartory‖ before ―action research‖ can be seen to involve clarifying the existing situation-the nature of a given ―problem‖ or other issue- before any action for change is

conceived and undertaken

The term ―action research‖ refers to two dimensions of activity: the word

―research‖ in ―action research‖ refers to a systematic approach to carrying out investigations and collecting information that is designed to illuminate an issue or problem and to improve classroom practice, meanwhile the word ―action‖ refers to taking practical action to resolve classroom problems (Richards, 2005) Therefore, action research achieves both action (change or improve) and research (understanding)

Action Research = Action + Research



Change/ Improve Understand

•To achieve both action (change or improve) and research (understanding)

• Practical research used to ―bridge the gap between research and practice‖

(Cohen et al, 2007)

Kempis &McTaggart (1988) state that ―a group activity‖ and ―a form of collective self-reflective enquiry undertaken by participants in social situations in order to improve the rationality and justice of the own social or educational practices, as well as their understanding of these practices and the situations in which these practices are carried out.‖

According to Cohen and Manion (2007), action research is ―small-scale intervention in the functioning of the real world and a close examination of the effects of such intervention.‖

A necessary component of action research is collaboration among different people They are teachers, their colleagues and students, who should be willing to talk with each other about the problems and find out the solutions together, as well

as help each other in implementing classroom–centered action research projects It also needs the collaborative efforts of students who participate in the action research project Students‘ collaboration plays an important role in the success of the action research project

Below is the difference between the action research and exploratory action research

It means that in this study, the researcher paid attention to the process of exploring the students ‗attitudes and analyse the possible benefits of translanguaging according to these steps

Exploratory Action Research can be pictured like this (Smith & Rebolledo 2018 p 27)

The researcher followed Smith & Rebolledo (2018)‘s model and students' questionnaires from 125 students were calculated by using software SPSS 20.0 The exploratory action was conducted during 9 weeks of the second semester of

school year 2018-2019 from March 4th to May5th, 2019 Adapting steps in Smith& Rebolledo (2018)‘s exploratory action research cycle, the study was developed in three main steps as follows:

Step 1: Plan to explore

From my experience from teaching as well as characteristics of learning styles,

I realized that there are some factors affecting students‘ participation in English lesson such as: fear of mistakes, shyness, anxiety, lack of confidence, lack of motivation Those became the main factors that affect Ss' condition because it

comes from each individual

Step 2: Explore

I gave them a survey consisting of 11 questions so that he/she could understand why the students‘ participation was so low The results revealed that students‘ limited vocabulary in English was the hinderance to their participation in English speaking activities While the principles of communicative language teaching do not encourage the students to use their first language, recent literature shows that translanguaging can

be an appropriate pedagogy for bilingual/ multilingual learners However, the pedagogy is so new in many Vietnamese high schools I decided to experiment this pedagogy in my classes, which were three different groups

Step 3: Analyse and reflect

The researcher decided to allow the students to use Vietnamese when they had problems with English while they were speaking English She also modelled this to the students Also, she cautioned them that Vietnamese should be used only when necessary while English should be maximized

The students could become more confident when they lack vocabulary items

to convey their purposes and they felt eager to take part in English classroom activities The research could also find some anticipated problems during the process of applying translanguaging in English lessons

3.4.1.2 Rationale for the use of exploratory action research

Exploratory AR, as this emerged within the project, can therefore be

characterized as a gradualist approach, developed to be useful for induction into teacher-research in difficult circumstances, whereby teachers are encouraged first of all to engage in research-based exploration of issues arising in their classrooms via means which do not interfere with their everyday teaching, rather than immediately plunging into action and attempted measurement of change

Cohen and Manion (2007) state that the aim of action research is to improve the current state of affairs within educational context in which the research is carried out Koshy (2005) also maintains that action research is a powerful and useful model for practitioner research because research can be set within a specific context or situation and researchers can be participants - they do not have to

be distant and detached from the situation

Teachers in general and teachers of English in particular actually carry out action research for most of their time Whenever s/he identifies a problem which is happening in the class, it is his/her task to find ways to solve that problem Therefore, the exploratory action research is inevitably a very common practice This research was carried out by me, a practitioner, a teacher of English The inspiration for the research was the recognition and observation of a real problem in the classes that my colleagues and I taught in the past few school years Most of the students appeared to unwillingly participate in English classrooms Many of them are passive and unenthusiastic because they may lack background knowledge about vocabulary to express their points of view This research was conducted with a desire to observe students' participation in English lessons by using translanguaging This study would help them have inspiration of engaging more into the lessons in class With this view, this research meets the definition of exploratory action research as aiming at exploring and reflecting the problems This

is also an action study because it was conducted in the real context of my classrooms, aimed at professional development through changing my methods

of teaching to motivate my students to take part in English classrooms

3.4.2 Data collection procedures

The data of the research was collected by means of questionnaires, interviews and classroom observations Firstly, the teacher-researcher delivered the questionnaires 125 students who were in her classes at her school Secondly, after collecting the information from the questionnaires, she started interviews with 10 students to get further information from students Then, the teacher-researcher conducted the lessons in which translanguaging was used for some pedagogical purposes These lessons were self-recorded by the teacher-researcher herself with the smart phone put in her pocket These audio-recorded lessons were then transcribed and used as data for analysis The data was used as stimuli for the purpose of finding out the students‘ attitudes towards classroom translanguaging through the post-lesson interviews

