Translanguaging In Counselling Sessions: Exploring Counsellor’s Experiences in Institutions of Higher Learning

Zambia is a multilingual Nation with 73 ethnic languages in use and one of the languages English has been adopted as the official language used in official communication. The study explored translanguaging practices in counselling sessions of university students in Zambia. This study adopted a qualitative approach to explore counsellors’ and clients’ experiences with translanguaging in counselling. Six counsellors and 6 students who underwent counselling were interviewed at two public universities in Zambia. The study found Translanguaging can foster a welcoming environment, show acceptance and provide opportunities to learn and show concern for another person’s well-being despite their language differences. Monolingual rigidity in educational institutions was found to hinder effective communication in counselling sessions, especially for clients in Zambia who use English as a second language. Restricting clients to English was found to prevent such students from sharing crucial information and emotions. As such, allowing translanguaging fosters better conversations between clients and counsellors. The study concludes that universities should support multilingual environments, especially in counselling sessions, enabling counsellors to appreciate students’ linguistic diversity and facilitate effective communication through translanguaging. Additionally, the study highlighted both the challenges and benefits of implementing translanguaging in counselling practices. The study recommended that counsellors need to practice flexibility and recognise the role language plays in counselling conversations so that there is meaningful and genuine support towards students.