L2 Students’ Translanguaging in English Speaking Class: What matters?

Translanguaging pedagogy is a topic of discussion; however, little is known about the critical factors determining its use in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) speaking classes. The integrated mixed methods approach was used in this study to look at the problems that affected the translanguaging practices of students at a gifted high school in Vietnam, particularly in the English-speaking classes (ESC). The study's participants consisted of 280 tenth-grade students. A triangulated methodology was used to collect data that comprised of the questionnaire, semi-structured interviews, and classroom observations. The study's results showed that translanguaging practices were mostly brought about by learning-related contextual factors like the classroom environment, the curriculum's flexibility, and resources available, while teachers and students played a much smaller role. Although students thought that translanguaging method was the most effective for developing comprehension, vocabulary, and speaking confidence, the method was limited due to the curriculum restrictions in lesson sequences. Teachers endorsed translanguaging as a support technique for the warm-up and pre-speaking activities; however, the variability in the use of it was due to lack of supervision and institutional expectations. The research indicates that the current educational framework is not sufficient to develop translanguaging pedagogy and that the opposite is not conducive to the establishment of inclusive language learning in EFL classrooms.