English Teaching & Learning | 2019
Teachers’ Translanguaging Ideologies and Practices at an International Branch Campus in Qatar
Abstract
While there has been a lot of recent research on teachers’ translanguaging practices in K-12 educational contexts, research on teachers’ translanguaging practices in higher education is sparse, and even more so within the contexts of internationalized higher education, such as found in the Arab states of the Gulf. Over the last two decades, there has been a rapid growth of international branch campuses (IBCs) offering English-medium degree programs in the Gulf. As these programs include bi- and multi/plurilingual teachers and students, they are a ripe setting for exploring translanguaging practices. Therefore, this study examines teachers’ translanguaging ideologies and practices at an American IBC in Qatar. Twenty-two bi- and multi/plurilingual faculty members and lab instructors completed a survey about translanguaging practices and a purposeful sampling of these instructors were video-recorded teaching their courses and then interviewed using stimulated-recall techniques. The results show that while instructors may report minimal mixing of languages in classrooms at this IBC due to different ideological tensions, in practice instructors still engage in translanguaging for various pedagogical purposes, both inside and outside of the classroom space. The study additionally sheds light on the complexities of the linguistic ecology of internationalized universities when it comes to translanguaging practices.摘要近來對於教師跨語際實踐現象探討之研究, 諸多聚焦在幼兒園、小學和中學(K-12)的義務教育情境中, 然而就高等教育學校之教師跨語際實踐現象著墨咸少, 甚而對於位在波斯灣阿拉伯國家的國際化高等教育學校更是缺乏此探討之研究。過去二十年來, 位在波斯灣之海外分校, 提供以英語授課之學位課程的數量已快速成長。由於在這些學位課程中具有雙語和多國語言的教師及學生們, 所以這些課程已成為一個成熟的環境, 適合來探討跨語際實踐的現象。因此, 本研究為調查一所位於卡達之美國海外分校的教師跨語際意識形態及實踐研究。22名雙語及多國語言的教職員及實驗室指導教師皆須填寫一份跨語際實踐的問卷; 有意圖抽樣幾名教師以影像方式來記錄其授課情況, 並以刺激回憶方式 (stimulated-recall techniques) 來進行後續的訪談。研究結果顯示, 雖然教師們由於意識形態緊張關係, 只匯報在課堂中極少的語言混合現象, 然而教師們仍然在課堂內和外, 為了不同的教育目的進行跨語際實踐。當談到跨語際實踐時, 本研究也額外闡明國際化大學中語言生態的複雜性。