TRANSLANGUAGING AS A PEDAGOGICAL STRATEGY IN EYL CLASSROOM

Abstract

English for Young Learners (EYL) classrooms in multilingual contexts such as Indonesia involve students who may draw on English, Indonesian, and local languages during learning. In such contexts, translanguaging has been increasingly recognized as a pedagogical resource; however, limited attention has been given to how teachers implement translanguaging purposefully in EYL classrooms and to the pedagogical purposes and challenges underlying their language choices. This study explores how teachers implement translanguaging as a pedagogical strategy in EYL classrooms, the pedagogical purposes it serves, and the challenges they encounter. A qualitative descriptive approach was employed with two EYL teachers in a multilingual elementary school in Jayapura. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and classroom observations and analyzed thematically using Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six-step model. The findings indicate that teachers deliberately used translanguaging to clarify meaning, scaffold comprehension, enhance student participation, reduce anxiety, and support positive emotional engagement. The findings also show that translanguaging was used for classroom management and was informed by teachers’ reflective practices, particularly in adjusting language use to students’ comprehension and engagement. However, teachers faced challenges in balancing English exposure with the use of Indonesian and local languages and in responding to parental expectations of English-only instruction. The study concludes that translanguaging can function as a purposeful and reflective pedagogical strategy that supports inclusive and meaningful English learning for young learners in multilingual classroom contexts, provided that teachers use it strategically according to learners’ needs and classroom conditions.

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