Translanguaging in Chinese Third Language Classrooms: Teachers’ and Students’ Practices and Attitudes

The term “translanguaging” is often mentioned in studies on bilingual education, multilingual education, and second language learning, and has gradually become a hot topic in recent years. The researcher surveyed 34 students and one teacher in a third language learning classroom and found that the vast majority of students had positive attitudes toward the teacher’s translanguaging behaviors in the classroom; teachers are proactive and flexible in using their multilingual resources in the classroom to accomplish instructional goals. This study also summarized and explained two purposes of teacher’s translanguaging behaviors in the classroom: explanatory purposes and managerial purposes. By demonstrating the practice of translanguaging behaviors in language learning classrooms, this study attempts to provide some insights for some educationalists, educational policy makers, and especially teachers in second foreign language learning classrooms, suggesting that they should update their knowledge and conceptions of translanguaging and do not overlook the integral role of translanguaging in the classroom. Future research could be devoted to understanding the application of multilingual translanguaging practices in more foreign language classrooms and the impact of teachers’ classroom translanguaging strategies on students’ foreign language acquisition.