CLASSROOM TRANSLANGUAGING AS A LEARNING STRATEGY: THAI SECONDARY SCHOOL EFL STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS

Chukwuemeka R. Okoye, Eric A. Ambele

Abstract


In Thai schools today, English language teaching has evolved from a traditional to an interactive approach. Translanguaging pedagogical practices are becoming more prevalent in Thai schools. There have been extensive debates among teachers and educators in Thai secondary schools regarding translanguaging pedagogy. As a result, little empirical research has been conducted on how Thai students perceive this issue. This study contributes to the existing literature by examining Thai secondary school EFL students' perceptions on the use of classroom translanguaging as a teaching/learning strategy. Data was collected from 36 Thai EFL students via questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The quantitative data were analyzed using quantitative descriptive data analysis, and the qualitative data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The results showed that in Thai (EMI) classrooms it is difficult to ignore the learners' L1 (Thai) when learning a foreign language, and students had overall positive perceptions of classroom translanguaging. Limitations and implications are also highlighted.

 

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translanguaging, learning strategy, English as a medium of instruction, perceptions, English as a foreign language, learning content

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejoe.v8i2.4945

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