Supporting Young People’s Identity through Translanguaging in English as a Second Language Classroom

Abstract

This work highlights how monolingual English-based instruction prevents Nigerian children from acquiring literacy skills and, more, attaining a healthy sense of selves as bilingual language learners. A narrative qualitative inquiry approach was used to do a critical case study of elementary school students whose Mother Tongue (MT) is Nsukka Igbo, a dialect spoken in the eastern part of Nigeria, West Africa. Data was collected through classroom observations and formal and informal interactions with the children. The study was framed through translanguaging as decolonial theory and pedagogical practice, which allowed the author to think through the complexities of an imposed bilingual identity and to engage the students in English language learning (ELL). This paper provides insights into young Nigerian L2 learners’ struggles with their identity, which may be of interest to all language teachers and shed further light upon the need for young people to learn in their MT. Although the results of this research may not be generalized due to the short duration of the intervention, the experiences shared here suggest that translanguaging has the possibility of transforming teaching practice in Nigeria and other language learning environments.