Translanguaging and Educational Equity: A Narrative Review of Global Practices

Authors

  • Ratih Kuswidyasari UIN Sunan Ampel
  • M Nurzin R Kasau Universitas Muhammadiyah Sidenreng Rappang

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.61978/lingua.v3i2.1048

Keywords:

Translanguaging, Bilingual Education, Multilingual Practices, Identity Formation, Educational Policy, Pedagogical Innovation

Abstract

This narrative review examines the role of translanguaging as a pedagogical framework in bilingual and multilingual education. Drawing on studies published in the last decade, the review synthesizes evidence on how translanguaging enhances comprehension, fosters identity affirmation, and promotes inclusive learning environments. Findings indicate that translanguaging improves academic performance by supporting conceptual understanding and learner engagement, while also validating students’ cultural and linguistic identities. Despite these benefits, systemic barriers such as monolingual ideologies, restrictive policies, and limited teacher preparation remain significant challenges. This review contributes by highlighting both the transformative potential and contextual limitations of translanguaging, and by identifying directions for future research on its long-term and cross-regional impacts.

References

Abdulatief, S., & Guzula, X. (2024). Crossing the frontier from oral to written translanguaging for epistemic access in natural science. Reading & Writing, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.4102/rw.v15i1.507 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/rw.v15i1.507

Agbozo, G., & ResCue, E. (2021). Educational language policy in an african country: making a place for code-switching/translanguaging. Applied Linguistics Review, 12(4), 503-522. https://doi.org/10.1515/applirev-2020-2002 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/applirev-2020-2002

Alasmari, M., Qasem, F., Ahmed, R., & Alrayes, M. (2022). Bilingual teachers’ translanguaging practices and ideologies in online classrooms in saudi arabia. Heliyon, 8(9), e10537. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e10537 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e10537

Aleksić, G., & García, O. (2022). Language beyond flags: teachers misunderstanding of translanguaging in preschools. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 25(10), 3835-3848. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2022.2085029 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2022.2085029

Ali, R., & Raj, M. (2024). Evaluating the efficacy of translanguaging approach for language learning through k-means clustering analysis. Indian Journal of Information Sources and Services, 14(3), 232-240. https://doi.org/10.51983/ijiss-2024.14.3.30 DOI: https://doi.org/10.51983/ijiss-2024.14.3.30

Almashour, M. (2024). Bridging worlds with words: translanguaging and its impact on identity formation among jordanian graduate students in ontario. Frontiers in Education, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2024.1464741 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2024.1464741

Atta, A. (2024). Prospective prognostication: an examination of translanguaging in pakistan’s educational landscape through the lens of teachers’ and students’ perceptions. Language Teaching Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/13621688241259640 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/13621688241259640

Becker, A., & Knoll, A. (2021). Establishing multiple languages in early childhood. heritage languages and language hierarchies in german-english daycare centers in switzerland. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 25(7), 2561-2572. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2021.1932719 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2021.1932719

Beiler, I. (2020). Marked and unmarked translanguaging in accelerated, mainstream, and sheltered english classrooms. Multilingua, 40(1), 107-138. https://doi.org/10.1515/multi-2020-0022 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/multi-2020-0022

Brown, S. (2021). Emergent bilinguals as text designers: rendering meaning through signs. English Teaching Practice & Critique, 20(2), 130-148. https://doi.org/10.1108/etpc-07-2020-0076 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/ETPC-07-2020-0076

Cenoz, J., & Gorter, D. (2017). Minority languages and sustainable translanguaging: threat or opportunity? Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 38(10), 901-912. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2017.1284855 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2017.1284855

Ching, K., & Ruowei, Y. (2024). Translanguaging as scaffolding in chinese writing classrooms: perceptions and practices of non‐cantonese‐speaking students in hong kong secondary schools. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 35(2), 925-937. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijal.12674 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ijal.12674

Csillik, É., & Golubeva, I. (2020). Dealing with language gap in a hungarian-english early childhood classroom., 168-194. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-1219-7.ch011 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-1219-7.ch011

Cummins, J. (2019). Should schools undermine or sustain multilingualism? an analysis of theory, research, and pedagogical practice. Sustainable Multilingualism, 15(1), 1-26. https://doi.org/10.2478/sm-2019-0011 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/sm-2019-0011

Domke, L., & Cerrato, M. (2024). Integrating content and language instruction for multilingual learners: a systematic review across program types. Review of Educational Research. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543241298667 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543241298667

Duarte, J. (2016). Translanguaging in mainstream education: a sociocultural approach. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 22(2), 150-164. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2016.1231774 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2016.1231774

García, O., & Kleifgen, J. (2019). Translanguaging and literacies. Reading Research Quarterly, 55(4), 553-571. https://doi.org/10.1002/rrq.286 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/rrq.286

González‐Howard, M., Andersen, S., Pérez, K., & Suárez, E. (2023). Language views for scientific sensemaking matter: a synthesis of research on multilingual students’ experiences with science practices through a translanguaging lens. Educational Researcher, 52(9), 570-579. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189x231206172 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X231206172

Han, J. (2022). Translanguaging as a pedagogy: exploring the use of teachers’ and students’ bilingual repertoires in chinese language education. Applied Linguistics Review, 15(4), 1433-1451. https://doi.org/10.1515/applirev-2022-0142 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/applirev-2022-0142

Hendricks, M., & Xeketwana, S. (2024). Translanguaging for learning in selected english first additional language secondary school classrooms. Reading & Writing, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.4102/rw.v15i1.502 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/rw.v15i1.502

