Resumen de Community college faculty perceptions and use of translanguaging in academic ESL

Jennifer Talley

• This mixed methods study examined survey responses from ESL faculty at Illinois community colleges to assess their perceptions of translanguaging in the classroom, the strategies they most commonly employ, and the relationships between demographic variables and their perceptions or use of translanguaging. The findings revealed a limited familiarity with the concept with prevalent misconceptions that translanguaging is not applicable in multilingual classrooms or that it is synonymous with bilingual instruction. Faculty members who reported using translanguaging most often employed translation activities. Statistically significant positive correlations were found between participation in professional development and years of teaching experience, as well as between bi/multilingualism and knowledge of translanguaging. Conversely, both the actual use of translanguaging and faculty willingness to adopt it were negatively correlated with years of teaching experience. Positive pre-existing attitudes toward translanguaging were a strong predictor of its use, while participation in professional development was a significant predictor of overall willingness to adopt translanguaging. Recommendations are provided for future research as well as for postsecondary institutions to move beyond an English-only framework and adopt culturally sustaining, additive ESL methodologies.