This talk presents initial findings from a project examining translanguaging and other multilingual practices in Zambia, Botswana and Tanzania. It explores which language and literacy practices are promoted, valued and expected inside classrooms and the ways in which these reflect and differ from those in the broader community.
A growing body of work examines language use from the perspective of 'translanguaging' (Williams 1994; Canagarajah 2011; Lewis, Jones & Baker 2012; Garcia 2014; Li 2017). Scholars working in the field of translanguaging argue that imposing monolingual norms onto multilingual students make classrooms inequitable spaces in which some students are freely able to express themselves in familiar ways, whereas others are expected to work in and through language and literacy practices that may bear little or no resemblance to their own. Drawing from preliminary data and findings from a two-year project we explore contrasting patterns of interaction between official language(s), regional languages and local community language use in classrooms in Zambia, Botswana and Tanzania. We draw on ethnographic data collected as part of the project to explore the different ways in which language policies are developed and enacted in schools and classrooms and how these impact on students' educational experiences. In the paper, we explore the following questions: 1) What language and literacy practices are promoted, valued and expected in schools and classrooms, and how do these compare to practices outside schools? 2) How, and in what ways can translanguaging pedagogies/practices be developed in schools and how can they enhance teaching and learning? We explore the role that multilingual classroom practices play in developing positive educational experiences that are conducive to successful completion of schooling, the transfer of appropriate skills, and the potential impact of this for prospects of sustainable development in these countries and beyond.
