Translanguaging at school: A systematic review of U.S. PK-12 translanguaging research

Abstract

This systematic review considers what is known about translanguaging in relation to teaching and learning, motivated by the concept's popularity and ongoing critiques about its pedagogical utility and transformative potential. Based on thematic analysis of 111 empirical studies on translanguaging in U.S. PK-12 educational settings, we identified the following themes: (1) translanguaging emerges naturally, and purposefully, in classrooms with bi/multilingual learners, (2) translanguaging facilitates student sense-making in support of learning, (3) translanguaging increases student engagement and opportunities for collaboration, (4) translanguaging supports bi/multilingual students' identity development and sense of belonging, (5) translanguaging can create a counterspace that challenges deficit-framed ideologies and cultivates critical consciousness, (6) learning about translanguaging contributes to teachers developing more asset-oriented stances toward bi/multilingual learners and more linguistically responsive pedagogies, and (7) context plays a central role in if and how translanguaging transforms teaching and learning–translanguaging looks different, and has different impacts, across different contexts. We conclude that we know much about the positive ways translanguaging shapes teaching and learning, while also highlighting some challenges and tensions within the extant literature and the need for increased research that attends to the nuances of context, includes more methodological diversity, and centers decolonial and critical perspectives.