Evaluating Pedagogic Translanguaging: Priorities in Foregrounding Context

Abstract

As pedagogic translanguaging (PT) gains global traction for its claimed potential to advance social justice, questions arise about its effectiveness across diverse contexts. Responding to this need, this study a) takes a bird’s-eye view approach to the question of which contextual factors to prioritize when evaluating PT’s efficacy; and b) iteratively refines and ground-truths its proposed theoretical framework through empirical research. Specifically, drawing on interviews with teachers and analysis of education policy documents in the context of refugee education in Lebanon, where PT is used in both Arabic-and English-medium classrooms, the study finds that while PT may appear effective within individual classrooms, it can interact with systemic factors to undermine literacy development goals when not designed and implemented within an informed, curriculum-wide plan. Grounded in and illustrated by the case at its center, the study identifies five key contextual considerations to guide the use and assessment of PT: (1) literacy development targets, particularly in which language(s); (2) students’ existing language and literacy skills; (3) the language(s) of instruction across school subjects; (4) prevailing language ideologies; and (5) the linguistic distance between the varieties used in PT and those targeted for literacy development. Overall, findings underscore the need for more context-sensitive research, policymaking, and pedagogical design to ensure that PT supports—rather than compromises—multilingual learners’ access to quality education.