Translanguaging practices at the secondary level English classrooms in Bhutan

Abstract

This study explores teachers’ and students’ perspective and practices on translanguaging in English language teaching of secondary schools in Bhutan. It focuses on how English language teachers perceive and explain the lessons through translanguaging in order to facilitate learning and understanding. And also, the effect on students for using multiple languages in one lesson. The study shows that there are advantages of using students’ mother tongue aside from English with respect to comprehension, participation, and expression. Nevertheless, it also points out difficulties like an excessive reliance on mother tongues and the limitations that teachers experience in terms of vocabulary when translating. The interviews were conducted using qualitative method and selected the participant through purposive selection. Students and teachers interviewed revealed that while the process of translanguaging is beneficial to the learning and teaching process, it needs to be restrained so that students learn good English too. The research findings indicated that while Bhutan could effectively use translanguaging as a teaching strategy, it had to be used with caution.