Hou, Z., Zhang, J., Jadallah, M., Enriquez‐Andrade, A., Tran, H., & Ahmmed, R. (2024). Translanguaging practices in global k‐12 science education settings: a systematic literature review. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 62(1), 270-306. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.22008 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.22008

MacSwan, J. (2017). A multilingual perspective on translanguaging. American Educational Research Journal, 54(1), 167-201. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831216683935 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831216683935

Meij, M., Duarte, J., & Nap, L. (2020). Including multiple languages in secondary education: a translanguaging approach. European Journal of Applied Linguistics, 8(1), 73-106. https://doi.org/10.1515/eujal-2019-0027 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/eujal-2019-0027

Menken, K., & Sánchez, M. (2019). Translanguaging in english‐only schools: from pedagogy to stance in the disruption of monolingual policies and practices. Tesol Quarterly, 53(3), 741-767. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.513 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.513

Mgijima, V., & Makalela, P. (2016). The effects of translanguaging on the bi-literate inferencing strategies of fourth grade learners. Perspectives in Education, 34(3). https://doi.org/10.18820/2519593x/pie.v34i3.7 DOI: https://doi.org/10.18820/2519593X/pie.v34i3.7

Muñoz-Muñoz, E., Poza, L., & Briceño, A. (2022). Critical translingual perspectives on california multilingual education policy. Educational Policy, 37(6), 1791-1817. https://doi.org/10.1177/08959048221130342 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/08959048221130342

Musyoka, M. (2023). Translanguaging in bilingual deaf education teacher preparation programs. Languages, 8(1), 65. https://doi.org/10.3390/languages8010065 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/languages8010065

Ollerhead, S., & Pennington, G. (2024). Starting small: engaging young learners with literacy through multilingual storytelling. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy. https://doi.org/10.1177/14687984241303390 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/14687984241303390

Parra, M., & Proctor, C. (2021). Translanguaging to understand language. Tesol Quarterly, 55(3), 766-794. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.3011 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.3011

Probyn, M. (2024). Multilingual literacies for learning: shifting ideologies, developing praxis. Reading & Writing, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.4102/rw.v15i1.505 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/rw.v15i1.505

Reynolds, J. (2019). A multivocal method modeling cross-cultural research in multilingual educational settings connected through a transborder migratory circuit. Foro De Educación, 17(27), 91-123. https://doi.org/10.14516/fde.698 DOI: https://doi.org/10.14516/fde.698

Romanowski, P. (2025). Unfolding university instructors’ perspectives on translanguaging practices in english medium instruction at a polish university: a qualitative analysis. Relc Journal. https://doi.org/10.1177/00336882251313710 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/00336882251313710

Salmerón, C. (2022). Elementary translanguaging writing pedagogy: a literature review. Journal of Literacy Research, 54(3), 222-246. https://doi.org/10.1177/1086296x221117188 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1086296X221117188

Saragueta, E., Galdos, O., & Aguirre, L. (2022). In-service primary teachers’ practices and beliefs about multilingualism: linguistically sensitive teaching in the basque autonomous community. Sustainable Multilingualism, 21(1), 143-165. https://doi.org/10.2478/sm-2022-0016 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/sm-2022-0016

Song, J., Howard, D., & Olazabal-Arias, W. (2022). Translanguaging as a strategy for supporting multilingual learners’ social emotional learning. Education Sciences, 12(7), 475. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12070475 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12070475

Swanwick, R. (2017). Translanguaging, learning and teaching in deaf education. International Journal of Multilingualism, 14(3), 233-249. https://doi.org/10.1080/14790718.2017.1315808 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14790718.2017.1315808

Treffers‐Daller, J. (2024). Translanguaging. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism, 15(1), 1-26. https://doi.org/10.1075/lab.24015.tre DOI: https://doi.org/10.1075/lab.24015.tre

Ünsal, Z., Jakobson, B., Molander, B., & Wickman, P. (2017). Language use in a multilingual class: a study of the relation between bilingual students’ languages and their meaning-making in science. Research in Science Education, 48(5), 1027-1048. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-016-9597-8 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-016-9597-8

Wang, X., Xia, C., Zhao, Q., & Chen, L. (2025). Enhancing second language motivation and facilitating vocabulary acquisition in an efl classroom through translanguaging practices. Applied Linguistics Review. https://doi.org/10.1515/applirev-2024-0292 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/applirev-2024-0292

Wei, L. (2023). Transformative pedagogy for inclusion and social justice through translanguaging, co-learning, and transpositioning. Language Teaching, 57(2), 203-214. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0261444823000186 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444823000186

Wei, L., & García, O. (2022). Not a first language but one repertoire: translanguaging as a decolonizing project. Relc Journal, 53(2), 313-324. https://doi.org/10.1177/00336882221092841 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/00336882221092841

Wen, Z., Han, L., Hu, G., & Teng, M. (2022). Rethinking language policy and planning in the greater bay area of china: insights from translanguaging theory. Asian-Pacific Journal of Second and Foreign Language Education, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40862-022-00167-0 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40862-022-00167-0

Yun, S., Choi, S., Olğun-Baytaş, M., Lyu, S., & Croix, L. (2025). Enhancing learning for emergent bi/multilingual children through translanguaging pedagogies: a systematic literature review from 2010 to 2023. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood. https://doi.org/10.1177/14639491251338422 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/14639491251338422

Downloads

Published

2025-06-30

How to Cite

Kuswidyasari , R., & Kasau, M. N. R. (2025). Translanguaging and Educational Equity: A Narrative Review of Global Practices. Lingua : Journal of Linguistics and Language, 3(2), 127–142. https://doi.org/10.61978/lingua.v3i2.1048

Issue

Section

Articles