Teachers’ cognition and classroom practices on translanguaging in two public schools in Colombia

Abstract

This study adopts a descriptive case design, considered suitable for exploring educational phenomena in their natural context. In this sense, the descriptive approach is relevant because it does not seek to generalize results, but rather to deeply understand how teachers interpret and apply translanguaging in their classrooms. Hence, the general objective of this work was to analyze teacher cognition about translanguaging in two public schools in Colombia, identifying beliefs, knowledge, and experiences, and comparing the relationship between cognition and practice, what led to the question What is teachers' cognition regarding translanguaging in two public schools in Colombia?. The research was conducted in two public schools in Colombia: one in Puerto Concordia (Meta) and another in Puerto Colombia (Atlántico). The participants were two English teachers with different professional trajectories. Semi-structured interviews and classroom observations were employed. The results showed that teachers in their cognition recognize translanguaging as a multifunctional resource and their practice reflects even without being familiar with the term, they use it as an approach in the teaching tasks allowing to identify the following categories such as: a scaffolding tool, a motivational strategy, and an intercultural bridge. Furthermore, the research revealed that the adoption of this practice largely depends on teacher cognition, offering a viable alternative to overcome the limitations of monolingual policies and move toward more inclusive and context-sensitive bilingual programs.