Implementation and Effects of Pedagogical Translanguaging in EFL Classrooms: A Systematic Review

Abstract

In response to calls for more research to assess the effects of translanguaging on substantive learning outcomes, this systematic review begins that process by synthesising existing research on pedagogical translanguaging approaches that have been formally assessed for effectiveness in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms. A systematic process of searching and selecting the literature found 10 eligible studies. Data were extracted for narrative synthesis and quality appraisal. Results showed that pedagogical translanguaging was most frequently used to teach reading and writing rather than other domains. Five studies favoured translanguaging over English-only approaches, four of which were rated as having a high risk of bias. The remaining studies either detected no statistically significant differences between these approaches or favoured translanguaging in a small number of highly specific measures. We conclude that pedagogical translanguaging may be helpful in teaching in some circumstances, but that the low methodological quality of the literature on average makes it difficult to draw firm causal inferences. This systematic review provides the relevant background on what is already known about the effects of pedagogical translanguaging in EFL contexts to inform the work of researchers wishing to act on recommendations for more intervention research to establish the effects of the approach on English language outcomes.

Keywords

• translanguaging
• English as a foreign language
• English language teaching
• systematic review