Engaging in pedagogical translanguaging in a Shanghai EFL high school class

Abstract Translanguaging and codeswitching are frequently employed in second/foreign language classrooms. Though the differences between these two practices have been examined from a conceptual perspective, the potential of translanguaging as a pedagogical resource has not been empirically addressed. This article opens with a concise comparison of translanguaging and codeswitching, arguing that they offer different analytical and practical advantages in second/foreign language education. Using extracts from a practitioner study conducted in a high school EFL classroom in Shanghai, this paper illustrates how different linguistic and semiotic resources are deployed in a teacher’s and students’ translanguaging practices in order to achieve pedagogical goals, thus demonstrating the possibilities that pedagogical translanguaging encompasses. The paper argues that practitioners should be encouraged to make full use of these resources so as to create arenas of opportunity for the students.