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Plurilingual and Translanguaging Approaches in TESOL: What Does Classroom Research Show about Benefits and Challenges?

TESOL has witnessed a shift on approaches to language teaching in recent years, from monolingual English-only to pluri/translingual. While theories such as plurilingualism and translanguaging are not new, English language teachers may still be unsure of the benefits of these approaches on student learning and/or how to best implement them in the classroom. In this talk, I draw on research that I have conducted with teams of ESL teachers and school stakeholders to show how plurilingual approaches can be implemented in practice, both face-to-face and online. I also show results of studies that suggest several benefits of this type of instruction: compared to an English-only approach, a plurilingual approach has significant positive effects on students’ vocabulary learning and plurilingual and pluricultural competence. Moreover, a plurilingual approach can enhance students’ English language learning, cognition, criticality, and empathy, among other factors. Challenges and implications will be discussed.

Angelica Galante is an Assistant Professor in Language Education and TESOL at Ï㽶ÊÓƵ, Canada. Her research focuses on language teacher and learner empowerment, and on the effects of plurilingual and translingual approaches on student learning. At McGill, Angelica is Director of the Plurilingual Lab where she and her team mobilize research knowledge and teaching resources. She has published in journals such as TESOL Quarterly, International Journal of Multilingualism, and Applied Linguistics Review.