In this position paper we highlight language as a perennial factor contributing to compromised meaning-making in multilingual primary school mathematics classrooms. We note use of the term 'translanguaging' in discussions around mitigating this meaning-making challenge. The paper argues that, while much work remains to be done towards clarifying…

This research compares the use of triadic dialogue and translanguaging in two multilingual grade seven classrooms where algebra is taught in a foreign language. Ten lessons in one classroom that involve teaching properties and seven lessons in another classroom that involve teaching conventions were video- and audio-recoded and then transcribed.…

Conceptualizing how EMI teachers use language in multilingual university settings remains a challenge. While previous studies have explored the language challenges faced by EMI science teachers, few have operationalized 'classroom routines' for understanding classroom language use. This feasibility study applies Freeman et al.'s (2015)…

Many educators in immersion contexts support a policy of strict separation of languages in the classroom as the ideal model for second language acquisition and are reluctant to make connections between the dominant language, the target language and pupils' home languages. This can result in missed opportunities for drawing on pupils' entire…

The scope of the paper is to analyse Namibian mainstream primary teachers' practices in the multilingual context they work in. As teachers have a central role in implementing language policies, their practices either support or impede learning as well as learners' multilingual identities. Multilingual practices entailing rich scaffolding and…

To address the challenges of teaching and learning among multilingual elementary students, the Philippines, a multilingual country with over 180 languages, implemented the Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE). Studies on the use of mother tongue have reported positive results among students who share a common language. However, in…

Equity-focused calls for elementary education reform recognize the importance of student and teacher translanguaging, yet nuances of how this process unfolds in early childhood science is an underexplored area. This study examines young plurilingual children's participation in science investigations, with a view toward understanding how open-ended…

Classrooms across the world are becoming more diverse, forcing mainstream teachers to accept responsibility for teaching second language (L2) learners. As a result, pedagogical translanguaging has come to the fore as a potential practice to help L2 learners perform academically. In South Africa pedagogical translanguaging had not previously been…

Emergent bilingual students in the U.S. often attend English-medium schools where their bilingual language resources are ignored and dismissed. Research suggests this is harmful for students, but little empirical work has examined how teachers in English-dominant schools can support students' biliteracy. To address this problem, this qualitative…

The increasing impact of internationalisation in higher education worldwide has led to the growing use of English as a medium of instruction (EMI). Much research on this phenomenon has focused on stakeholders' viewpoints, but there is increasing interest in investigating interaction in EMI classrooms. One interactional practice which is relatively…

The Republic of Kazakhstan has introduced a state level trilingual program, with the Kazakh, Russian and English languages, to promote linguistic diversity in the context of globalization, multilingualism and integration. This study aims to explore the attitude of students of multilingual programs to the use of multilingualism at a prestigious…

The prominent increase in English medium instruction (EMI) in higher education has triggered the need for investigating EMI in practice in various contexts. Studies focusing on linguistic attitudes of EMI practitioners and learners are beginning to emerge but there are few studies exploring language-related issues in EMI practice. In response to…

Background: South African literacy-as-social-practice theoreticians, language-in-education experts, educational linguists, and language policies advocate multilingual pedagogies to acknowledge and cater to diverse multilingual learners' literacy development. Universities purport multilingualism to provide for the multilingual norm, students'…

This study examines the negotiation of language-related problems in a bilingual environmental education workshop in Cameroon. In contrast to the traditional Cameroonian classroom, where only one language is used and teachers are viewed as the exclusive source of knowledge, during the workshop, teachers' errors in French create an opportunity for…

The present study investigated critical incidents in multilingual classrooms from teachers' perspectives to identify resources to make multilingual classrooms succeed. Our study is embedded in identity theories such as Mead's symbolic interactionism, translanguaging, and global language theory. The incidents referred to the language of…