3.4.3 Data analysis procedures

The data was analyzed both descriptively and interpretively The quantitative data is analyzed by means of descriptive statistics and tabulated while qualitative data from interviews was categorized into themes to identify the patterns and the peculiars The qualitative data is therefore presented according to themes

3.5 Summary

This chapter has presented in some detail the methodological framework of the study including the justification for the use of action research design in this study, the research questions, questionnaires and interviews used as tools of collecting data, the participants of the study, the process of data collection and data analysis applied to seek the answers for the three research questions It also consists of the class observation to record students‘ performances during carrying out the study

In the next chapter, there will be a presentation of the findings of the study and

a discussion of the two research questions raised in this study

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

This chapter provides the findings of the study It also includes the presentation

of data gathered, its analysis and interpretation

Following the intervention, which was the use of translanguaging, I administered a questionnaire to the students to find out their attitudes towards this new pedagogy The questionnaire is composed of 11 Likert-type questions Participants‘ responses were analysed by means of descriptive statistics using the computer software SPSS 20.00 The results of analysis are as follows

4.1 Findings

4.1.1 Research question 1: What are the students‘ attitudes towards

translanguaging in learning English?

4.1.1.1 Questionnaires

All surveyed students were students from three different classes (80 students at grade 11 and 45 students at 10) between 15 to 17 ages When they were asked about their attitudes towards using translanguaging in English classrooms, they had different responses

The first Likert items on the main survey are used to ask students‘ attitudes towards using translanguaging in learning English, especially from the question 6 to the question 11

Table 4.1: Students’ attitude of L1 use in English classrooms (N= 80; Grade 11)

Disagree Agree

6 I would like the teacher to allow

speaking English by using translanguaging

when I do not remember or do not know

English words

7 I would like the teacher to allow the

students to use both English and

Vietnamese in group discussions

8 I feel more comfortable when I often

use both English and Vietnamese in group

discussions

9 I would like the teacher to ask the

students to use English language

completely in English lessons

10 I think that it is normal when

bilinguals combine both English and

Vietnamese in communication

11 I think that the students will feel more

comfortable when the teacher allows them

to use both English and Vietnamese in

speaking and writing English classrooms

If necessary, the teacher can translate

words or sentences from Vietnamese to

English and vice versa so that the students

can understand the lessons better

From the survey, it was found that the majority of students (68/80) would prefer to be allowed to use translanguaging when they did not find the suitable words in English or vice versa (in question 6) Only six (6) had ―No idea‖ in this case The study also paid attention to students who reported that they would like to make use of both English and Vietnamese in group discussion Of all the sample population, 62 students (accounts for 91.2 %) hoped to participate in group discussions if they had chance to get involved in English classrooms The reason was that they felt more comfortable and more confident when they could use Vietnamese and English (62/80 students agreed in the question 8) From the table, it can be seen that only nine (9) of 80 confirmed that they liked the teacher to use complete English language in English classrooms It means that they had a positive

view towards translanguaging

Table 4.2: Students’ attitude of L1 use in English classrooms (N= 45; Grade 10)

Disagree Agree

6 I would like the teacher to allow speaking

English by using translanguaging when I do

not remember or do not know English words

7 I would like the teacher to allow the students

to use both English and Vietnamese in group

discussions

8 I feel more comfortable when I often use

both English and Vietnamese in group

discussions

9 I would like the teacher to ask the students

to use English language completely in English

lessons

10 I think that it is normal when bilinguals

combine both English and Vietnamese in

communication

11 I think that the students will feel more

comfortable when the teacher allows them to use

both English and Vietnamese in speaking and

writing English classrooms If necessary, the

teacher can translate words or sentences from

Vietnamese to English and vice versa so that the

students can understand the lessons better

As can be seen from the responses of 10th graders to a question about their attitudes towards using translanguaging, only six (6) participants selected

―disagree‖, representing that the majority of the participants would like to be permitted to speak English mixing Vietnamese when they did not know that word in English These results were not surprising because they could continue speaking when they were lack of vocabulary items In the question 9, only two students agreed that the teacher used English language completely in English classrooms The survey also shows that 39 of 45 students (accounts for 86.7%) disagreed with this point Besides, it can be seen from the table that the majority of participants felt more relaxed and confident when they could take part in group discussions with the use of translanguaging in English activities

So far, the overall results indicated that most of the students had the similar ideas about that they strongly agreed to use translanguaging in English classroom activities They thought that translanguaging was a regular practice in the classes and language choice in teaching was acceptable to help them learn better at English

