To CLIL on Translanguaging or not to CLIL? Exploring Students’ Experiences towards Translanguaging CLIL in an EFL Class

Abstract

The increased diversity that characterizes today's society necessitates the need for new ways of accommodating cultural differences. Translanguaging and CLIL have contribute enhancing proficiency, communicative competence, and intercultural communication. This study was conducted in a third-grade primary school class in Drama, North-eastern Greece that consisted of 13 students: 8 Greek students and 5 with Albanian backgrounds born in Greece. Interviews, pre-and post-tests, and observations were combined to investigate students’ experiences in a translanguaging CLIL lesson. The findings reveal that students' experiences in a translanguaging CLIL lesson helped to develop intercultural awareness and enhance language competence in English. The study concludes that further teacher training is required, monolingual policies need to be revised and an intercultural approach to learning needs to be implemented.