Translanguaging in Collaborative Reading Activity: A Multilingual Perspective of Meaning Making

Abstract

Drawing from theoretical ideas of Vygotsky’s sociocultural framework, this study aims to investigate the effectiveness of translanguaging as a resource in helping multilingual students to make meaning on comprehension text through collaborative reading. It facilitates language awareness and the use of scaffolding for meaningful negotiation and construction of desired voice in reading comprehension text. Data were collected through metacognitive reflective interview of ten first-year students registered for a Bachelor of Environmental Science degree programme. The study found that translanguaging enables exchange of diverse opinions due to the low-anxiety situation which allows for the negotiation of meanings from different perspectives through discussing, questioning and organizing processes which facilitate students’ comprehension and internalizing of critical concepts. Thus, translanguaging serves as epistemic democratization which advocates thinking between two languages and taking linguistic fluidity as the norm and building pedagogy from students’ language practices.