Previous research suggests that enhanced cognitive and meta cognitive skills are achieved when translanguaging techniques are applied in a multilingual classroom. This paper presents findings on the effects of translanguaging techniques on teaching grade 4 learners how to apply relevant background knowledge when drawing inferences during reading. It examines the efficacy of simultaneously using the learners' home language and second language in reading development among bilingual XhosaEnglish readers in a rural school in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The study adopted a quasi-experimental design where the participants attempted pre-tests in the targeted languages and then after an intervention were provided interventions using translanguaging techniques, thereafter they attempted post-tests. The findings indicate improved performance in terms of learners' use of background knowledge when drawing inferences, instead of heavily relying on the reading text. The researchers argue for a literacy model that integrates skills and practices drawn from all accessible linguistic repertoires of learners when dealing with reading development at elementary grades since this helps learners develop a sense of self, which in return allows them to be active participants in their learning.

Background: Making predictions on how events might unfold when reading a text improves comprehension. Research on reading and making predictions tends to focus predominantly on the effects of making predictions as a reading strategy in monolingual contexts. So far, there is a paucity of research on the effects of reading development strategies in which learners are encouraged to read a text and express their predictions on how the events might unfold in the text in a different language from the one the text is written in.Objectives: This study investigated the possible effects of translanguaging techniques on the readers' ability to make plausible predictions of events when reading texts. Method:The study adopted a Solomon Four quasi-experimental design in which a total of 215 Grade 4 bilingual isiXhosa and English learners from different primary schools participated. Results:The findings demonstrated that translanguaging techniques, in which a tapestry of the learners' linguistic repertoire is used simultaneously in one reading lesson, have a positive impact on the learners' ability to make plausible predictions on how the events might unfold when reading texts. The findings also indicated that accurate text prediction is determined by a number of factors, which include the reader's familiarity with the content, the context of the reading text and the vocabulary used therein. Conclusion:For text prediction as a reading development strategy to be successful, the text and the reader's knowledge of the word, the world and the language ought to match.Otherwise, text prediction may be hampered due to lack of the reader's relevant background and linguistic knowledge.Contribution: This article fills out the research gap that has been caused by limited research on the effects of translanguaging on the text prediction abilities of multilingual learners. It contributes significantly to the body of research by providing some of the strategies that multilingual learners can utilise to enhance their reading comprehension.

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