use of TransLanguage to improve oral reading proficiency in a foreign language classroom

Abstract

Translanguaging is an approach that sees no boundaries between languages and allows their simultaneous use when teaching and learning a new language, therefore, it can be used as a scaffold device to develop a foreign language since it helps students clarify terms and make meaning. Nevertheless, it is a relatively recent term in Latin America, and investigations related to it are scarce. The main objective that guided this study was to apply translanguaging during English classes in a private High School to improve the students´ oral reading proficiency. A pre and post-tests were taken at the beginning and the end of one unit (which lasted 6 weeks) where students read a 300-word passage and words read correctly within a minute were counted. Also, a Likert-scale survey was applied to students and a teacher to know their experiences and perceptions after the application of translanguaging. A t-test was carried out and the results showed an improvement in the students´ oral reading proficiency (Mean = 221.55 in the pre-test and Mean = 243.22 in the post-test with a standard deviation of 42.20 and 30.20 respectively) after the usage of this approach with a difference statistically significant (p > 0.001). The mean of words read correctly increased in the post-test (M = 21.68; SD = 18.88). The use of translanguaging probably had a positive result on the skill studied and also in the students and teacher´s experiences when using translanguaging.

Beneficios Del Translingüismo en El Proceso Enseñanza-Aprendizaje Del Idioma Inglés en El Aula De Una Escuela Rural Colombiana

“…Desde los conceptos evaluados, podemos indicar que el translingüismo se centra en emplear todos los conocimientos previos de los aprendices sobre otras lenguas, como apoyo para los nuevos aprendizajes, (Adinolfi y Astruc, 2017;Pánchez. 2021;Sembiante, 2016); incluso, se considera que este enfoque abre las puertas a la democracia, en el sentido de permitir que en las prácticas de aula se escuchen las diferentes voces.…”