4.1.1.2 Class self-observations:

Through class self- observations, the researcher realized that there were different attitudes towards using translanguaging in English classrooms These attitudes can classify as a ―range of different behaviors, including the decision of which language(s) to learn, which language(s) to use as one‘s main means of communication‖ (Kircher, 2016, p 241) and can ultimately contribute to either language shift or language maintenance Many factors contribute to student language attitudes, including use and familiarity with the target language, stereotypes regarding the language, and the students‘ future goals (Galloway as cited in Muthanna & Miao, 2015) As these attitudes affect how native speakers and language learners view languages, it makes sense that they may affect how students learn Further, the language ability of students can affect their attitudes towards learning in a particular language (Muthanna & Miao, 2015) If the student has a negative attitude towards the target language, then their language ability may be affected (Sze-yan as cited in Muthanna & Miao, 2015) However, the topic of language attitudes is one that has not been really explored in the emerging body of

translanguaging pedagory From my observation, I claimed that when the students have low proficiency in English they tend to utilize their native language to express their ideas.They felt eager to take part in group discussions if they are allowed to use Vietnamese in English classroom activities They had a positive response to using translanguaging in English classrooms In contrast, there was another attitude towards using translanguaging The students did not like using Vietnamese when they were learning English They thought that if they did so, it could hinder their opportunities to learn English fluently Finally, some students did not have their own ideas about using translanguaging in English classroom They often kept silent

or shy to participate in learning tasks if they did not know the way to express in English language Moreover, some students with a higher level of English would like to use translanguaging to help their friends, who had weaker level of proficiency in English These students only used Vietnamese when necessary

Obviously, the observation showed that students with more linguistic resources and stronger proficiency did not approve of using translanguaging whereas students with lack of language resources and weaker proficiency approved

of using translanguaging in English classrooms

4.1.1.3 Interviews

These interviews were carried out during the application of using translanguaging in three classes The interviewees may be good or not good at learning English They answered some questions in Vietnamese These interviews between the research and participants were recorded The results from these interviews were really different It meant that the students expressed a variety of their ideas on using translanguaging in English classrooms (inside and outside classrooms) Most of the students thought that it was a good idea to use translanguaging because it helped listeners/classmates understand more what they were saying When they use translanguaging, they would pay attention to learning new words From these activities they could enrich their vocabulary items However, some students believed that they should not use translanguaging They

often use a synonym or a word with closest meaning or they may stop talking, keep silent when they do not find an English word to convey their ideas Especially, they usually used their mother tongue in group discussions They explained that they could understand more about a problem and easier to find out the solution The participants were eager to take part in group discussions because they lacked vocabulary items or structures to express their views Another response is that they never used translanguaging because they thought that the foreigners or classmates would laugh at them The second reason is that they do not approve of using multilingual language in an utterance They considered that is a strange thing when learning English Below are some the answers of students towards using translanguaging The interview data was analyzed qualitatively and the following themes emerged from

the data analysis

These answers were extracted from the students‘ response to show that when they are permitted to use translanguaging

S1: If I participate in group discussions, I cannot speak English fluently and clearly, so I don’t speak much But now when the teacher allows me to use Vietnamese when I don’t know how to say it in English, I can speak a little more

S2: If I join a group discussion, I do not use Vietnamese to express my views

I think that group discussion is a good chance for me to practise pronouncing English words I don’t like using Vietnamese

S3: I like my teacher to let me use Vietnamese combining English because sometimes I do not know English words or expressions Thus, I can feel more comfortable and confident when interacting with the teacher in English lessons This makes the lessons more effectively and I also feel more excited when learning English

S4: I like my teacher giving permission to use both Vietnamese and English because we cannot speak English fluently It is really difficult for us to use English during the lessons

S5: If I get involved in group discussion, I will not use Vietnamese because group discussion activities help me to improve English speaking and listening skills Although I can make mistakes when speaking English, I still limit to use Vietnamese

Through the interviews, it was revealed that students‘ attitudes towards translanguaging were mixed It seemed that those who were better at English did not like translanguaging They believed that using English in speaking and listening skills is necessary This makes them have more opportunities to use English fluently In contrast, the weaker students felt more comfortable when they were permitted to use L1 in their English classrooms Some of them emphasized that translanguaging should not be overused This requires the teacher to be sensitive to the students‘ attitudes and their level of English More importantly, translanguaging must be purposeful, i.e., to serve a particular teaching problem that may occurs unexpectedly in the classroom In other words, flexibility is a must They believed that using English in speaking and listening skills is necessary This makes them have more opportunities to use English fluently

4.1.2 Research question 2: What are the possible benefits of translanguaging to

students‘ learning English in the high school classroom?

The findings showed that the possible benefits of translanguaging can be pointed out through the questionnaires, class self-observations and interviews according to the themes about of translanguaging: helping low proficiency students, explaining grammar, classify the subject and vocabulary, changing the mood of the students and increasing motivation

4.1.2 1 Questionnaires

Other items in the survey are focused on students‘ expectations about the use

of Vietnamese and English through many aspects of learning a language

a Students’ expectations regarding the use of Vietnamese and English through translation

In general, the student participants in 11th graders expressed their strong expectation