Translanguaging pedagogy implementation: strategies for oral interaction in an EFL classroom

Abstract

This action research study examines the influence of Translanguaging Pedagogy on the oral interaction and language learning awareness of sixth-grade English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students at an urban public high school in Ibagué, Tolima, Colombia. Grounded in a critical plurilingual paradigm, the study challenges traditional monolingual immersion mandates by treating the learners' native linguistic repertoire (Spanish) as an essential cognitive and socioemotional scaffold. The methodological design followed a Classroom Action Research (CAR) framework executed across three iterative micro-cycles, utilizing three primary pedagogical artifacts contextualized within locally situated environmental themes, specifically the conservation of the Combeima River. Data were systematically gathered using a qualitative triangulation matrix consisting of Direct Observation Logs, VoiceCast Audio-Visual Production Transcripts, and Student Narrative Framework reflections. The qualitative content analysis revealed that the structured validation of the students' first language significantly mitigated foreign language anxiety, transformed the teacher's role into a flexible mediator of meaning, and enhanced metalinguistic awareness. Quantitatively, the implementation resulted in a remarkable 1.0 growth in academic performance, raising the class oral production rubric average from a baseline of 3.46 to a proficient 4.46. The study concludes that integrating structured translanguaging spaces within public school curricula provides an inclusive, equitable pathway that optimizes both student willingness to communicate and target language performance.